Lisa Eva Gold

I would have to say my parents. My mom is still living, my dad is not. My dad was an airplane pilot, my mom's a hairdresser, and my mom's from Europe. Both my parents instilled in me and my brother a work ethic that you just love your work, you love your family. My dad always said he loved his work more, but he always said, you are your own billboard. So show up and be everything that you possibly can, and give it your all. Being that my mom is European, my mom has this work ethic that no matter what you do, she's still to this day asking me, are you getting paid for it? My mom is a go-getter, and both my parents are go-getters, so they both instilled in me just don't stop, keep going. My parents raised me with the idea that time is money. However, as life moves forward, I realize that time is more valuable than money.

You are your own billboard. So show up and be everything that you possibly can, and give it your all. That's what my dad always told me, and it's stuck with me throughout my career.

Learn that maybe rejection is redirection, because rejection can be very hard to take. And no matter what our age is, we're like big kids. So whether they're in their twenties, whatever age they are, just be strong and stand in your own power. Believe in your knowing, and if you want to do something, if you want to be something, then stand in your ground for it. Don't let somebody else redirect you doing something you don't feel passionate about. Give yourself permission to own who you are and be okay with that. Don't think you need somebody else's permission.

I'm learning that it's making the connection. For instance, I want to do keynote speaking, so I'm taking the steps and reaching out and making connections with newer people, which is great. However, in the karmic universe, what you give out, you get back. I can sit with that, even though what I give out doesn't necessarily pay my bills today, but somehow, someway, it's going to come back to me. There has been a hump in getting over that, accepting that reality that what you give, you get. However, it's not always in the moment, and just being patient with the process. I think that's the challenge - being patient with the process of things unfolding and not giving up. Like, for example, several of the books I wrote, I was like, okay, I'm not making any money on this, forget it, I'm just gonna put this on the shelf. So the idea is, life redirects you, and it redirected me, and so I've fallen into my niche. However, it's being patient with the process, because it doesn't always generate money, because I think that ultimately, as human beings, we're like, okay, where's the money? And it shouldn't be that way. I've had a conversation with family the other night, and I'm like, you gotta stop looking at it for the money. Why are you doing it? What's driving you? What do you want to give back? How do you impact those around you with what you're doing? Forget about what you're getting, because it's not about what's in it for me.

There's a few things. I guess the top one is going to be authenticity, respect, and transparency. Let's be real, we're all on this planet moving forward, so let's just say it like it is.