The Quest is a Collaboration Global digital publication
Issue Seventeen
Gina Gardiner
Spotlight on a key collaborator LINDA BURNS
The theme of this issue is:
Renewal and Growth
KATSUMI SAKAMOTO GILL TINEY PHIL STREET CHARLIE WHYMAN JIM DOYLE
Published by Collaboration Global, 2 Moat House Horsecroft Road Harlow Essex CM19 5BN Issue 17, first published on 1st March 2021 All rights reserved. Copyright © Collaboration Global and Contributors, 2020 While aligned to the vision and values of Collaboration Global, the views expressed here are soley those of the contributors and are not expressions of policy on behalf of the Collaboration Global leadership. To experience a Collaboration Global Community, be our guest and come to a meeting. Register at https://bit.ly/3gcOrT3
For more details about The Quest and about Collaboration Global, visit our website at www.collaborationglobal.org You can contact the team by writing to team@collaborationglobal.org, or to one of the contributors whose contact emails can be found at the end of their articles. The Quest is a publication platform open to members of Collaboration Global to contribute to major debates and issues of concern. Operating within the UK economy, and part of a global economic system, contributors to The Quest hold a big picture. They are personally involved with complex issues that require the skills and intent of many to solve. They are on a passionate, sometimes a life-long search, to secure change in the world and as such hold a great responsibility for benefitting future generations. Collaboration Global believes in working for a world where every individual has the opportunity to be the best they can be: where we are empowered to recognize and honour our ‘innate genius’, exploit our full potential and make our dreams real. We seek a world where business and work are designed to meet a Human need for respect, to be valued, to achieve and to contribute to others. Most of all we seek a world where everyone has the opportunity to have their voice heard and make a positive difference to the planet and humanity.
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Issue Seventeen
C O N T E N T S
About the contributors Editorial Gill Tiney A view on life! Linda Burns The biggest threat to our health and how we can renew our attitude towards it Katsumi Sakamoto Can the Speed of Change be Infinite? Gill Tiney The Inevitability of Reinvention Phil Street Natural curiosity is my secret to business growth and collaborative success Charlie Whyman Are you journeying into the unknown? Jim Doyle Collaborator profile: Gina Gardiner
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About our contributors Linda Burns Linda empowers individuals to navigate life’s transitions and reach the end result they desire. Her techniques raise awareness of thoughts, feelings and how these play out in our everyday life. Linda inspires others through the ‘Power of Choice’ to train the brain for a happy and fulfilled life. Linda has worked in corporations, education and runs her own business. Her skills in collaborating and building community services, which are still evident today, is a major achievement. As a trained counsellor and coach, Linda has a combination of professional skills and personal experience that are both engaging and powerful. Email: linda@lifeinsideout.co.uk Telephone: 07725 341251 Website: www.lifeinsideout.co.uk
Katsumi Sakamoto Katsumi is a Physical Education Professional and Health Coach whose mission is to help as many people as possible live a healthier and more active life. Through his one-to-one sessions, he has proven his Programme to be extremely effective and so, he has created an online version “Developing Healthy Habits to Transform Your Life”, which is available at Udemy. Email: katsumi@kcsnaturalfitness.com Telephone: +55 11 95494-5063 Website: www.kcsnaturalfitness.com
Gill Tiney Gill Tiney is the Founder of Collaboration Global and is passionate about teaching people how to collaborate. She believes that creating the right culture for collaboration begins with the individual and has the potential to transform how we see and what we create in our world. As an author and speaker, she has travelled the world sharing her philosophies and is proud to be part of the growing Collaboration Global community that holds a space for everyone to reach their full potential. She supports them to make a difference not only in their lives but also in the lives of all those they connect with too. Email: gill@collaborationglobal.org Telephone: 07798 601701 Website: www.collaborationglobal.org
Phil Street Phil is the Founder of 3 businesses all operating in and around the wonderful field of Hospitality. Momentum Hospitality Recruitment, a boutique recruitment company sourcing talent into senior positions, The Curriculum Vitae, a Careers coaching and Mentoring business and “Hospitality Meets” a light-hearted look into the stories and journeys of people within the industry. Phil is a passionate Kindness guru and is currently writing a book around the influence Kindness can have in life, business and the world, scheduled for release in Spring 2021.
