Finding a direction that fits you instead of pleases others In a world obsessed with productivity and products, with performance at the expense of happiness, as we drive ourselves deeper and deeper into the ground, do we have a choice? How do we really want to spend our days — pushing our self-imposed standards or toward freedom? For me, I think I am starting to unravel the problem: I have been working full time teaching English for seven years and at the same time gaining my Master Degree level Coaching and Mentoring Diploma. I also enjoy reading…

It is tough and sometimes lonely but we can do it! Here are some ideas When you work as a leader, manager or business owner, often it is impossible to find anyone to be accountable to — while this might seem to be the goal in our working life — total independence — it also has some very serious consequences in terms of productivity and continual professional development. I have been lone-working as a business owner for 8 years and before that a manager of small teams, loneliness has at times stalked me and when things have been impossibly difficult or I have…

Learning about life from my rescue dog! Dogs are essential for family life: I had always had dogs when I was growing up, they were a major part of my childhood, Cindy, the Rough Collie ran around and followed me and fetched ball so that even though I was an only child, I never actually felt…

Moving from reactive to reflective worked for me Unfortunately, life doesn’t always make much sense and even though people might feel I have mine together, this is purely a very good ability to keep going and pretend (when under the surface, there is a fair amount of chaos)! I thought…

Re-discovering the skill of focused reading As leaders, managers and business owners, we believe that we are the busiest person in the world, so under pressure and shouldering huge responsibility and sometimes it feels as if we do not have time to even take a breath! I am attempting to…

I was plodding along quite nicely, teaching English with a fully booked schedule and making a living as a freelancer but then life took a new direction. During lockdown, I knew that teaching was fantastic, allowing me to stay at home and avoid the virus, hiding away in my home-office…

It looks possible but could I do it? I have been around for quite a while, living my life and minding my own business but a couple of years ago, I discovered Blogs, clips and podcasts and lately I was wondering how to have a go for myself as part…

How to work on goals that will make a big difference and achieving them These days everyone is banging on about the need to set goals in order to be productive, resilient and also improve our hopefulness. However, it is easy for them to say but they just do not…

Inspirational leadership is knowing yourself well It would so wonderful to know and like ourselves as a leader, to appreciate our skills and strengths and to have a plan to also work on some of the barriers that block our path and some areas we need to develop. Just like Santa, we need to keep our eye on the goal and end up knowing our own blend of character traits, find our own superpower! These days, middle managers, business owners and leaders generally face pressure from all sides and this is the reason we need to stick together, share ideas and consider how to lead well without working harder.