With all this talk of “The Law Of Attraction” “The Secret” etc, how can a natural and habitual pessimist succeed?  If your natural inclinication is to see a glass half full – surely that goes against the accepted thinking of “make your own luck” or ” fake it till you make it” kind of thinking…?

I’ve been doing some research to put together a short talk about teams, and was looking for an example of a really GREAT team.  I wanted an example of how diversity can be an asset.

Anyway, last year I was very fortunate to have heard Chris Boardman (Olympic Gold Medal winning Cyclist) speak last year at an EEDA event.  He was talking about his ‘Secret Squirrel’ team who were responsible for creating the greatest Olympic sporting triumph in cycling history. 

Being one of my sporting heroes, and having just watched the World Cycling Championships on TV. I thought I’d include one of his quotes in my slides, and then I came across this video, which demonstrates that not all winners are made the same way!!

Now, for anyone who is serious about succeeding in any arena, we’ve all had it hammered into us to think positive.  Thousands of books exist telling us to think like a winner, eat adversity for breakfast and to plaster our homes and offices with affirmations like “I am A Tiger!”.  We are all programmed not to entertain any thoughts that could undermine our self esteem, or dilute our self belief.

Then a confirmed pessimist comes along who openly admits to not believing that they had it within himself to win a gold medal in cycling or build a successful business promoting one of the most innovative and exciting bikes in the world. 

Now this really does fly in the face of what you’d expect from a sporting hero doesn’t it?  Especially when he succeeded at both.

Well I listened more to the video and heard Chris Boardman saying “I was an out of work carpenter with a wife and two children and no money.”  There he was sitting on the start line, on his famous Lotus bike in front of an audience of millions.  But then he thought to himself “Sod it!  I will just concentrate on being as good as I can be and then look at the board when I cross the finish line”.  And the rest of course is history because from then on he gave up trying to win and instead focussed on being as good as he could be.  That coupled with a tremendous amount of focus and effort of course!!

So, a very open admission by anyone’s standards, has led me to reflect that in fact its about not competing  against everyone else, but playing your own game and focussing on your own journey - i.e. by working on becoming a first rate version of yourself on your own terms.  Instead of scattering your energies on that big global word winning (which when you come to think about it could bring up a lot of negative feelings and associations) – whereas, just working on being as good as you can be – you can’t do any more than that can you?  And if you don’t win as a result – at least you know you’ve done all you can.  Makes a lot of sense really, when you think about it.

So work on what you have here and now, build on your natural strengths and abilities, whatever that may be – and eventually success will come to you. 

What do you think?? Is Success “out there” or right here under your nose just waiting for you to give it some attention?  Share your thoughts. Are there any more successful pessimists out there…?

Have you pushed yourself so hard on the road to succcess that you are on the point of burning out? Have you experienced a health scare, but your lifestyle and way of doing things is so second nature, that you have no idea how you are going to change…?

Are you like Dan ‘Scarecrow’ Burnside who found himself at the Doctors one morning when he’d been given a wake up call?

He sat facing the locum at the Doctor’s Surgery. His usual GP was absent today, but the man sitting before him looked strangely familiar, in fact he was probably the happiest and jolliest Doctor he’d ever met in his life. He read the nameplate on the desk which read ‘Dr. M. Unchkin’. He was so short Dan could barely see him over the desk, as the Doctor read out the roll-call of stress related ailments that Dan was suffering with – IBS, High Blood Pressure, High Cholesterol and he had recently added eczema and a stomach ulcer to the list.

Dan was constantly hyped-up and ‘wired’. Paradoxically however, he was very successful and actually thrived on stress until very recently. Because success came at a price. The trouble was there were only 24 hours in a day and he was constantly running around like a headless chicken. Dan worked extremely hard but he regularly missed meals, rarely took any time off and frequently over committed himself.

This was beginning to affect his health, his behaviour and his relationships. In fact, he had started to realise that if he didn’t stop and take stock, he would burn out altogether and his marriage would be in ruins. Dan was literally coming apart at the seams. His chaotic lifestyle was reflected in his out of control blond hair and appearance, even though he only wore the most expensive suits and bought ludicrously expensive shoes.

