The new year brings a wealth of opportunities, but without the proper perspective, you’ll continue to overlook the chances at achieving the new life you inherently desire. Co-Founder and CEO of the Proctor Gallagher Institute, Sandy Gallagher substantiates this point by reiterating that our lives are only limited by our imagination. In the second interview for my Interviews with Influential Women Series, she sat down with me to discuss her journey to finding her passion and outlines the steps on how you can get there by asking yourself just one question.
In 200 words or less, please give my readers a short background on your personal journey that brought you to today.
In 2006, I was in the midst of a very successful legal career and an equity partner in a major Seattle law firm—a career I’d worked my whole life to achieve. One day, a friend invited me to what she described as a “leadership seminar” being conducted by a man I’d never met, named Bob Proctor. It sounded interesting, so I accepted the invite, but I didn’t go into it with any particular expectations. I certainly didn’t expect the entire course of my life to change.
Yet, early on in his presentation, Bob posed a question that did exactly that: “what do you really want?” Amazing as it may sound, it wasn’t a question I’d ever been asked or had asked myself. Once I did, I found myself facing some very surprising answers.
As I sat there in Bob’s audience, taking in the ideas he was sharing, I realized that I was in the presence of a truly extraordinary human being. That day, in response to that question, I wrote down a new goal for myself: to become a part of Bob Proctor’s inner circle of advisors. Soon thereafter, I was. And today, Bob and I are full business partners and co-founders of the Proctor Gallagher Institute.
Who are your top 3 female role models, and what about each inspires you?
I’ve been fortunate to know many amazing and inspiring women throughout my life. My stepmother, Margel Gallagher, is definitely up at the top of the list. Margel inspires me because she is a woman of velvet and steel and balances both perfectly.
I’ve always looked to Sandra Day O’Connor as a great female role model and found her life story to be a source of inspiration and encouragement. She moved into an area of power and prestige that had never been extended to women before. She did what had to be done to get where she wanted to go.
I am also so inspired by my dear friend Cynthia Kersey. Cynthia has dedicated herself to educating people who otherwise have no hope of being educated. She found and followed her passion, and she is truly changing the world as a result. I admire tremendously the good work she is doing through her Unstoppable Foundation. We support it in a big way through the Proctor Gallagher Institute.
What are the 3 most important things you do (or did) that contribute to your success?
I’ve had two very different careers now, and there are definitely some common denominators that have contributed to my success in both. One thing I do (and have always done) is go into every situation consciously expecting success—whether it’s a speech or a meeting or simply the day ahead of me. Interestingly enough, our outcomes almost always conform to our advance expectations. When you expect things to go well, they tend to go well, even if you’re thrown a curve ball. And of course, the opposite is also true: if you expect a bad day, meeting, or trip, that’s probably what you’ll experience.
Another thing I try to do is respond to problems by immediately stepping back and looking for a solution or opportunity rather than reacting emotionally or allowing them to overwhelm me. Unforeseen challenges and glitches are an inevitable part of life, but they only get in the way of you achieving your goal if you allow them to. There is always, always a way forward. Things are rarely as bad as they can seem at first, and very few things are unfixable. I can’t tell you how many times a so-called “problem” wound up being the best thing that could have happened. It’s really a matter of trusting your vision and keeping your mind focused on that ultimate destination, then staying calm and recalibrating your route as needed when roadblocks show up.
Finally, years ago, I began setting aside time at the beginning and end of each day to focus on the specific things I am grateful for. The impact it has made on my life is immeasurable. Gratitude is such an enormously powerful force. It has the most amazing way of multiplying the good things, and makes it almost impossible to get stuck in the bad. In fact, if I could give someone only one piece of “life-changing” advice, it would be to start a dedicated, daily gratitude practice. The effect on your mindset and outlook is instantaneous, and it’s a gateway to so many other epiphanies and long-term transformations.
What do you consider the top issues women face today?
On a global level, there are still so many places in our world where women and girls face unimaginable obstacles to education. Every day they quite literally risk their lives to receive what we enjoy as a fundamental right. This past year, we saw some particularly horrifying examples of the lengths certain groups will go to, to prevent female education. And this is something that impacts all of us. Educated citizens—men AND women—are what will bring stability and peace to their nations, and ultimately to the world. This is why I am so committed to our work with the Unstoppable Foundation. As I said before, this organization is doing such amazing work, and I am extremely proud to be a part of it.
