May
15

Being open-minded could change your life

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The statement that being open-minded could change your life, one could deduce that being close-minded won’t change your life. But that just isn’t true. If you close your mind to opportunities that are being presented in various ways to you, it still can change your life – but not in the good way that you should hope for.

Being close-minded about things doesn’t mean you are negative either. Sometimes when we have a end goal in sight all laid out with steps on how to get there, we can get too rigid with that pathway. This rigid path we design may close us off from seeing that changing with the flow may actually get us there faster or more effectively – but we are too focussed on our set plan to see the opportunity that could potentially unfold. Perfectionist focus closes the door on opportunities that may change how we get where we want to go.

Sometimes being open-minded can be scary – can be seen as risky. If we are open to change and opportunity that may present itself then we must open ourselves up to the risk that comes with this. We find ourselves second guessing ourselves and our potential and in fear step back from what could have being wonderful because it seems like too much of a risk. In these scenarios it makes us feel like we are open-minded when really we are too scared to be that way.

How to be open-minded:

♥ SEE OPPORTUNITY: The first step is being open to the opportunity and acknowledging when it comes to you in the first place – this is the key to becoming open-minded. Know enough about what you want that when a different pathway presents itself to you, you will be able to see the benefits of the opportunity and acknowledge how it can change things.

♥ BE FLEXIBLE: An open mindset takes a great deal of flexibility. There is no longer a need for perfection on the exact path you have mapped out for every area of your life. There is room to grow, change and flex the foundation plans you have in place.

♥ OVERCOME FEAR: While it is impossible to banish fear altogether – whether you like it or not things that go against what you know, things that are different will always present that knot in your stomach, that inducement of self-doubt. However, looking fear in the face and doing something anyway can often bring great reward. If you see the opportunity as good and analyse the risk as worth it, then overcoming the fear is the last step to realising how it can change your life.

♥ STAY OPEN: Nothing in this life is absolute. Everyone is on a different path in life and no matter where you decide you want to go – there is potentially thousands of people who have done it before and each taken completely different paths to get there. If you stay open-minded you may just find that your life changes for the better. You will begin to see opportunities that may seem left of field but are exactly the thing that will be the difference between getting where you want to be and staying on a merry-go-round of never-changing circumstance.

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May
03

Take action in your work life

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IWIB

When faced with a problem or a stepping stone or a new venture or opportunity in your career you can do one of two things. Do nothing, which in essence means that you do not grow and become nothing. That is nothing more than you currently are. If you are happy with this than continue your life this way, but don’t expect to live the extraordinary life of your dreams.

The second option is to take action.

Pretty basic concept that one isn’t it. If you see opportunity or seek to overcome and grow in your career you need to ask yourself three questions:

What should you do?

What could you do?

What will you do?

It is this third step that incites action. If you find that in answering these questions that there are actionable items at the end then it is time to take action and just do them. If you don’t then like discussed above nothing will come of nothing. But if you dare to take the opportunity and DO SOMETHING then that is what will make a difference in your career, in your life and possibly someone else’s life.

I had the very fortunate opportunity to be present at the Illawarra Women In Business Awards for 2013 and was blown away with the level of drive and determination by the winners in each category. It was great to see so many local woman truly making an individual difference. How are they making a difference you ask?

Well they saw that there was something that should be done, they realised that they could do it and so they did!

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Apr
08

Magic Monday: Please take a smile…

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Sometimes in life there can be days when we find it hard to notice the little things, hard to smile at those around us, hard to even get out of bed for the day. It is these days that we can choose to wallow or choose to take a smile, slap it on our faces regardless and hold our heads high. Scientists have apparently proven that when you smile even if you are sad, your body will still produce the same endorphins/hormones as if you were really happy – so you can really fake it till you make it.

Just in case please take a smile from above :)

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Apr
05

7 organisation tips for everyday living

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1. For busy over-achieving career girls who are juggling more than they think they can handle it is essential to do everything while looking your best. Sometimes though time proves so short that on some mornings you either don’t go for your run, end up doing your makeup on the train or get to work sans jewellery because you couldn’t find the right top for that suit or the right jacket for those pants. Solution: On a Sunday afternoon while prepping your food for the week take some time to prep your outfits for the week complete with accessories and shoes and have them lined up at the end of your wardrobe ready to go. It can feel unusual at first but once you get used to it you will never mismatch an accessory or cardigan while in a rush again.

