Alignment..

A couple of weeks ago I was walking along the Aldwych towards Holborn when I passed a bus stop with a big yellow sign tied to the post stating ‘ No buses stopping here’ . I was surprised to see three people stood at the same bus stop waiting for a bus! I watched in wonder, and then realised that there are so many of us waiting for a bus that never stops. We become frustrated. Then complain that nothing is working in our lives i.e the right job isn’t coming along, the right man never finds us, or money never comes our way etc. Many of us even go as far as blaming luck! ‘Oh I’m so unlucky, everything is just going wrong for me’. This is absolutely nothing to do with luck but much to do with alignment. Quite simply, if we stand at the right bus stop, the bus will actually stop. It is all about aligning yourself to the opportunities which exist, and making yourself visible.

So how do you know if you’re at the right bus stop? This is a combination of knowledge and intuition. Your intuition is the yellow sign as seen at the bus stop. It is also referred to as ‘alarm bells’. For example, you may experience this when attending an interview for a job which really doesn’t interest you. You may even feel quite uncomfortable about going to the interview. Well, that’s your alarm bells ringing! If you were aligned, there would not be any alarm bells.

Knowledge derives from understanding. You can only navigate your way around the market in which you operate once you develop an understanding of it. Just like Neo in the hit movie ‘The Matrix’ who was able to manipulate the Matrix in order to gain power/ abilities to achieve his goal.

Alignment should really be taken into account when looking for a career opportunity. Especially in todays world where we have been exposed to evolving technology, and enhanced communication. It is much easier to align our skills, experience and even our personality to career goals. For example, we can attract people and opportunities through the development of an online profile using linked-in, Facebook, Twitter, or blogging. Gone are the days when trawling through jobsites, and newspapers were insured methods of finding a job. The key is to make yourself visible to the opportunity and attract it! Think about who your target audience is, and where they are. In September of this year, Experian Hitwise claimed that Facebook accounted for 49.2% of all UK Internet visits to a social networking site. So doesn’t it make sense to start utilising Facebook as a self-marketing tool to achieve your career aspirations?

Open your mind to the world of opportunity. Despite the economic downturn opportunities are abound. Simply find the right bus stop, stick your hand out, and make yourself visible!

Namaste..

X- Factor is back!

I don't generally watch television. However, each year I make a special effort to follow the X-Factor. I find it inspirational, and I absolutely love Simon Cowell! The X-Factor showcases regular people with talent although it's not always obvious in the beginning. Throughout the series we follow the contestants' journeys, and bear witness to their transformation over the course of 12 weeks. Unfortunately some of them get worse as they lose confidence, but the majority of the contestants greatly improve as their talent develops. These contestants are a joy to watch because they have realised their own talent, and proceeded to maximise their potential. Thus demonstrating the 'X-Factor". This is proof that self-belief, self-confidence, and self-worth really does work.

Last Saturday I thought that Danyl's performance was undoubtedly the best of the night, but I was disappointed when both Louis and Cheryl accused him of being 'cocky'. He's amazing and he knows it- there's nothing wrong with that! Self-belief is power which is the driving force behind personal success.

The X-Factor phenomenon has taken over the twenty-first century. Everything we do in our career, business, and even relationship is heightened by our X-factor. In the current economic climate, there are more people than there are jobs. In order to overcome the impact of this, ask yourself ' Why should anyone employ me as opposed to someone else?'. In business, ask yourself 'what difference does my product or service make to my industry? In relationships, 'what is it about me that maintains the passion?' Of course there should be some consistency in your answers across all areas of your life. Think about it..

Personal Responsibility

In this world today we often read about the necessity of having role models, mentors, and even life coaches, especially in the case of young people. I’ve always had a problem with this, and I was so glad last week when President Obama highlighted the importance of personal responsibility in his controversial speech addressed to young people.

It’s all very well having role models, and mentors but how much of this is about being yourself? What you should get from a role model is a sense of noble qualities which you can adopt. One of my ‘role models’ is Oprah Winfrey. I admire her strength, compassion and her contribution to society. However, by no means do I want to be another Oprah Winfrey. It is our personal responsibility to be who we are, and accept it. Having role models should be about admiring their qualities and being inspired to take on their qualities but not who they are.

Admittedly, we all need guidance. However, true guidance comes from within. It comes from using your intuition. As a Coach/ Counsellor, I empower people to trust themselves, and then I offer tools to help them along their CHOSEN journey. I never criticise or belittle a person's efforts to live their lives. There are no mistakes or failures, but many lessons which we have to learn.

This week Obama stated “ Every single one of you has something you’re good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That’s the opportunity an education can provide”.

I put education in the context of life education. It’s no good looking at others to find yourself. Learning from your life experiences to include relationships, and the circumstances in which you find yourself, is invaluable to your personal development, and personal branding.

We are all divine but unique and this is what makes us all special. We have different talents all aligned to our life purpose. When we acknowledge our talents our path lights up.

Namaste

Your career challenges- an initiation leading to your true purpose?

