Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Marilyn Davis. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Marilyn, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?
This is a thought provoking question. My confidence and self esteem began in childhood. As a child I was expected to participate in the chores as a member of the family not as a way to get an allowance. There were times I had to redo the things I thought were perfect, this taught me to do it well the first time and ask questions. Learning was a part of daily life and reviewing what we learned at dinner was part of our dinner conversation. Respect for others and self respect was instilled therefore, it gave me confidence. I was taught that I was as good as anyone, but not better than anyone.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
My bold journey began at the age of seven when I looked at my mother and said “I will not live in this little town when I am an adult; The power of those words ignited a fire inside. The town was a very small country town and had no modern conveniences. At the age of twelve in 1963 with the permission of my parents, I took a trip on a Greyhound bus from Butler, AL to Chicago, IL alone to visit my aunt for the summer. This taught me to face my fears and gave me an ‘I can’ spirit. My daughter lovingly refers to me as a “Little House on the Prarie girl. Fast forward. One of the things I love to do most is encourage others. Mostly to face their fears and go forward.
Watching people struggle as they move from one stage of life to another, feeling like a loser, led me to name a Connect Group I lead in my church “Born to Win”. The goal is to instill in each person that winning is an inside Job. Born to Win is a group which teaches women how to handle adversity, how to believe in themselves, and winning principles they can use in their daily life. It is not about the adverse situations we face; rather, how we respond to the situations. The impact these lessons have had on the women that attend, blows my mind.
Being a success is not just having a successful business, or building a larger company. It is also overcoming the adversity in our personal day to day life which impacts family, friends, community and society in a positive manner. I feel if we teach people that you don’t have to be a millionaire to be successful, our society will be a bette place and people will feel more fulfilled.
More. focus needs to be placed on moms, dads, teachers, our first responders, teenagers that are not involved in negative activities but quietly going about their lives, and churches. That is just a few that are making a big difference in small ways.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
The three qualities that were most impactful in my life were accountability, responsibility, and belief in God, a Power greater than myself. Being accountable and taking personal responsibility reverted power from others back to me. It also means that I am constantly taking daily inventory and assessment so personal improvement can be madre and consistently taking action to do what is necessary for personal development. My belief in God kept and keeps me knowing I did not have to depend on myself only and I was never alone.
My advice would be to establish and adopt a set of “Core Values” that are non-negotiable. Core Values build character that will take you through your entire life. Skills can be taught and will vary depending on the task at hand. Your character is who you are, and a winning attitude is born from knowing who you are. Core values keep you strong, give you courage, help you soar and give you strength to remain steadfast in the face of adversity; which we all will face at sometime in our life.
As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?
I love to read different book, the Bible is the book that has played the most important role in my life. From this one book I get advice for every area of my life and every situation I encounter.
- Do not worry
- Do not be afraid, face the giants in life.
- Speak wise words because they are powerful, They contain life and death.
- I was created a unique individual, be authentic.
- As a person think so is the person. Control my thinking. Think on things that are good, kind and loving.
- Love my neighbor, love myself.
- Honor my parents.
- You reap what you sow. Plant good seed so good seed will grow
- Do unto others as I want them to do to me.
- Every day is a new day and a new beginning.
- Give thanks always! Be grateful for what you have little or much.
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