2. This one will get a cringe out of most people if their filing system involves piling all bills and paperwork on top of the filing cabinet like I do, BUT – file your bills and paperwork immediately. Feels weird to even think about being this organised but think about how good those times you actually filed it all felt? Was good wasn’t it? Now think about how good it will feel if you never have to take an hour and a half just to get through the pile. All it takes is a regular tiny commitment to open the mail and file immediately on a consistent basis.

3. Get rid of clutter! Just throw it all out…yes you heard me right. Chances are you are never going to need that old charger/uni assignments/school books/insert any bunch of crap lying around your office desk or house. It is an ingrained human habit to hoard objects however without going all minimalist on you I can assure you that when you clean out the clutter your mind will feel clearer and you will always be able to find what you are looking for.

4. Keep your daily beauty products separate from everything else. If like me you accumulate beauty products like an addiction then you know how annoying it can be when you can’t find the eyeliner that you usually use in amongst the draw of eye makeup that is really only suitable for after hours – not the workplace. When you keep your daily beauty products in their own section in the most easily accessible place you will never be scrounging through the drawers in amongst everything else. Effective and no longer frustrating!

5. Sometimes it is hard to sort through the influx of emails in the business world when it seems that everyone wants an answer that only you can provide. Left to build up this can cause fault lines in business relationships and frustration on your part as it then becomes an overwhelming task. Solution: Spend half hour dedicated time each day emailing back as many queries as you can. If you are a fast typist and the queries are information that isn’t too hard to provide then you could easily make it a self competition to see how many replies you can send back within a set timeframe. This gets your external business communication a little more organised and will also mean more happy clients.

6. While on the topic of emails – divide your inbox into a number of folders for relevant topic areas or regular contact and set the rule for outlook to automatically send those emails to that folder. For example I have separate emails for each staff member in my office, for each of the specialities I recruit for, others from payroll, another for skills testing results. The best part about this tip is once it is set up you won’t need to redo it and your inbox anxiety will be calmed somewhat as it is already all organised for you. Much easier to find past emailed information as well.

7. Be consistent. Sometimes being consistent is mistaken for routine but that is not what I mean. The more consistent we keep our regular daily tasks the more effective they become in our lives to assist us in keeping things running smoothly and effectively. If you can be consistent with cleaning out junk as you receive it rather than storing it away then chances are you won’t accumulate junk. If you are consistent with filing all paperwork right away – chances are that looming pile won’t build up. So if you are consistent you will stay organised!

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Mar
26

Brisbane Blogcademy – come at me

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I am a sassy blogger and recruiter on the South Coast of NSW and the only other country I have travelled to (so far) is Fiji. I dream of New York and decorate my house accordingly but this dream is sadly a few years off. I dream of being a blogger entrepreneur but am super happy with my current situation of blogger and intrapreneur. I am always looking to expand myself in new ways.

So when The Blogcademy class one in New York came and went I was disappointed I couldn’t just up and jump at this opportunity. Then Blogcademy jetsetted across the seas to London – again a location I couldn’t just up and jump to.

Then I got Gala Darling’s blog update via email!

Blogcademy was going global and that included two stops at Melbourne and Brisbane!

Although initially disappointed that Sydney got skipped along the way I took a look at both destinations and thought – hmmm I haven’t been to Qld in a few years…Done!

Therefore I am excited to announce the countdown has begun for Brisbane Blogcademy where I will not only meet some star bloggers that I have followed online for years and years (Gala since her Melbourne days!) but I will get to learn tips and tricks from the best.

November? That’s 8 months away I hear you say. Yes. Yes it is.

But what this means is that I have 8 months to make my blog more fantastic so that when it gets scrutinised by these blogger babes that I get higher levels of advice not just basic tips. It means that I have 8 months to plan a wardrobe for the two days that is fitting of the online queens of sparkle and shimmer. It means I have 8 months to get used to the idea that I get to meet my blogging role model for the first time in the flesh so that I can make sure I don’t get star struck and say something dumb (like the multiple times I have met Wil Anderson). It means I have something to look forward to. And to me this is the kind of event and weekend that will be worth the wait.

It wasn’t until last year that I wanted to blog a bit more seriously and a bit more frequently while still giving myself permission to have it go a few weeks without a post if life gets in the way.

This weekend will not be about idolising some of my favourite bloggers. I don’t idolise anyone but God. But getting to learn and grow in such a promising environment. Giving myself a chance to expand my knowledge in an area that is for personal growth only – not for work or anyone else – is pretty cool.

