Have you ever had a conversation and felt as though you heard it – or experienced the scenario you were in, somewhere before? This week, I gave some advice to an old friend who was having a terrible day at work, but I’m not sure it was warranted – or even helpful.

I often find myself falling into this common trap: when someone shares a problem or challenge with me, I tend to jump into problem-solving mode. Although I’m working on this tendency, it still happens.

And so, when my friend first shared her challenge with me. I automatically went into problem-solving mode. But in this case, reflecting on the situation reminded me of similar challenges I faced in my late teens and early twenties – which I hint at in this episode. At the time, for me, the solution came through the words of Rudyard Kipling from his poem, If.

When Synchronicity Set in

The advisory response to my friend reminded me of something I had heard earlier from a previous guest of the show – an episode featuring an exchange that happened exactly 13 years ago! And the advice shared here is useful to anyone itching to break out on their own. This episode will change the way you think about your day job – with the help of a conversation with entrepreneur, life coach, and conference founder, Doreen Rainey.

About This Week’s Guest – Doreen Rainey

Doreen is a dynamic and results-driven personal and business coach, speaker, and management consultant. She inspires and motivates clients to redefine success on their own terms and empowers them to pursue it boldly. Through practical strategies and tools, Doreen helps individuals gain clarity, develop actionable plans, and break through the obstacles that hinder their progress.

As founder of Your Big Life Play, she focuses on guiding clients through live online courses, private coaching, and transformative events. Doreen’s no-nonsense approach challenges clients to overcome excuses and tap into their personal strengths for significant change in their lives and businesses.

A lifelong learner, Doreen stays updated on the latest trends in success through ongoing education and conversations with thought leaders. She holds a B.A. from Spelman College, an M.S. in Conflict Negotiation and Management from the University of Baltimore, and a coaching certificate from The Coaches Training Institute.

One of my Favourite Poems Mentioned in the Show:

If —

By Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

Copyright Credit: n/a
Source: Read from 101 Famous Poems, in print since 1916