Lessons Learned from the 84th Annual Academy Awards

The hype around the Academy Awards in Hollywood is palpable and each year I love to watch who wins and host a fabulous Oscar party.  Rarely do I ever think this show has some profound moments and yet today I can't get a comment Meryl Streep made out of my head.

When Meryl received her Oscar she said she immediately thought half of America would be upset she won and then she smiled and said "whatever".  It made me think about how she was probably accurate in her thinking but that she also didn't care what others thought - she still won!  I realized how this applies to my life and running my own company.  I have to admit I've been a big people pleaser in the past and I have cared way too much what others think of me.  While it's great to want fans, it can handicap you if you want to please everyone, especially at your own expense.  What if Meryl didn't want to win so she wouldn't upset half of America?  What if she didn't feel worthy of that award because of what others thought?  What if she chose not to act because she may not be good enough?  Think of all the films that would have been different!  Her "whatever" comment to what other people think is brilliant and one that I plan to adopt.

See the lesson here for me is that we are always being judged.  We can't escape it.  I had a big realization one day that every single person in the room would think something differently about me because of their own filter and projections.  I realized it would be impossible to make everyone happy and to impress everyone so why even try?  It was a battle I was sure to lose and in the meantime I would be wasting precious energy.  It's sort of similar to the battle we have with our inner perfectionist.  Mine can be so loud sometimes and while most of the time I view her as a friend that pushes me to be my best, she is definitely fighting against the stream.  It's really impossible to be perfect!

I found Octavia Spencer's acceptance speech to be really inspirational as well.  I think most people would agree that she had one of the best moments of the night.  Why did we all love it so much?  Because it wasn't perfect, it was real!  She is relatable and sweet, and she admitted to freaking out.  Her vulnerability won us over in addition to the fact that she is also a great actress and played an amazing role in THE HELP.  I saw her interviewed after the ceremony and she said she didn't remember needing help off the stage.  She didn't remember because she was in the moment.  There was nothing pre-meditated or perfect about her acceptance speech - she was just with her emotion, or energy in motion, and it was beautiful.

So we can all move forward knowing the world needs more "whatever" to judgment and our commitment to not take it personally! This is one of the agreements in Don Miguel's "The Four Agreements".  And the world needs us to just be ourselves - flaws and all.  There are going to be people that don't like me when I rise to the top and make millions.  There are going to be people that think I'm weird because I approach business from a spiritual perspective.  I am going to use Meryl's "whatever" because I will still be holding the gold - the "inner gold" of doing my best and being myself.  I won't let the fear of what others think ever hold me back from sharing my gifts!  And while I'm at it, I'll remember that I am definitely not perfect and its okay if people see me "freak out"....we are all human after all.

Some other important lessons learned from last night's show.....when you wear a dress with a huge slit up the leg you have to show off your leg or the dress won't be worth what you paid for it.  More importantly its worth paying for a dress that does cover the most intimate part of your breasts! And luckily now we all know how to say Zach Galifianakis' name! ;)





Lessons Learned from The Synergistic Entrepreneur!
- Kate Neligan