For any Brisbane or fellow Aussie bloggers I look forward to seeing you there. For Gala, Shauna and Kat thanks in advance for the opportunity…I am already channelling the power of turquoise and deciding between sparkly bow or bunny ears.

And to my readers may I inspire you to step outside your comfort zone and normal routine and take a class or book an event that is for purely personal growth. Do something that is for you and you alone and not for your career or family or anything else.

The best investment you can make is the one you make in yourself.

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Mar
22

Another year older…time to get wiser

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I am one of those people that LOVE birthdays. In fact I love love LOVE birthdays! And no it is not just because I don’t have kids to get excited about their birthdays instead. I think everyone’s birthday should be celebrated as it is a commemoration of another year of awesome living on this earth. Another year of contributing to society and a reminder to keep being the most awesome version of yourself and giving life all you have. This life will end eventually so we must rejoice and celebrate within this world while we can – birthdays are no exception.

This birthday I am feeling young and accomplished and busy and happy. I haven’t celebrated in the normal BIG ways that I normally do but I feel this year that it is the smaller things that are contributing to the bigger celebration – that I am a year older, have spent another year doing awesome things and some not so awesome things and being in my mid-twenties I feel it is time to get a bit wiser.

There are always areas that we could be improving and as the saying goes:

 Standing still is the same as going backwards.

 So I greet my twenty-thirteen birthday with this in mind. If I am to be deemed wiser by my own merits then what areas of my life do I need to improve. I could list of ten fantastic accomplishments right now but this is more about working on areas of my personality or life that sometimes work against the greater good for me.

Now this isn’t a chance to criticise myself, but instead to know myself and nurture myself into being the best version of myself – and who could want more than that!

With this is mind here is a list of areas that I commit to working on over the coming year:

♥ My health and fitness – I have begun a serious journey this year to lose weight and I want to remain committed to this journey. Working out with my partner has helped this immensely!

♥ Stop being sarcastic when people ask me questions when I think the answer is extremely obvious.

♥ Make an effort with my wardrobe. Some days I am fantastic at this and entirely put together with matching accessories and all but then other times I am flustered and running late or tired and don’t care and end up in outfits that are just not quite right. I am making a stand against this don’t care-ish attitude and will always care what I wear so that I can be fashion forward not ensemble-challenged.

♥ Never be late to work. Ever. Powerful women are never late. And the fact I am now only five minutes from work as opposed to 45mins should make this a lot easier.

♥ Read my bible and connect with God – and do this with no distractions around. So much of my connection with God is while driving or when I am in the middle of thinking a million other thoughts. Some quiet time would be nice.

♥ Contribute to the greater good. Whether this be money, time or knowledge I want to contribute to the greater good of society in some way.

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Feb
11

Get your head clear: free-writing

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sevenmilebeach

Sometimes we can get caught up in all the little intricacies of life and before we know it, it’s Friday evening, work is over for another week and our head is swimming with a million thoughts, to-do list items that haven’t been done, things that require your attention for the weekend, people you need to text or call back and a hundred more things that are going to require your attention come Monday. Whew!

It isn’t any wonder that in the switched on, fast paced lives that we are living that we can get so caught up that we forget to stop. We are dealing with emotions, relationships, physical demands on top of all our goals, wants and desires. So when we are all go, go ,go – how do we stop, stop stop?

One tactic so that you no longer feel emotionally, mentally and physically spent by the end of each week is to get things out of your head and onto paper. While some might find they prefer to type up every aspect of their lives with the variety of digital platforms available to us, there is something to be said for putting ink to the page and writing out all that is bogging down our minds. Not all of us have the desire to get flexible with yoga or to sit patiently with our eyes closed in a meditative state – free-writing is the perfect alternative for the same relaxed state of mind result.

Many writers already know and occasionally or frequently adopt free-writing exercises to assist with clearing their head from clutter and to beat writer’s block. Adopting it as a regular task for no reason other than to pour out your mind can actually help you improve your mental capacity to deal with stress, manage your life and keep your emotions in check. Regularly writing down what is on your mind can be effective in helping you sort out what you really want in life, what you may not be happy with now and where you should be heading in your life.

What are some tips for free-writing aimed at clearing your head?

♥ Dedicate to doing at least once a week if not multiple times per week. This will help you to get into the rhythm of the exercise and get your head clear so that it reduces stress levels and allows you better emotional balance but understanding what is bothering your mind.

♥ Set a time or page limit for each session. Free-writing is not the same as journaling. The aim isn’t to pour your heart out or list of what you did today in a dear diary sense but to let your mind wander to whatever topic it comes up with and to get this out of your head.

