Revive | Restore | Rejuvenate

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…

Do you run your own business – and could you learn a thing or two from your counterparts who have been there, done that and bought the t-shirt?

I undertook a survey of Entrepreneurs and small business owners, which has highlighted 25 key areas most businesses struggle with.  These range from getting to grips with social media, cash flow problems, leadership challenges, time management, networking and sales.  The results of the survey I have incorporated into a new e-book “Ultrapreneurs Unplugged – What They Don’t Tell You About Building A Successful Micro Business”

With the UK economy still in the grip of recession, more people are dipping their toes into entrepreneurial waters.

Small and Micro businesses are the lifeblood of the UK economy. The UK’s 3.7 million SMEs account for approximately 40% of our GDP and have an annual turnover of one trillion pounds.  Mostly formed by individuals who initially set up a business from their spare bedroom or garage.  However, this isn’t without its challenges, particularly for individuals who’ve left the corporate ladder, were made redundant, or budding ‘mumpreneurs’. 

Some joined the ranks of the self employed later in life.  Some left University because they didn’t warm to the idea of being an employee, or preferred self employment because they wanted the freedom to create their own destiny. They took this path because they didn’t fancy the alternatives – e.g. living on a meagre pension, settling for a mediocre lifestyle or compromising on their values. 

However, some had little or no experience of running a business before they started, and found the journey very complex – against the relentless pace of change – despite being an exciting and liberating experience.

Of course you might not need this information and are quite happy with the strategy that you’re using already.  You might not have the time to explore everything that’s contained within my new e-book called  “Ultrapreneurs Unplugged – What They Don’t Tell You About Building A Successful Micro Business”. 

But then again, if you’re the kind of person who’s willing to sit up and take notice of what’s going on around you, learn from other peoples mistakes and borrow some strategies from some very successful people, then you would do well to take a look at this bumper e-book packed with over 200 insights taken from the survey.

I also interviewed four successful entrepreneurs who share their experiences, including Philip Hess of Senz who even went as far as jumping out of an aeroplane to test one of his products!

I am keen to demonstrate that in fact many of the challenges faced by owners of Micro businesses are common – and and such should provide a bit of a shot in the arm for  anyone currently finding the journey a challenge.

The results of my survey could become an invaluable resource for anyone either considering making the move to self employment, or who has been on this journey for some time and would like a ‘fly on the wall’ look at what their counterparts are doing, borrow some of their strategies and learn a few new ones. 

Click here to find out more and download the report. 

This PDF document contains  nearly 100 pages of incredibly valuable material.

Warmest regards

Wendy Dashwood-Quick

Executive Coach

Resolution Coaching

P.S.  If you liked this blog posting then please feel free to tell a friend or Tweet it for me so that more people can benefit from this information.  Thank You

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 

Did you ever see that Tom Hanks film ‘Splash’ about a fella who falls in love with a Mermaid?

She’s keen to keep her true identity a secret, but she’s being stalked by a mad scientist who’s sole purpose in life is to expose the truth to the world, armed with a bucket of water and a camera ready capture the moment on film. 

According to research ‘The Imposter Syndrome’ is alive and kicking.  Even respected professionals have a nagging feeling that they are pretty worthless.  Many have an irrational fear that they are just ‘busking’ and are about to be found out, despite all their success and accomplishments.

In this revealing recording from Radio 4′s ‘Womens Hour’ listen to three professionals talk candidly about their experiences, and hear their thoughts around not feeling ’good enough’.   The programme concludes with a discussion on the causes of ‘The Imposter Syndrome’ and what to do about it.

If you run your own business (man or woman) then you might find this interesting. 

Click here to listen again 

This and is one of many challenges facing entrepreneurs today which I reveal in my new e-book which I will be publishing shortly.  More news soon!

Happy Hunting

Wendy Dashwood-Quick

Image courtesy of Google Images (c)

Or how not to handle your staff during a crisis

Before my car was stolen one freezing January afternoon, I had quite a lot of respect for one boss I used to work for.  I thought he was a fair minded, well balanced decent bloke.  But I was wrong.

The theft of my car meant that I had to get a lift home, I was extremely upset and of course I had no transport or means of getting to work.

