I didn’t purpose to be in the space that I find myself in.  God plucked me from the path that I had set out for myself & set me on an alternative journey. At the start it all appeared somewhat ‘accidental’ but I know now that it was no accident, rather His design, His purpose for my life… 

So now that I am here, these are my confessions…the lessons I am learning about being a woman in business, building an empire, one brick at a time… 

“The riskiest thing we can do is just maintain the status quo”

Bob Iger

I have told this story before, but allow me to tell it again… 

It is said that a researcher conducted an experiment that involved 10 monkeys, a cage, a banana, a ladder and, an ice cold water hose.  

Five of the monkeys were locked in a cage, and a banana was hung from the ceiling with a ladder was placed right underneath it. As expected, one of the monkeys raced towards the ladder, to grab the banana. However, as soon as he started to climb the ladder, the researcher sprayed all five monkeys – the one climbing and the other four, with ice-cold water.  

When a second monkey tried to climb the ladder, the researcher, again, sprayed all five monkeys with ice-cold water. This was repeated again and again until the monkeys had learned their lesson. Any attempt to get the bananas resulted in ice-cold water for EVERYONE so none of the five monkeys tried again to climb the ladder. 

Once the five monkeys knew the drill, the researcher replaced one of the monkeys with a new inexperienced one. As predicted, this new monkey spotted the banana, and rushed towards the ladder. BUT, the other four monkeys, knowing the drill, jumped on the new monkey and beat him up. The new monkey thus learned to ignore the bananas – without understanding why and without ever being sprayed with water!  
 
These actions were repeated a few more times, with a new monkey each time and amazingly each new monkey – who had never received the cold-water spray himself, would join the beating up of the new monkey introduced to the cage when he tried to get the bananas.  

Eventually each of the monkeys had been replaced and none of the original ones are left in the cage (the monkey’s that had been sprayed by water). Nevertheless, no monkey ever again approached the ladder to reach for the bananas. 

Successful salespeople realize that whilst the status quo may appear comforting and reassuring, it creates a false sense of security that results in a blindness to sales opportunities. Successful salespeople take calculated risk. They understand that the ability to understand and see opportunity is critical for success 

Emotional Intelligence is being more aware, more intentional & more purposeful. 

I have learned that the best way to avoid the danger of the status quo is to develop a personal culture where the norms are challenged, creative thinking is encouraged and risks and opportunities are continually being evaluated. Even if it is not broke, now may be the time to fix it! 

With Love, 
The Queen Of Hearts 
Mucha Mlingo 
| Six Seconds EQ Practitioner | Master Trainer & Facilitator | 
| Award Winning International Keynote Speaker |