♥ Spelling and grammar go out the window. Do not worry about getting things neat and out of your head in an ordered fashion. You may start a sentence with “I don’t know what to write…” and the next minute your three paragraphs in and have jumped from football, to someone at work who pissed you off to that pretty pair of shoes you wish you could afford. It isn’t meant to be pretty and it doesn’t need to make sense.

♥ Don’t censor yourself. Write the pages as if no-one will ever read them except for you. The idea is to honestly convey any thought that pops into your head and start to get an understanding of what bothers you, what you really want and get your mind free of muddled thoughts.

♥ Use a really nice, easy flowing pen. It seems silly to point this out but when we are so used to typing things out using a pen for long periods of time can be a little awkward at first. Buying a pen that has easy flowing ink can make all the difference between the speed your thoughts enter your mind and how you capture them on the page.

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Jan
28

Here goes -nothing- I mean 20kgs

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Over the past first month of twenty thirteen I have refined and refined my new year’s resolution to be as simple as “Be a woman of my word”. That is not to say I am a liar or a cheater – I am way too honest to get away with that on any level – but I say things that I am going to do and never do them.

Like this time last year and all throughout the entire year that was twenty twelve I talked and talked and talked about losing all my weight. It was very on again off again which seems to be my style, but I was never consistent enough with any of it to actually make a difference in my weight loss goals. It’s kind of depressing really: to realise that you have got almost a whole other year older and you are still talking about doing the same thing. Worst part is that I have let myself put on another 5kgs or more in the past 6 months all because I couldn’t commit to my goal – I wasn’t a woman of my word.

So now, after extensive browsing on the transformations on BodyBuilding.com and reading through Amanda Marie’s incredible journey on Mevsthebulge.com I have decided to take the plunge for real this time. I won’t just be talking about this, I will be doing this. No seriously *pulls serious face* I am going to smash this goal out of the ball park!

You know how I know I am serious this time? I started drinking green tea and did it consistently for two weeks before I had to stop (it gave me heaps of little pimples and that made me super sad – I am 25 and do not want the face of a 14year old!) AND I have been eating every three hours, AND I am turned of chocolate (yet another story I am sure I will share), AND I am so on the clean eating bandwagon that I have bought Quinoa and Chia and Greek Yogurt and even made my own protein oats slice – with no sugar! Oh and my boss and I are now in competition to see who can lose 15kgs first so I can’t let him beat me!

Sadly I became that girl…that girl who didn’t realise she got that fat, that still thought of herself in terms of her skinny body, that girl who avoids bikinis and the beach because she doesn’t want to be fatter than everyone there, that girl who could devour a packet of any chocolate biscuits in one sitting and have no self-control to stop it and always feel sick and bloated afterwards, that girl who tries to hide the fat under clothing layers to pretend it doesn’t exist and can’t understand why that dress suddenly doesn’t fit her a few months later, that girl who hates shopping because she can’t wear the styles she is used to. I don’t want to be that delusional skinny fat girl anymore. That girl isn’t me…I am the skinny girl in the middle screaming to fight her way out and be the best possible version of herself she can be!

I realised all the people I admire around me are the ones who eat clean and exercise. To me that speaks volumes about a person’s self-esteem. The only thing letting me down in my life at the moment is my self-esteem which stems from my excess fat and so now – that fat will be banished!

So why am I telling you about it? Well I want to hold myself accountable…so I am going to be blogging about my journey along the way. Also I am always super inspired when reading about other people’s body transformation stories that maybe just maybe WHEN (notice how I didn’t say if??? Eh? Eh?) I reach my goals people will read over my story and be inspired to transform themselves.

Excuse the poor photo qualities but this is me at 18 and me now at 25!

Excuse the poor photo qualities but this is me at 18 and me now at 25!

So for a while I have been vaguely saying that I want my 18yo body back and here I have it pictured side by side with my 25yo body. Seeing them both together I have realised I don’t want either and here is why. On the left we have me at 18 – I was a size 8-10, approximately 50-53kgs looked super slim but always thought I was fat (damn you high school girl mentality). While I do look super slim with a C cup bra I have no tone or definition and ate junk food a lot! Then on the right is me a few months back at 25 – I am a size 12-14, 75kgs, have an E cup bra, have rolls that I have trouble hiding and again I am not happy with my body and think it is fat  – only this time I am closer to the truth. With approximately 36% body fat I am considered obese by medical terms which considering I am so much smaller than a lot of people I know – that is SCARY!!!

