Louisville Women Share Pearls of Wisdom

We asked all of our FACES of Louisville for 2014 and our FACES of the South to share advice for life or business. Together, the list is impressive and provides words to live by. Here is what they had to say when asked, “Can you share a piece of personal or professional advice?”

“Be on time, be flexible, listen, be kind and work hard at what you love. The rest will take care of itself.” — Najla Aswad

“Outsource what you can to others, and make your job only the things that others cannot do. Once I did this, my business exploded with growth. It’s so hard as a small business owner to face this reality, when so little money is coming in at the beginning. If you don’t, you’ll never get above being your own daily employee, because you’ll have no time to grow your business to the next level.” — Emily McCay

“Show up on time, be prepared, exceed expectations and take criticism seriously, but not personally.” — Tracy Varga

“There is an old saying that ‘I don’t care if you’re the most powerful man in the room. I will judge you on how you treat the least powerful man in the room.’ That has really influenced me in my life.” — Mary Nancy Chatel

“Always use ‘please’ and ‘thank you.'”— Lisa Hirsch-Aarvig

“Paula, my old business partner and an MBA, taught me the best lesson I ever learned in business: ‘If it’s not a WIN-WIN for both parties, don’t do it.’ I use that not only in business, but in life, when making decisions and agreements.”— Mo McKnight Howe

“A wise person, with whom I worked, once told me to ‘never burn any bridges behind you.’  In the business world, and in life, you never know when you will cross someone’s path again.”— Madeline Abramson

“Bark less, wag more!”— Merry Dougherty

“If there is a problem, get to them with the information before they get to you. Customer service is key.” — Amy Streeter

“To network and to be nice.”— Kelly Zellers

“Don’t wait until you are in charge to start projecting a reputation as a professional. Dress professionally; establish strong relationships by face-to-face communication with others in your company and your profession. Handwritten notes, gift cards, phone calls to coworkers or clients. A lot of people say, ‘when I am the head coach, I am going to do this and that.’ Why not do those things right now?”— Anne Kordes

“Take chances and trust yourself. Schedule a regular date night with your spouse. (Thanks, Mr. Jones.) Treat everyone with respect. (Thanks, Mom.)” — Christen Boone

“Years ago, Hearst VP of News Fred Young asked me how my career was going. I told him I often wished I had experience working in other markets. He’s a legend in our industry, but at the time, I didn’t realize he had worked the majority of his career at WTAE in Pittsburgh. We had a great conversation about the value of being at one place and all the ways you can learn from the people who come and go, while you stay. It really changed my perspective and had a huge impact on staying at WLKY.”— Andrea Stahlman

“I can’t tell you what to do next, because that’s part of the process. You have to learn how to wear every hat in your business.”— Alli Truttmann

“Delegate. I used to do so much more for the blog than I do now, but I have been able to contract out fantastic women who handle things and do an amazing job. If I didn’t delegate tasks, I would have burned out a long time ago.”— Stephanie White

“There must be a constant focus on performance improvement. “— Sadiqa Reynolds

“To trust my instincts.”— Marian Sang

“If you want to win races, ride for people who win races. Another way of saying it is, ‘Don’t follow any empty wagons.'”— Donna Barton Brothers

“Three words: Just do you.”— Kenzie Kapp

“Not every idea that’s good will work. That, and know when to hold ’em and know when to fold ’em. Was that Kenny Rogers?”— Kim Baker

“That there is no such thing as best-laid plans. I may have the worst timing of anyone on the planet. Very few things in my life have gone according to plan or, at least, to my plan. However, it is because of those forks in the road and path changes that I have learned the most, grown the most and truly found myself.”— Dr. Kristen George

“Do not be afraid to say ‘I don’t know.’”— Judge Erica Lee Williams

“Hard work, planning and persistence — not luck — create opportunities for success!”— Diana Merzweiler

“To hang in there when it’s difficult, learn from it and take pride in those lessons and your successes. That it’s wrong to think of a destination, a stopping point. The ‘where do you see yourself in five years’ sort of question is too generic. You should be constantly evolving, learning, challenging yourself, showing up. Try to be a better version of yourself — it may break your heart, it may surprise you. But things come and go. Hold your head high, be humble and keep going.”— Sondra Powell

“Do something you love and then it will become less like work. As a small business owner, you spend a lot of time at work away from your family.”— Jamie Estes

“The best advice I have applied to my career is to make a checklist of annual goals. This allows me to keep those goals in the forefront during the hustle and bustle of daily life. It also helps me visualize my progress.”— Ashley Miller

“That we are meant to sing. I’m much more of a frog than a songbird, and I can’t sing a note. But I’m supposed to sing. We all sing differently. I sing with a paintbrush and a wild imagination. And that’s okay. Everyone has a song to sing. There’s a quote I like: ‘Friends remind you of the words of your song when you lose your way.'”— Becky Irvine

“Never say anything to anyone that you don’t want plastered across the front page of the newspaper, or in this day and time, Facebook.”— Lynda Lambert

