Women Unlimited Inspiration, lnnovation, Collaboration

Have you ever caught yourself having the same daydream over and over again?  I’m not talking so much about a ‘diet coke break’ daydream, as the “someday I’ll….” daydream. Someday I’ll… start that business Someday I’ll… train and compete in the marathon Someday I’ll… open my own coffee shop What’s yours?  And how long have you been day-dreaming about it?  Can I be frank?  If you’re day-dreaming and NOT taking any action, you may as well kiss goodbye to ever making it a reality.  No business.  No marathon medal.  No ... Read More »

As we nudge closer to the end of the series, the emphasis shifts from the being – the foundations you’ve created – to the doing – making it happen. Before you embark on this step, take a moment to reflect on what you’ve already created. Your DREAM that provides the impetus and meaning behind all you do, your renewed FOCUS  which allows you to stay connected to that meaning and concentrate your time and energy towards achieving it and the STRUCTURE  that will take you seamlessly from where you are ... Read More »

When I read Sheryl Sandberg’s book Lean In, one of the areas that most stuck out for me was her discussion around mentoring. She talks in detail how important mentoring is and how challenging it is for many women to find mentors. Interestingly, one of the things that she is most criticised for in her book is how elitist she is because she had a mentor who was also the head of one of the colleges at Harvard when she attended, but clearly she has mastered the art of finding great mentors ... Read More »

I’ve often wondered why some businesses erupt and are huge, enabling the owner to have financial freedom, whilst others, with an equally valid value proposition stay small, providing an income and if we’re honest, another job. This harks back to the reason why we are doing it. The real reason behind starting up. Is it to design the lifestyle we want, or is it to create a profitable business complete with exit strategy? And are the two necessarily exclusive? I don’t think they are. Yet this is a major stumbling ... Read More »

You’ve got it! RESULTS!! That all familiar feeling that finally something has worked and your chosen result is actually happening. You look up from your smart phone, beaming, thrilled at the news in the email and sheer joy starts to well up in your chest. You want to shriek in excitement, but thinking better of it you stifle it, and instead it runs through your shoulders and makes you want to pump your fist and wave your arms around. Instead of an outward display of jubilation, you settle on the ... Read More »

or ‘How I “Met” Dale Carnegie’ It was my first job right out of college—a legal assistant at a firm known for its hard-driving, aggressive attorneys. These were not easy people to work for—and the legal assistants got the worst of it. The lawyers shouted, criticized, and commanded—and none of them ever smiled. No one except for Bruce, that is. Bruce was the rock star of the firm—the partner who brought in the most new clients.  All of us paralegals competed to be assigned to Bruce’s accounts—and he handpicked the ... Read More »

Where your DREAM is your essential starting point and the impetus that provides the meaning behind all you do and FOCUS allows you to stay connected to that meaning and concentrate your time and energy towards achieving it, it’s the STRUCTURE you create that will take you seamlessly from where you are now to where you want to be. If the word ‘structure’ makes you think constraint, limitation and lack of creativity, bear with me. Structure is going to help you create more space for creativity and enjoyment while taking care of ... Read More »

Have you ever wondered what you need to be a success in running your own business? Is it an incredible idea that galvanizes a generation, like a wicked app that goes viral and has the world trying to knock a fat pig off a ledge, or maybe it’s a fantastic mentor, with loads of seed money, contacts and endless support? Well, it’s none of those things. In fact, the magic ingredients you need for success are quite different and far closer to home and your heart, than you might think. ... Read More »

The Rock And Hard Place Ever been in that situation when you have to make a decision about something in your business (or even your personal life)? Maybe you remember that feeling of not knowing what to do, feeling wrenched between two choices, and feeling that no matter what you do you’re going to suffer, feel guilty or let someone down? Maybe you’ve experienced you’re insides being folded in knots and feeling completely overwhelmed and stressed out because you don’t have the answers. Perhaps you feel it as a loss ... Read More »

So you want to be creative, but do you know how? A former colleague of mine, who was a partner at one of the big four accountancy firms, was describing a training session which put him, and his fellow team members, into a darkened room for one day where they started learning about outer space. What did this have to do with his job? Nothing! So why would a global organisation be prepared to invest thousands of hard and soft dollars in training members of their senior management team, in ... Read More »