In this extract from Bold Moves: How to Stand Up, Step Out, and Make Your Next Bold Move, our CEO Pippa Hallas talks to inspiring entrepreneur Carolyn Creswell who shares the steps that have helped her design a bold life.
Twenty five years ago Carolyn Creswell took a part-time job making muesli while she studied at uni. Today she runs that same company, Carmen’s Muesli (now a multimillion-dollar business), is a mum of four, and an ambassador and board member to human rights organisations.
There’s so much I admire about Carolyn; her incredible sense of perspective and her pragmatic approach, and the way she creates her own boundaries, rules and structures which have enabled her to learn who she is, what she wants, and what she’s comfortable with. She (successfully) designs her life around the rhythm and speed that she wants but goes beyond what’s expected.
Here are some of my favourite take-aways from the chapter devoted to her story in my book Bold Moves:
1. ORDER IS EVERYTHING
“The first thing I do when I have a big day ahead and things get overwhelming is tip my whole handbag out on a desk and get really organised,” Carolyn tells me. “It’s my ground-zero. I sort out my bag, just get a little bit of order, and then I can attack the day a bit better and get on top of it.”
2. LIVE BIG TO LIVE BOLD
“I think if you’re living in a little world where all you’re trying to do is be the same as everyone else, that’s not necessarily finding your journey, your purpose or your interests. Living a bold life is living a big life,” she adds. “I’m really conscious of what the things are that I would like to be able to do and what I am working towards, recognising amazing experiences and grabbing opportunities. And so it’s just living that full, rich life—and that’s not necessarily about being a workaholic—but thinking ‘one day I’m going to get there.
3. …BUT ‘BUSY’ IS NOT THE DEFINITION OF SUCCESS
“I thought the definition of success was always being really busy and if you asked me how I was, I’d say I was so busy, constantly running from here to there,” Carolyn confesses. “You know, working nights, working weekends—and I thought that meant I’d made it. It wasn’t sustainable.”
4. THE ART OF ‘NO’
“Initially, I probably worried too much about what other people thought and I was very much a yes-yes-yes person,” she admits. “I’ve had to learn to say ‘no’ gracefully; it’s being nice about it but also being firm. You can’t say ‘yes’ to everything because time is the one resource that definitely runs out every day. So make sure you protect it and live the life you want to live!
Carolyn adds: “One thing I’m really conscious of is ‘What’s in this for me?’ And I know that sounds selfish but realistically everyone’s trying to find what’s in it for them. I am now able to really selectively do things that I feel enrich my life and make me feel better; that I’m making a difference, and that I’m enjoying the journey.”
Read about other women like Carolyn who have made Bold Moves here.
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