What’s behind the door in front of you?

What’s behind the door in front of you?

Friends have been reaching out for guidance over the last couple of days as they face challenges with their business. The Universe is making it increasingly difficult for them to do things the way they have in the past. 

They are being asked to open a new door and walk through it. But their minds do not want to go! As a result, they are experiencing a lot of stress, anxiety, anger and confusion. This is a very normal response.

I often think that human beings are genetically geared to learn our lessons the hard way. Certainly, the biggest lessons I’ve learned haven’t arrived with ease and grace – they have arrived with disruption and discomfort.

We are still in the midst of the ‘letting go’ of 2020. Covid-19 is challenging us to sit still more, question more and want more for ourselves.

Collectively, there is an energy encouraging us to reach for what we want rather than what we think we can get. But in order to grab hold of those new things, we must let go of much of the old.

And if you want some help to see the way forward, please reach out. A Channelled Directions Sessions will help you cut through the confusion and see the opportunities you are too close to see. I would be honoured to help shine a light on the road ahead so you can move forward with more ease and joy.

You can create change when you share your story

You can create change when you share your story

I met a young guy today – let’s call him Mickey* – who is going for what he believes in. He is establishing a business and believes he can make a difference to people’s lives through what he does. I believe he can make a difference too.

What was interesting is, as I thought about my appointment with him (which was for a personal issue of my own), I found myself picking up information about how he could promote and market his business more effectively. This is one of the ways my psychic channel often works – I seem to be good at picking up how people are blocking themselves from achieving their next level, and then I tune into the way forward and up. Sometimes this happens without any intention from me – being psychic means I’m a bit like a giant antennae and will sometimes just pick up stuff because that’s how I roll.

Although we have a mutual friend, I had never met Mickey before today. But I could feel his energy and passion for what he is creating long before I walked into his office. So when we met in person, I shared the insights I had felt with him.

As so often happens in these situations, he had been thinking about some of the things I mentioned but had been stopping himself from following through. He also shared that others had made some suggestions but yet, still, he had not moved forward.

This made me laugh because it is exactly how the Universe works when we are preventing ourselves from shifting.

The Universe will send us the same message over and over again, via conversations, books, movies, signs, random thoughts and other ways to try and get our attention. We humans are often slow learners and don’t like the unknown so I guess the Universe knows it has to ‘stay on message’ to get through our resistance.

Mickey and I talked a little about what was getting in the way and I gave him a few new marketing ideas to think about. I hope he actions them because he has a lot to give but people won’t hear about it unless he pushes that edge of his comfort zone just a little bit more.

When I was about to leave Mickey mentioned a topic he is passionate about. He has a slightly controversial perspective and when I noted this he said, he believed it and wanted to talk about it.

I said, “Go for it”.

I believe you should take your conviction and passion, stand on it and use it to lift you up so you can share your story with the world and create the change you want to see.

I look forward to seeing how Mickey’s business grows in the future. His willingness to back himself and speak his truth will help him to forge ahead and create the difference he wants to see in the world.

I hope if you’re reading this, you take a chance on sharing your story too.

Top Five Interview Tips

Top Five Interview Tips

You’ve applied for that dream job and your moment to shine is in two days…the interview. Now it’s time to prepare. Here are my top five tips for making the best first impression.

  1. Learn everything you can about the organisation, its key staff and clients (i.e. make Google your friend). This information will enable you to provide insightful answers and help you to ask well-informed questions during the interview.
  2. Brainstorm the top 10 questions you might be asked, then practise your responses. Also make sure you are prepared to succinctly and eloquently discuss and present (when necessary) relevant work examples from your previous roles. Your responses should outline your particular skills and achievements (i.e. you may have worked in a team but you need to highlight what you specifically contributed).
  3. Prepare two or three questions in advance that will demonstrate your understanding of the role and the organisation (see tip 1). This is where you can also learn more about particular aspects of the business you are interested in.
  4. Arrive 15 minutes early and be dress appropriately (see today’s post by Bec Smith, The Personal Stylist’s on dressing to impress). Running late will make you look unprofessional and will stress you out. Make sure you check public transport and/or parking details, arrange your outfit and collate any relevant paperwork or electronic files the day before your interview. Also ensure your phone is turned off before you enter the building.
  5. Make a good first impression. Greet each panel member by name, shake his/her hand firmly and maintain good eye contact. Remember, this is your chance to shine so be confident, friendly and relaxed. Also ensure that everyone you meet (from the receptionist to the panel members) can tell you have a positive attitude and are excited about the opportunity work for the organisation.

Don’t forget to check out today’s post by Bec Smith, The Personal Stylist on What to Wear to Your Next Job Interview (part of our collaborative weekly Revamp Your Career series). #10%offResumeRevamp&StylingPackagesuntil30Sept2016

Next week’s Revamp Your Career post will focus on getting that important first job when you graduate from university.

Top 5 Resume Fails

Top 5 Resume Fails

A strong resume (or curriculum vitae) is a vital document when you apply for that dream job. Unfortunately, I constantly see clients make the same resume errors time and time again. It doesn’t matter if you’re an executive looking for promotion, a recent graduate or someone looking to make a career transition, there are common resume fails that can be avoided.

