Tea with the Queen

How Do You Host 75 Women When Your Heart Is Breaking?

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I have had a shocker of a week. One where it feels like the universe truly has it in for me. It’s happened to all of us, those weeks where everything seems to fall apart at once. For me, it started with saying goodbye to my beloved 16-year-old Maltese, Spencer. If you’ve ever lost a pet, you know just how heartbreaking it is. Spencer, my little shadow, was there for me before marriage, children and everything in between. His departure left a void that felt impossible to fill. Yet, despite all the craziness thrown at me, I learnt some truly invaluable lessons on finding resilience in tough times.

When One Thing Leads to Another

If the idea of losing Spencer wasn’t hard enough, the same morning we booked his farewell at the vet, I had a tumble. Whilst on a morning walk with my husband, I tripped on uneven pavement, splitting my chin open. Anyone who knows me wouldn’t be surprised that, with blood pouring everywhere, I grabbed a tissue and decided we could just keep walking. But Mark was adamant we needed a trip to the emergency department. So off we went! Thankfully, the doctor glued me together just in time for me to make it to Spencer’s goodbye.

The Show Must Go On

Despite it all, life soldiered on. That evening, I hosted a dinner for 28 wonderful women and, the following day, threw myself into orchestrating our largest Go-Getters Day yet, with 75 vibrant women and a full video crew. Did I think about cancelling? Absolutely. But immersing myself in something purposeful proved strangely therapeutic. By Friday, I was able to clear my diary, let the tears flow and reset for what came next. Turns out finding resilience in tough times includes allowing yourself to fall apart.

And Then Came Number Three

And just because the universe loves to dole out bad vibes in threes every now and then, a routine skin check revealed stage one melanoma. Fortunately, we caught it early, but it still meant more stitches; this time on my arm. Amidst this, juggling an unwell mother-in-law, school holidays and a bout of personal menopause madness, life in those weeks felt relentless.

What I’ve Learnt About Resilience in Tough Times

However, what I’ve learnt about resilience in tough times is the importance of granting myself permission to let go when things get tough. Whether that means napping, grumbling or just surrendering to being human, it’s essential. In both life and business, it’s not about whether challenges will arise, but rather how we choose to face them when they do.

This isn’t about doing everything perfectly. It’s about showing up where it really matters, taking a breather when necessary and always remembering that we’re human first. Everything else comes second.

Those women at dinner and the Go-Getters Day gave me strength I never knew I possessed. Sure, I questioned my sanity and worried if I could bring my usual energy, but with a good makeup artist and the infectious energy of the room, everything fell into place. Remarkably, feedback from those women was that it was the best day they’d ever had, reassuring me that I hadn’t let the quality drop.

We Don’t Have to Be Unshakeable

In reflecting on these experiences, I’ve realised it’s not about being unshakeable. Instead, it’s about being adaptable, knowing when to push through and when to pause. We needn’t do it all at once; we only have to prioritise what’s most important in each moment.

You’re Not Alone

If you ever find yourself in a season that feels overwhelming, take heart; you’re not alone. Clear what you can from your schedule, guard your energy and have faith that you’ll navigate through it. Finding the balance between soldiering on and taking care of yourself is how you find that resilience in tough times.

Thank you for sharing in my journey today. I’d love to hear how you manage these tougher times and where you’ve found resilience in your own battles. Remember, let’s be kind to ourselves and keep moving forward, one step at a time.

