When I started working at AVO nearly three years ago, I made a commitment to to blog my journey. It does not matter to any of you whether I share my stories, but I needed something to hold myself accountable to. To keep going when it feels tough to push through.   

It has been some time since I wrote a blog, but the events of this last week have motivated me so much, I am inspired to share them with you. 

At the beginning of last year, I was encouraged by Robin Sharma to be specific about what I wanted to achieve for the year. He spoke about: Developing a strategy, setting up a self-contract, measuring yourself along the way and implementing your dreams (you can check it out in our Feb 09 archives).

I faithfully wrote down my goals, but I was not entirely sure about what steps to take to make them a reality. Did I reach my goals? no I did not. But what I learned was the necessary steps needed to reach those goals. I can now sit down with similar goals and plot the steps I need to take to get there. So were my goals wasted? not a chance!

It was quite a moment when I realized that I was on the road to fulfilling those goals even though I thought I had lost my way. I went back to some of my old journals and revisted the dreams and goals I had visualized for myself and paid little attention to.  I look at where I am right now and realise that I am on the road to the places I want to be. I realize the dreams and goals I had spent authentic time visualizing are the ones I am living!

Jules has always told me to trust the process, the hardest thing for me! Well, looking back at this week; I think life is showing me that I can trust the processes. An interesting question is, what would happen if I had paid a little more attention to those things I had visualized for my life… maybe the journey would have been more invigorating!

Bear with me …

Another event that made me sit up and take notice, came packaged in a movie  “XIII”, a new release from our local video store. A real ‘skop-skit’ movie in the vein of Bourne Identity. The main character gets hurt in a parachuting accident and loses his memory. Quite a frightening experience. A woman he meets proclaims how awesome it is, how differently she would live her life if she could erase the memories of the bad experiences in her life!

Oh my Gosh! I have worked hard in the last two years, to move forward in my life. And yes, I have moved on but the residue still sticks to me, holding me back. I decided to give it a bash and work for one week being conscious about erasing the past, asking myself “how would this moment feel,  if you did this thing without remembering that past?” I felt stronger and more alive, taking more risks which proved successful. I am committing to recognizing when my energy gets stolen by past memories of weakness or failure. I know it is going to take time but if I can reprogram my brain – I think it will produce great results.

Indulge me; there might be something valuable here for you! 

I had the pleasure of spending some time with Tracy when we went up to Mpumalanga to do some training. We were chatting about strengths, as that is what Tracy and Jo were going to train. I am so intrigued by my strengths and work at understanding them quite a lot. We were chatting about connectedness, why it is sometimes difficult to connect with people, when you know it is your strength. Anxiety takes over and you loose your moment of power. We were reminded that the connection sometimes does not happen when we are not standing in our own power. We need to spend more time doing the things that ground us, that bring us back to our centre and help us stand in our own power. I took this to heart and have been spending more time each morning reading and writing and meditating. That is what centres me. I love the synchronicity that has happened from doing that. One of my readings for the week has been “be careful what you hold onto from the past, it will take you out of the now. If you are not present in the now, you will miss out on opportunities to act, say or celebrate”.

As some of you know I am going through a healing time after my business closed down. One of the most powerful lessons has been forgiving myself from making “bad” decisions, aligning myself with people for the wrong reasons and creating unhealthy relationships. I am realising the importance of being aware of each moment and trying to live in the now. It does not take away our responsibility of building a good, strong future.

Another reading was “It is out of the seed of the past, that each new moment is born.” I have been a little afraid of my decision making wondering if I will make “bad” decisions again and have to live through more of the same pain. But if I stand in the now authentically, the more I stand in my own power, the more effectively I make decisions. If we stand in the now, in the awareness of the moment we are held in time and space of eternity and only eternity knows what tomorrow brings. 

One last gem to throw in, from the book “Now, discover your strengths”. On connectedness … 

“Humility is the essence of connectedness. You have to know who you are and who you aren’t.” 

Check out our next open course for Playing to your strengths!

Robin Sharma has a wonderful theory of “Being a leader without a title”. He encourages us all to be the best we can be in what we do, not needing a title in order to be leaders in our lives.

In one of his latest coaching videos “Hard Times Makes Great Leaders” he reminds us that by acknowledging the weak areas of our business (and personal lives) allows us to remove those weak areas and creates space for something new. Difficult times are purification times and time to build and create new things. To quote Niche “Chaos gives births to dancing stars!” check out

Sharma’s 4 steps to dealing with hard times:

Let go of old ways

Protect your thinking - don’t buy into negativity, “leaders are dealers in hope!”