What are the biggest opportunities available to women today?
First of all, I absolutely believe that (in the time and place we are fortunate enough to be living) any woman’s opportunity is only limited by her imagination. But what I see that is different today (versus say 20 or even 10 years ago) is women having a much greater ability to follow their passions, share their gifts, earn a healthy income doing it—and really do it all on their own terms. Technology has made it so much easier to find and connect with people who share our interests and who need what we (as individuals) have to offer, and people are increasingly comfortable using these technologies in every aspect of their lives. And as a result, many of the old constraints are no longer relevant. You don’t need to subordinate your personality or interests to fit into a traditional corporate mold. You don’t need to uproot yourself or your family, or stay in a certain place in order to have that “dream” career. You don’t even need to leave your home. We have female bloggers who are making a living simply by putting their personal stories and perspectives out there. We have female entrepreneurs who have a product or service they believe in, build a website to market it and attract customers from all over the world. We have women like you, who have taken your skills, experience, and passion and forged something completely new out of them, and created this incredible online resource and attracted a huge community. This is real; this is the new economy! It’s just a fantastic thing, and I do think that women in particular are benefitting from it.
What are the 3 most important things women need to do or consider when charting their next chapter of life, whenever that may be for them?
Start with the question that started it for me: “what do you really want?” Get quiet, let your thoughts follow your heart’s lead and give yourself permission to step outside of your current parameters and think big and boldly. Don’t let your mind get hung up on doubts, such as “people will think I’m crazy.” You’re right. Maybe they will. But who cares? And don’t get sidetracked by practicalities—things like “where would I get the money?” Remember that your job is to take care of the “what,” do that and the universe will take care of the “how.” Take the time and space you need to get to the right answer. When you land on it, you’ll know. It feels a lot like falling in love!
Once you’ve figured out what you really want to do, create a specific goal that will manifest that vision, and make it a good one. We always say a goal should be big enough to excite and scare you at the same time. So if you get that little clench in your chest when you think of it, that little impulse to pull back, you know you’re on to something! Picture your goal as clearly and in as much detail as you can. Get yourself emotionally involved with it— see and feel yourself doing this thing. That’s what is going to bring your subconscious on board and start automatically moving you toward this new reality.
Finally, ACT. Take some action, every single day, that brings you closer to achieving that goal. And remember that not every action needs to be monumental. Some days, you’ll take big leaps. But even the smallest, most mundane step is progress, and the universe will reward it. In The Science of Getting Rich, Wallace Wattles says that thought is what moves your goal towards you, and action is what moves you towards it. So get dreaming, get goal setting, and get things moving!
Is there anything else you would like to share?
I’d like to thank you for the opportunity to share my story with your readers, Amy. I love the work you’re doing here. You’re providing such a valuable resource to women out there looking to find their path and realize their dream. You are living YOUR dream, and elevating others’ lives in the process. That’s what it’s all about, isn’t it? I wish you wonderful things as you move forward on your journey!
Sandy Gallagher has traversed the business world of high finance. As an esteemed attorney in banking law, Sandy regularly handled billions of dollars in mergers and acquisitions, IPOs, and other big-ticket transactions, and was an advisor to boards and top executives of Fortune 500 firms.
Yet, an encounter with Bob Proctor set Sandy on an extraordinary new path — one that would ultimately change not only her life, but countless others. Through Bob’s teachings, Sandy finally understood the “why” behind her lifelong success. Now she has left her high profile law practice to teach others how to do what she had done joining forces with Bob . After their first collaboration, Thinking Into Results — Sandy’s brainchild, which is widely acknowledged as the most powerful corporate transformational program of its kind — she quickly became CEO and President of Bob’s organization, Proctor Gallagher Institute.
Today, Sandy shares international speaking stages with Bob and works closely with him and their team of professionals to provide coaching, training and consulting on the most profound, powerful, and transformative concepts and strategies humankind has ever known.