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Email: phil@momentumrecruitment.com Telephone: 07821 528805 Website: www.momentumrecruitment.com | www.thecurriculumvitae.com | www. hospitalitymeets.captivate.fm
Charlie Whyman Charlie Whyman is a B2B Marketing Strategist, LinkedIn Trainer and Curious Thinking Advocate she is the host of The Curiosity Key Podcast and founder of The Curious Marketing Club. Since leaving her role as Head of Marketing in 2017, Charlie is now on a mission to stop businesses from having bad marketing experiences and to explore ways to make it easy, fun and more importantly - effective. Email: charlie@charliewhyman.com Telephone: 07399 581907 Website: www.charliewhyman.com
Jim Doyle Jim helps business owners and leaders succeed and eliminate the distractions of procrastination. He works with an unconventional approach by identifying and eliminating energetic blocks to both business and personal performance. With years of corporate engineering background followed by 15 years as an entrepreneur, he is intimately familiar with the unconscious blocks which limit our performance. As a highly experienced energetic consultant, he is familiar with the inner challenges and how to eliminate them, leading to greater success. Email: jim@differentlight.org Telephone: 07711 330211 Website: www.differentlight.org
Gina Gardiner Gina Gardiner is a multiple No1 International Bestselling Author, Motivational Speaker, Empowerment & Transformational Leadership Coach & Trainer with 30+ years of experience helping people achieve and sustain personal and professional happiness, success and fulfilment and businesses to be more profitable. Enlightened Leadership means leading with integrity, compassion and courage – it requires leaders to do the deep inner work to become the leaders in their own lives. The founder of Genuinely You, Gina uses her unique approach to life and enlightened leadership - developed whilst she ran her award winning organisation mostly from a wheelchair. She is passionate about her work. Email: georgina.gardiner@gmail.com Telephone: 01206 230497 Website: www.genuinely-you.com
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Editorial Gill Tiney
Renewal and growth As we tentatively test the ground of this year with new rules, vaccines, and the glimmer of getting ‘back to normal’ approaches, here at Collaboration Global we are full steam ahead. Never before have we seen a need to have a community based on love connection and abundance and as this edition demonstrates, when you bring people together, they can create extraordinary results. If you were not aware The Quest is a collaborative publication with contributors from the Collaboration Global community. We choose to view life as a sea of possibilities and believe our world can be a better place if we contribute in a powerful way. With a theme of Renewal and Growth Linda Burns looks back over times in her life when she uncovered those limiting beliefs to transform her life into a world of opportunity. I think we can all relate to her story and can celebrate with her the amazing win of becoming an empowered woman. For those outside of our community you need to know that Linda is part of the Dream Team that supports me in the growth of our amazing vision, her inner strength is born in part from the learnings she describes in her article. Katsumi Sakamoto takes us on a journey of renewal as he looks at how our bodies can be transformed by offering a beautifully simple way of seeing how easy it is to see our bodies in a new light. Whether you want more energy, to be fitter, cure your ongoing ills or simply would love to shift a few pounds, then this article will be a revelation. Coming from Brazil, the lifestyle lends itself to a different way of viewing your mealtimes, if you get a chance to connect with Katsumi you will be fascinated by how you can improve your habits by taking on the lifestyle of another country. I love this theme and so grabbed a slot myself to share with you my thoughts of the changes we will be going through as we embrace the spring of 2021. Innovation is seen as some type of holy grail in the business community but is this reinvention of the wheel always necessary? A warning not to renew for the sake of renewal itself. Phil Street looks back over his life to see what has brought about his reinvention. The tough times and reflecting on happy memories, it is easy to identify with his journey, yet how many of us reflect as he does the power of reinvention? Who will you become this year? I loved the unusual slant Charlie Whyman takes on marketing. We all look to our marketing and sales to deliver growth for our business but more often than not we look at the process to deliver 6