The Doctor continued, “Now, Mr Burnside, I’ve looked at your notes for the past six years and it’s becoming increasingly evident that it’s a lifestyle thing. You need to get a grip on your stress levels, because I’m not going to prescribe any more drugs. To be honest with you, they wouldn’t do you any favours anyway. “ “Oh,” thought Dan. “So what are you going to do for me instead?” he asked.  

• Dan had to admit that he struggled with his time management.

• He found it hard to delegate, ask for help and say no to anyone’s demands.

• He enjoyed taking on the whole world with one hand tied behind his back, and still be home in time for tea!

His success was reflected in the car, the bank account and the big house. However, he knew that he must learn to use his head to work out a new strategy otherwise he could lose everything, there wasn’t enough time to stop and think these days!

Find out what happens to Dan and what he did to change his lifestyle and improve his health in my new book “Discover Yourself On the Yellow Brick Road – 7 Core Principles of Career Success” click here to find out more…

“I have read so many self-help, motivational and coaching books during my career and it takes a lot these days for me to put my hands in my pocket and add to my book collection, but ‘Discover Yourself on the Yellow Brick’ road is brilliant. “  Gail Smirthwaite     – Golf Mind Guru

“In the busy world we live in where the ‘to do’ list is always way too ambitious this book really gives you a moment to take stock and really think. It asks questions that you may squirm at answering but it does genuinely give you a fresh insight into what makes you tick.

“For someone who rarely reads books like this it was like a stroll by the sea on a beautiful day – deeply satisfying, inspiring and invigorating.”

Gail Clark  - The Marketing Specialist 

A mystery Careers Adviser has made another random appearance on the London to Norwich train from Liverpool Street Station.  The woman characterised by her striking red shoes and cheery nature, gave a copy of a ‘magic’ book to one of the commuters. 

Tom Tindall-Heart – Reinsurance Executive who works in London boarded the train home from Platform 18 at Liverpool St Station, after a night out with a few friends.  “I was a little worse for wear after a few drinks and I sat next to a very striking looking girl wearing the most amazing shoes!  I got talking to her about my job and how much I hated it, and ended up more or less telling her my life story.  She was so nice.  My heart just isn’t in my job any more.  I’ve been meaning to sort something out but just coulnd’t see the wood for the trees.  I’ve in a bit of a rut to be honest. 

I don’t quite know where she blew in from but she hopped off the train at Chelmsford – but not before she handed me a copy of a book “Discover Yourself On the Yellow Brick Road” and told me to read it straight away.  I took her advice and it’s definitely galvanised me into action!”

Other reports have come in describing similar brief encounters with the Mystery Careers Adviser.  One such person received help after her boss began to bully her at work.

Louisa Lyons – Graduate Accountant was on the London Underground talking to her sister about her bullying boss.  Louisa explains…”Yes my sister knows The Mystery Careers Adviser who told her about this book.  I was fed up with my boss pouring cold water over my ideas, and had frankly had enough of it.  My boss  ’The Witch’ has been ruining my life, so my sister suggested I get hold of a copy of this book.   My confidence was at an all time low, but I didn’t feel brave enough to stand up to her.  Yes, I know you can’t just wave a magic wand and hope it will all go away, but since ”Discover” I’ve had a bit of a breakthrough.    The Mystery Careers Adviser carries a little black dog around with her in a basket and is a real people person apparently”

Another sighting we’ve received came from Dan “Scarecrow” Burnside who lives somewhere in the South East.  He heard about her through his Doctor.

Dan – Successful Entrepreneur, visited his GP suffering with chronic stress.  “The penny dropped when my Doctor said I had to come off all the pills he’d prescribed to me.  All he did was hand me a copy of a book - which had mysteriously found it’s way into his hands.  I can only think that the Mystery Careers Adviser had something to do with it.  It was hard to admit that I have been the engineer of my own downfall.  Being so stressed, I just wasn’t thinking straight.  And  frankly it had knocked the stuffing out of me. But after reading the book and putting into action some of the strategies, I’m back on track and on fire!”

So, be on the look out for the Mystery Careers Adviser.  She’s in her twenties, attractive with dark hair and wears red sparkly shoes.  We don’t know what her name is.  She’s been known to engage in random acts of kindness by giving away a book which contains all her secrets.  We think there’s a bigger organisation behind her.

