Play Like A Girl – Being A Woman In Business

Last weekend, Sarah Fuller became the first woman to play for a Power 5 football team when she kicked off for Vanderbilt to open the second half in a game against Missouri.

While Vanderbilt may have lost the game, they won the respect of women everywhere when they gave Fuller the opportunity to make history as the first woman to play in a professional football game.

Vanderbilt may have lost the game, but they won the respect of women everywhere when they gave Fuller the opportunity to make history as the first #woman to play in a professional #football game. Read More: Click To Tweet

And, while there is a lot I don’t understand about football, I love the passion and enthusiasm of college football fans across the United States.

This opportunity was provided to Fuller for a couple of reasons: 1) talent; and 2) COVID-19.

Fuller was added to the team when they lost their specialists due to positive COVID-19 testing, which required players to quarantine. If it wasn’t for the pandemic, this opportunity may have taken a lot longer to transpire.

When I read about what happened, I was reminded of Oprah Winfrey’s quote, “Luck is when preparation meets opportunity.”

Fuller was prepared – she is a talented athlete and a woman who is not afraid to be who she is.

Not only did she kick on Saturday, but she also kicked some butt on the sidelines. She’s been quoted by ESPN as saying she was upset at her teammates because they were being so quiet on the sidelines, not cheering each other on, or holding each other accountable.

She said, “I just went in there and I said exactly what I was thinking. I was like, ‘We need to be cheering each other on. This is how you win games. This is how you get better is by calling each other out for stuff, and I’m going to call you guys out. We need to be supporting one another. We need to be lifting each other up. That’s what a team’s about.'”

Not only did she play, but she also didn’t bow to the intimidation that may have come along with being the first woman to do this. She was also more interested in what she was doing than what others were saying about her.

With a quick search online, you’ll find misogyny alive and well with many crude and sexist comments about Fuller – but she isn’t focused on that.

She is focused on what matters to you, which brings me to the point of this week’s blog:

1. If you want to stand out from the crowd, and from your competition, you have to do things differently. Stop following boring formulas and frameworks and trying to be the same as other people who do what you do. If you look the same as everyone else, you will blend in and you will become boring. 

2. If you want to take advantage of opportunities, you have to be prepared to do so and not let indecisiveness, insecurity and overwhelm take you out of the game – or even worse, out of being considered to play at all. Stop buying into the belief that COVID-19 has taken opportunities away and start looking for where they are popping up.

3. If you really want to thrive, you have to stop worrying about what people say about you. Instead, focus on the impact you want to make. When you care more about your impact than what others think of you, you will become unstoppable – and who knows, maybe you will make history too.

Leave a comment and let me know how you’re going to stand out from the crowd, take advantage of opportunities and thrive.