Life is an amazing adventure. We have good times, we have bad times. Wouldn’t it be nice if everyday was a good day? I think we’d all be excited about life..

The good news is everyday can be a good day. When we don’t get the job that we applied for, when we are unexpectedly made redundant, when we are extremely unhappy at work, when we are unemployed for long periods- it’s actually ok. This is a part of our journey, and so it’s important that now you are aware, accept that this is the case. Allow the experience to transform you. Look at the lessons that you learn, and the messages from each experience. These are always positive because they prepare you for the next phase of your soul’s journey.

Keep going!

Security

A well paid job, a partner, a family, and a home gives us a sense of security. It’s comforting to know that we’ll be able to pay our bills each month, that we have a shoulder to cry on, and that we have a home to live in. This isn’t really security or is it? According to Maslows Hierarchy of needs this constitutes our biological and physiological needs, and our safety needs. It is very much the lower end of the hierarchy. So it’s not really embodying the full sense of security. We can lose our job tomorrow, our partners can leave us, our home can be repossessed, and even our family can stop supporting us. What happens when we lose some of these things? Well quite frankly, in my case I thought I was a joke! I have no money, and no job- so I must be a joke! After days of wallowing in self-pity I realised that I was still here, and nothing had changed. I became present to the fact that Security never leaves. I had to count my blessings..

In order to fully embrace our sense of security, we have to transcend our fear of loss and relinquish our power of appreciation. It is only then that we can build our self-esteem, and ultimately achieve self-actualization- Maslow’s higher hierarchy.

7 ways to invoke your power of Appreciation and raise your Self-Esteem

1) Daily Meditation

Meditation gives you peace of mind and inner strength to deal with the challenges we face each day. Find out more about meditation from the UK Alliance

2) Be Grateful

Each night write a list of 7 things you have appreciated during your day.

3) Consciously admire your environment

Admire your house, your garden, the street which you live, and acknowledge all the beauty which surrounds you.

4) Honour yourself daily

Say daily affirmations which illuminate your divinity. Examples may include:

"I am surrounded by love"

"The universe supports me"

"I am a divine being of light"

5) Appreciate the people in your life

Acknowledge your soul family who honour your highest good. You could express your appreciation through a simple phone call, card or even text message.

6) Acknowledge your achievements

Write a list of your achievements at the end of each month. This can be anything from being on time for most of the month or spring cleaning or ensuring that you have breakfast each morning! Anything, which is a real achievement for you.

7) Acknowledge your gifts

Create a mind map which illustrates your unique gifts and talents which you could share with others. Your mind map will highlight your divine potential, and help you to realise all of your inner resources at your disposal.

Let Courage carry you!

Courage is what helps you to make those difficult decisions which you know you have to make. Courage is what takes over when you know what you want in life. Courage is what supports you when you stand in your truth. The truth of who you are.

On some level, we all know why we are here. As soon as we acknowledge this, Courage wraps around us to carry us to the next level.

It's always challenging when we know what we have to do, but we're too afraid of other people's thoughts/ feelings, and making ourselves look bad. See Courage as your safety net.

When you accept that you are in the wrong job or that you need to change careers, Courage will carry you. Courage will carry you to your divine destination, and transcend all the fear. It will protect you from adversity, and negativity. Let Courage be your divine carriage....

The Crossroads

Everything seems to be going well for us, and we are literally skipping down our path. This is until we come to a crossroads where we are often met with new people, new events and experiences, old friends, old ways. For some of us, we choose to walk with new people and experience new events. It’s very much a learning adventure. For others, they choose to stay with old friends and old ways. Sadly, life just seems to repeat itself time and time again.

Let Passion drive you!

Passion is your soul food. Get passionate. My life became exciting when I became passionate. Passionate about what I do, about my contribution, about inspiring people around me because I am passionate about myself, my life. Surrender to your passion, and release your ego. You’ll have much more fun, and it’s amazing how the universe will support you.

Passion supports you, and never leaves. It sustains you. You can have a great job, family, car, house etc. You can lose all of these things but your passion will always be there- just waiting to be acknowledged.

During the painful times of unemployment, and lack of income we lose our self esteem, and have very little self-worth. What’s happened? We have no money, we can’t afford to go out or buy the luxuries that we’ve become accustomed to…..but guess what? Passion is still here to guide you.

Many of us lose Passion when “the **** hits the fan”, when we lose our “securities” like money, partner, job etc. Our lives turn upside down, and so we decide to follow Fear. Fear holds us and protects us from hurt. It wraps around us and hides Passion. Our lives stand still in Fear.

After a while, being wrapped up in Fear becomes very uncomfortable. Our bodies start to ache and we become ill because Fear starts to suffocate. The good news is Passion can break free to save us, but we have to dig deep to pull Passion out. Passion will often call you and whisper. Passion will even blow into your heart each time you do something you enjoy. We just have to pay more attention to the whispers, and those wonderful sensations in our hearts. That way we become closer to Passion, and we get to know Passion. Passion is released, and we are free!