Well I can conclude I have learnt to be flexible in my approach to people and situations, something vital when you deal with different cultures, expectations and a multitude of demanding characters! and I have learnt that when I have not fully adopted this flexibility things have not been so productive – and you take note and learn from this, we can not be perfect all the time!

So 2012 sees another change in the work I am doing, I have been lucky enough to maintain a part-time contract with the Wealth Management house I have been working with this year, I can’t wait and am so priviliged that I have been asked to stay on. I also have other opportunities to embrace, this again for me is a change, challenge and new focus.

So as I was thinking about the theme of my first 2012 blog I realised that I never make New Year’s resolutions and anyone who knows me New Years Eve is just another evening and I do adopt a ‘stroppy attitude’ to being expected to go out and celebrate just because it is a certain date in the year!!! What new year does make me do is use this date to review what I have achieved, learn from all my experiences, some fantastic, some great and some downright awful and set a new vision, new goals and build a discipline around how I am going to achieve these going forwards.

Someone once said to me that they would rather be heading somewhere than no-where at all, this made me think about the way I approached my goal setting and realised in the past I was scared to set myself challenges that I may ‘fail’ at….I then realised that if you change your mindset to allow yourself to believe there is no such thing as failure, only a learning opportunity, everything suddenly looks a whole lot different. After that nothing seems impossible, if your initial goal changes that is fine, re-define them and ensure at every point in setting these they are aligned to your true values in life. If they are you will achieve them and best of all enjoy the journey in getting there, celebrating when you do and enjoy your life to the maximum, however hard the journey may be!

So as I wish all my blog readers the very best for 2012, I would like to thank certain individuals who have made my year an incredible experience, my dearest best friend who despite her challenges this year always taken time to meet me at a local pub close to where I ride at the weekends, today we met around a log fire and I can still smell the smoke in my hair as I write this!! another person is someone I met on my Middle East trips this year, he was so accommodating in making my trips so great and was always amazed that despite the change and challenge within the business maintained such a positive outlook!!!!

Life is very precious, grab every opportunity with both hands and I do believe everything happens for a reason, perhaps this is sometimes hard to see or believe but our destiny changes with our thought, destiny is no matter of chance but a matter of choice so despite circumstances out of control that may mean we have to deal with difficult times we can always choose our next path in life.

A closing thought (from my conversation today with my best friend!) Don’t sweat the small stuff! worry and focus on the things you can control and leave others to worry about what you can’t! I personally would rather live life saying ‘I wish I had not done that’ rather than regretting something I did not do for fear of failure. Success starts with small steps, life is a journey and not a race, enjoy each step for that makes the achievements even sweeter!

“One day at a time–this is enough. Do
not look back and grieve over the past for it is gone; and do not be troubled
about the future, for it has not yet come. Live in the present, and make it so
beautiful it will be worth remembering.”

I have had the most incredible year with Merrill Lynch Wealth
Management, working with 300 Financial Advisors across offices spanning from
Tel Aviv, Middle East, Paris, Spain, Italy and London, not to mention my
favourite team in Dublin! It has been a once in a lifetime experience, meeting
and crossing paths with so many different cultures and people that I find as it
comes to an end I wish it wasn’t!

As a consultant and therefore very much a free agent with
regards to my next goal, mission and challenge allows me to be in charge of my
own destiny. This at times, actually most of the time, is scary as the future
depends on my past, how well I have delivered to date, what people think of me
and how I execute my service. It is also incredibly motivational as every day
when I do my job it has to be the best….. What I did yesterday depends on who
wants me today and I thrive on that pressure!

So what is this month’s blog all about?…… to be totally
honest I don’t know myself, just sitting here in an amazing country, surrounded
by new and sparkling things I find myself thinking about life, the future and
making the most out of every day. Recent events and experiences has meant that
to take things for granted is a very foolish thing, days and weeks pass, months
even and I forget special moments and events that made me smile, and make me
smile when I remember! Childhood memories are fond, teenage years and friends
should not be forgotten and life to date should be taken notice of, the good,
not so good and sometimes bad….. But hey that makes us who we are. I would
just like to mention two special people who I adore and have taught & given
me so much, Jo who has to be the strongest, most gorgeous lady I know, for
reasons she and I know! & for my long lost school friend Nats (aka Cratty
Natty!) who has also added so much to my life this year (as well as many years
before)

This year has been an amazing journey, I hope I won’t lose
touch with the people I have worked with and become close to, I have loved
every minute of working with Merrill Lynch Financial Advisors; they have
challenged me, kept me on my toes and been an inspiration to look up and aspire
to, it is not over yet and sitting in Dubai right now reminds me of the many
teams I still need to make a difference to in my last few months, so Dubai, Beirut
and Bahrain office see you this week, Milan see you next week, Geneva see you
the week after and John and team in Dublin see you in December!

