Dr. Kay Lovelace Taylor Phoenix Chapter President of the Links and John McAuliffe Executive Director Business Development Officer Western Division of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney linked up to bring Mellody Hobson to the podium and it was a great event. Mellody is the financial phenom. She’s President of Ariel Capital Management, LLC, the only (and first) African American-owned money management and mutual fund company in the country. She speaks on ABC Good Morning and this Thursday we had the benefit of her humor, wisdom, favorite quotes, exquisite style, and patience … everybody wanted to have their photo taken with her and there were about 500 people who attended.
She framed her remarks around her favorite quotes. I share them with you here so that you too can benefit.
“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” John Lennon. Mellody: Nothing happens how you plan it. I didn’t get rigid about how my life was going to be. My friend Arianna Huffington told me, “Do not limit yourself to your own imagination on what your life could be like.” My over arching framework is 1) Pure appreciation. 2) Spend time with good people. 3) Leave the world a little better.
“As women, we’re raised to have rescue fantasies and I’m here to tell you no one is coming. Judy Collins. Mellody: I was raised as the youngest of six children; my closest sister is 9 years older. I was raised to be very independent. The down side of this is that I was never comfortable asking for help. I saw it as a weakness. I have reorganized my life around getting “help” and have a great network of people around me. This was a big lesson for me.
“If you are not living life on the edge, you are taking up too much space.” Pat Head Summit, University of Tennessee. Mellody: Being invincible just doesn’t work. In Vince Lombardi’s “When Pride Still Matters” I read that “fatigue makes cowards of us all.” Before that I was working all night and sleeping under my desk. I ended up embracing being more attuned to living life around how I can do my best work.
“If no one ever took risks Michelangelo would have painted the Sisten floor.” Neil Simon. Mellody: It was risky to paint a ceiling when you had no idea whether it would work out like you wanted. That was a big risk. Gallop did a poll asking 80 year olds what would they do differently and the answer came back, take more risks in business and love. When the rubber meets the road you have to live with the risks you take (or don’t take).
“If you are going through hell, keep going.” Winston Churchill. Mellody: There were bad times in the financial crisis of 2008. The only thing that kept me going was my boyfriend’s saying “when you are in a snow storm don’t look up at the storm, look at your feet so you don’t lose your footing. Take it one step at a time.” It’s during a struggle that you learn the most. You either “die” or clarify. When you are going through tough times, reach out to others and ask for a lot of support. Learn to lean on others.
“Be the change you want to see in the world” Gandhi. Mellody: I am increasingly dissatisfied with what I see going on in the world. (Here she talked about the board of directors of a well-know company that has never had a Black or Hispanic person on it but yet we are all their consumers in millions.) We don’t learn about investing in school so her company has started a school with a savings and investment program…The Ariel Community Academy. We have 9 year olds thinking like owners of the companies. (You can bet these young people are learning about the power of their dollars.)
And right now “Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself, but talent instantly recognizes genius.” Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Mellody: It is not about me. I want to be the one who recognizes genius. There are energy givers and energy takers. I want to be the energy giver. I am competitive and for me, as John Rogers (founder of Ariel) said, “It’s not that you win, it is how you win.”
Mellody Hobson is a gem. I admire her, what she’s accomplished, and what is yet to be created by her. She reminds me of DP Cybel Martin, “Cinematographer for Directors who want to change the world.” They are global citizens and consummate professionals who are willing to take risks to make the world better and to live what they are passionate about – with style.
About the writer: Dr. Joel Martin is President of Triad West Inc. corporate training and consulting and Positively Powerful Events. She is a transformational expert, women’s advocate, speaker, and author. She has earned a Ph.D. in Communications and a Masters in Psychology. Previously, Joel was the first women to own and operated a full-service New York City-based advertising agency.