The journey to work the next day took two train journeys plus it was the middle of winter, and minus 3 degrees.  Now for reasons known only to my boss, he chose to wait in his office for my arrival the next morning.

He confronted me in his office and asked me why I was late, and when I gave my reasons he read me the riot act and announced –  “I don’t care what’s going on in your personal life!  Your job is to get here for 8.30 in the morning.  Get yourself another car!” 

Of course I handled it beautifully – I completely lost it and accused him of being totally insensitive and thoughtless.  Then he marched me into my office  and told me to calm down while he went and called the HR Manager to convene a hastily arranged formal “warning”, saying that I was behaving like a ‘fish wife’ by ranting on at him.  Then he locked the door and didn’t come back for an hour!  A rather medieval approach to man management I thought.

I was baffled.  My boss was clearly off his rocker, but little did I realise that this was the beginning of a long campaign to bully me out of my job.  It would be a long and very tense 12 months as he pulled every trick out of the book to ‘engineer’ a reason to get me fired.  It was scarey.

With hindsight of course I have my own views on that, which I won’t share here, suffice it to say that I am surprised he’s still walking around.  And I definitely should have taken legal advice. 

But  my point here is that handling staff could for some managers be unchartered territory.  And in some situations you may find that any demonstration of emotion may be a bit scary and like a rebellion, must be crushed to a pulp immediately; because in some institutions emotion has no part to play in corporate life, as it’s seen as weakness and a threat to the status quo.

But the truth is, we are all human and sometimes “shit happens”.  But how do you handle someone who’s probably not operating at 100% because of one or two things going on in their life,  which could temporarily affect their performance or their attitude? 

Do you right them off and get rid of them asap?  What if you used another approach like coaching them?  Granted they might leave of their own accord because they are clearly in the wrong role; or  you could work on their training, performance and self development and thus turn them into a bit of a star.  The complete win/win.

Of course this may never happen to you, and your staff may never cause you any problems, but just in case they do here are a few guidelines:-

1. If a crisis has loomed in their life, first ask questions and get the facts about the situation
2. Be supportive and don’t make assumptions or judge them prematurely
3. Work at finding a solution by using proper protocols and staff grievance procedures
4. Be careful how you handle potentially sensitive or volatile situations, because  if things take a turn for the worse and your member of staff walks out – this could back fire badly on you later.  I was systematically bullied out of my job and received zero support from the management team.  I should have taken legal advice but chose not to.  If you are not following employment law guidelines or at the very least have taken some advice on HR/Health and Safety policies and procedures you could land in hot water.
5. Treat people with respect.  Handling staff can be really tough, but accept that people do make mistakes or go off the rails occasionally.  Think “the problem is the problem, not the person”
6. Think about providing some coaching or mentoring – so rather than trying to fix a ‘problem’ person – look at ways to enhance their performance and turn them into an asset rather than a liability
7. If a member of staff is experiencing temporary personal difficulties – (i.e. having their car stolen by a maverick ex-partner for instance) just let them go home and get themselves sorted out. 
8.  Trust that they will be thankful for your faith and belief in them and return the favour with loyalty and commitment

Now, unfortunately my boss  lost a golden opportunity to do the decent thing for another human being. 

Which is basically why I went into the coaching business.  At the end of the day performance and bad management is all down to the same thing – behaviour and how you handle the situation.  Think in every interaction with someone else you are always 51% responsible.  It’s a two way street.

I’m knee deep in creating a special report “The Accidental Entrepreneur -  200 things I wish I’d known when I started my business” which contains the results of a short survey of entrepreneurs and the challenges they have face when starting their businesses – which includes handling staff. 

Hear what they have to say when this is published next month.

Warmest regards

Wendy Dashwood-Quick

Focus Your Mind With A Ritual

When I was a teenager I went on a fruit picking holiday in Cambridgeshire, along with around 100 other students from all over the world.  It was  exhausting but hilarious.  The opportunity to meet people from different cultures was smashing;  including an Italian called Max.  Now he performed a very bizarre ritual every evening before he went to sleep, and of course the girls in our group were fascinated by him…

The male and female students were housed in separate accommodation blocks, and according to reports from the boys in our group, each evening before Max went to sleep he would stand at the foot of his bed with a dagger between his teeth and mutter something completely incomprehensible in Italian and then leap head first onto his bed.  The dagger was then ceremoniously placed under his pillow.    Some might say that he was suffering with a compulsive disorder of some description, or that he was slightly crazy.  But the girls in our group (of course) thought he was dead cool.  Although perhaps the boys thought he was far too racy for the delicate English roses in our party so we never did get a look at him (annoyingly).