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those new leads and clients instead of why they want to work with us. Charlie has recognised in herself an inbuilt curiosity that she harnesses to create a strategy for marketing in her business. Here she tells you how her reinvention of herself resulted in her becoming a Curious Thinking Advocate. Have you ever had a premonition? Jim Doyle was woken from a deep sleep to experience what was happening in his home 700 miles away. Here he shares his journey to becoming the intuitive energy healer he now knows was his destiny. He shares some great questions to give you an opportunity to connect with your all-knowing self. Looking at these articles I am struck by what a diverse group of people they are written by. Yet all committed to helping others, all with a mission and a clear vision of what their purpose in life is. Collaboration Global certainly brings together the best of humankind. Talking of the best, I am very proud to announce our key Collaborator this issue is Gina Gardiner. What an inspirational woman that I am blessed to call friend! Her renewal from tragic circumstances is little short of miraculous. Being told she would never walk again after breaking her back in a skiing accident she proved science wrong by learning to walk – not once but twice! Her passion is teaching people how to develop enlightened leadership and she leads by example. Here we find a little more about what drives her and what she loves in her world. As we discover what 2021 has to offer us, I want to take this opportunity to wish you good health and every happiness as you grow and renew your life from the ashes of a unique year. Mother Nature is readying herself for growth, I get excited as I see the daffodils in bloom, and we can follow her lead by preparing ourselves to blossom into our best year yet. I look forward to meeting you at one of our online Collaboration Global sessions
About The Quest Team The Quest is produced by the Collaboration Global Digital Team and is made possible by, you guessed it, collaboration. For her driving force to bring the project to fruition, proofing and liaising with contributors, writing of editorial and case study and being our Team Dynamo we give huge thanks to Gill Tiney gill@collaborationglobal.org www.collaborationglobal.org For typesetting, layout and art, project management of The Quest, proofing and creation and maintenance of our website, our warmest gratitude and huge thanks to Kay Westrap kay@mybusinessmum.co.uk and kay@couragetogrow.me.uk www.mybusinessmum.co.uk or www.couragetogrow.me.uk For his awesome editing skills, thanks to Benn Abdy-Collins benn@bennabdy-collins.com www.bennabdy-collins.com
For her proofreading and chasing skills, many thanks to Linda Burns. linda@lifeinsideout.co.uk For diligently proofing the content and checking for typos, huge thanks to Alan Brown of Brown and Tiney. alan@brownandtiney.com www.brownandtiney.com For proofing the typesetting, design and artwork and generally ensuring that the look and feel are always 100%, our huge respect to Simon Thomas of Toucan Internet LLP. simon@toucanweb.co.uk www.toucanweb.co.uk or www.simonthomas.org.uk
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Linda Burns
A VIEW ON LIFE! 8
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“In life we are largely governed by our environment, and experiences during childhood.”
Change is the only constant, and what change we experienced in the last 12 months globally! The final straw for so many being Christmas plans 2020 scuppered at the last minute in the UK, by a Tier 4 lockdown for many parts of the country. That was almost one change too far!
