Kay:
Hey there! Happy Friday, Questers! It is August 7th, this is Episode 155, and we have a quote for you from Estée Lauder, today. And, she says, “No one ever became a success without taking chances. One must be able to recognize the moment and seize it without delay.”
Shi:
You know, this is a great quote, but this comes from an even more impressive woman, Estée Lauder. I mean, she was the only woman in Time magazines’ 1998 list of the “20 Most Influential Business Geniuses of the 20th Century.” As we were researching this quote, her story was just really impressive…I mean, born in 1906 – so you can imagine the climate was before women could vote – and she died in 2004. So, she made it to 97, and has some really interesting stories. She grew up in an entrepreneurial family, her dad owned a hardware store, and then she worked for her uncle in this chemist plant of sorts, and started combining the skill sets between the two to present this all purpose skin cream in 1953. And, she created a “Youth Dew” – which is like a perfume that you put into your bath water – and that first year she sold 50,000 bottles, which, by 1984, was up to 150 million bottles. And so, from there, her legacy, and her business, and her entrepreneurship, really started to fly. But, we just love to hear of those roots and that story – which makes this quote even more poignant!
Kay:
Well, Estée Lauder really took the perfume industry, which (at the time) was really concentrated around French oils that you would dab on your wrists – and she introduced a new way of doing perfume into the market. And so, she had to be a little bit innovative, and she had to take a chance. And, at the time, selling bath oil was a big one. Like, we can only imagine how many women in the fifties had their husbands be like, “You’re having me buy you bath oil…?” And, the women were like, “No, honey, you’re going to love it….It’s going to make me smell just like your grandma smells, forever!”
Kay & Shi:
*(Laugher)*
Kay:
And so, her success didn’t come without taking some chances. And, she took a chance even out of her uncle’s chemistry plant, where she started selling the all purpose skin cream to her friends and just sort of started out selling skin cream “on the corner,” if you will.
Shi:
I mean, I think she said there was never a day in her life where she didn’t sell, and she really loved selling. If she believed in something, she was going to sell it all out, in full force. And, I think that’s a really admirable trait. Selling is different now than when it was 70 years ago when she was selling, but she was really advocating for something she believed in, and that’s something I think all of us can get behind. But, I loved the intentional language here about, “recognize the moment and seize it without delay.” Because, you know, recognizing the moment takes this preparedness. You don’t get smacked upside the head with a moment and embrace it, and ride it to the top. You have to recognize it…which means you have to be informed, you have to be prepared, you have to be ready, and you have to be disciplined. You have to be on guard and looking for it in order to recognize the moment so that you can seize it! And, “seize” infers that it’s moving quick, right? AKA: If you don’t grab it, when that moment is there, it’s gone! So, you don’t want to delay! A lot of us get in this “analysis paralysis'” zone, and that can be really detrimental to us. So, to recognize the moment and seize it without delay, I think is really the best part of this quote. But, the taking chances part is the one that people struggle with…
Kay:
Well, I’m so glad that you leaned into that, Shi. I think it’s so important, because, if you don’t know what you’re looking for, how are you going to recognize it? So, maybe you’ve never taken the chance to get to know that piece of you just a little bit further and really ask yourself – what does that look like? What DO I want? What IS the moment? What would my moment look like? So then, when it does arrive for you, you can seize it, and you can do it quickly! And, she says, “seize” (AKA: take action), and then, “without delay.” So, take action quickly when you feel like you’re in the right place at the right time, because that’s your opportunity to really take advantage. But, like Estée Lauder reminds us, “No one ever became a success without taking chances. One must be able to recognize the moment and seize it without delay.”
Shi:
Ooooh, that means that it’s time for your quest! And, it’s a Friday quest, AND it’s a roll-the-dice quest, because we want you to take a chance this weekend! When you see an opportunity arise to do something you don’t normally do, seize that chance, and see if you can seek success from it! So, maybe you would say that you don’t want to go picnic out in the park, or that you’ve never ridden a mountain bicycle before, or maybe even that you didn’t want to give Hamilton, the musical, a chance…So – this is your chance this weekend to seize the day and take a risk! Are you ready?
Kay & Shi:
Let’s quest!
