RISE AND SHINE: Tips from successful women

by Liz Carey

In light of recent scandals featuring sexual harassment in the workplace, much more talk about gender equity and women’s issues on the job are finding their place in the national interest.

Women earn 80 percent what men do for the same job, according to the American Association of University Women. Many would also say they have faced discrimination in the workplace, whether it’s overt or not. Just 17 percent of startup businesses have a female founder, reports techcrunch.com. And while the U.S. Department of Labor reports that 47 percent of the U.S. workforce is women, in 2017, Fortune.com reported that only 32 Fortune 500 companies had female CEOs.

But highly successful women will tell you, there’s no secret to making it. It takes diligence, perseverance and focus.

Renee Wachter, chancellor of the University of WisconsinSuperior, said it’s important to start your day off on the right foot.

“I’ve learned how you start your morning sets the tone for the rest of the day,” Wachter said. “I usually begin my day at 5 a.m. by listing 3-5 things for which I’m grateful, prayer and exercise. These things keep me centered, even in the midst of challenge.”

Duluth Mayor Emily Larson said she makes a habit of waking up early so that she has time to herself, and meditating, doing yoga or running during that time. Throughout the day, she said, she takes time to pause a moment and take some deep breaths to regain her focus and energy.

Most importantly, she said, was her attitude toward her mistakes.

“I try to treat myself like I would a good friend,” she said. “When I make a mistake, or something goes wrong, instead of focusing on what I did wrong, I try to acknowledge the mistake and remember that I’m only human, I’m not perfect, and then move on. It’s important to do that, I think, because we’re all so much harder on ourselves that we are on others.”

For Sascha Mansson, director of the Women’s Business Alliance in Duluth, it’s all about organizing your day to be more productive.

“One thing that I have learned to do, is each morning I make a list of to-do items for the day and prioritize them. I put the items that are least desirable to complete on top of the list,” she said. “I find that if I complete those tasks and take care of the tougher things at the beginning of the day, they are off my mind and I am much more productive and present the rest of the day.”

BusinessStudent.com recently published a sampling of “The Habits of Highly Successful Women.” Some of the highest-profile women in the world weighed in.

For women such as Oprah Winfrey and J.K. Rowling, pushing oneself is key. Winfrey said, “as you push yourself towards greatness, you will inevitably stumble a few times, but remember: There is no such thing as failure. Failure is just life trying to move us in another direction.”

According to the list, writing down your goals is a way to keep on track to reach your goals. Both singer songwriter Dolly Parton and Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles write down their goals.

Sheryl Sandburg, COO of Facebook, said she writes her schedule and to-do lists by hand, rather than keeping a digital calendar, in a decidedly untech spiral notebook. Once every item on a page is checked off, she tears the page out and starts on a new one. The habit keeps her focused and motivated, she said.

Another piece of advice is to take time to rest and clear your mind. Arianna Huffington, cofounder and editor-in-chief of the Huffington Post, makes sure she gets eight hours of sleep a night to avoid overwork, while Olympic Gold Medalist Kerri Walsh Jennings said that she begins her day with 10 to 15 minutes of meditation first thing in the morning. D

By Sheryl Jensen

Thispast New Year’s Eve was a frightening and life changing one for Beverly Talonen, a Grand Rapids grandmother. She had gone to bed at 11 p.m. “I woke up at 3 a.m. to go to the bathroom, and I couldn’t think of how to get out of bed,” she recalled.

When Beverly woke her husband, Maurice, to tell him, he quickly came around to her side of the bed to help her up. As she tried to stand up and to put weight on her left leg, she crumpled and fell to the floor.

“I told my husband, I think I am having a stroke. Call 911,” Beverly said. After getting to the Grand Itasca Clinic and Hospital by ambulance and having an MRI and a CT scan, doctors determined she should be flown to St. Luke’s hospital in Duluth immediately. Beverly had been right. She was having a stroke.

When it comes to treating a stroke, time is critical. Medical professionals refer to this as “time is brain,” meaning the more time it takes to get the patient appropriate care, the more brain cells are lost.

Dr. Morgan Althoen, an Interventional Radiologist at St. Luke’s, said, “We know that for about every 30 minutes the clot stays in the brain, the patient's chance of getting a really good functional outcome decreases by 12 percent.”