other human being walking this earth. For me it was – ‘I must eat my dinner, I should tidy my room, I have to be polite no matter how people treat me or else.’ I was ridiculed for crying at films as young as 5 years old, and therefore learnt very quickly to suppress this emotion and rise above it. ‘I must not be sentimental, Over our lifetimes we all need to work out I should be strong, and I have to cover up my how we deal with change, some planned like feelings!’ This not surprisingly resulted in my moving home, starting a business and some being an adult with many layers of protection unexpected like the loss of a loved one. if I became emotional, showing very little or no vulnerability. Given this personal experience, I My father passed away in March 2018 and believe many of our views are formed in early that year my husband Phil and I decided to years and can be very difficult to change! spend Christmas away, to do something totally different so as not to feel the pain of someone The ‘DIET’ of life; Direct Impact of Environment missing at the dinner table. We decided on on Thoughts. Cuba. We planned our trip and arrived in Havana on Christmas Eve and walked the What you hear, what you see, who you spend city on Christmas day. The 25th December in time with, all have an impact emotionally, Havana is the same as every other day of the spiritually and physically on each and every year for man, women and child. Children were one of us. Our thoughts, feelings and actions playing happily in the street, as they do most are derived from these experiences. Many of days! our thoughts, once examined in detail, cannot be seen as true, as they are likely to be about They were grateful for what they did have, the future. How many times have you worried which was very little, a roof over their head, and become anxious about a job interview, clothes on their backs and food in their belly. meeting a stranger, or speaking in public, only For many in the UK the expectation for to find the experience, in reality was nothing Christmas day was to meet with family and like you had imagined. friends they had not seen since lockdown in March 2020. The curveball thrown by the We all begin life as baby sponges, filled from government, days before Christmas decimated birth with language and customs defined by our those expectations for many, and the emotions environment and positive or negative thoughts felt may have proved very difficult to process of those we spend our time with. As we grow and deal with for some. ‘On Christmas day I into teens, we begin to evaluate what we are should, must, have to’ ……… it’s what we know, exposed to from peer groups to education and what we feel comfortable with, what we expect beliefs handed to us ready formed. Some we from what we believe Christmas looks like. accept, some we reject, we continue to grow and learn. There is joy and sometimes there is In life we are largely governed by our pain. We don’t like pain, start thinking how will environment, and experiences during we prevent this pain; that will eventually arrive, childhood. Mine have been unique, like every as we can convince ourselves it will. Even in Join the discussion... facebook.com/Collglobal
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“Many of us scratch the surface, when something is troubling us, but to have a deep understanding of what is really going on is life changing.” a good situation or with a good person, the barriers may go up, thinking it is unlikely to last. Looking for something wrong, will inevitably make it happen, even when it isn’t there! My expectation was largely toil and trouble. I had to work hard to achieve anything I deserved, resulting in pain from most situations, joy, happiness and calm evaded me.
fortunately my last. I now constantly review my self-worth and put boundaries in place to ensure those around me know what I consider to be appropriate, reasonable and acceptable. I am now aware of when something is troubling me, and able to process the layers to get to the bottom of what is really going on deep down at the core. Many of us scratch the surface, when something is troubling us, but to have a deep understanding of what is really going on is life changing. Knowing what is going on is the beginning, the ability to then achieve the outcome that best serves us takes much courage and determination. It is unlikely those close to us will tread the same path or at the same pace, important conversations can prove difficult.
Once we are awakened to this pattern of behaviour, we may flip to the opposite, (law of attraction) and start looking for the good in every situation, ignoring the pain, focus on the good and hope it grows. As I have discovered, this is not particularly helpful either, ignoring your thoughts and feelings. Especially when you continue looking for the good in every situation, to think highly of someone who acts in a harmful way. This can leave you feeling True happiness is found in being honest with emotionally drained and erode any little self- yourself, aware of what is good for you, and worth you may have. appreciating those that are willing to treat you with love, kindness and respect despite the I have learnt through my own renewal and conversation. A casual disagreement is very growth to pay attention to how I feel in any different and normal, to harmful behaviour given situation, being aware, and in tune with which requires distance. my thoughts and feelings, I can evaluate the experience and ascertain what is good, not so Previously I would not have taken action until good and what I no longer want to be a part of, I exploded, which was very rare I have to say, or, have in my life. as the other person’s feelings were always paramount, and I did not want to hurt or upset ARA - Appropriate, Reasonable & Acceptable them, no matter how bad I felt. It has taken a What is appropriate, reasonable, and long time for me to understand putting my acceptable to me is very different now to a own wellbeing first and foremost is not being decade ago. Until something fundamental selfish. We all wish to be heard, noticed, and happens to change the course and direction respected as a fellow human being. we are travelling, things will always remain the same. I was stopped in my tracks by a mental A few years ago, I attended a seminar, at this breakdown a decade ago, not my first, but point I believed I had done a lot of personal 10
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development work and dealt with my gremlins. What a shock I had coming, I cried a river of tears that weekend. I wanted to curl up in a ball, run away and hide. Remember that little 5 year-old girl, ‘I should, must and have to control these emotions and tears!’ Personal development is never easy and at its best is uncomfortable, a roller coaster ride for many. It is not for the faint hearted, but I can honestly say it has saved my life and shown me I am responsible for my own happiness, not my career, partner or least of all material possessions.
