Guest Blog - 'dinna ‘er waste a minty!' by Amanda Reid

WOW!! What a week! 

I have spent a great deal of time this week practicing gratitude!  

• Grateful for the fact I am fit & healthy and able to smash my morning movement goals 
• Grateful that I have an amazing family around me, who support me tirelessly to achieve my goals 
• Grateful for the business I’m part of and the culture of that business, that encourages me to bring my best self each day and makes going to work a joy

 But, as much as I am grateful for my present, I am equally as grateful for the experiences of my past, that have led me to the place I am today. 

 My Granny used to say when I was young, in a very broad Dundonian (Scottish) accent…..“What’s afore yi, will nae go past yi, hen….dinna ‘er waste a minty!” ……I will translate “What’s before you, will not go past you……don’t ever waste a minute.”

 Essentially, she meant that everything we experience on our journey is meant to be/ happens for a reason, it’s how we embrace those experiences that will cement our future. 

• The people we meet, we meet for a reason  
• The place we see, that enrich us  
• The careers we choose, that shape us 
• The good times, that motivate and drive us 
• The bad times, we endure that teach us 

This week I have spent some time thinking about how right she was! 

 Let me take you back some 20+ years for a moment…….I was a fresh faced teenager, right at the start of my banking career with RBS.  As a brand-new Customer Adviser and part of the frontline sales force, we heard that there was to be a new Director to the East & North of Scotland by the name of Andy Fell.

I’m pretty sure that at the time I was kind of indifferent to the prospect of a new “Big Boss”.  The Regional Director position, as it stood, was so far removed from mine that I was most likely not going to have anything to do with this new guy and therefore it shouldn’t impact me in any way.  I would just get on with the relentless task that was meeting target every week! 

I was wrong! Although I didn’t have a great deal of contact with Andy personally, his impact on the culture of the Region and the motivation of the people within it to succeed was felt everywhere…….infectious even! 

 A few months later I found myself at a sales conference at McDermid Park football ground, home to St Johnston FC.  This was new, what was going on here? Whatever it was, it was a day out of the business, a day away from the grind…..little did I know that this day would imprint itself in my mind and change the shape of my career. 

 Andy, the new Director the East and North of Scotland got up and did his introduction and I started to relax into it, believing that he really did want to make a difference and truly cared about the success of each and every person in that room…..”If we Win, I Win”. Okay, I’m starting to buy this guy and what he’s saying. I’m prepared to give this stuff a bash. 

Then he introduced a guest speaker, and I got my very first taste of the legend that is Mr Jim Brandon! Inspirational does not come close, I remember thinking “I could listen to this guy all day!” 

 I knew that day I was the barrier to my success, and I knew that day I would make sure I changed that. 

 I was lucky enough to work more closely with Andy again around 8 years later in my first Area Manager Role as part of the RBS/NatWest Mortgage Business and continue to learn from him as I progressed my career. 

 Fast forward to this week and I have been working, 22 years later, with these incredible humans again! Except this time, I am standing on the “stage” (it’s been a zoom stage, but still ☺ ) with them, bringing a Mentor and Future Leaders programme to two groups of my people, as part of my role heading up the Development Department of Scotland’s largest Independent Mortgage Advice Firm.  To say this blows me away is an understatement and I am again practicing gratitude! 

• Grateful for my RBS career and the opportunities that brought 
• Grateful for that day at McDermid Park, that motivated me to change my mindset 
• Grateful that I crossed paths with these guys and that they both agreed to work with me again 
• Grateful that I listed to Granny and “didna ‘er waste a minty!” 

 Both Andy and Jim talk about the importance of mindset, Andy states that “90% of our success is what is going on between our ears” and Jim “Your head is your shackles”, for me this is 100% accurate! That day changed my mindset, my focus, my goals. 

 “If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at will change.” 

 To Andy and Jim, a massive thank you for being with us this week.  You were both on fire 🔥 and both myself and my people are better for it! 

 To anyone who has to opportunity to work with, listen to & learn from these greats, my advice……DO IT! You never know where it will take you 20 years from now!! 

#WINNING