If I don’t want to go back to my 18yo body anymore I had to devise a new goal body to aim for. The truth is I want to be a size 8-10 with tone and definition, a body that is fuelled by clean eating not by processed foods. I hope to be back down to a C or D cup bra and weigh about 55kgs – only this time that extra five kilos will be muscle! I want to be able to wear bikinis on the beach with confidence and be one of those girls that work out at the gym in a crop top and short shorts – because she can! I want to be 15-20% body fat and never be fat again!

How am I going to do this? I have one of those body types that responds well to exercise so training 5-6 days a week EVERY week is going to be key to my fat loss goals. My diet is going to be so clean it will be squeaking! Well not quite. I am going to be clean eating as a lifestyle choice and if I want to eat something “naughty” then I can and I will but I will make sure I burn it off at my next workout. If I actually do these two things CONSISTENTLY I will very easily meet my goals in a year, year and a half max. 20kgs in 52 weeks equates to 385gram losses every week – very doable!

So far this year I have put on 700g of muscle (I know it was muscle as it was after a week of weight training!) and lost 8.1cms over my body. I will therefore weigh in weekly but also do my measurements weekly to ensure that my motivation levels stay high by celebrating the little successes!

My goal outfit is a body hugging leopard print dress that I wore out once about 5 years ago and it didn’t fit me since…It is hanging in my wardrobe ready!

I would say wish me luck on my weight loss journey but right now I am feeling so cocky about been a woman of my word that I trust that I can do this. I am a powerful woman and I know God has my back so this goal is going to happen. I look forward to sharing my journey with you.

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Jan
08

The Female Entrepreneur: Heidi Yi

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HeidiYi

Name: Heidi Yi
Life Motto: Honesty is the best policy
Entrepreneurial Achievement: Mineral Makeup by Heidi Yi and self-published author of two books
Fave Heidi Yi product: Mineral Foundation “I use MF7 Warm beige which is also our best seller.”
Advice for budding entrepreneurs:

“Follow your heart and follow your dreams, do what your heart is telling you.  Do something that you are passionate about and enjoy.  In my opinion success does not always equate to having a huge business, global empire or having a few shops but it’s about sense of achievement and self-accomplishment. It’s about doing whatever that makes you happy and still make a living.”

Starting her career as a makeup artist in QLD back in 1997, Heidi Yi specialised in wedding and professional photography makeup, transforming women from beautiful to wowser!!! An award winning makeup artist Heidi contributed to numerous magazines and won awards across QLD and then later NSW and after ten years of helping women look their best on their special day, Heidi decided to take her experience to the next level.

“In 2007 an opportunity came up to write my own book on ‘how to’ make-up which also inspired me to have my own range of mineral make up,” says Heidi.

Heidiyimakeup

In October 2007 Heidi Yi Makeup was born and she hasn’t looked back since establishing this successful venture, which operates as an online venture.

“At the moment I have my business functioning as a part-time concern, however when establishing the business I was in the fortunate position to be able to focus on it fulltime,” says Heidi. “As the mineral makeup is mostly an online business it doesn’t require much supervision but I am constantly working on increasing traffic and loyalty.”

Heidi achieves this loyalty and traffic increases with a number of tactics including still transforming brides in Sydney on weekends and doing around ten trade shows per year including Newcastle, Melbourne, Wollongong, Sydney, Gold Coast and Brisbane. Her bubbly personality allows her to be at ease when networking with new and old contacts and she keeps her business busy by taking advantage of the peak seasons.

“My business can be seasonal, for example wedding makeups bookings are peak in summer compared to winter, explains Heidi. “I keep myself busy by attending networking meetings to meet people to find business opportunities such as sponsorships and also to keep the name out there.”

One of the best business networks that has assisted Heidi throughout her business venture has been their Bartercard network. It is through careful planning that she is efficient in making her business work for her.

“Although I don’t have large overheads such as rent and wages or liabilities, there are still fixed costs that I need to cover to operate the business. In quiet times I tend to focus on planning and working on the business to improve cash flow for the ‘troughs’ in the future.

So how does someone who runs a successful online mineral makeup line, has self-published two books and still finds time to sponsor car racing teams ad attend trade shows find balance across her life?

“I try to take at least one day of a week when I can…because I sometimes work weekends I take weekdays off. I try not to over commit by booking myself out as I don’t want to burn out.”

