Inspired for more - Gorgeous pics of this Durbs event!!

Two Saturdays ago I hosted a lovely morning {Inspired for more} for young business owners in the greater Durbs area. The heart behind the event, was two-fold:

Number 1...

I wanted to inspire girls who have taken the BIG, brave step of following their dreams and starting their own ‘thing’ with some practical tips and coaching tools.

Number 2...

I wanted them to have a chance to meet other inspiring creative business owners; network a bit and basically just be reminded that they are not alone in this venture to create something sustainable, successful and beautiful!

After making cappuccinos and small talk, we started the morning off with some inspiration & ice-breakers. And where better to be inspired and to let-go-a-little than sitting cross-legged on the grass, barefoot and beautiful! We had such fun finding out a little about each other, after which I ran a fun activity where we all got to tap into the ‘why’ behind our business. I am a firm believer that clients buy into your ‘why’, and not your ‘what’, so before we jumped into what they all did, I thought it worthwhile to zone in on WHY they do what they do. 

{It's so easy to forget why you doing what you are doing, and in that, to lose passion} 

So this activity got us on our feet, thinking, chatting & I even added in a little creative garden hunt to meet the needs of these creative minds J {You can read all about my passion for the ‘why’ behind your business here}

After some garden-inspirational-time, we made our way back up to the house, where we indulged in both healthy & yummy breakfast niceties, more coffee of course and plenty chatter.

With full bellies we dived into our next activity which involved working through a simple but oh-so-effective coaching exercise where I walked the girls through a process that helps to visually reveal where your time {business-wise} is currently being spent, and then to do some reassessing and goal setting around this exercise. We all had little worksheets, which we filled in and {fingers-crossed} were able to take home and put these ideas from paper into practice.

Finally, the morning ended with some networking time, intentional conversations, and swopping of business cards all the while nibbling on delicious brownies sponsored by Liquorice Gourmet.

PS - Special thanks to Desiree Dales for taking these gorgeous pics!!

If you missed out on this event, please don’t fret as…as-of August I will be running monthly networking brekkies, for young, dynamic business owners!! The morning will include an early light breakfast, an active business coaching exercise and then a guest speaker will be presenting on work/ideas from her business – this could be YOU.  These mornings will be ALL about time to build your network, meet other inspiring business owners, grow your company through coaching exercises, goal-set & ultimately remind you why you love what you do!! 

Sign up to be the first to know when these monthly-meet-ups begin

x C

What's in your hands??

We are entering week three of my Happiness Project course and with ‘giving’ being one the 5 Happiness habits that we aim to establish in our lives over this 21 day course, I thought I’d share some of my own thoughts with you along these lines...

So, today I want to ask you a simple question: What form of giving comes easiest to you???

I’m not saying that giving comes easily to all of us, but I do believe that there is an innate desire in all of us to give, in some small way.

I once heard a sermon {don’t let this chase you away, this is worth a read} on the concept of giving. The pastor mentioned that God asked what Moses, when he was heading for the red sea, what he had in his hand. And Moses replied “a stick”. God then encouraged him to use what was ‘in his hands’ when he reached the Red sea. You know the rest….the sea parted J

The pastor then challenged us on the concept of giving by asking “What do you have in your hands?’ What he meant by this was what are your talents, what do you have easy access to? Be it time, money, resources – what is in your hands?
 

So my encouragement today, it to reflect on what you have in your hands? Simple example – I LOVE inspiring people and have plenty resources to help with this. So my challenge is to see where I can contribute (give) without receiving anything in return. Get it??

YOU are awesome!!! 

Remember, the world awaits people who know who they are deep down and are able to live from that space - BE that person :)

How do you spell Adventure??

We’ve only been ‘home’ for three weeks and already I can see the effects of the so-called ‘normal life’ taking over. You know that feeling when you get home from an amazing holiday and after two days of normal life you’ve forgotten you ever left…well don’t be fooled, being away for 14 months didn’t change that reality for us. {But we're not settling for that}

It’s so easy to get sucked into a life that’s normal. A life that is orderly, fits your cultural norms and gives you the freedom to utter a “sjo, I’m tired today” almost every other day. The thing is…is this the life you envisioned for yourself??

