This Life

I am not sure if this is the life of an entrepreneur, the life of a business, the life of a woman or of someone who is just trying to make a difference. Maybe it is all of the above.

The journey I am currently on is one that whilst short, is a culmination of a life lived in the shadows. One where I have not been as colourful as I could have been. But in that life, I have experienced many things and picked up skills along the way. Ones that I have it seems underestimated.

The saying that “The standard you walk past, is the standard you accept.” Hit a note with me, particularly when look at how we treat people within the workplace. How we treat them before we even get them in the workplace and the standard we treat them when they are not in the workplace. This is partly what prompted me to start Rocket Woman.

But this journey is one that is both incredibly liberating but also incredibly frustrating and challenging.

Starting with me, it is a daily cycle between this incredible and exciting journey, that may lead to important and significant societal change, to huge amounts of doubt and feeling of being completely crazy that I feel I can have any significant impact.

You have days when you feel you could run the world and then days when you wonder why the hell you would want to. There are days filled with tears as you think about how big the challenge is in front of you and days when you realise you can eat the elephant, one small bit at a time.

There are days when you think why should I bother as there are so many amazing women out there doing amazing things, I am not needed, and days when I see everything that is being done and nothing appears to be changing, so I feel I may be the one to tip the balance.

It is an exhausting, lonely, and challenging journey, it is also a collaborative, supportive, and empowering one.

I have realised how much I know and how much I have yet to learn. I struggle with FOMO most of the time and sometimes it can be hard to work out where to put your efforts.

But through this journey, I have met the most amazing people, people that not only believe in you but want to help you. People that call you when you are feeling down and give you that pick me up, just by listening and saying it is worth it.

So, this goes out to all the people I have met with, spoken to, hugged and cried with over the past 6 months. Thank you, and if I have in any way helped you in return, you are more than welcome.

And for those of you reading this right now, on your own journey, know that what you are doing can make a difference, whether it is to your own life or that of other people. Realise that your journey is just that, yours and no-one else’s, try not to compare yourself to what others are doing or how they are doing it. And remember what you see on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram or anywhere is only part of the story. A story that rarely includes the whole truth. The late nights, the indecisions, the bags under the eyes, the terrible conversations, the heartbreak or the tantrums. It’s a highlights reel, and you have your own.

And to quote Anita Roddick, “if you think you’re too small to have an impact, try going to bed with a mosquito”. Thanks to the wonderful Liz for sharing that wonderful quote with me.

Merry Christmas

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Rocket Woman

Rocket Woman is a full service process to bring diverse individuals into engineering at a later life stage. Rocket Woman is designed to solve three main challenges. Engineering Talent Shortages A lack of diversity in STEM Meaningful and Gainful Employment options for women and diverse people. Rocket Woman delivers a support network to those looking to transition their careers into STEM.