I’ve only had a handful of “real jobs” in my adult life—and even those were on the edge of conventionality. Early on I worked for The Body Shop. I started in a store, pumping Peppermint Footcream and eventually helped to run their Department of Social Inventions. The Body Shop’s founder, Anita Roddick, left a very deep impression on me. She was a maverick with a tender, daring heart, pioneering ethically responsible business practices. She helped rescue rain forests and children. She pissed off policy makers and capitalists. She put her money, time, and ego on the line to make change happen. She never, ever relented.

This mantra of hers often rings in my heart and my ambitions:
Be daring. Be different. Be first.

Plenty of people have daring, a few are truly different, but fewer still get there first. Being first requires strategy and thought. Being first – whether it’s first in line, first to market, or first in your class, usually requires ample desire, a heaping of risk, and a plan.
- Danielle

THIS WEEK: Be first. Don’t wait. Put yourself out there.
Be the first to say I love you, Thank you, or This isn’t working.
Be the first to propose a better way of doing things.
Be the first to forgive.
Be the first to make a change.

You’ve got the courage. Back it up with a plan. Put it in to action. Do whatever it takes.

Last week, Anita Roddick passed away suddenly from a brain hemorrhage. I trust that she’s still cheer leading and nagging for good deeds and global considerations, asking the same question of us all, “What are you waiting for?”