As always I leave each of my blogs with a closing thought…
everyone can do what they believe in, just action what you say you will do…

“Once you replace negative
thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results.”

- William Nelson

Well I wouldn’t say I was in any way a master…far from it but what I do know is how my eyes have been opened and mind enlightened by the future possibilities and application of my new learning. MBTI( Myers Briggs Type Indicator) has enabled me to see things differently and reason with myself about why people do what they do and in the way they do and say things. This amazing tool allows the studies of Carl G Jung to be brought to the general public in a way that adds value without judging or categorising people. It brings an amazing way to help people understand themselves better and with that comes a way to appreciate and understand others too.

Do you often wonder why people say or do things in a certain way, I often did and still do but having learnt about human inborn preference now understand that some people approach situations and life in a very different way to me. That is not to say they are better or worse than me but just different! Difference makes the world go round, adds light and fun but can also be the cause of arguments and disrespect. My Gran said a very wonderful thing to me when I was growing up, I think I was about 6 years old and have never forgotten it, she said ‘Juli, treat everyone in life with the respect and love that you would like to be treated with, no-one is better or worse than you- just different’ - what a wonderful lady she was, I can’t say I have always done that but my goodness have realise that when I do life is a great place to be!

I guess this blog is really to share my thoughts around my recent learning, about the way people differ from others and that everyone has something great to give the world. Of course there are stories and people you hear about that are clearly not fit for society, and I am therefore not including them in my statement above, however I do always believe in most cases there is an underlying reason why those few people act the way they do.

So as I move into the last part of my contract with one of the best Wealth Management houses we have all the learning I have done will stand me in good stead for my next move and new challenges, I can’t wait, however I will miss the people and Financial Advisers I will have spent a year with, coaching and consulting across many different countries and cultures, they have all taught me so much and I am very grateful.

My closing thoughts for this month’s blog is to think about your preferred way of living, how do you like to live your life, how do you get energised and how you like to communicate with others, then look around and there will be people with very different preferences to you, sometimes may not understand ‘your world’ but they also have a preferred way of living. The beauty of how you can develop is to take a walk in other people’s shoes, get ‘their world’ for it is so much easier to work, love and live your life when you have an appreciation of others….. I will leave it there and wish you all a great Autumn, enjoy it as the leaves change colour, fall and provide that crunchy blanket to walk across!!

“Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams.”

 I guess as I continue my journey through life I often find myself reacting to situations and making decisions that on reflection could have been more balanced! Many a time I have made a snap decision and gut instinct and it is not to say that it was wrong but had I applied some logic and ‘balance’ maybe the outcome would have provided me with less stress and more continuity!

As I watch many of my friends and peers make their journey through life it never ceases to amaze me the different approaches we all have. This makes me think that perhaps there is no right or wrong way to do things, however there is a way for each individual that maximises productivity, happiness and success. Some people and I would include myself in this, have a continued desire for change, challenge and when things become ‘balanced’ per say, they become ‘boring’. I can’t speak for anyone else but I thrive on variety, new people, new places and a new idea, my mind is happy when I am applying some fresh initiative and making a difference.  The question I often ask myself is why do I always need to be busy, what makes me drive myself so hard, often achieving things that I barely take a moment to enjoy before moving on to the next thing.

The other side of my chaotic and fast moving life is one that I yearn for, those people you see, just like my Dad, where moderation and logic are applied in a very considered and meaningful way, every decision is carefully scrutinised, pros and cons deliberated on a neat list in tidy handwriting that drives people like me mad!!! It is then that I ask myself what if I could learn to be just a little bit more like my Dad my life may in fact be more ‘balanced’!! – but do I want this or could my Dad consider letting go and follow his instinct rather than a list of which the intricacy would amaze anyone!

As I write my June blog, I guess I am talking out loud, sharing my thoughts and actually realising that is there any such thing as a ‘balanced life’? For some it may mean boring and mundane, others it is essential for their day to day existence, I suppose for every person this is different and it is what makes you ‘tick’ every day that is the key to living your ‘balanced’ life- whatever that may be.