Now, I know you may not have the time or the freedom right now to just give up your job and go travelling for 4 months, but what if you dared to shake things up a bit in your everyday normal life. Shaking things up will mean stepping out of your comfort zone and having to do things with greater intention – but what I personally LOVE about putting these ideas together, “Comfort zones” and “Intention” is that together they ultimately spell ACTION WITH MEANING!! And that is what life is all about!!

So rather than me babble on here…I want to give you a little challenge for the week…

What one thing will you (and your husband/boyfriend) do this week that will require you to step out of your comfort zone and will certainly add a bit of “ADVENTURE” into your every day life??

Here are some ideas to get those creative minds of yours working…

-          Eat dinner outside/ on the floor

-          Turn off the TV for the week and see what other ideas you come up with every evening

-          Invite friends over for a dress-up dinner party

-          Have a girls night out

-          Do something this weekend that you haven’t done in ages but LOVE doing

By limiting your definition of adventure…you limit it’s existence in your everyday life. Redefine it!! 

You’ll never know unless you try ;)

Creating a dream inventory...

Today, I have a follow up post for you all about YOU and your dreams...

"It's been easy, for years, to throw out the words, 'My dream is...' but truth be told, this was just the easy way out. The vaguer my dreams were, the less pressure there was to pursue them and with that, less chance of failure. Vagueness allowed me to be safe, but it also meant years of working towards an undefined dream, basically a blurred vision." I encourage you to read the rest of this {the first of two} blog posts here...

Now, that you understand the importance of letting go of 'vague' and embracing your dreams head on...let's jump right into it!!

Let's start with our dream inventory... 

Grab a cuppa tea {or glass of wine}, get your journal out {or laptop} - and let's dig into YOU and your dreams!! {Click here to download your FREE Printable for today's Dream Inventory}

Close your eyes and really think about your dreams. Not the dreams you had as a kid, but the ones that burn deep within you today!! The one’s that make you smile just thinking of them. Those ones!! 

Now, write them down. Be as specific and detailed as your dreams allow you to be!! And give your self some space and freedom to reflect on these dreams - This is good time for journalling or thinking, whatever works best for you. Emotions are healthy, let them rise up, express them and let them go. They need to run their course in order for you to feel at peace again.

Now, which of these dreams stand out, which do you possibly need to let go of as they wouldn't lead you in the direction you are wanting to go, and mostly which make your heart sing?? Continue journalling, or reflecting on these thoughts!!

And now it's time to claim these dreams for YOU!! Claiming your dreams doesn't mean you need to run out of your office, or home, and shout them to the world, not at all; dreams are meant only to be shared with those who will protect them. Claiming your dreams means that you write them out beautifully and stick them somewhere you can see them every day. It means sharing them with your loved ones and possibly for the first time, giving a more detailed account of the direction your life is heading in and why. It means possibly sharing with someone how you are letting go of certain things you once thought were dreams but really don't fit within your life vision at all. It means getting real and honest, and being intentional with moving towards these dreams rather than moving in an undefined sort of way towards what you 'think' you want.

In order to pursue the dreams that make your heart sing, and be so sure of them that VERY little can stand between you and making these dreams a reality; you will need courage and surety that this is the life vision you choose for yourself. Choose today what stays, and what go's - it will not only give you courage to start running in the direction of your dreams, but it will also give you the freedom to let go of past supposed-dreams {dealing with the emotions that come with that} and that way not setting yourself up for failure.

Know your dreams, claim your dreams…and start pursuing your dreams!!

Need help putting a plan in place in order to take you from where you are at today to where you DREAM of being??

CLICK BELOW to book your FREE trial session with me, where we'll spend some time reflecting on you and your dreams, and setting 3 inspiring goals that will help get you closer to achieving those dreams!! 