I find yoga most beneficial and an important part of my life, it enables me to truly focus on the present, both improving my body and mind. So why do I find it such a battle to undertake yoga on a regular basis? My fundamental belief is “I am not worthy of me time, feeling so calm and content” that is engrained in my belief structure from growing up in a busy environment where there is always something to be done, other than spend time on myself!
The rest of my life, will always be, the best of Is this true? No of course it is not true, but my life! something I still battle with every day. My major learning from this seminar and further training in the ‘Power of Choice’ is that I Despite many years of growth and renewal, am a vulnerable human being, and feelings are it shows how deep and strong those views a natural part of life. The biggest take away is and beliefs we hold about ourselves, and the to continually suppress one’s feelings is a time impact they have on our everyday lives. bomb waiting to explode! Understanding that my feelings are as valid as the next person, and The difference today to a decade ago is my the ability to process them in a calm manner is awareness and understanding of what I am a choice I now have. It is a life changer and the dealing with, internally, on a daily basis. I have key to diffusing that internal bomb, and self- grown immensely over the past decade and renewed my views and beliefs over and over destruct. Join the discussion... facebook.com/Collglobal
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“In Collaboration Global, I have found a safe, secure and supportive group of people, where I can be myself...” to be the person I am today. Awareness is key, challenges, but knowing the individuals ‘truly’ as new situations arise frequently to challenge have your best interest at heart allows you to the current state I have achieved at any given explore new possibilities. time. Understanding challenges to our long held I have not travelled this journey alone, I had personal views and beliefs, and what brings professional intervention initially, and much us happiness is no mean feat and an ongoing contact with many people along the way. exploration. Like changes to the body need In Collaboration Global, I have found a safe, time and effort, so do changes to our thoughts, secure and supportive group of people, where feelings and beliefs, no time like the present to I can be myself, whatever that may look like make a start! any day of the week. Sharing views and perceptions over any You can contact Linda at: situation, without being judged, is such a sacred space that allows us to be creative Email: linda@lifeinsideout.co.uk and achieve greater outcomes. Yes, there are Telephone: 07725 341251 Website: www.lifeinsideout.co.uk
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Katsumi Sakamoto
THE BIGGEST THREAT TO OUR HEALTH AND HOW WE CAN RENEW OUR ATTITUDE TOWARDS IT.
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The year 2020 came to teach us humans to take better care of our health. Due to a full-scale pandemic, we had to avoid contact with loved ones, with anyone for that matter, we started to wear masks, shops were closed, some places adopted curfew times, others ordered a whole lockdown… The whole World stopped because of a tiny little, lethal, virus that according to studies could only be fought by social distancing and personal hygiene. So, we have learned to wash our hands all the time… The consequences are still being counted but, at least now, we have a vaccine against it! They were horrible times; we have lost too many souls during this pandemic that has yet to end. We are exhausted and devastated!