 I still do look at great artists, singers, entrepreneurs and one thing you would have to say is that each and every one of them had a slightly bizarre ‘balance’ to life – so really is balance destructive to creation and individuality or does it serve a very essential part of helping us follow a path in life that remains in some way normal?!

As I close this blog I am currently sitting in a hotel room in New York about to spend a week with a group of Financial Adviser’s; this year has meant travel, unbalance and a journey into the unknown, all of which I have adored, however I do remind myself of the beauty of harmony when I return home to my husband and friends who without which my life would be very empty.

So you see I think if one manages to find a balance in life that works for them, allows the creative and brilliance to grow, yet maintains an element of structure and consideration that’s a very special place to get to…….I still have a way to go but getting closer during each and every day!!!!

In art and dream may you proceed with abandon. In life may you proceed with balance and stealth.
Patti Smith

Throughout the change in my life this last year and the various experiences and challenges I have come across I have also learnt (and perhaps this is through getting older and wiser too!) that we are only here once and time is very precious. The people in my life are very special to me but have had some that were a drain, a stress and quite frankly sapped my energy and enthusiasm for life. As much as I would like to help, support and ‘carry’ people through life this is a poor use of my time; being carried makes you lazy, and when you get lazy you take things for granted, and when you take things for granted you become selfish, and when you become selfish you become a negative energy and drain on those around you….. We all have experienced being the ‘carrier’ and while I am happy to do this to some extent there comes a point when you have to take a reality check, what does this person or people do for you, how do you feel when you come away from spending time in their company and is it time for a ‘Spring Clean!!’???

It is true what they say about counting your true friends on one hand, and goodness I feel so blessed to just about be able to do that, some of the friends I count on that hand I have known for most of my life and some others are new joiners, what I have realised though is there is nothing wrong with changing these people, why should we keep negative aspects in our life still part of our life? One would not keep going back to stroke a dog that bites although I hear so many friends that continue to keep relationships that clearly sap all their energy, make for negative thoughts and feelings and all because they are afraid of change, challenge and being lonely. Now don’t get me wrong because I have been there and got many T-shirts for getting bitten again and again, but as my journey through life allows my path to cross with new people it has begun to dawn on me that relationships change, dynamics and situations alter but as they do instead of remaining static don’t be afraid to change with them. For me this means going back to find and in some cases ‘re-launch’ old relationships that I have realised were and still are very special to me and also it means dropping the people who make me feel exhausted and depressed after spending time with them.

Friendships for me mean laughter, freedom and being able to be me, not judging or challenging just easy and forgiving no matter what kind of day I have had. Spending free time that re-charges my batteries is an absolute must, we all work hard and often deal with conflict and challenges we are not in direct control of, why then in our free time would we choose to place ourselves back into uncomfortable or draining relationships when we have a choice to do what we want? I guess this month’s blog has been written as I go through this exercise myself, especially as my job and work time is so challenging and tiring that my free time becomes even more precious. As a good friend of mine said, whilst checking in to a champagne bar at 12pm on a Friday, ‘We only live once!’ it did make me think about the way and who I live my life with, we often don’t have a choice about the people we work with but we ALL have the choice who we love, support, laugh and spend our leisure time with…. don’t allow this precious time to be taken up with negative people, I have done in the past and so now adopt my ‘spring clean’ strategy that means I am blessed with people around me that give me energy, love me for who I am, never judge my life and in return I do the same for them….

As I start this blog I guess some of you are thinking about the title and what on earth I am going to write, well I kind of have that feeling too but what the heck, I am just going to write anyway!

As we enter 2011 and almost a month in I can hardly believe where the time has gone I have experienced some new learning throughout this month as I take on my third contract in the banking world, again a very different experience, group of people and challenge it made me think that in a year I have met and worked with more people than I ever did in my 9 years with my first employer. How had I managed to make this a success, and despite the contracts often disbanding into something very different from the initial expectations and job spec I feel that I have made a difference and delivered in some way!

Often we find ourselves in situations that we did not expect or indeed sign up to but it’s how we adapt and flex to these circumstances that determine our success, happiness and journey through life. How many times have you begun with a clear vision or goal only to find that when you embark on that mission you often find the outcome or indeed vision changes remarkably from the initial desire. I have come to realise from personal experience that the more open to change, the more flexible in your thoughts and mind you are the better the outcome (although different from the initial plan)often is. I look back at goals I have set and then the actual result I have achieved and have been amazed at the difference between the two!