But he definitely was a bit of a folk hero and one of the lads.  And of course he got landed with the nickname “Mad Max”.

Now I am not for one moment encouraging you to do something quite as eccentric as this, and there could well have been a very disturbing history behind Max’s behaviour.  However, sometimes rituals do have a very important part to play in some people’s lives, particularly if it helps to focus their minds, maintain discipline and keep their resolve. 

Some people practice Tai Chi every morning, chant, walk the dog, skip, or do 20 pressups.  Some sportsmen and women are quite obsessive about their sports kit and carry out a very meticulous routine or ritual before every match.   I once had a friend who would always wear the same socks, and prepare for a squash match in exactly the same way.  

Some rituals promote a feeling of calmness and wellbeing, and the production of seratonin in the brain which reduces stress as well as sharpening up the mind. 

I’ve been a cellist for the best part of 20 years, and before I perform in a concert I always wear the same dress, the same shoes, the same earings and have a very structured routine to prepare myself.  This helps me to get into ‘the zone’.  For me this is purely because the difference between a rehearsal and a concert ‘performance’ is that the music is played just once, and then that’s it!  If you miss your cue you can’t go back and do it again.  AND with some pieces of music you may not get to see or play that piece again for sometimes 10 years!  So you really don’t want to make a mistake or miss the moment.

So, over to you.  Do you have any rituals in your life that help focus your mind?   I know that working with a task list is something I can’t do without and if my desk gets too cluttered, I go into overwhelm. 

 How does having a ritual or a clear routine help you and what happens when you don’t bother with it?

Until next time

Happy Hunting

Wendy

Image Courtesy of Google Images 2009

Has a good night’s sleep turned into a myth, is it a thing of the past or something that ‘other people’ have, but not you?   When WAS the last time you slept right through? And is this affecting your ability to be really effective in your job, your ability to make decisions and handle stressful situations…? 

 Well, if you’re struggling to find the answer I’ve been given some top Tips from Top Coach June Whittle.  Read on…

 You’d be surprised if I told you the most common method of dealing with sleeplessness. Most people who struggle to sleep have NO sleeping strategy. They do NOTHING about it and suffer daily. Let me share with you 5 top sleeping tips which will change your life forever.

 5 Top Sleep Tips

•  Be open-minded. Some of these tips might seem simple – even obvious. Have you tried them though? … Consistently? … Really?
• Remember ‘doing nothing’ is the most common attitude to sleepless nights! Do something – notice the difference!

1 . How do you ‘signal’ to yourself that it’s time for sleep? Cultivate a consistent, calming bedtime routine. Give yourself time for reflection.  Focus on the good things in your life. Think of at least 3 good things that happened during the day – however small.

 2. How often do you exercise?  If you’re tired and haven’t been sleeping, I know that the last thing you want to hear about is exercise!! Studies show that sufferers of persistent fatigue benefit from low-intensity exercise like an easy walk.

 3. Do you listen to anything that will gently guide you to sleep? Buy, beg or borrow a relaxation or sleep CD for quick results – if you listen to it!! It helps you to ‘switch off’ and drift into a soothing sleep. If your mind is buzzing and you can’t let go of all the thoughts whizzing around in your head, listen to it! Replace those thoughts! If you wake in the night and can’t get back to sleep – listen to the CD. My Sleep CD has a track to gently guide you to sleep when you go to bed AND a track to guide you back to sleep when you wake in the night. www.sleepless.zite.me

 4. What time do you close the kitchen? Avoid food and drink for at least 2 hours before you go to bed.

 5. Can you do this? Turn off the television and your mobile phone! Do it at 30 minutes before you go to bed. Exposure to the ‘talk’ mode signal of a phone has been found to delay the onset of sleep.

