Contributed by Cindy Norcott, EO Durban, a motivational speaker, author, entrepreneur, business coach and philanthropist. She is the CEO of Pro Talent and Pro Appointment, as well as the founder and chair of The Robin Hood Foundation. In observance of International Women’s Day week, we’re sharing Cindy’s journey. She’s a woman entrepreneur whose second book, How Does She Do It? explores practical wisdom and a humorous take on the lessons learned from balancing business, life and family across her 28-year entrepreneurial journey.

How did you find peace with “the messy and very imperfect” aspects of entrepreneurial life? 

I am grateful that I am not a perfectionist. Because I wear many hats, I soon learned that the quickest way to contentment is to lower my standards and not sweat the small stuff. I never aim for perfection. Rather, I focus on “GETMO” — good enough to move on.

I often joke that I am a terrible mother and that my children thrive on neglect. Running many businesses, projects and organizations simultaneously, I empowered my young daughters to be independent from a very young age. They made their own lunches from the time they started school. That horrifies most people, but it’s the way it was in our home. I cook badly, and that is ok. We have simple meals. I don’t have time to be a helicopter parent.

 As an entrepreneur, there are often very busy and demanding seasons where work is the main focus, and other elements of my life have had to take a back seat. As a motivational speaker, the world always sees the end product — me on a stage, composed, serene and professional. What they don’t see is me at midnight, in pajamas with my hair tied up and glasses on, reading, writing and preparing speeches. I also host big, glamorous and fun events. But again, very few people see us setting up, packing goodie bags and clearing up afterward. For every success that any entrepreneur has that looks easy and shiny, there is a lot of hard work, mess and many unglamorous elements behind the scenes.