 An example is my desire for a horse last summer, and having ridden in my youth had begun to miss the freedom, natural beauty and power of an equine. So in my usual spontaneous and haphazard fashion set a goal to get a horse! Now having not ridden for years and rather rusty to say the least had the idea of a schoolmaster who could teach me and keep me safe, however as I tried the various horses I quickly realised that what I enjoyed about riding was the unknown, the building of a relationship and challenge. So despite thinking I knew what I wanted I ended up purchasing a black 6 year old called Viktor with more attitude than a teenager with acne!!!!  A great lesson about flexible attitude and the ability to achieve a result that far suited me and my current situation

So I suppose the lesson taught me that without the ability to adapt and be open minded I could have ended up with a very different horse and who knows if it would have worked? Only one thing I do know is that Viktor provides me with ALL the feelings I have been missing for the last 5 years.

Having shared my one example and I could share many others but reckon you have heard enough! I guess the message and lesson I have learnt and still learning is to set goals, follow those dreams but be prepared to bend and flex to circumstances that are out of your control.

The most successful and fulfilled people I have met have this clear vision but are also realistic about life itself. No-one can predict the future, things change that affects their goals and plans, however they adapt and bend around these challenges, never faltering in their belief and ultimate aim.

As I leave you with my rather random title and thought this month I also wanted to mention a certain person who I met over 3 years ago and this person was someone who lived and adapted to all sorts, allowing him to embrace opportunities and live a life that was full of pleasure, travel and best of all provided all the people that came to watch him with the beauty and sound of the Trumpet.

Paul Bonner was a person who lived life as a man with dignity, pride and love for his music and sharing it with others, a true inspiration of someone who had his dream, adapted to situations, bent and flexed to realise his ultimate goal – one of the world’s best Trumpet players ever….. A true legend….

So as I always do let me leave you with a quote that concludes my blog this month take care and until next time……..

“Stay committed to your decisions, but stay flexible in your approach.”

Tony Robbins (American Novelist. b.1936)

This year for me has been one of the most exciting, scary, sad and challenging year I can remember and whilst I glance back at the variety of words I have used it makes me realise that life is full of ups and downs….. This I guess is life in all its glory!

The exciting part of 2010 included many personal and business goals being achieved, perhaps in greater ways than I had originally planned but also initial dreams did change along the way as I grew, learnt and faced hard lessons. This in itself has taught me that there is no right or wrong and that also it is OK to change your mind, adapt or alter goals according to situations you may find yourself in. The most successful decisions I have made were not originally part of the plan but developed as I did in my journey through 2010. I have made some wonderful friends, business colleagues and contacts and feel truly blessed with having such amazing people in my life; this has been the best part of the last year and opened my eyes to many different ways of life, business and realising dreams.

For the challenging parts of this year I have decided to look at these with as much of a positive attitude as I can, although I sometimes find it hard to find a reason behind the cruel nature of life. Some events this year have made me look at my life more closely and be thankful for the things I have, respect other people’s outlook and decisions in life whilst trying hard to remain positive and cheerful.

There are often times when I have felt guilty when moaning and complaining about the cold (and yes I do this a lot!) or other trivial things when others are at times fighting for their life. However I have quickly realised that we react to situations we find ourselves in, for some this may mean that the worst thing to happen in a day will be getting splashed by a London bus that totally soaks their new Jimmy Choo’s whilst for others it is simply staying alive for another day. The drastic differences in these two situations to an onlooker may be clear to see but for those two individuals they are both experiencing feelings and emotions for the situation they find themselves in. It’s hard to imagine how one will react to a crisis or challenge until you find yourself in the middle of it. Having empathy for others, staying strong for people and also accepting support when you need it is a special balance to find in life but such an important one too. I often remind myself of this fragile relationship with life which helps re-adjust my thoughts, re-gain logic and act rationally (although I have to say sometimes the heart rules head when it comes to the January sales and a Gucci handbag at a VERY reduced price!!!!)

 So as the beginning of the New Year breaks through the snow and rain clouds I want to share with my readers my excitement and energy for 2011. No-one knows what the future holds and my goodness sometimes I wish I could peep around the corner, just for a second to see what I was about to face but perhaps that would diminish my sparkle, energy and nervous anticipation for each day. What I will say is that as much as knowing what the future holds would make life easier in some respects it could be a recipe for disaster too. So as I come to the end of my first blog of 2011 I want to wish everyone with the strength, passion and determination to make 2011 a great year. Whatever you may be facing do it with the belief you can, if something doesn’t quite work try something different, you have not failed but found new ways to achieve your goals and dreams.

