The One About The Woman Who Nearly Got Killed By A Turtle in the Middle of The Atlantic

If you know me then you will know that I get anxious about networking but I 💜 a good course. Emma gets apprehensive when I come back from courses as I usually have some crazy ideas so between us we pick the good ones (if there are any!). It must be the inner student in me though because I love learning. A LOT more than I used to.

With our business there is always so much to learn. Neither of us had a background in bringing a product to market, E commerce experience (except for spending on them!), or practically anything else that would be helpful in running a business 🙄

So when I found out that Similar Web were holding a Market Intelligence Summit I booked myself on straight away without knowing too much about what to expect. I can be impulsive like that.  Similar Web provide companies with website data so you can track and grow your market share. Sounds all intelligent doesn't it? 

There were some really interesting presentations by the Similar Web team; Jason Schwartz (CFO), Pascal Moyon (VP Marketing), Avi Wiesenberg (Global Agencies and Partners) and also by some of their customers including DHL and Johnson & Johnson. Massive brands who have the budget and have the ability to analyse all that data, neither of which I think we have sadly 😔 Not yet anyway.

So far so good. I was learning a lot about data. (Which I was enjoying by the way) 

And then came Debra Searle.

This woman is incredible and I doubt I will do her justice with this blog post but I will try my best. Debra and her husband had entered a race to row the Atlantic. Debra was a novice rower and I think one of the few women in the race. Not long into the race her husband was overcome with crippling fear of open water and sea sickness and became very very ill. A rescue boat came and Debra had to decide if she was going to attempt to complete the rest of the adventure on her own. Most of us would probably, excuse the pun, jump ship straightaway but Debra continued on her own for the next 111 days to row the Atlantic, SOLO.

You may wonder what Debra's story has to do with data, marketing intelligence or business. Yep, me too for about 3 and a half seconds. 

Debra explained that the only thing that she could control whilst in the Atlantic was her mindset. She couldn't control the weather, the ocean or the SHARKS!! So, choose your attitude, "it's the one thing you always have a choice about". Can you see where we are going here...?

These are Debra's mindset tools for change.

1) Run the movie. Imagine you are a superhero!

2) "How bad is it"? scale. If you are not being eaten by sharks then it can't be a 10/10

3) Control the controllables. Control your attitude!

4) Arrival Scene Movie. Imagine what will happen when you get to where you want to be. 

5) Contagious and Passionate Belief

6) Memory song. Listen to and sing those songs that bring you to a happy place

7) Inner Chat. Supporting not Sabataging. Don't always think the worst!

At the beginning of her talk Debra mentioned that for a long time whe was known in the press as the "Woman who was abandoned by her husband in the middle of the Atlantic". But that's a bit rubbish isn't it?!

Who wants to be remembered as that when you have a first class honours degree, have launched four companies, won Gold World Championship medals for GB, presented over 40 programmes for the BBC, had two books published, become the youngest ever trustee of The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and successfully rowed solo across the Atlantic Ocean.  Plus an MBE and an MVO.  

What about the turtle?? Debra faced sharks and hurricanes but what came the closest thing to ending her and her voyage was a turtle 🐢. One (I think she named him Billy) was swimming under her boat eating the algae that was growing on the underside. There was a frequent cracking sound when the boat hit Billy's shell. Debra soon realised that it was Billy's shell breaking but the bottom of her boat! Debra couldn't believe that the headlines might be "Woman's Solo Atlantic Row Ended By A Turtle" 😂

I didn't want to use a headine about the husband (no, they are no longer together by the way) because Debra is SO much more than THAT headline. So I have gone for a turtle 🐢 headline. I hope that's OK with you Debra. It was a pleasure to meet you and hear you speak.