Meet one of our many inspirational women, Jamie O’Banion, CEO and Founder of renowned skincare company BeautyBio. Here she discusses juggling heading up your own company with the rest of everyday life…
The question I probably get asked the most is “how do you do it all?” And the short answer is, I don’t. I love breaking down this illusion for others because in today’s comparative social media culture, it’s more important than ever to highlight support systems at work and at home.
I want to mentor, guide and give a leg up to women and men who have grit, resourcefulness and passion; I’m never looking for those who have it all together because I don’t expect it from myself. I’m a wife, mother of three and a CEO; the option to “do it all” flew out the window a long time ago. And if I’m being honest, no one has it or does it all, except maybe the Queen, she’s pretty fab. My secret? I prioritise. Big rocks vs little rocks.
The little rocks can range anywhere from the nice-to-haves to the projects that don’t require your immediate attention but can be accomplished over time. Checking off your big rocks ensures you accomplished the must-haves for that day. Because I’m usually sitting on top of 20K emails, the only way I get anything done personally and professionally is to divide my life into four sections and focus daily on the big rocks in each of those areas. These are the big rocks that keep me going:
Physical
I’m a big fan of do what you can when you can in this category. I’m too busy for a gym or regular workout routine because my schedule demands that I’m on a plane every other day. So, a few tips I keep in my back pocket: Every night before I take a shower, I do push-ups until the water is warm enough to hop in; during conference calls, I use resistance bands by fastening one end around a doorknob and doing reps on each arm; lastly, I try to start my day with a green smoothie (as raw as I can find depending on where I am).
Intellectual
I’m always reading a book (usually on a plane before WiFi kicks in) and they’re typically by entrepreneurs, females in business, motivational speakers, and leaders across all industries. I love picking up tidbits from their success stories, but I find there’s even more gold in their mistakes and failures. Success is only achieved because you failed 9 trillion times, no one wakes up and succeeds on their first try.
Spiritual
In this category, my big rocks are two-fold: As a family, we sit down and establish goals of what we’d like to work on to grow our individual spirituality and try to hold each other accountable. We also memorize a scripture and a quote together each week and discuss how to incorporate the learnings into our daily lives. And for myself, I read scriptures before going to bed each night. It’s the most grounding part of my day, and some days it’s hard because I haven’t slept for 48 hrs, but I find that 5 minutes of reflection is worth more than 5 minutes of sleep.
Emotional
My family is a big help in this department, I really lean on them for support. With as much as I am required to travel with the growth of our brand globally, my husband has been the most incredible partner helping tag team with our three children. When schedules permit, my husband will fly out and meet me, many times with our little ones as well. He and I decided a long time ago that any time we can spend together as a family, even if only for a day, goes miles in nurturing our bonds, so we’re both willing to endure some pretty grueling travel schedules to keep our family close. To spend time with my mom or my sisters, we’ve made an adventure out of meeting in different cities to explore between work commitments. Life doesn’t have to be compartmentalized. Just make it work where you are!
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