Another tactic Heidi uses to ensure she has balance is to allocate others to look after other areas of her business so that she is not covering all bases solely on her own and can focus on the areas of business networking that she is best at.

“I do have many people behind my business. I outsource to a bookkeeper, accountant, solicitor, graphic designer, copywriter, IT and web Developer.”

The ability to see where other experts can assist her is also what allowed Heidi to launch her makeup range effectively.

“I outsourced a graphic designer to help me come up with product labels, names for each product and product codes to fit the branding.  I could have attempted to do them myself to cut costs but it would have taken me long time as I have no clue when it comes to design and artwork.”

Despite being more practical and business-oriented Heidi took a risk to expand her experience by adding self-published author to her growing list of achievements.

“I am not much of a writer…I have great skills in doing the makeup as opposed to being a trainer or a teacher, says Heidi. “But then I thought of writing a makeup book which outlines all the experiences and skills that I have learnt over the years working as a makeup artist. That way people can read and follow my tips and tricks.”

Makeup Book

With five years of experience behind her as the face of a mineral makeup range, Heidi has learnt a thing or two along her journey that she wished she had of known before she began.

“I have learnt to shop around before committing myself to anything because I can get better deals from many other sources. Don’t sign anything until ready, doesn’t matter how much pressure you receive from sales reps to get you to buy their products or services.”

The biggest thing Heidi has learnt is who should be at the helm of her business. “While I am happy to take business advice from trusted consultants, I now know that everyone is just trying to make a buck, and the only person that knows what is right for my business and the direction I want it to head, is me.

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Dec
04

Time to reflect on the year that was twentytwelve

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As of Saturday this past week end, the date on the calendar hit December 1st which marks 11 months since many of us set and abandoned one or many New Year’s resolutions. One of the things I love most about this time of year (other than excitement of time off, summer and Christmas) is reflecting back on what I have achieved and how I have grown over the course of the year and where I want to head for the next year.

This time of year, while seemingly hectic, can actually be the best time of year for reflection so that you head into the new year assured of what you have done and what you are now ready to do.

What I am hoping to do over the next couple of weeks is to take the time to sit and reflect: Think about the wonderful things I have experienced (such as a Wedding in Adelaide, a horse and carriage ride in Melbourne, another friend’s wedding, 5 other black tie formal events, a 2 year anniversary with my boyfriend and many other mini adventures with my man and best friend <3); and List off all the things I have achieved both personally and professionally (this list includes expanding my white collar recruitment scope within the company I work for, working 4 days per week for 6 months to take time to myself, becoming a Finalist of the Illawarra Business Awards, undertaking a Real Estate investment course, persisting with this blog, expanding my resume recreation services).

Now it is your turn! Take a notepad, some pens and a quiet space and reflect upon the following and remember to break it down month by month if you have trouble remembering! Ask yourself the following questions and let your mind wander across every avenue and let the pen scribble free-thought style:

♥ What great experiences have I had this year? This could be travel, relationships, events, new places, new foods tried…the limit is your imagination.

♥ What have I achieved in my personal life? This can span across any category including relationships, communication, health & fitness, religion, body & soul…

♥ What have I achieved in my professional life? This is where it will differ depending if you work for yourself or a corporate company…detail what you have achieved whether it was updating your resume, a work related course, promotion, pay rise, work experience…

♥ What lessons have I learnt? Have you broken a bad habit? Or let go of a toxic friendship? Detail the things you feel you have learnt or had reiterated in the experiences of this year.

♥ What areas do I want to focus on in 2013? Areas of your business need improving? Does you marketing kit need a makeover? Do you wish you spent more time being creative? Or meditating? Or exercising? Or with family and friends? Details the areas of focus for yourself in the New Year.

♥ Are there any courses you want to take to increase your skill either for personal or professional benefits?

♥ What are your personal goals? Make at least one goal for each of the areas of your life: finances/relationships/spiritual/fitness/self etc.

♥ What are your professional goals? Make a list of goals to achieve in your professional life whether it is find a new job, return to an old job, get a pay rise or promotion, start your own business, build up your existing business. The limit is in your own self worth.

So this area of goal setting is simply the reflection stage. Unfortunately I often get caught at the reflection stage and come up with fantastic ideas with no follow through. This is one of the things I learnt by partaking in NANoWriMo this year. A goal whether small or ridiculously ambitious takes careful planning AND execution for it to come to fruition.

So as a start reflect on what has been a wonderful 2012, enjoy the remainder of the last month of the year and hit TwentyThirteen with a supersonic BANG!

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