It's true, I do have a thirst for knowledge and it seems to expand, this desire to learn, the older I get. Reading is probably as important as breathing to me and sits right on up there with writing for me. I know my husband groans a little, even moans a little and then shakes his head in resignation when I sign up for another course or buy another book.
Amazon and Kindle are two of the best things ever invented in my eyes because now my weekly visits to the library can be replaced by late night internet searches and instant access to whatever the latest items on my list of things to read and learn about are.
My latest fascination is with NLP and I've signed up for a Master Practitioners course in NLP which starts in March. I went to an introductory session this month and also a meetup (people who share this interest and meet to learn and discuss more) Yes hubby groaned, quite loudly in fact but then was resigned to the reality that I was going to do it anyway.
Yesterday I got into full forward progress on getting my transformation and change coaching business up and happening. I transferred and linked my domain name to my website which is now almost ready to go, I designed and purchased my business cards and now I have plenty of work to be done on developing both online and face-to-face e-courses and workshops.
If I look back on how far I've come. In 2001 I signed up for university, it was the most terrifying thing I've ever done, I can still feel the butterflies in my stomach when I think back to those early days.
Back then I was on the upside of years of suffering from anxiety attacks and determined to do something with myself. I could barely log onto a computer, let alone find my way around one. I was green, naive and pretty much scared of my own shadow.
At that time, our family life necessitated that I also work so I started in a job that would eventually take me where I needed to go. It was a part time factory job, so for 6 years I worked part time in a dusty and hot factory and studied part time at university. In amongst that I was managing a home, three boys and a husband. I was no different to anyone else who was simply getting on with life.
My thirst for knowledge and a desire to do something with my life has brought me so far. Today - fourteen years later - I have a Bachelor degree and I'm three subjects away from a Masters degree, I've written the book I promised myself I would write before I turned 40, I'm computer savvy, I design online content and e-courses and I work in change management.
This year I will launch my own business, with my goal being to launch by 1st July, the NLP course will be the final element for my personal coaching toolkit.
I have gone from someone who at one time was scared to actually walk to the letterbox and leave the safety of my own home and who struggled to attend school activities for my oldest son. I think surely there's a few things I can share with others about how I got to where I am today and how anyone can change their world if they want to.
Most of those who know me would not be aware of some of these things, after all I was super good at putting on that 'she'll be okay' face. The thing is, part of growing and learning is about facing our fears, sharing our story and learning from our experiences.
Henry Ford says "If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got"
Change is constant, change is also necessary. Have you stopped to think about what you're doing to change your world....one baby step is all it takes to start.
On a final note, I know that being grateful for what we have today is an essential part of who we become tomorrow.
On this Australia Day, I am grateful that I'm an Aussie. I love our country, I love our people, I love that we are free to grow and develop into all that we can be. I am also grateful for my beautiful family and my amazing friends. I am eternally grateful for my life and for all that lies ahead for me.
Happy Australia Day everyone
Cheers, Fi
You my friend are an amazing, inspiring and incredibly talented woman! Wow! what an inspiring post!
ReplyDeleteThank you, this is by far one of the hardest posts I have ever written, admitting that I haven't always had it so together isn't something which comes naturally to me. Amazing, inspiring and incredibly talented - yeah it takes one to know one doesn't it? Hope you're keeping well :-)
DeleteBrilliant - on all counts
ReplyDeleteThank you, you know who helped me get this far - he believed in me 😊
DeleteHi Fiona,
ReplyDeleteit amazes me that our current business and development paths are on such similar trajectories at the moment, although my timing may be a little behind yours because of a few family issues - in fact I thought that I would have launched by transitional coaching biz and e-courses last year. Still, one step at a time. I have not enjoyed the NLP so much though. Possibly my training so far has not been sufficiently in depth. I do have a workshop coming up in a couple of weeks though, as part of my coaching certification.
We should catch up for a coffee and compare notes - email me
DeleteInspiration2dream@gmail.com