Top 5 Resume Fails

  1. Spelling, punctuation and grammar errors. These will make you look unprofessional. If you’re unsure, ask a friend to proofread your resume before you send it to your next potential employer.
  2. Copying information from you current job/position description and including it in your document. This approach will produce a resume that is generic and doesn’t showcase your unique skills or contributions.
  3. Promoting your employer instead of yourself. A recruiter wants to know what you can offer. They are not interested in the intricate details of your previous employer’s success unless you can connect it back to your achievements, skills and experience. Use your resume to promote you.
  4. Chronic underselling. Make sure you highlight a few key achievements in each role that showcase your strengths. Don’t simply list your responsibilities as they appeared in the role description as this won’t provide the recruiter with any real insights about who you are and what you can do.
  5. Bad fonts and layout issues. Sometimes people get carried away and over-complicate their resume with multiple fonts (two different types is enough), small fonts (no smaller than 10 point please!), too much information on one page or formatting errors. Keeping it simple will help ensure your application looks professional and is easy to read.

Do you need help with your resume? Check out my Resume Revamp services today. #10%offResumeRevamp&StylingPackagesuntil30Sept2016

Make sure you check out Bec Smith, Personal Stylist’s post on Corporate wear doesn’t need to be boring (part of our collaborative Revamp your Career series every Monday).

10 steps for using intuition in business

10 steps for using intuition in business

I was lucky enough to sit on a plenary panel and run some mini-workshops at the Queensland Government Small Business Week Event yesterday in Logan City and talked to a lot of small business owners about how to use their intuition to keep them on track and expand their business.

You don’t always hear a lot about intuition in business forums and I really enjoyed sharing my perspective about this topic with others in the room. You see, I believe we all have the capacity to access our intuition and it can help you in all facets of your life – personal and professional. You could call it your secret superpower. It’s that inner knowing (also known as your gut-feeling) that tells you where the opportunities are and gives you signs on how to move forward.

But your intellect (the reasoning of your mind) is also really important as well because it helps you take mere ideas and make them a reality through research, strategy and implementation.

If you rely on your intellect alone, you’ll miss opportunities to explore, expand and learn. If you rely on your intuition alone, you’ll be unable to bring your ideas to fruition in a tangible way.

When used together, your intuition and intellect can help you innovate your life and your business.

Your intuition can be an invaluable tool in helping you to spot opportunities and make effective decisions for your business. Unfortunately, we’re not always taught how to connect to our intuition and that means we often don’t hear it.

Yesterday I shared my top 10 ways to start connecting to your intuition and I thought I would post them here to. Perhaps they will help you to expand your business or help keep you on track.

  1. Give yourself some regular alone time. When you are busy, busy, busy your intuition can’t be heard above the noise of all your other thoughts. Make time to be alone without the company of other people or technology.
  1. Meditation is a great way to clear your mind of the daily clutter of existence. In its simplest form, meditation is about being completely present in the moment. Start by simply sitting quietly for five minutes and focusing on your breathing, in and out. Clearing your mind makes it easier for your intuition to have a voice and allows the ideas to bubble up to the surface.
  1. Notice the repeating patterns in your life. The Universe will frequently give you hints about opportunities but if you’re not paying attention, you might miss them. So when it seems like the same information is turning up repeatedly, take notice and explore it further.
  1. Be honest with yourself. There are lots of avenues you could explore that might make you money but, if you don’t really enjoy the work (or the outcomes) then, ultimately, you’re going to be unhappy. Listen to your inner voice.
  1. Build your self-awareness and stay in alignment with who you are. It can be easy to be taken off-track with the ‘next best thing’. Always check in with yourself and ask, ‘Is this in alignment with who I am and what I really want to do?’
  2. Allow yourself to explore the ‘crazy’ ideas. You’re an entrepreneur so that means you’re not meant to do the same thing forever. You’re here to explore opportunities so, if you get a feeling about something, follow it.
  3. Always trust yourself first. Other people will have valuable advice and knowledge to share but you need to listen to your inner voice and do what’s right for you. Listen to your gut feeling and don’t ignore it if it’s telling you to walk away from a ‘sure thing’ or go for something other people have dismissed.
  1. Keep a notebook and write down those seemingly ‘crazy’ ideas that come to mind. Sometimes the Universe will give you a hint of something but it’s not time yet…but you will need the details for later.
  1. Notice how your body feels when you’re exploring a new opportunity or just in your daily work-life. Your body will respond intuitively when you are ‘in flow’ (on the right track for you). You will feel lighter and more energised. When you are not in flow you will feel dragged down, more negative and overwhelmed.
  1. Notice how things shift when you’re ‘in flow’. If you’re on the right track then things will move more easily, obstacles will be less frequent and you will generally be able to achieve more. However, if you feel like you’re constantly hitting roadblocks, try stopping and asking your intuition, ‘What’s really going on here?’ There might be something wrong with your process, or the product or service you’re developing, or it could just be the time is not right yet. When you feel like you’re being repeatedly obstructed, there will inevitably be a good reason.