CLICK BELOW  if this whole 'dream' thing really throws you, and you're desperate for someone to walk this road with you in discovering what makes you come alive and how you can start pursuing that on a daily basis :)

Defining your dreams

On a few occasions now, when mentioning to people that H and I are off on a nearly-2 month-adventure through South East Asia this week, they reply with a “Wow, you really are living the dream.” To which I smile, nod, and then frown?!

So firstly, am I really about head off on a 2 month adventure? Why yes I am. But following this dream meant rethinking other dreams…and that's what I want to share with you today.

Dreams are very real, deep longings that live in the well-hidden spaces within us, only showing face when it’s safe to come out. Dreams are beautiful things, that need to be protected, pursued {actively}, and also re-thought-through once in a while.

You see with dreams comes sacrifice. No dream that really holds value to you, will ever require you to stay within your comfort zone. No; dreams mean risk, adventure, joy. They mean action and sometimes they mean giving up lesser dreams, in order to pursue what really makes your heart sing.

It’s easy to throw out a “Wow, you’re really living the dream” {I have many a time}, but is that really your dream? 

My year in Korea, away from my comfort zone, gave me space to get real with ME!! And one truth I found {that I feel may apply to many people out there too} is that my dreams were as undefined as you get.

It's been easy, for years, to throw out the words, "My dream is..." but truth be told, this was just the easy way out. The vaguer my dreams were, the less pressure there was to pursue them and with that, less chance of failure. Vagueness allowed me to be safe, but it also meant years of working towards an undefined dream, basically a blurred vision.

Let me give you a peak into my world…

My life-long dream (one of the many) was to be a missionary in Mozambique, the country north-east of South Africa. I dreamt of living in the dirt, loving the poor, loving God, feeling fulfilled and alive and at peace. Well...this was my dream until I actively started pursuing it, and by pursuing I mean going out there, in the dirt, loving the poor and learning. It was easy to throw around the ‘dream’ word when I had no idea what I was talking about, but once out there, alone in a world I knew so little about, it took some deep soul-searching {and prayer} to get real with myself and others. Yes, I love working with the poor, yes my heart sings in the presence of black kids and yes yes yes I love the people of Mozambique, but never did I realize the sacrifice that would come with pursuing such a dream. I admittedly ate my fair share of humble pie as I reassessed my dream, all with ‘sacrifice’ {what pursuing this dream would take}, in mind. I’m not saying I gave up on this dream, I will always have a heart for and work with the poor, but by realistically reassessing this dream, I was able to free myself up by not setting myself up for failure of not achieving a dream. I was able to create a more realistic {still pretty far-fetched} but more thought-through life vision, dream J

It's OK to have 20 dreams, and for them to involve everything from family, to career, to the randomness of what makes your heart sing; but my challenge is for you to find a quiet space and to write them down. In writing them down, they suddenly become real...and yes, sometimes tears spring up as we realize how unrealistic some of these are {some in a good and some not so good way}. We get real with ourselves.

It's easy to head in a general direction of your dreams...but being 'general' and not 'specific' will mean that one day, down the line, we will never really get that, 'Oh my gracious, I am living MY dream" feeling. The feeling and definition of where you're at, or what you've achieved will instead be vague. Vague is OK, but it's not your best!!! 

You were created for more than just vague!!! 

{Click to tweet}

Join me in a month today {19th March} for a follow up post {and FREE printable} geared at helping you start your journey in making these dreams a reality!!

2014 Bucket List Printable...

With 2014 being only 1 sleep away {yippee}…I thought I’d share a FREE little ‘2014 Bucket List’ Printable with you.

Click here to download the girl’s version…

OR

Click here to download the boy's version...

PS – Want a peak at what my 2014 Bucket List looks like?? Sign up on my website for email updates and you’ll get a peak at my Bucket List for next year as well as receive a FREE “Tips for starting your own business” E-book early in the new year!!

Finally…have you set your goals for 2014 yet??? Needing some inspiration and direction – click here to find out more about my Rise & Shine {Making 2014 your best year yet} Workshop on the 8^th Feb!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR…