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What are they saying about you?

You don't really know what people are saying about you until you ask. We can all walk around the whole time wondering, assuming, guessing, anticipating what other people are thinking or saying about us. This leads us to take actions based on these assumptions, all of which may be completely wrong. So my recommendation is to ask, always.

I thought I'd ask Google today what people were saying about me and guess what I found. I found myself mentioned in the Kashmir Times! That's because I was out there last year about this time running a Springboard programme which was part of a big British Council funded programme across India.

Here is the link http://www.kashmirtimes.com/archive/0710/071007/KRegion.htm

Enjoy

Sue Hewitt Happiness

The drama of life

Hey is it Saturday already? How did that happen! I was out late last night performing some of my poetry in Lancaster at the Spotlight Club. This was part of a project involving a whole host of writers across the North West. In preparation for last night we had a workshop earlier in the week looking at performance technique.

This was actually very helpful for my day job as well. Standing up in front of people and delivering training means that every day is a performance for me. And if you take that even further there is the saying that all the worlds a stage and we are all players upon that stage.

I like that idea, being a player in your own life's drama. One of the questions it throws up is - who is writing the script for your life drama? If you are writing the script then you can influence it - how exciting it is, where the action takes place, who the other players in the drama might be, whether there are scenes with happy endings, are there any cliff hangers, is it high drama or homely soap and so on.

If you are allowing someone else to produce and direct your life drama, and write the script then how much control do you have? Are you happy with their writing? What would you write in your own scenes? What ending do you want to tomorrow's scenes? Who do you want to be appearing opposite you?

Remember that you can decide how each day plays out and if you don't like it then it can be rewritten on the hoof, as it is actually happening. Become a world class writer of the best drama ever - your life!

London Fashion Week is dead

..apparently. Its all about date clashes. Milan, Paris, New York. It all seems to want to happen at the same time.

This afternoon the commentary also focused on the effect of the current economic climate on the designers' business. What they said was - In times of a recession the designers fall back on their creativity.

That's a great maxim to follow. When the going gets tough its time to get more creative. So if you're under pressure do something different, do different things, think out of the box, cross fertilize your ideas from other areas, go for a walk, draw instead of writing, talk instead of typing - just get creative - we all have the ability to be more creative. Do it now!

A week of new experiences

Well I'm recovering from a week away in Darwin at the International Associational of Women in Police conference. Its been a week of new experiences.

* Eating crocodile

* Holding an orphaned baby kangaroo

* Blow drying a toy lion's mane

* Winning a killer whale in a raffle

* Walking through Darwin in my pyjamas

* Existing at 34 degrees when its only 10 degrees at home

* Hearing guitar played by the composer of the Crocodile Dundee theme

These are some of the opportunities that life offers you when you go out and grab them. All of this happened because I took action. I spotted an opportunity and took steps to take advantage of that opportunity. I could have said "No-one will be interested in our work" "Darwin is too far to go" "There will be other people who are better". But instead of all this I believed in myself and what we were doing, sent in my ideas and got invited to Darwin.

What can you achieve now that you believe in yourself? What opportunities are out there waiting for you to grab them?

Singapore Slings

Sue says:

So here we are at Singapore airport. Its mid morning at home but with the aplomb of world travellers we have been drinking Campari in the rooftop bar and watching the sun set.  My brain doesn't quite know where it is in the day as we just had breakfast on our flight from Heathrow and now its cocktail time! However its just one of the symptoms of success. Being successful does have its downfalls you know - just sometimes. But, hey, I'll put up with that.

We have been trying to spot potential IAWP participants at the airport - look there's one - she looks like a potential DI or a crime officer.  Its focused people watching. Watching people at airports, stations, in shops is one of my favourite occupations.  It makes you realise that you actually understand a lot more about body language than you really give yourself credit for.  So you are unconsciously filtering all of that information and adding it in to the auditory info you are getting to make a full picture.

Keep watching, you'll become even more of an expert - who are you watching today?

No such thing as luck

Well I'm very excited as my trip to Darwin starts tomorrow. You know when you speak to people on the phone and they say "How are you?" - well I'm telling them - rushing around getting ready to leave for Australia - yes I know going that far for a week is mad - but that's life. So the next thing is they say "Oh but you are so lucky..sigh" Well' let me tell you this is not about luck. You do not end up getting invited to speak at international conferences just because of luck. You don't get the best project just because of luck. You don't get the best jobs cos of luck. Its about hard work, preparation, being prepared to take chance, being prepared to stand up and be counted, putting your marker down and yes, sometimes being unpopular with those people who think it should all be handed to them on a plate. Its about self belief, keeping going when the chips are down, believing in everything you are doing and getting the best support to help you move forward. Its about giving yourself permission to be better or different from those around you. Its about not succumbing to peer pressure when everyone of your mates just wants to be ordinary. Its about working to 3am sometimes and then taking Wednesday off because you recognise that you are running on empty. Its about being you, when everyone around you is trying to be anyone else but themselves. Its about probably doing all those things that your mother told you not to do - nice girls don't go around shouting about their achievements, nice girls don't ask for too much, nice girls let others go first, nice girls say please and thank you. So if you think that its just lucky to fly half way round the world, then you might just still be sitting where you are in 10 years time still waiting for some of that precious luck to fall on your head. Look up - there are no holes above your head for that luck to fall through. What are you doing NOW to make your own luck for tomorrow? Here's where I'll be next week.   http://www.pfes.nt.gov.au/index.cfm?fuseaction=page&p=388&m=27&sm=63

   I'll post about the weather..

Nodding pansies - 2

Yesterday I spent almost 18 hours sitting at my computer working on a report for a client. Yes - I know - not good for my body but there again it had to be done. Anyway it was pretty breezy and the pansies on my windowsill were nodding away merrily in the wind. The result of this was that I kept catching sight of movement out of the corner of my eye. This was actually good as it gave my eyes a rest as I could look out at the view for a few seconds.

What is really interesting is that it is the movement of the pansies that was attracting my attention, right on the edge of my consciousness. There are many things in life like this. Notice how there are lots of things that are outside of your attention until something moves, something changes, something is different. Notice how people remark when you have just had your hair cut or have come back tanned after a holiday. Notice how your neighbour's garden suddenly looks more interesting once they cut their hedge.

Our brains are programmed to look for change; we notice things that are different. So if you are trying to get on and to be noticed, maybe stand out from the crowd, then aim to do something different. It doesn't need to be so wildly different that you'll be branded a weirdo, just not what the person sitting next to you might do.

How are you behaving differently today?