Can You Be Grateful For What You DON'T Have?
Bernadette McClelland
Helping Leaders and Teams Turn Disruption into Results 💥 Keynote Speaker 🎤 Leadership Coach | Author | Harvard MBA Mentor
THANKSGIVING IS NOT SOMETHING we celebrate as a national holiday in Australia, but I am an American resident now and well... when in Rome...
... or when in Colorado.... so Tim McClelland and I celebrated Thanksgiving with each other and with friends and we celebrated all that we are grateful for that has led us to where and how we are living life today.
And so often gratitude comes from those moments that may not seem very gratifying.
Because it wasn't that long ago that I lay for nearly a year in bed - unable to eat, unable to wear clothes, unable to stand on carpet without feeling my feet were being stung with nails, unable to stop scratching my body, unable to sleep, unable to sit for more than 30 minutes at a time, unable to do so many things we take for granted.
Day in and day out for months, I would lie in bed in a cold and empty house by myself (my daughter was with the RAAF in the Middle East, my son would walk himself to school and back every day and my husband was somewhere in the back blocks of Victoria trying to keep a business afloat, a roof over our head and his family intact) and I would wonder if I was getting better or if I was, dare I say it, dying.
Not only was my liver failing me but family was, also. Some believed I was 'putting it on' and others failed to even visit or offer support - silent signs of rejection to also navigate and make sense of in the order of moving forward.
Whilst we did eventually lose our home(s), find ourselves on welfare, have to drive a $1500 car and live in rented homes for the next six years, we always kept a smile on our dials, a dream in our heart and refused to succumb to victimhood.
It may seem counterintuitive, but we are so very grateful for the sadness we felt back then, the grief and betrayal we experienced and the reality of what we went through because if we hadn't lived through those human emotions, we wouldn't be living the life we have chosen today with the people we have since met along the way.
Because I believe, gratitude for what we have and what we don't have go hand in hand.
I am so very grateful for being the mum of two amazing adults and mother in law to two other amazing humans who contribute to each other and society, wife to one amazing man who shares my dreams and passions and crazy ideas and nana to one amazing little girl who is already beginning to live her own little dreams.
I am grateful to those of you in my life today, those who aren't in my life and once were, those who are in my life and continue to judge, and those of us who are yet to meet.
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And if you are going through tough times, find the silver thread - because there will be one that will be woven through the rest of your life.
I am so very grateful to have the boldness to pursue dreams and bring my whole self to the table - however 'out there' I may seem because when I do lay my head on my pillow for the last time, I will be proud to say
'Life! I've loved you, given you my best shot and left nothing on the floor'
What are you truly grateful for and why?
Stay Bold, Brave and Brilliant,
SALES LEADERS AND EVENT ORGANISERS (Video below) - My programs help your sales teams and your clients to shift their thinking and their conversations through the power of StorySelling (not just story telling). To find out the difference between the two and the commercial impact on results, please reach out to me here on LinkedIn and let's have a conversation.
Australia's leading Authority on selling to the C-suite. Helping sales leaders & senior sales people sell more effectively at a higher level. Devil's Advocate, annoyingly opinionated.
2yGreat story Bernadette. I'm grateful for my wife, who I've been with for 41 years, and my health and ability to work & keep fit - and a heap of other stuff I don't take for granted.
Helping B2B SaaS sales reps and leaders reduce anxiety caused by anemic pipelines and missed quotas by formalizing processes, hiring top talent, and holding reps accountable. | Coach | Hiring | Author | Speaker
2yThis is such an inspirational story, Bernadette McClelland!
Listening is a Mindset, Integrity is Non-Negotiable & Accountability is a Duet | Trust-Based Communication Expert | Leadership & Interactive Workshops✨ | Keynote Speaker 🎤 | 2X Best-Selling Author
2yBernadette McClelland, I am grateful you enjoyed Thanksgiving in Colorado! Yes, we can be grateful for what we do and don't have at any season in our life!
LinkedIn Top Voice | Top 50 Keynote Speakers in #Sales | Helps Re-humanize the sales process to increase win rates and CX: Author of Heart and Sell | #BeMoreSellMore
2ySuch beautiful prose, Bernadette. And you're so right, pain is our greatest teacher. It's what moves us to question, to change and to reinvent ourselves. I greatly admire your courage in sharing your fragility. Such a contrast to your exuberance and joy of late. Thank you for this post.
Help leaders build a successful sales team thru #data #coaching #training, #AI #FractionalCRO, Author, "She Sells" #WomenInSales #Speaker #Podcast #GTM #B2Bsalesscience #RKO 4x Salesforce Top Influencer
2yBernadette McClelland when I think of all the trips you took to the U.S. to come to our Women Sales Pros Experts events - and each trip you'd go off and see the sights in a few other states nearby OR hop a plane to Europe and walk the Camino de Santiago or some other adventure! I really admire your sense of adventure and your commitment to serving others with your leadership and StorySelling insights.... thanks for all you do!