Go the extra mile - when you feel you can’t anymore, do one more thing, be a merchant of “WOW”, develop a language of success!

Stay healthy - exercise, eat good food, drink lots of water.

My own take on it is: When you are in despair, look at what you have and how that can help you cope with the things you find hard. What always helps me is to look at what my strengths are, being open and honest about what I am not so good at and finding a way to achieve my goals, step by step

p.s. Our next open course for “Playing to your strengths” in on 27 May 2009. Join us, you can book on-line…

Footprint and our client the FSB have made it into the Star Workplace! 

Thanks to the AVO’s who have supported the Footprint team on this project. We have invaded your space, which you have taken so graciously, used your man-power and learned from your abilities and skillls. Thank you! Click on the Footprint logo to your right to read the article!

For many of us it has been a struggle to find focus at the beginning of this year. The financial situation in the country is forcing us to look at new ways of doing things. A number of us were chatting about how difficult it has been to find our way into this year. Now that we have attended our sales conference, we have a direction for the year. The next challenge is to stick to our goals and keep the momentum going. You might find these pointers from ‘The Saint, the Surfer and the CEO” Robin Sharmas latest book helpful in manifesting your heart’s desire! (or sticking to your goals!) 

He reiterates the importance of taking the steps towards our goals. Having a great dream or goal is not enough to get us there!
 

Articulate your vision:
Name it, write it down, see it, feel it, smell it.

Develop a strategy:
Doing something tangible towards your dream makes it a reality, bridging the gap between vision and getting the result. A big dream broken into manageable steps is easier to realise.

Set up a self contract:
Make an agreement with yourself, stating with what you plan to do, write it out, you can even sign it. Too many dreams die because the “Law of Diminishing Intent” holds that the more time passes after you have set your goal the less likely you are too breathe life into it and make it happen”.  Our inner critic takes over and our dream starts dying. One way of holding yourself accountable is working with a coach or a good friend!

Measure yourself along the way:
What is not measured can not be mastered. Take ten to fifteen at the end of each day to measure yourself against your vision. This way you become acutely aware of what is working and what is not, you can learn and grow from mistakes. Let your past serve you! Celebrate your Proud moments!

Implementation:
The reason many companies fail is because they are weak in execution. So get things done!  Instead of a new years resolution, how about a new years vision with an implementation strategy! Lets get ourselves focused and give it be best bash we can. Unfortunately it does take work and awareness, but I think it might be worth it in the end! Surround yourself with people who understand your vision with hold you accountable and encourage you!

I think one of my greatest blessings in life are the lessons I learn from my son. Liam is an ADD (our definition is Absolutely Damn Daring!) child and with that comes a lot of management from both of us. But we have a great relationship and share our thoughts with each other often. One of things Liam wanted to learn was how to manage his anger. He wanted it to just go away but we dicussed the ying and yang of life. That in all of us there is light and dark. The dark never goes away, but we have to learn how to manage the dark in our lives. It is not easy to be Liam sometimes. So we decided one way he can vent his anger was to write poems, they started off pretty angry and negative. But that was cool, they were his poems and it gave him a safe place to vent his feelings. BUT an amazing thing has happened we have discovered that Liam has a talent for writing poetry. He even got a merit award at school for his poetry. Writing poetry has become a joy for Liam and he has found ways to find the light side in the dark side. He gave permission to write this and would love to share two of his poems with you. he would really appreciate your comments and a star rating! He also thinks it is good idea to try write about the things that worry you, whether you are an adult or a child. Please can you give him a star rating.

This journey we walk together, my liam and I is the most fulfilling journey of my life… I think his advice will help us all through tough times, thank you Liam for sharing with us!

A Leaf:

A leaf falls in a pattern of life

In spring it is happy and grows

A leaf grows old like us

A leaf does not pollute

It will turn into soil

And will appear again like us! 

 by Liam

A Stallion:

A running stallion is like a bullet

in the wind

The mane is like the waves in the ocean

When I ride

I feel like I am a stallion

 by Liam

Jules’ blog resonated loudly with me and I have been wondering how to respond? With this is mind and yesterday being a significant day for me personally, a finalisation of a 23 year era in my life, I decided I would tell my story. I joined Avo in April this year in the midst of a huge life transition. I have watched over time as new Avo’s have blogged their stories … why did I never do it? you won’t find a blog about who Sandi is on the website…. I was so turned inside-out at the time, I am not sure I could commit to paper who this person is.

