Positivity

The best speaker I have EVER heard!

~ Michelle Hanton ~ 2 Comments

Over the course of my career, I have met a great many people and listened to a zillion public speakers ranging from royalty and heads of state to PTA Chairs and multibillionaires. Tonight, I heard the best speaker ever!

Michelle Hanton & Li CunxinThis evening I was very privileged to meet Li Cunxin. Many of you reading this post have probably seen Mao’s Last Dancer and may have even read the book which is his autobiography. I have seen the movie and read the book, but despite all this, nothing could prepare me for the man himself. He’s AWESOME! Personable, humble and approachable.

Why do I say he’s the best?
He’s got the X-factor – combined with his passion, his genuineness and his absolute authenticity which came through every inch of the way. He did not need notes and he owned the stage, holding the audience in the palm of his hand for the entire one hour presentation. I have to admit I shed a couple of tears as he recounted his reflections on going to bed hungry and the sacrifices his parents made for their children.

Li’s message is a simple one; have courage, be tenacious and anything you dream is achievable. He did not dream of being a ballet dancer, but he did dream of escaping from poverty and starvation. Ballet was an opportunity, grabbed with both hands. Even when he could have rested on his laurels, he didn’t and went on to achieve more and more because he believes in seizing the day and living life to the full, he thrives on a challenge to be the best he can be.

Thank you to the NT Government and sponsors of October Business Month for bringing us this wonderful speaker! I loved his message and whilst I’m fortunate to always have had food on my plate and never go to bed hungry, I do believe we should all live life to the fullest, believe in ourself and maximise all opportunities that come our way.

We should also always give thanks for being fortunate enough to live in Australia. Dare to dream, it can become your reality!

Michelle

Don’t you just hate clients that fail to pay their bills?

~ Michelle Hanton ~ Leave a comment

As a freelancer, I’ve been pretty lucky that on the whole, I usually get paid, but every once in a while I get caught. You know how it goes, you build a relationship and everything is tracking pretty well. You’ve worked for the client on quite a few jobs, so you don’t expect any issues. Suddenly WHAM! The client takes your work, the most expensive piece commissioned to date, publishes it and decides not to pay your bill. They just go silent and fail to acknowledge all contact attempts, despite the fact that I can clearly see them active in social media and LinkedIn, so I know jolly well that they are very much alive and kicking!

Integrity is everything!
Integrity is everything!

What do you do? If you’re me, you try to sort things out amicably, but when there’s no response, over several weeks, there is little to be done. Of course, I could go public, but my reputation is built on confidentiality, so it’ll do me more harm than good.

I suck it up, send a polite note to the client expressing my disappointment in their integrity and wish them well with their life and career. I won’t lower my standards and my reputation remains intact. I do however believe in karma and what goes round comes round. I also continue to place my trust in humanity and refuse to lose that despite a couple of negative experiences.

Love to hear how others, who work in a highly confidential space, deal with these kinds of situations?

Michelle