Further information on the ‘magic’ book can be found here…

The new year is looming, and thousands of individuals are facing a career crisis, because either they haven’t got a job, their job is on the line or they just can’t stand their job any longer.

But faced with another 12 months of uncertainty in the economy – many people are reflecting on HOW they can change anything.  It’s easier to put up with what you’ve got isn’t it?  It may seem completely stupid to even contemplate changing career or looking for a new job now don’t you think?

But what if you’ve decided to take the plunge anyway – could you use something to give you some ideas as to how to do this?  Perhaps you know someone who’s job is in the doldrums and could use a bit of a kick start for the new year. 

Well look no further!  Welcome to “Discover Yourself On The Yellow Brick Road – 7 Core Principles of Career Success“.  Told through the eyes of three modern day heroes on their search for personal and professional fulfilment – this is a complete coaching programme which will benefit anyone facing change or who is looking for the courage to try something new.

This book changes lives!  And many people who’ve read it have found something within themselves to make the overdue changes that they needed before it was too late! 

Could this be a useful addition to your new year library?  Could this be an ideal Christmas present for a friend or family member for instance? 

Don’t wait any longer – this is probably the most comprehensive and cheapest way of finding career satisfaction brought together in one place.  One little book! 

“Brilliant, this book is great for anyone going through a big change like redundancy or even if you just want to re-evaluate your situation. Wendy’s writing is completely unique and her referrals to the characters in the Wizard of Oz communicates the point in a down to earth way with a touch of humour. Highly reccomended. “  Hayley Roy, Colchester

• Identify and celebrate your own uniqueness
• Smash through the glass ceiling and aim higher
• Package yourself to magnetically attract opportunities
• Power up your self-belief and create unwavering self confidence
• Clarify and strengthen your deepest values and purposes
• Programe your intuition to guide you in the right direction
• Stop following the herd and discover what success means to you
• Develop and work on your own personal success plan

Change won’t happen on it’s own …

Buy “Discover Yourself On the Yellow Brick Road” Today

Click here to buy on Amazon Today

Warmest Regards

Wendy Dashwood-Quick

“I have read so many self-help, motivational and coaching books during my career and it takes a lot these days for me to put my hands in my pocket and add to my book collection, but ‘Discover Yourself on the Yellow Brick’ road is brilliant.

Wendy’s easy style with valuable, punchy points coming at you thick and fast means that I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to make more sense of this amazing journey called life. Not only from a career perspective, but also for your personal development as well.” 

Gail Smirthwaite            , Yorkshire

“This book is excellent value for money. It is written in clear, understandable jargon-free English (not American), and employs helpful case examples to help one identify with the emotion being addressed. This book truly is a bible to personal and professional fulfilment. The author has also included hands-on exercises to assist the reader achieve his/her goals, and covers just about every aspect of the trials and tribulations that we humans encounter in every day life (e.g. love, values, aspirations, capabilities, attitude, and beliefs to name but a few). The author draws on proven NLP and EFT techniques in a non-technical and readable fashion, and interlaces these with humour thus rendering this little gem an easy and enjoyable read. For the price you will not find such good value for money, nor will you find such good advice. After you have finished reading the book you will find yourself picking it up again and again. Thoroughly recommended.”

M King – St Petersburg, Russia 

 Advice For Workaholic Adrenaline Junkies…

If your workload or career is pushing your stress levels through the roof, then what follows is a simple guide to how your brain works. I know because, being a borderline adrenaline junkie, I’ve had to learn some of
these strategies myself to stay balanced. Believe me,  beating stress is more about being a big kid…here’s why.

Do you remember when you were a child and the summer holidays seemed to last forever? You invented games to play from the most innocuous and mundane objects, which became holy shrines or magic keys. Drinks turned
you into a superhero. Up until the age of 10, that is.
That’s because before the age of 10, children primarily use the right hemisphere of their brain – the creative side. The creative right side of the brain produces Alpha waves, and when you meditate, your brain produces more Alpha waves. In Alpha we naturally have a better command of life, our health and our moods. We are able to think more clearly, can consider responses and perhaps make more creative decisions, with better longterm results. Alpha thought waves help us to access that part of the brain responsible for more enlightened, sophisticated thinking.

