I’m a hustler.

Apr 13, 2010 by mandeewidrick

I’m a hustler.

Okay, not that kind of hustler. You know, the kind of hustler that chases after greatness and doesn’t back down…ever.

A couple months ago, my friend Mary Shannon of Spencer Valley Farm suggested that I take a road trip to Ohio for the 17th annual Equine Affaire.  At first, I really didn’t give the trip a second thought. I never take road trips and I didn’t really have a car that would be up to the distance, so I shot the idea down in my head before it really had a chance to blossom. However, as days passed and I became more and more engrossed in Gary Vaynerchuk‘s book Crush It, I realized that the trip to Ohio might be just the boost to my career that I’d been looking for.

So I went.

I made a few calls, acquired a press pass to the event to give my business, Horse Family, full access and then grabbed 3 friends to make the trip with me and lower expenses significantly. By the time we finished splitting costs, the whole trip ended up being about $65 each. Not bad! But on top of that, I found myself a Kodak Zi8 for under $200 before we left, bought a microphone and tripod to go along with it, and prepared to become the face of my company. Oooooh yeah, baby. I was ready to take on the world.

Alright, so I wasn’t completely ready. The night we landed in Ohio, which was also the evening before the Equine Affaire began, I was all nerves. I ended up getting around 3-4 hours of sleep throughout the whole night, and finally gave up on sleep at around 4:45am. I got out of bed and started getting ready, mentally urging my stomach to settle. (You’d think with my bit of background in public speaking that I’d be just fine, but being on camera for the first time still got my stomach in knots. Bleh!)

If you’ve seen the videos from the event, I’m sure you’ll notice that I survived the butterflies and put myself into “hustle mode” without any issues. In fact, after the first couple of interviews, I was completely relaxed and had the greatest time. What great fun it was to talk to some of the top horsemen and women in the country…some even hooked us up with awesome freebies (thanks Tommy and Paul!).

More than anything else though, more than the great fun I had and more than the publicity I will get from this, I have gained some priceless experience. I’ve learned – yet again – that being successful requires doing things that I’m not always comfortable with. It comes down to this…when I get out and do something that scares the crap out of me, I usually end up having fun in the process! Once I got into the swing of the interviews, one by one, I found myself having more fun than I’ve ever had at an equine-related event. I was once the quiet girl that only spoke when spoken to, but avoiding conversation and living a “normal” life is no longer the way I operate. I make eye contact. I smile. And I talk.

I’m a hustler.

(Watch the videos from the event HERE! Be sure to subscribe and leave comments!)