22km into my first half marathon I was running up the main street of Apollo Bay on the beautiful Great Ocean Road. There was 1km to go, a stampede of other runners around me and supporters cheering us all on both sides.

It was at this point that Katy Perry’s “Roar” came on through my headphones and I heard these words:

“I used to bite my tongue and hold my breath
Scared to rock the boat and make a mess
So I sat quietly, agreed politely
I guess that I forgot I had a choice
I let you push me past the breaking point
I stood for nothing, so I fell for everything.”

It had been a long journey to get to that point. 4 Years earlier I had taken up running to get fit in both body and mind. At first I was amazed when I ran 100 metres and didn’t die! I really started enjoying running. Running in January on short runs was quite lovely, not quite as pleasant later in the year as it gets darker and colder.

The time I have spent running has been a great time of reflection for me, as I pound the pavement with music in my ears.

Over the years I have thought a lot about what I stand for, what I will allow in my life and what I fight for as a wife, mother, business owner and friend.

I remember reading that great book “Delivering Happiness”. It’s the story of Zappos, an online shoe store in America with a mission to deliver happiness in every way they can, to connect with their customers. This book made me sit down and have a good hard look at what I was doing in my massage business and what made us stand out from the other businesses around us. I asked myself: what were we doing really well? And why did it come so easily at times but it seemed hard at others?

I found the answer in Simon Sinek’s very popular Ted Talk on leadership, where he says people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it. The trick is not to try to do business with everyone but to do business with those who believe what you believe.

This resonates with my own experience.

You know when you go to work and have a ripper day, seeing those great clients you have, the ones who you connect with easily because somehow they just seem to ‘get’ you?

That’s not random or coincidence. The people attracted to your business are a reflection of the values you are projecting outward.

The great thing is that we all have a why, and we all have values that we live by. The most amazing thing is when you know what they are, when they become tangible as you get clear on what you stand for, it makes projecting those values and attracting those awesome clients easier.

As I ran across the finish line and completed my first half marathon, greeted by my beautiful family and close friends, knowing who I am and what I had fought for, what I had to overcome to get there, I certainly felt like a champion – and I’m positive you’re going to hear me ROAR!