“First, never undervalue yourself, or your customers will, too. I gave a successful Irish builder an estimate once, and he handed it back to me. He suggested I go and double it. He had seen my work, and he indicated that he would be talking about my fees and his experience with many other builders. Those builders would expect to pay what he had paid for the same outcome, and to charge what I was worth from the start. Second, don’t change your stripes. Designer Eileen Fisher decided to stand on her own. She did not go into partnership or sell to a huge label. She told me once that it would interrupt her vision and then ‘belong’ to someone else. Of the designers I had the pleasure to work with, she is the only one still in the game, doing her thing without interruption.”— Natalie Officer

“Strive for a heart of gratitude.”— Mary Catherine McClellan
“Be careful of the toes you step on today; they may be connected to the ass you have to kiss tomorrow.”— Elizabeth Nichols

“There is a quote I wrote on the back of a manila folder that I taped to my wall in my college bedroom. It’s by Jon Foreman: ‘If you approach the world with the apron of a servant, then you are allowed to go places that you can’t go if you approach it with the crown of a king.’ I love that because to me, it illustrates so perfectly that my purpose in pursuing music isn’t about being the great somebody, but it’s about giving to the world in the most natural way I know how.”— Jillian Edwards

“To be myself. Don’t try to be somebody you’re not. I tried to be somebody else while pursuing music, and somebody came up to me and said, ‘Why are you trying to be somebody else on the stage? It’s not working. You’re not Martina McBride or Trisha Yearwood; just be you.’ Once you’re authentic and genuine, then you will shine in whatever role you need to play in life.”— Gina Butler

“‘We wander for distraction, but we travel for fulfillment.’ (Hilaire Belloc) I like to feature this quote on my blog and social media accounts. This quote has a lot of meanings for me, but overall, it’s a reminder to go explore with the intention of changing myself for the better.”— Lauren Zwanziger

“I’m not sure where this originated, but my personal mantra is, ‘You are the master of your fate.’ I tell my daughter this all the time, and it is a tenet that I personally believe. Make decisions that you can be proud of, and all will come together in your life.”— Jane Scott Hodges

“Please, please have a good time planning your wedding, and have a blast on your wedding day!”— Tara Guérard

“I’m not sure if I would call them mentors, but when I was an ensign and serving in my first job in the Navy, I worked for two aviators who told me I had to apply for flight school or I wouldn’t stay in the Navy. I followed their advice and have never looked back. I applied, was accepted, went to flight school in Pensacola and, ultimately, became a naval flight officer. (Not a pilot, because I was told I had 20/25 vision and couldn’t be a pilot.) We NFOs are the navigators, weapons officers and mission specialists who fly in the backseats. Because of that advice early on, I’ve had the opportunity to command an aircraft squadron of about 400 people, an amphibious assault ship of about 3,100 sailors and marines, and a carrier strike group comprised of an aircraft carrier, a carrier airwing (about 70 aircraft), 12 other ships and about 10,000 sailors. Whoever would have thought this little girl from Tennessee would have the opportunity and the honor to do all those things? It has been an incredible life!”— Vice Admiral Nora Tyson

“This is going to sound bleak, because it’s not exactly inspirational, but I tend to worry about everything a bit more than the average person. So ‘this, too, shall pass’ is an important mantra to me. You know — tomorrow, next week, in a few months — this will just be a memory.”— Claire Howorth

“Don’t give up. If you wake up every morning and know that you are meant to sing, and you feel that desire in your soul, stay focused on it and work hard.”— Sara Evans

“You don’t have to have a lot of money to do something, to help someone. Don’t wait for the perfect time or when you can do something bigger or more impressive. You don’t have to have every single thing planned out. Just do something. I started The Cancer Card Xchange with the purchase of a domain name, a Facebook page and a post office box. And now, we have given almost 1,000 people close to $100,000 worth of gift cards in three years’ time.”— Emily Tickle Thomas

“Through the process, we learned that there are really no limits to what we can achieve, especially when we’re surrounded by our amazing team and the festival’s Advisory Council and talent. We have also been surprised by how much we — actually most of us — don’t know about the South. There is so much substance and depth to our region’s food and drink culture. Every day is a learning adventure!” — Elizabeth Feichter and Dominique Love

Kate: “‘This, too, shall pass.’ When you go through rough patches, you have to just pick your chin up and plow through. It always passes, and it always gives you something to put in your back pocket — experience.”

Susan: “It’s pretty basic, but staying flexible is my mantra for business. And if you want something, just dream that that is what you are. Our dad always said, ‘Keep it in the road.’ That’s Texas slang for not getting off track or driving in the ditch. Keep moving.”

“And every day, the world will drag you by the hand yelling, ‘This is important! And this is important! And this is important! You need to worry about this! And this! And this!’ And each day, it’s up to you, to yank your hand back, put it on your heart and say, ‘No. This is what’s important.’ (Iain Thomas)”— Rachel Macy Stafford

“Trust your gut. It’s such a simple piece of advice, and yet it’s one that is easy to forget.”— Jennifer Boles

“Look at the person in front of you and ask yourself, ‘What’s possible?’ This makes me think about that person, be it a patient, colleague, family member or friend, and consider their needs first. It’s about finding the best in a person and always assuming they have something valuable to share.”— Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice

Thank you to all our FACES of Louisville and FACES of the South featured here. Their advice and words are great words of wisdom to live by as we start the new year. Happy New Year to everyone!

As always, much gratitude to our FACES photographer, Adele Reding, for her fantastic work. See her profile on her Facebook page.

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