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What if I told you there is a bigger health problem out there? One that nobody is talking about. One that, in the same amount of time that Covid-19 killed 1.5 million people, managed to kill almost double that number? Unfortunately, this problem is real, and it’s called obesity. In 2019 a study estimated that as many as 2.8 million people die every year from obesityrelated diseases. And still, no one is talking about this… The reasons for this problem to be neglected could go as far as involving the powerful food and pharmaceutical industries, so it is not going to be discussed in this article. What I will talk about here is simple and practical ways we can start to put up a fight against such a strong enemy. In this case, we must start with our eating habits! In a world
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“... it is impossible not to enjoy physical activities! Once you have found the right one for you!”
that is offering us more and more junk food ready to be consumed, we need to be more Another very important point to consider in conscious of what type of food we are putting this fight against obesity is how sedentary on our tables. we, as a species, have become with all the developments in technology we have A great way to explain this, is to make a witnessed along our history. A lot of us don’t comparison between a brand new, luxurious move nearly as much as we should! If we use car and our bodies... If you ever bought a Ferrari, official data from the UK Government as an for example, would you fill it with any kind of example, we know that 1 in 3 of men and 1 in fuel or would you look for the absolute best 2 of women are not active enough for good one to make sure the performance of your new health. “baby” wouldn’t be affected, and you could get the most out of it? I will guess you went for the Again, a possible solution to help with this issue latter… is much simpler than people tend to believe. When we think about physical activity, it is easy Our bodies are exactly the same! We need to imagine a gym full of people working out, quality fuel to make sure our performance a field with sports teams running on or even is the best possible one! And here I will triathletes completing the most demanding of include physical, intellectual and emotional races… It is also very easy to get overwhelmed performances. by these thoughts and give up before even trying anything! So, what is a quality fuel for our bodies? Here is where most people give up trying, because The good news in this case is that it is they believe it’s going to be too complicated physiologically impossible for any human and they must choose amongst several being not to enjoy physical activities. And you options of different diets they don’t understand might be thinking: “but I hate exercising”. And I anything about! I can assure you, it’s much will guarantee that you don’t hate exercising, simpler than that. you just haven’t found the type of exercising you enjoy yet. When we engage in any sort of A quality fuel, or quality food, can be described physical activity, our bodies produce chemicals in the simplest form as: non-processed and as called endorphins, which could be described colourful as possible. To make it even simpler as “happy hormones”. So, like I have said, it for you to follow, let’s use the Harvard Plate as a is impossible not to enjoy physical activities! guideline. The Nutrition Department at Harvard Once you have found the right one for you! University came up with this great model of a plate...it should consist of 50% vegetables and The exercise activity doesn’t have to be fruits, 25% carbohydrates and 25% protein. If anything complex. You don’t need to get a gym you start applying this division during your membership or hire a personal trainer. Physical meals, it is certain that you will be moving in activity could be as simple as walking the dog the right direction. Join the discussion... facebook.com/Collglobal
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for 30 minutes in the park, playing with your children in the garden, or going for a swim in a nearby lake. If you prefer, you can go dancing with your partner, you can make the decision to start parking the car a little further away from your destination or taking the stairs instead of the lift… Just get moving and you’ll start to feel the differences not just in your body, but in your mind as well. There are other factors that could influence this war, such as the amount and quality of your sleeping patterns and your mindset towards all of this. But if you begin by just being conscious of the food that’s on your plate, and the amount of movement you do during the day, you can consider yourself to be one more soldier in this fight to bring obesity down.
renewed my life simply by renewing how I feed my body with a variety of exercise and good colourful food. The key to success is to have a community around you who are invested in your success, who believe in you, and want you to see and experience what is possible. Being part of the Collaboration Global community allows me to help many as well as enjoy them supporting me as I grow in my mission. You can contact Katsumi at: Email: katsumi@kcsnaturalfitness.com Telephone: +55 11 95494-5063 Website: www.kcsnaturalfitness.com
Start today, and your personal renewal will begin immediately and the growth that you fear – around the waistline – will not be the cause of your ill health once you have your Ferrari purring on the right fuel for your body. I love sharing this philosophy that has been a focal point of my life since I did exactly that, made a powerful choice to improve my health. I know what it feels like to be sedentary and craving processed foods. I also know the pain that came with that lifestyle, seeing poor skin, painful joints, poor digestion. I cannot imagine going back to that negative state; I feel I have 16
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Gill Tiney
CAN THE SPEED OF CHANGE BE INFINITE?