My working career started in a tiny bookshop in Bree Street, Cape Town as Manager and then I went onto the sales team for the wholesale division of the company. I was hooked on books, I love ideas and stories and sharing them with others, I spent my days telling the stories about stories convincing buyers to put them on the bookshelves. My career went from strength to strength I moved up in the ranks through many of the prestigious publishing companies in South Africa. Learning and developing. I was fortunate enough to spend time at the Book Fares in London and Germany meeting delicious (and not so delicious!) people who have a love for the printed word. One of my passions is children’s books. The stories are so simple yet the truths are great, the artwork is key to wrapping the story up for our little ones imaginations (and we all have a little one inside us!). My passion took me to the point where I started my own book distribution company and even published some books on the way. But alas I lost my passion; got frustrated, made some bad decisions and connections, and eventually looking into my own soul, decided I needed to close the doors.

The lesson for me is that I have so many amazing strengths, and when I needed to focus on areas of business that are not my strength, they were frustrating and tapped into all my fears and anxieties. Unfortunately I did not manage to connect with other people who could support me with the strengths I lacked in order to make a long term success. There were great successes and milestones on the way, we (a little company of 3) forged some huge million rand deals, took books to places they were not previously sold, changed perceptions and created joy!

One of my personal learnings is that if you are not mindful about who you are and what you are doing, it opens up your fears and vulnerabilities. When we operate from that space we tend to make inaccurate decisions. We create our lives from a space of fear and not love. I made those decisions in my company. I made connections with people because I was anxious and operating out of fear. I lost my self love and created relationships in business that eventually were very damaging. So the day I looked at my soul and saw the darkness, I decided it was time to walk away because I had given my power away.

Being at Avo has challenged me to once again acknowledge who I am and what my worth is. My identity was wrapped up in the book trade for 23 years. Like a rope that has weathered many storms and has become strong but tightly bound together, you think if you unwind it will break. It took time for me to oil that rope, to rest and heal. When I was able to start unwinding my identity that was so tightly wound in the book trade I was able to start discovering my own value again.

The decision I made was to be more aware or conscious in my life. Choosing to find the authenticity in a situation or moment. I think when we know our truth and operate from that place of truth we create love and success in our lives. Being in the moment allows us to connect with our truth, we can then make more powerful decisions. So being mindful has helped me take little steps of truth along my healing journey. I feel like I am unwinding from an identity shaped by a life style of needing to find my value through an industry and others; to one of seeking my own value and truth, being more aware or mindful and creating my life out of my own truth. My passion is returning, my energy is vibrating again and I am embracing my life once again…..

So this is my story and my journey which I embrace and celebrate!

I have had a superb day! Other than now having ear-ache, I know I worked in my zone today. Dr. John Demartini says ” I do what I love and I love what I do”. I communicate well, I network well and damn I am good on the phone!

I set aside time this morning with a task of cold-calling and getting our Footprint SA information into the right hands with four more financial institutions - our potential customers. Well done to me, I used my strengths and we are now on back our way again.

We are getting closer I can smell it!

I see feet running everywhere, people are creating and building and making things happen. Footprint is growing, the foundations are laid.

It is wonderful to see the work been put into building this amazing company that will change the lives of many South Africans. Vanessa, Jeannette and Mel have done some lovely work onthe training material which we continue to pilot in September. The NGO (now known as ‘Own Two Feet’ is taking shape fast and furiously with Linden at the helm. Watch out Joburg: he lands from Knysna today and I think we are going to feel the next wave soon. Jules has been holding it all together weaving the network of people.

It is a wonderful thing to watch this all happen. The sales team is making inroads into market having inspiring conversations with new potential customers and old friends, and we will land a deal soon….

Watch this space guys. Well done to Jules and her team for all the committment and hard work.

As Jules mentioned earlier we are another little step ahead in our journey of feet. Mel has been working hard at putting the content together for our Manage your Money training with Footprint.

We ran our first pilot last week…..guys this is such important work we are doing here! I was so touched by how much the learnings that were shared affected people. People gained insight into their own financial situtions, reality was difficult to accept for some! Once people were shown how they can manage their money in a more effective way and how this could impact on their lifestyles, the lights went on in their eyes…….we must not take for granted that people know how to do this.

What we do need to catch onto rather quickly is that there are so many people in our country that don’t know what is available to them and how to use it. Footprint will give them the little steps to take with regards to their finances, which will take them a long way to Standing on their Own two Feet with pride!