My series has been slowed down by my new mom life but I am definitely excited about what I have created and what is to come.
I think that in life, it is important to explore & grab opportunities when they come along. You need to have an open mind, be ready and aware of what it could bring you so you can make an informed decision.
If you were lucky to get mentors in your life, even once, then you had examples of what great looks like. I am sure that some of us don't get that chance or due to personal circumstances, are not able to see those opportunities when they arise.
Here is how I grabbed opportunities in the past:
- In secondary school, I realised that to get more opportunities, I had to learn English and I joined this "European English" class to get better at it. The kids that were already in that class made fun of me. Kids in school right ? How could I join this class when I wasn't a great student and they were. Although, by the end of high school, I was better in English than all of those twats - pardon my French...
In my second year of high school, I realised that there was a new student always alone An Australian, dressed with ballerina shoes in the middle of winter. I didn't know anything about Australia or her but since she was alone, I decided to get to know her. We became great friends, we were together so much that my mom volunteered to be her last host family. Her counsellor called us and told my mom that I could be an exchange student in the country of my choice the year after. When all my friends advised me not to go, didn't want me to leave etc my mom told me that the best gift she could give me was "freedom and allowing me to learn new things for a whole year through a new culture". I couldn't go to Australia as too many kids wanted to go but I was offered Hanford in California. Well, the valley was for sure a learning curve but it was great.
My mother is my biggest example of strengths, kindness and love. In business, I did not have many examples around me but I had examples of people going after what they wanted and making it work the way.
I went to business school, have 2 Master's degrees with a great level of English and determination. Working full time 40 hours a week while attending college, to not take a student loan and not borrow money from my mom. A friend of mine told me years later "wow I thought your mom paid for everything when we were in school" - Funny enough, as we grew up differently I did not have the choice in the matter but I'm glad she thought so because it meant, I did well at the time then.
I realised a few years ago that I am always someone with a plan B, I always rethink strategies after strategies for many things in my life. In my last year of Business School, I was working full time, doing a Master's degree in International Business and writing a thesis in English in the evenings, doing research etc. Boy that was TOUGH. When my exhaustion took over, too tired due to the sack of sleep, I gave up and made this really bad powerpoint presentation for my oral exam. Honestly, I was just done with it all. I showed it to my manager at the time but honestly in the past 2 years, none of my managers cared about what I wrote or did so I didn't think that I would get any help. JP highlighted how bad my presentation was and told me to come to work the day after to re-do the whole thing during work hours. Without his help, I would have probably not graduated. For me, that was the kind of manager I would want to be when I grew up and I can never be more thankful to him.
I'll jump years and bring you to 2019, when I decided to become a career coach, my husband, my friends, family never doubted I could do it and everyone encouraged me as they believed in me. I took their positive energy with me and got started.
I am hoping that YOU get the awareness of how you can empower others or yourself to do better. Think about how you can do it ? Sometimes it doesn't take much.
If you think, your story can empower others in their own career, get in touch. I would love to talk to you and share your story. While you might not think it's that big of a deal, if someone ever looked up to you for what you did, then others can be inspired. While you cannot see it, it may still be what someone was looking for.
Two years ago, a friend of mine struggled to build her coaching practice, while working part time, taking care of her kids, the house, planning the business etc. While I was coaching her one day, she was disappointed in herself as she committed to building her company but was too busy. I ended up asking her: "what will it take for you to be committed? You have so much on your plate when you don't even need the money right now". On that same day, she had a chat with her husband, quit her job and is now fully committed. Atta girl!
What will it take YOU to be fully committed to your dreams? or what did it take you?
If you are ready to start working on it, get in touch!
See you soon?
