Source: Becky Smith of Smith House Photo, Billboard.com

I’ve been obsessed lately with The Skinny Confidential’s Him & Her Podcast and just finished their episode with Create & Cultivate’s Jaclyn Johnson. They spoke about collaboration over competition, which completely struck a chord with me.

If you know me at all, you’d know that I’m quite the competitive person.  Throughout my life I’ve always thrived in a competitive atmosphere, giving me the drive to strive to be the best.  There is no greater high than winning and being awarded a much deserved trophy, medal or city/provincial/national title that you sacrificed typical teenage fun for.  And no, I did not participate in any of those “everybody gets a trophy” activities LOL.

I can see where the stereotype of women being catty and contemptuously competitive with other women comes from.  In junior high and high school, my friends and I were consistently put up against each other in the battle of the brains.  Were we catty?  Definitely.  Were we contemptuous?  Never.  Although we were all vying to be top of the class, we had a mutual respect for each other and always teamed up when we could to produce the perfect projects and earn the best grade together as a team.  Individually, we were competitive.  Together, we were unstoppable.  And that still stands today.

We are all talented with unique skills and experiences.  Instead of feeling envious of the competition, how can you learn from them?  How can you collaborate with them?  Can you partner with them?  Can you leverage their success?

Don’t let competition get in the way of accomplishing something great. It’s amazing what we can achieve when we work together, learn from each other and just have fun. The world needs more #bossladies and there’s more than enough room at the top.

❤ Isabel