![\"Own](\"https:\/\/smps.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/melissa-b-copy-1024x457-1.jpg\")
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“You can\u2019t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.\u201d C.S. Lewis<\/em><\/p>\n As I wrote in a previous column, there\u2019s no true crystal ball that can predict the future. When I started my term as SMPS president in 2019, I could have never predicted COVID-19 would shake up the world and our lives as we know them.<\/p>\n We need to see this as a huge opportunity rather than an obstacle to get over. The pandemic has given us the chance to prove to ourselves that we can do something we thought we couldn\u2019t. As Simon Sinek says, \u201cThere is no going back to normal.\u201d Now’s the chance to, as I like to say, \u201cOwn it,\u201d and be the one to make things happen.<\/p>\n Anyone can step up and lead during this time. So it’s time for us, as marketing and business developers, to truly transform our businesses and our lives to get through the unknown to make the outcome positive for ourselves, our firms, and our lives. Anything is possible when you take the initiative to own what you do and harness your passion to go for what you want.<\/p>\n When I accepted the gavel last year, I shared several ways that all of us can truly own it. I\u2019m hoping you have taken\u2014or will take\u2014a risk to do one or all the things to be a change-maker in your personal, professional, and SMPS life.<\/p>\n Here are few ideas that have helped me along the way:<\/p>\n Care deeply about what you\u2019re doing and the people you\u2019re doing it with<\/p>\n Be passionate<\/p>\n Ask for what you want and prove you\u2019re worth it<\/p>\n Trust your intuition and crazy ideas<\/p>\n Think big and use your creativity to break the norm<\/p>\n Don\u2019t always ask for permission<\/p>\n Exude authenticity<\/p>\n Take risks<\/p>\n Stay optimistic: find the bright spots and share them<\/p>\n Be a leader: see something that needs to be done and do it<\/p>\n Collaborate often and ask for help<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Thanks for trusting me to be your leader this year. I\u2019ve learned so much from all of you. Thank you to my co-workers and board at Champlin, the SMPS HQ staff and board of directors, past SMPS leaders, my friends, and most of all my family for being an amazing sounding board, providing inspiration, and believing in me.<\/p>\n Who would have known that this crazy idea I had years ago, that I could someday become SMPS President, would be a reality? This just confirms something for me\u2014and that\u2019s to always trust your crazy ideas. (thanks, Dan Zadra)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n SMPSly,<\/p>\n Melissa<\/p>\n <\/p>\n