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[00:00:19] EMMA: I have had a shocker of a week. I had to say goodbye to my 16-year-old Maltese Spencer.
He was my absolute shadow. He had stopped eating and uh, after trip to the vet, we knew it was time. So I took him home so that the family could say goodbye, and we booked the following day. If anyone has put a pet down or said goodbye to a pet, it is literally heartbreaking. And we did that with his brother in COVID.
So my two boys who have been with me before marriage, before children, before anything else, my little shadows.
So the next morning on my [00:01:00] walk, my husband and I were walking along and I tripped on some dodgy pavement and I split my chin open. Of course. Anyone that knows me knows that I would've done this.
I grabbed a tissue out my pocket and said, let's just keep walking now. Let me just paint the picture for you. I tripped. I did a little yelp and there was blood everywhere. Anyway, so I'm like, I've got a tissue, it's fine. My husband's like, no, we're going home. I'm like, okay, fine. so we went home. He pulled out the first aid kit and then he had a look and he's like, yeah, we're actually going to the emergency department now.
This is at six 30 in the morning. Peeps. Maya had a vet appointment at nine 20. So off we went to the, Emergency department. Spency was on Evie's bed having a last little cuddle with Evie. And we went in and there was no doctor on duty until seven o'clock. They were all full. Everything was full. They tried to clean me up as best that they could.
I fainted in the chair because I really don't like blood, basically. so that was [00:02:00] fun. So then I had to send my husband home to, for them to get ready for the vet and for him to look after Evie and I stayed in the hospital,
9:00 AM I said to the doctor, I really have an appointment I have to get to in 20 minutes. And he's like, righto. So they glued me back together. 20 minutes later, we said goodbye to Spencer. Honestly, it was one of the toughest days that I can remember. I have a beautiful community. I got flowers, food, sugar, chocolates, cupcakes, all from my amazing community that day.
And it was a rough day. I also went to bed really early 'cause that's what you do right when you're all bonged up. Anyway. The show must go the next night, I hosted a dinner for 28 women. I had a big patch on my chin, and then the following day was, go get a day. Our biggest yet 75 women in the room, [00:03:00] a full video crew, I could have canceled.
I feel like no one would've blamed me. I could have canceled, but sometimes having something to focus on. He's actually really helpful and to know that I could get through the event, that I could get through the dinner, and when Friday came, I could clear my diary and have a cry and a reset. It's just having that space in the diary.
The week that followed, unfortunately brought even little bit more a skin check revealed. I had stage one melanoma, which thankfully we caught early, uh, and so I had to go and have a little biopsy for that. So, stitches in my face, stitches in my arm, adding to that, an unwell mother-in-law in Tasmania.
We had to do a little trip over there. School holidays. I'm in the middle of thriving room and launch at this stage. And let's not forget good old menopause kicking my butt. And you know what? It felt like a lot. I'm not [00:04:00] gonna lie. It felt like a lot. But here's the thing, when life piles on like that, I've learned to give myself permission.
To clear the diary where I can, to go to bed early, to be grumpy if that's what I need, and just to be human because it happens to everyone and it's, you just have to deal with it. Right. And in business it feels a bit the same. There are those seasons where everything feels like it's just too much. Where it feels like the universe throws things at you faster than you can possibly catch, and the question isn't if that will happen, it's when will that happen and what matters.
What truly matters in those moments is how you respond. Do you cancel everything and hide, or do you choose the things that matter that matter the most and show up where you can and give yourself grace in the rest. For [00:05:00] me, showing up for those women at dinner and at go-getter day gave me strength.
Now, I did question myself, ladies around, am I mad? Am I mad to do this? So I did have to check in with myself and also could I bring the same amount of energy that I have always brought? Even though my heart was hurt, my face was smashed, all the things. And you know what a good makeup artist shout out to Justine o.
Amazing, good makeup artist does wonders. And the energy in the room helped me get through. And I can tell you that those ladies said that was the best go-getters date ever. So I know I haven't dropped any quality of standard. It was still a great day for people, and I was just looking after my own little heart.
For me, showing up for those amazing women at dinner and go get a day gave me strength that I didn't actually know that I necessarily had. I'm strong, I'm tough, I'm resilient, I'm all the things, but that was just like next level and clearing the space later on the Friday gave me a chance to [00:06:00] recover. So my reminder to you is this, in business and in life,
it's not about being unshakeable.
I'm certainly not unshakeable. As it turns out, it's about being flexible. It's about knowing when to push through and knowing when to pause. ' cause you don't have to do it all, all the time. You just need to do what matters in the moments that matter. So, yeah, life has a way of throwing curve balls sometimes all at once.
But what I've learned is that we don't have to be perfect. We just have to be present. We shop where it matters the most. You give yourself permission to rest where you can. You remember that your human first business owner second? Yes. I just wanna tell you a little story. I don't know if you'll understand this or not, but the doctor walked in and he said, oh, good morning.
I'm like, oh, happy Tuesday. And um, I just stared at him until he said, happy Tuesday back. [00:07:00] That's just my thing. But his name was Phil, as in Doctor Phil, and I'm like. That's hilarious. So even in that moment when I am in a bit of pain and a bit delirious, I could still see the humor in the moment, and I was talking to a couple of my thriving women.
They're like, you've already written content about this. I'm like, yeah, while I was in the waiting room, I've already written content about this, right? There's always a story. There's always something to be learned from this as well. So if you are in a season where it just feels like a lot, take heart, you are not alone.
Some people don't even talk about this, right? You clear what you can. You protect your energy and you trust that you'll find your way through different episode for us today. Thank you so much for listening, and as always, I would love to hear how you navigate these tougher seasons. But until next time, let's just be kind to ourselves and keep going one step at a time. [00:08:00]