 Lastly I want to dedicate this January blog to a very special friend who is about to celebrate her 30^th Birthday. She is a bundle of energy, so passionate and full of life that just keeping up with her is one huge challenge!!! Her wish/to-do  list is so long and involves many different activities, continents and people that goodness knows how she will achieve it all, however I have TOTAL belief that she will, and the reason I know she will is because she believes she can do it!!!! – Happy Birthday Jo, one hell of an amazing friend and person!

Happy New Year and thank you to all my blog followers who continue to leave great messages and advice that I truly appreciate.

“Remember all things are possible for those who believe.”

 Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated. ~ Confucious

All too often when life is spinning around us and the world in which we now live is engulfed with money, sparkle, glitz and glamour we lose sight of the real beauty of life. I am guilty of getting that excited feeling when splashing out on a new pair of shoes or handbag (yes I know many of you girls out there will relate to the guilt/exhilaration emotions when spending the cost of a cheap holiday on a pair of shoes!!) but the feel good factor is short lived when round the corner you spot another shop, with a nicer pair of shoes and kick yourself at making a dud choice!!!

Can you remember when you last marvelled at the smell or freshly baked bread wafting from the local bakery or noticed the way the sunlight reflects off a lawn of frosty grass? It’s all the simple things that we take for granted but it is these that make us glad we are alive!

 People often think of the word ‘simple’ as being boring and unsuccessful but simplicity is about making the journey in this life carrying just enough hand luggage to get by! Why would you want to drag a huge suitcase around when you have the option to walk with a spring in your step and a gleam in your eye lightly swinging a shoulder bag?!!! Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication; everything should be made simple but not simpler! Frugality is a word and concept that is rarely encouraged or understood, consumption society has made us believe that having ‘things’ leads to happiness and we have failed to learn the happiness of not having things.  

I often get reminded of simplicity when I am around animals, the way in which everything is slowly considered with a beautiful innocence. Things seem to come with a natural ease and pleasure, watching the way my horse excites over being presented with an apple, the consideration around meticulously biting pieces off, savouring each bit, the frothy ‘cider’ he generates that looks like he has eaten soap powder not an apple!!! such a joyful experience but yet so simple and understated. How have we managed to lose the importance of the simple things in life, freshly cut grass, the sound of the ice-cream van, the smell of bonfires and fireworks lighting up the sky. I wonder if my life would be more fulfilled and content if I remembered each day to celebrate one simple thing, a smile, a kiss, an odd shaped cloud in the sky……..

On that note as I always do I leave you with a challenge and a thought to take away, the challenge is to enjoy something simple every day, even if it is savouring a frothy cappuccino instead of gulping it down before the next meeting or surprising a friend with a card or a hug, embrace that simple thing and smile from within. The best things in life are the nearest; the light in your eyes, the breath in your nostrils, and the flowers at your feet, live simply that others may simply live.

I leave you with the most perfect quote that sums up my thoughts on this topic beautifully, until next time marvel at the crisp, cold mornings, the way your breath dances in the air, make the most of the simple things for they truly are magical.

Each day, awakening, are we asked to paint the sky blue? Need we coax the sun to rise or flowers to bloom? Need we teach birds to sing, or children to laugh, or waves to crash along the shores? Though we think the world imperfect, it surrounds us each day with its perfections. We are asked only to appreciate them for the simplicity and beauty. The Creator does not ask that we create a perfect world; He asks that we celebrate it.  ~Anon,

No matter how many times I hear the word ‘Failure’ it never ceases to amaze me my reaction to and feelings around that word. It brings an immense sense of heaviness in my heart, sadness in my soul and self hatred to my lack of delivery and not being as good as I should be.  

Many people judge themselves against others and while society and our ever competitive climate we live in focuses on success relative to something it also makes it increasingly hard to deal with situations that do not always go to plan or ‘fail’.  

What needs to be remembered is that ‘failure’ is not the opposite of success. Rather, the opposite of success depends on the situation, it may mean something has not gone according to plan or a change in the environment or situation has altered. This may mean the initial desired outcome that the success is being judged upon is no longer accurate; however this is FAR from failure.

The world around us has become so commercialised that everywhere we look we see images of ‘perfection’ and hear stories of wealth and glamour, this has limited our mind to focus on these very material and shallow achievements that are often the result of chance or luck but almost always nothing to do with our internal and individual definition of success and happiness.

