Saturday, January 20, 2018

“No man is an Island” – John Donne


As we work further into the new year, another important resource that we will need to achieve our goal is the right network.

The world is growing closer to a global village and our connections are key to our relevance and impact here. Who are you connected to right now? Now just virtually, but in the real business world.

We must have at least one mentor whom we aspire to be like and who we take time to study and learn from. Simultaneously, we should be building horizontal networks for mutual support to share information and ideas.

No matter how much we read, there is always that someone who has the little piece of information that we crucially need or has a very important connection that will be helpful to us. Make your networks purposeful this year; not only to take but also to give your time, ideas and expertise. If there are networks or relationships you had last year that did not get you anywhere, now is the time to consider reviewing those relationships. They are not worth investing your time in.

Surround yourself with like minds, with people who you admire, inspire you and vice versa.

Enjoy your journey into 2018!


Friday, January 12, 2018

Your greatest resource in 2018



As the year unfolds, we have made new resolutions or renewed old ones that we are very intent on keeping.
We are hopeful, we pray for strength but we mustn’t forget to take action.
The truth of the matter is, a huge responsibility lies with us to make this year different, to make this year count.
Why?

We have the greatest resource known to mankind, and it has been given to us to manage. That resource is TIME.
Take the time to LIVE

In 2018, we all have 365.25 days (no, it’s not a leap year😊), and 24 hours in a day. How we manage our time is entirely up to us because TIME has been given to us to control. Determine to be purposeful about managing your time.
I’m a working mum, and for me, this is a lot more demanding. I think to myself sometimes that all this purposeful living is hard work!

BUT, if you are NOT satisfied with where you are right now; if the person you dream you are in your head and the person you are right now are two different people, THEN you have work to do.

Not a job, but work to do. Your job should be about your life and not the other way round!
If you work in a very demanding job, remember to take the time to LIVE your own dream. Work hard to make that dream a reality this year.
The second resource that we all have is talent, and everyone has got at least one!
Talent is a marked natural ability or skill. You’d be surprised that whistling and finger-snapping actually take skill. There are loads of books that talk about talent and time management.
I especially love Rick Warrens ‘The purpose driven life’. Read and read a lot to guide your journey this year.
In conclusion, combining time and talent equals all sorts of possibilities! Just imagine what you could do, even with time alone.
This is your year, make it purposeful, make it count.
#yearofthebutterfly

Saturday, January 6, 2018

The year of the cocoon?







I read a nice story about how the Chinese came about naming their years after certain animals. It was an interesting story, and I enjoyed reading about the significance of each animal for the Chinese.

I believe in naming special events, people, phenomena. A name is a unique identity, it indicates something, and gives it significance for you.

For me, 2017 was the year of the cocoon. I didn’t begin the year with that name, but for me, it was a year when I literally wanted to crawl inside and just stay hidden.

Why?

Life.

Sometimes life gives you some seriously hard knocks that make you question every single thing about yourself. If the knocks are hard enough, then you question your core values, your beliefs, and your faith.

We all know the butterfly life cycle.  It's also one of my class' favourite stories (The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle). The Caterpillar eats so much food and then builds a cocoon around himself. If he had a human brain, I imagine that in his mind he would have a conversation like this:

"There must be a purpose for my existence. It can't be just eating and crawling all over the ground.

What am I here for? Why am I in a cocoon?"

Questions are very important if they help you find out why. If they show you a purpose or at least lead you on to something.

Everyone is born with a purpose which is why by default we all have dreams.

As we grow up, we learn to conform to the status quo, life beats us into being 'normal' and gradually we stop dreaming. We 'mature' and stop believing the possibility of the impossible.

Imagine the caterpillar on the ground admiring all those birds flying around him in circles before he ducks to hide so they don't eat him.

Then all of a sudden, instinct takes him into a cocoon.

Life does that for all of us; brings us into a period of incubation where we are forced to really think about purpose, to conceive dreams and ideas, to find our identity and most importantly to metamorphose - to change.

This change is tricky - it happens either for the better or for worse.

Difficult challenges in life can make you bitter, resentful, cynical, distrusting or they can make you humble, grounded, full of faith and gratitude.

When it is time, he breaks out of his cocoon and emerges a beautiful, colourful butterfly that can do what he only dreamed about before - FLY!

In conclusion, let your dreams be your north star. They will guide you to your true purpose. Challenges happen to everyone. Everyone is going through one process of change or the other so there's no need to go around acting like you're the only person who may be having it hard. It's simply life's way of getting you back to the basics of discovering your purpose, re-discovering your dreams and finding out your strength.

So while last year was the year of the cocoon, I am so pleased that this year is the year of the butterfly.

I have had the opportunity to question my core values and I am so grateful to have answered those questions.

I hope you do the same as you go through your process.

Happy NEW YEAR!

He restores my soul

 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my so...