 Now, enjoy a good night’s sleep and notice the positive changes it brings to your life.    

June Whittle’s sleep CD will support you in your desire for a deep and beneficial night’s sleep.

Available from www.sleepless.zite.me

 Welcome

This Week’s Podcast “Turning Helplessness Into Power”

In this week’s Podcast I interview Debbie Neville of ‘PA Secretarial’ about a really simple technique that she has developed for instantly shifting her mindset when she is feeling less than resourceful – thus moving her from ‘helplessness into power’.

In this short 12 minute Podcast you will learn how this technique helps Debbie every day, whatever challenge she is currently facing, whether this is a minor or a major setback.

Click here to listen:

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Warmest Regards

Wendy Dashwood-Quick

Executive Coach and author of “Discover Yourself On the Yellow Brick Road – 7 Core Principles of Career Success”

It appears that networking is something that many small business owners struggle with.  If we go into ‘sell’ mode straight off,  we could miss valuable opportunities, and alienate ourselves, because we’ve missed the point of what networking actually is.  Networking can help us to find our target audience, give other people the chance to get to know us and discover what our speciality is.  Not necessarily a reason to flog our stuff to anyone who is warm and has a pulse!

I conducted a survey of entrepreneurs this week, because I wanted to know the kind of challenges they face as I’d like to work with more of them.  And lo and behold, one of the topics that appeared consistently was networking, sales and marketing. 

Now, I’m not talking as a marketing genius, and I don’t claim to be a specialist in that area. However, the other day I was listening to one of Adam Urbanski’s (The Marketing Mentor) recordings from one of his marketing boot camps.   He was teaching a group of business owners about marketing.  He says that in order to get customers – first you need to let people know you exist , then develop a relationship with them before you start flogging your stuff.   

Then Adam said the following 5 words which made me laugh out loud. 

When you attend a networking meeting  “Don’t show up and throw up!” 

He doesn’t mean this literally of course (unlike the guest at the Christmas party I attended a few years who threw up over my shoes…)

But there seems in some quarters, a universal ignorance of certain rules of networking.  And what those new to it are completely unaware of. 

Picture the total stranger who literally pins you against the wall at the networking event, shoves their postcard under your nose and then proceeds to spend the next 40 minutes trying to persuade you to join their business opportunity, buy their particle accelerator or drones on about how “it does this, and that, and that and blah blah blah”  

Meanwhile you’re hoping that the fire alarm will go off, or that tall dark handsame man with the naughty grin will saunter over and grab your attention instead.  

But no, instead it’s chapter and verse from Mr or Mrs Serial Networker, until you’re ready to punch their lights out and you’d wished you’d gone to that other networking event on the other side of town.

Do show up but instead of regurgitating over your next victim try this:-

1. Ask a genuine question - and gather some information about that person and what they do.  Be curious – talk to them as if they were from Mars and you’ve never been there before and so you’re gathering vital information
2. Spend at least 10 minutes listening and acknowleding this fact by nodding and chipping in where appropriate with useful insights and observations – just ‘get out of the way’ and focus on them
3. Ask them some more questions and get them to elaborate if something  sparks your interest
4. Offer to help them if you can by sharing some of your expertise insights
5. Tell them what you do expressing the benefits of your product or service without boring the pants off ‘em
6. Most of us (as human beings) will know whether or not what we’ve said has made any lights go on in the other person’s head which could indicate signs of interest or curiosity.  If this has happened, they will shift their posture, move a little closer to you or their eyes will start to show that what you have said has found a familiar place in their mind
7. If the conversation is going well, and you’ve found a subject which is of mutual benefit then suggest you meet for a coffee

They will remember you as someone they might like to get to know better, who’s interested, interesting, genuine, likeable and helpful.  This creates what is technically known as ‘The Halo Effect’, i.e. a favourable lasting impression that will stay in their mind. 

Oh, by the way if you want to know what happened to the fella who chucked up over my shoes.  He wandered off into the night, got caught up in a pub brawl that had spilled out into the street.  The police arrived, he was arrested and spent the night in the police station (proof that there is a God!)

Happy Hunting!

Wendy Dashwood-Quick