A sense of failure more often than not comes from an external experience or piece of information that we then internally use to bench-mark ourselves against. I truly believe that you cannot fail in things that are external to you and about which you have no control. In other words you only fail if you allow yourself to become influenced and distracted by others thoughts and perceptions.

Think about how many times a baby falls as it is learning to walk – many, many times they fall, but they get right back up! You were that baby! I was that baby! We knew there was no such thing as failure as we had not been told about ‘that word’ and internally knew no difference. We demonstrated a never-ending commitment to ourselves the day we decided to attempt moving on two legs rather than four. We all achieved this in many different ways – some faster than others, others more diligent and cautious, some causing mayhem and destruction along the way! – But we all managed to walk in the end! If we had been made aware of the concept of ‘failure’ prior to attempting to learn to walk how many crawling adults would there be in the world today?!

I guess my point is that for me there is no such thing as failure, sure we get things wrong, make mistakes or bad judgement but this is life, part of learning and developing and a far cry from this destructive and unproductive word ‘failure’. It is what we choose to do with these results and the way we look and learn from them that is fundamental to our path and happiness in life.

We are all unique individuals who have something special to give to others and society in so many different ways, it is all the varieties and talents in people that make our world fascinating. Each and every one of us, I believe, has something to give and be successful at, it may not involve huge amounts of money, fast cars and a jet setting lifestyle but my goodness the smallest gestures, special experiences, warm smiles and softest touch is what really makes the world go round!

So as I always try to do at the end of my blogs is to leave you with a thought around this subject, respecting people’s individual feelings and opinions and remaining mindful that these are my thoughts as ‘me’ – they are not right or wrong, they are just mine!

I would also like to say thank you to everyone who has chosen to leave a comment on my blog –I will continue to share my thoughts as long as there are people who would like to read them!

So until next time wrap up warm, find pleasure in rustling through the fallen leaves as I leave you with a final thought…………..

“There is no such thing as failure. There are only results.” – Anthony Robbins

Change….. it’s like Marmite!

Ever since I left the comfort of a consistent job (although the only thing I now realise was consistent was the way I felt about it!) I have been amazed at how my opinion has altered, mind adapted and soul revived by thoroughly enjoying the changing life and world around me.

I always believed that to feel ‘safe and content’ you required a certain ‘status quo’ in life, however this only serves as a false comfort blanket and  we are never spared of the ultimate outcome of life in general… everything changes in the end.

Have you ever found something, someone or a situation that is just out of this world, perfect in every way and makes you very happy? I have been lucky enough to find many, but as time has gone by the situation, feelings and experience has altered or changed so that I no longer find the experience as I first did. My immediate reaction was to question why, how could something so good turn into something ok? Why had my feelings changed?

I have learnt over the past year that when you have those great experiences, the ones you want to hold onto forever it’s better to enjoy them, cherish the moment and allow the fact that time will change and something will come along to replace that experience and feeling with another one, it’s different but just as great!

Shine4Life has seen much change over the last year and sometimes not always in the way I had initially imagined! – However I have made the most of every situation and best of all learnt how ‘not’ to do things for future reference! Through change I have grown stronger, more resilient, and learnt a few more choice expletives along the way when learning how to build a website, install a PC or remotely access documents with IT skills that can only be described as pre-historic!!

I now start my second contract role with another Investment Bank and the team, office and work is certainly very different! My initial feelings were of sadness to leave my new friends and colleagues I had made in my first contract, I had begun to feel safe and content, but what I then realised was that for the first time in my life I was leaving something great before my feelings changed, leaving on a high was a wonderful thing and although sad has left me with a warm heart, great contacts and friends and an increased energy for my new role. So onwards I move to start over again, making new relationships, winning new support and enjoying another challenge that I know Shine4Life can deliver on.

So with my experiences of the past year behind me, my first annual return complete it is just as well I love marmite because change has been a continuous thing for me….. but hang on isn’t change a continuous thing for everyone?

I leave you with my final thoughts and a quote I think beautifully positions ‘change’ and the reason why embracing and trusting it leads to a greater, more complete and fulfilled life, a life that does not shy away from challenge or shudder at the thought of change but looks for the good in every situation and makes the most of our life each day, for who knows what tomorrow will bring.

If we don’t change, we don’t grow. If we don’t grow, we aren’t really living.
Gail Sheehy