Arlene Dickinson -- The rhythm of me Entry #3

Summary

Arlene Dickinson – The Rhythm of Me by Carolyn Lawrence of Women of Influence on May 13, 2013.  During the interview with Carolyn Lawrence, Ms. Dickinson addresses a number of questions put forth by the interviewer.  She tells Ms. Lawrence that her greatest obstacle is herself and after all these years in business she still struggles with believing, “I can.”  As she aged she began to worry less about what others thought about her and started to feel more confident about the decisions she was making. She believes her biggest failure is not understanding the value of time and her lack of confidence in herself.  When asked about how her divorce changed her, she answers by saying, that necessity is a funny thing, it drives you to do things that you never imagine yourself doing and because she was taught by her parents that society owes you nothing, that if she wanted her life to change she was the one in charge of making those changes and people are always changing. She explains that this, “the rhythm of me,” came to her through business, how she would advise people to do different things and then do the opposite when it came to herself, this is when she realized she was not listening to, “ the rhythm of me.”  She believes that her biggest investment risk was herself because she put all of her time, energy and money into her business- herself.  She is excited about Arlene Dickinson Enterprises and YouInc. because this is a great opportunity for entrepreneurs to embrace the messiness that comes along with being an entrepreneur, that it is a lifestyle choice; it is not a career, it is who you are and she is proud of the fact that she is providing entrepreneurs the opportunity to talk about this aspect of being in business for yourself.  She advises other entrepreneurs not to use the media to just put yourself out there but, to use the media to talk publicly about the things that matter to you, to use your access to the media to benefit others.  She would like to see women not compare themselves to other men in the business world because women have not been in business as long as men but have contributed to the business world in a faster and more profound pace than men. She discourages woman from looking for recognition and rewards for their achievements and encourages them that if something is not working for you don’t be afraid to make the changes that put you where you want to be.

Opinion

We find it surprising that Arlene Dickinson struggles with issue of self-confidence when she comes across as a confidence Dragon in the business world.  In our own experiences, we also believe that as we age we focus less on what other people’s opinions are of us, we are more confident in many aspects of our lives and that we do have a better understanding of the value of time.  Sometimes life does throw us curve balls when we least expect them and society do not owe us anything but it is truly up to us how we deal with these unexpected changes that are put before us, it is up to us to realize we are always changing and these changes are who make us the people that we presently are.  With respect to her concept of “the rhythm of me” this is quite common, another saying which relates to this one is “do as I say not as I do,” people often can give advice but, rarely follow the advice that they give to others.  She claims her biggest risk investment was herself and for the majority of people their biggest investment throughout their lives is in themselves.  We agree that she should be excited and proud of launching Arlene Dickinson Enterprises and YouInc. , because it is going to be a great way for her and other entrepreneurs to share their lifestyles and help other potential entrepreneurs get their start in the business world.  As entrepreneurs featured in the media, we agree that it is more important to focus on how your experiences can inspire others to follow their aspirations whether it be entrepreneurial or other life choices.  We concur, that women should not base their accomplishment in the business world with comparisons to men because women have a different approach to looking at and resolving issue than men do. Women should not look for recognition and rewards for their accomplishment nor be discouraged when failures arise, it is a learning experience – know what you want, find out what you are doing, change what you are doing to get the results that you want! (KFC)

 

Questions/Feedback

1. Do agree with Arlene Dickinson’s concept of, “the rhythm of me?” Why or why not?

2. What do you believe KFC means?

References

Lawrence, C. (2013, May 13). Arlene Dickinson – The Rhythm of Me. Women of Influence. Retrieved from: http://womenofinfluence.ca/2013/05/23/rhythm-of-me-arlene-dickinson.

Photo by Miguel Jacobs. Retrieved from: http://womenofinfluence.ca/2013/05/23/rhythm-of-me-arlene-dickinson.