Stop bitchin'
Melbourne is a city that has grown on me. I have lived here for most of the past 10 years and it really has been the perfect home away from home. As a Queenslander, it took some time to get use to the weather, and talking about it all day long, but other than that, I have learnt to appreciate the finer things that make Melbourne and Sydney for that matter, so special.
As the plane landed, the first thing that came to mind is that I needed to get a coffee from my favourite barista. Secondly, how easy it is to walk through customs with the new technology that alleviates all the queuing that takes place in every other airport in the world.
Having spent so much of this year in Atlanta and the US as a whole, it strikes me that I have been "bitching" too much.
"No good coffee."
"Too many diner style restaurants."
"Business people are too aggressive."
"Everyone's homes look the same - boring."
"People need to travel internationally more - to get a better perspective."
"No, I am not praying before a meeting!"
"Don't call me 10 times a day to sell to me."
"Everyone has a friend that does something - particularly real estate and cars (is there a kick-back going on here?)"
The list goes on. Now really? Is this what I have become? As a person whose glass is half full, I have been doing some emptying of late.
Australia has much to offer business. Like our US counterparts, you really can achieve anything you want and in Australia it is easier to become a big fish in a small pond.
There is also access to people - inspiring, talented, successful people. Most people know a truly successful person or at the very least have had a conversation with one.
But there are many good points about the US too. For instance, the cost of doing business is significantly lower and their dollar is stronger - so if you can do business in the US and be successful, you will make a lot of money.
Wages and employees are singularly the best business outcome of doing business in the US. The consultants that we hire are almost half the cost, and designers too, yet our service is the same and our cost to our clients are the same. It really is a no-brainer.
And... I have learnt so much from every single obstacle that has crossed my path. I am now a much better person for having lived in Atlanta and experienced the amazing Southern hospitality of its locals. Where Australia seems more at the forefront in design and web for that matter, other technology applications that have not hit Australia are ruling marketing in the US and its easy for us as a company to bring them back - which is a great opportunity.
If you have fallen into the trap of bitching - just like me, here are a few tips:
1. Shut up! No-one wants to hear it.
2. Focus on the good - not the bad.
3. See everything as being "different" - not good or bad.
4. Find new friends, associates and people who inspire you and help you see the best in everything you do and experience.
5. Find out what is making you do this and change it.
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comments ( 5 )
Sandrine
24 Oct 2013We all think the grass is greener elsewhere.. The reality of things is that each place has its upside and downside, but we are too self-centered and short-term minded to be thankful for, what each of the places we've been had to offer. However, sometimes seeing the downside of something generates the need to create something unique, something special and push ourselves for the better.
ReplyStephanie Kha
19 Oct 2013Sometimes you just have to or you'll end up being outrightly aggressive to people you meet!
ReplyMohammad Cerino
19 Oct 2013I am impressed, I must say. Very rarely do I discover a blog that's both educative and entertaining, and let me tell you, you've hit the nail on the head. Your idea is important; the issue is something that not enough people are talking intelligently about. I am very happy t
ReplyJames Tang
17 Oct 2013Hahaha. I agree. We as human all ove a good bitching session but nothing can be done from it. It is important to have an attitude of glass half full in life. Sometimes things just dont go our way but when you change your attitude, you change your life. And, Melbourne do have much better coffee than the States. That's something worth bitching about. lol
Replysonia
14 Oct 2013great post Melissah - so many people get stuck on all the things that dont work... rather than all the things that do - for what its worth though, I usually hear you full of positive forward momentum - and bitching about a lack of good coffee seems VERY reasonable to me!
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