We recently connected with Lynne Vertannes and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Lynne, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
My parents and my life experiences. My dad was an entrepreneur before his time, coming to Australia from Italy at the age of 17, not speaking English and second-grade schooling only but overcame huge odds to learn English and was a successful builder. My mum was encouraged to dance by her mum. My grandmother wanted a family member to perform on stage but mum didn’t really want to. (I said to mum that I would have loved that!) From the age of 5 she had to practice every morning before school, meaning sometimes she was late to school which she did not like. Mum didn’t like to be the centre of attention. Despite not really wanting to dance because she had to travel to pantomimes on her own and sometimes at night. Mum excelled and was often chosen to be the lead dancer. My parents didn’t complain, they worked hard and did what they needed to support a family of 7 (I’m the middle child of 5). From a young age, I didn’t want to complain or cause trouble (I’m a little goody 2 shoes;) ) and mum would tell me that I was a delight (after 2 boys, I’m the first girl) and often my brothers would be squabbling and taking their time to get ready, whereas I would get myself dressed, stand next to the pram holding it, looking straight ahead, like a little soldier. My brothers would want to get into the pram (even though I was the young one), whilst I would walk. When my parents worked, I took care of the house, cleaning and keeping it tidy. I didn’t want to be distracted by silly things or mean people. I knew what I wanted in life and I set about taking steps to get there. I worked from the age of 14 while at school and always had 2 jobs until 21. This resilience was a direct result of my father passing away when I was only 16 and I remember thinking “who’s going to look after me”. That’s when I realised that if I wanted anything in life, I needed to be strong and resourceful. I enjoyed this independence and financial freedom and I built my resilience by doing things that scared me or I thought I could never do. I was always told I was shy and I hated it, so I made myself do things to overcome this “label”, I didn’t want to be defined by what people thought of me. I also lost 2 brothers to illness, so I didn’t want to be defined by trauma either, so I took a lot in my stride. I have a strong faith which I developed over time and this is a source that helps immensely. Being out in nature and on the water gives me grounding as I can escape the noise of our modern world and have time to appreciate and be grateful for my life.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I have had careers in corporate, travel, hospitality, retail and a stint in TV Extra work, which was fun! I’m my best when I’m in a customer-focused role. When I worked in the corporate world I never understood why I couldn’t settle in that industry. I learnt many things and developed great skills but something just didn’t sit right with me and I couldn’t pinpoint it. I took a year out to travel and follow my dream of a working holiday in London. This was a turning point. I came back from my year away and applied to work for a hotel and I loved working there in Corporate Sales. I then wanted to work in travel, so I completed a travel course, then a tour guiding course and worked for an Airline in holiday travel. I enjoyed talking to people and booking their holiday travel. I also went on many wonderful trips both work-related and personal. I then wanted to work at the airport, so I got a job with Virgin when they were a start-up airline in Sydney and I loved this job. Early morning shifts were my favorite because I’m a morning person and I enjoyed having my afternoons free to power walk my favorite Bay Run, a 7km circuit entirely along the water’s edge of Iron Cove in Sydney. I did this every day, 7 days a week, so my work at the airport was perfect to incorporate my fitness activity. After my role with Virgin, I moved to England for 5 years where I worked in my husband’s sports coaching business in accounting and memberships. My 2 children were born in England and we all moved back to Sydney in 2005. I chose to work part-time while my children were in primary school and I spent time volunteering at the school in the community garden, helping children with their reading, working in the canteen and organizing school events. I never saw this as a step back from my career or as a lesser thing to be doing, I loved it and my children loved it too. I learned new skills and met great people. This was when I started my retail career because it was where I could have flexibility to work school hours and this suited me. I was also back in a customer-focused role, so I could build on my skills. I give 100% in every role I do. I gave myself a challenge of starting a business, just because I wanted to know if I could! (I am part entrepreneur, which comes back to my resilience of wanting to give things a go). I’m currently working with my husband in our EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) business. I dabble in writing as a hobby and started writing 12 years ago when I was at a loose end wondering what my next thing would be. My grandmother had written a story that was read out on the radio and that got me thinking about writing (“Oh, must be in the genes, so let me try”). I did a couple of writing courses, joined a writer’s group and wrote a children’s book called The Magic Pencil. I self-published this book and have recently re-printed it to participate in an Author Festival in my local area. I write articles for Weekend Notes, which is an online journal of things to do and see on the weekend. I give back to my community by volunteering at my local church as a Reader, Eucharistic Minister and help with the maintenance of the beautiful church gardens. Reading has helped build my resilience through stories about people who have found strength through adversity and a couple of books that made a difference were Janine Shepherd, Never Tell Me Never and Sara Henderson, From Strength to Strength.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
- My Faith
- Being honest with myself with how I think, feel and behave.
- Reading Books on Self Improvement and Autobiographers on people who overcame adversity.
I went to a catholic school but didn’t revisit my faith in a more conscious way until my early 40’s. I read the Bible, meditate and pray daily. This gives me a calm mind and when I’m calm I can deal with issues in a logical, non reactive way. This is always a work in progress and I still need to check my thoughts and feelings daily but I’m more conscious of them. Breathing and pausing before speaking help too. Sometimes we blurt our feelings out and then regret them or what we’ve said. I’ve lived too long in regret, that I just don’t entertain that way of being. Today I live in the current moment, because that is all I have.
Checking my habits, thoughts, words and feelings are instrumental in how I live my day. Being honest with myself when I needed to seek professional help, without feeling bad about doing so – this was a strength. Living my life as if everything is OK, was a weakness for me. I do choose who I speak to about my feelings, I don’t talk to everyone, as this can lead to me taking on their thoughts and feelings and then feeling bad if I react due to how they feel. Own your thoughts and feelings. I’m an empath and tend to take on other people’s feelings but I now listen, support and help where I can, but I don’t take on their problem. I used to want to please everyone, have everyone like me, and hold on to friends. Now I’ve realised that friendships are: Reason, Season, and Lifetime – people will come and go but I no longer spend energy holding on to them because I know they came into my life for either a season, a reason or a lifetime and that’s OK. I’m fortunate to have lovely lifetime friends and I nurture those relationships.
Alright, so before we go we want to ask you to take a moment to reflect and share what you think you would do if you somehow knew you only had a decade of life left?
I would keep doing what I’m already doing, as I love the life I have created but I would stop overthinking and second guessing. I’d go to Italy to learn Italian, then spend time with my cousins over there. I’d take the dance lessons and I would do a road trip around Australia.
Contact Info:
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