John Levine composes Alpha Music to help people relax and is used by Complementary Therapists to help their clients easily produce Alpha waves and therefore enter a deep state of relaxation very quickly. I was introduced to this music by a therapist friend, and regularly listen to
this when I am brainstorming, writing when relaxing or meditating. It’s extraordinarily serene. According to Levine research shows that when we’re in Alpha through to Theta (as we prepare to go to sleep), the brain also produces a number of chemical hormones which affect our mood, productivity and general health. Delta waves then take over as we fall into slow wave (deep sleep). However, after the age of 10 different brain waves take over – Beta waves. Beta waves vibrate at a higher frequency and are linked with the left logical side of the brain. Coincidentally this is when children move on to secondary school, where everything gets really ‘serious’. Gone are the lazy days spent fishing for newts and making mud pies (by the way if you didn’t made mud pies when you were a kid – you haven’t lived!). Now it’s all homework, course modules, mock exams, routines and remembering loads of facts – fun, eh? Leaving  precious little time for imaginative thinking, talking or creative pastimes, which could lead to stress.

Levine also discovered that although Beta waves are important, if this is the dominant thought wave, we remain hyped-up and stressed. So being in this state is not good long term. We are less likely to make rational choices and our responses are more primitive as higher thinking begins to shut down. However, some people appear to be born with a gift for increased Alpha wave production. Scientists have established that creative people operate in Alpha and Theta states far more frequently than the rest of us.

Eventually we leave school to start a career, with the accompanying train timetables, spreadsheets, passwords e-mails and compliance, etc. All logical left brain stuff and yet more Beta brain activity. In fact bringing your creative streak out in a work environment (in some organisations) is positively frowned upon and discouraged. Until, that is, you wake
up one morning and wonder why you haven’t a single scrap of innovation left in you. You can’t switch off because you’re so stressed-out having to reach all your ‘targets’. As Daniel Goleman in his book “Emotional
Intelligence” puts it “Stress Makes You Stupid”. With all that Beta brain activity going on, there’s just no inspiration or fun in your life any more. Using ‘Beta’ thought waves too often is like driving your car everywhere in first gear. Being grown up and serious has  actually become really stressful. All the routine, discipline and targets haven’t actually made you anymore effective or indeed any happier. Need I say more?

This is where you may become even less effective, shut off from the ‘source’ – the source being the pipeline leading directly to all new ideas and innovation: your creative right brain. Although it is important to point out that you need a good balance between the left and right sides.

“Experiments show that most children rank highly creative (right brain) before entering school. Because our educational systems place a higher value on left brain skills such as mathematics, logic and language than it does on drawing or using our imagination, only ten percent of these same children will rank highly creative by age 7. By the time we are adults,
high creativity remains in only 2 percent of the population.”
Dan Eden, Editor, Viewzone.com

Early signs of stress include being a bit tetchy, food cravings, mood swings, feeling extremely tired or hypedup leading to sleep problems caused by too much Beta brainwave activity and stress hormones racing around your bloodstream.

Long-term stress will have disastrous consequences for your health. As you get older, your body will find it harder and harder to cope and could be the reason why some people are struck down with chronic conditions
such as arthritis, chronic fatigue, IBS, High Pressure, and raised levels of cholesterol. The short-term solution is treatment with conventional drugs, when in fact the long term and ultimately the best solution is to
give your lifestyle a complete overhaul.

Not paying attention to your stress levels and lifestyle, affects your body, your energy levels, and your resistance to stress. Ultimately, your ability to rationalise and memorise, and your performance at work will suffer.

Having looked at the recent events at Westminster with the expenses scandal, is it time that the parlimentarians introduced a coaching culture? The ‘old school tie’ system with its hierarchial system clearly isn’t working. They need a complete overhaul to bring them in line with the 21st Century where everyone else is! A flatter structure, transparency, accountability, and politicians willing to take ownership are what’s needed here.

My New book is now ranked higher up the Amazon Career Bestseller list than Alan Sugar’s Biography! I never EVER thought that would happen to me. Must remember the date Monday 8th June!!