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“The more I know the more I realise how little I know and how much I don’t know! ”
I am struck by the speed of how our businesses are operating and the amount of information we are digesting on a daily scale. It is phenomenal! The more I know the more I realise how little I know and how much I don’t know!
We are constantly being told to innovate, are we ending up changing for changing sake? Have you too jumped from one CRM to another in the hope that this one will be easier, less complex, more intuitive? Then find that the reality is, had we stayed with the original CRM That is why I ponder the question – can the and spent some time learning the capabilities speed of change be infinite? we might have got more from the facility and not needed to swap. We are always looking out for the ‘next best thing’ in the hope it will make It kind of feels like it already is! our life easier – and it rarely is that magic app For example, on social media one week a post that makes all our problems fade away. will get 5,000 views the following week only 50 yes, the technology has been changed and When I was younger there used to be a TV all of our understanding of what makes a post show called Tomorrow’s World and they would bring us latest innovations, we marvelled at generate great views comes tumbling down. their possibility knowing that in a generation or
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As frustrating as keeping up with these innovations might be, there is a more sinister side to the race for improvement. In our workforces we now have the additional pressure of information overload, and constant ‘The reality is we now make major changes in email bombardment, added to learning new and updating current systems, how can we be six weeks, not six months’ expected to joyfully tackle the deluge? And it is true, everything is happening at such a faster speed - even driverless cars that many Is it any wonder that stress, anxiety and saw as impossible in our lifetimes is actually depression are the consequences of this overload of technology and information? happening already in the UK! maybe two, we would be having this technology in our homes and workplaces. I recently came across a blog on Mulesoft by Simon Parmett that highlighted
Interestingly Simon Sinek pointed out recently that just because it is innovation it does not mean that it is progress. He highlights the projector screen that used to be manually pulled down to use it and then someone made it possible to electronically lower and higher the screen. How many of us have come across those screens that refuse to come down because the mechanism is broken? If it isn’t broken don’t innovate the life out of it. 20
What is the solution? Well I believe we should take our solution from Mother Nature. She works in cycles and through redefining and evolving she transforms what is not working into something that blossoms into life. By understanding the seasons, working with all life forms she allows individual and collective
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growth. A natural collaboration. What if we could view our businesses in this way?
and customer then the urgency to innovate will dissipate. Is it time to slow down?
What if there was no urgency to deliver end of Remove the competitive element in business year profits, projections, forecasts, targets and and the race ceases to be important. This is goals? where collaboration can be so important to bring people together. By removing the first If the result was not only on customers well past the post and all that entails we can connect served but also on a happy and healthy with others and come together to help each workforce? Can we transform our never-ending other in a holistic and nurturing way, to support striving to improve the bottom line? Last week each other and in turn, the environment we I heard that in its history Marks and Spencer create. was returning a loss on the years trading. It was told as though that was a devastating piece of Our pandemic has taught us that when there is information, I find it amazing that this is the first a collective need, we do all come together, as year it has ever happened! Perhaps if we move a collaborative organism, to support those in away from the incessant growth mindset and need, as nature intended. focus instead on the happiness quota for staff
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“Know what is important or more accurately WHO is important to you and work on that relationship.”
Where is the rush? We are acclimatising and getting used to this speed – attention spans are getting shorter, there is a need for immediate gratification – food deliveries, anything deliveries, all at your fingertips on an app. What happened to patience, waiting weeks for your pen pal to reply to your letter (did you have one of those?) or waiting all week for the next episode of your favourite TV drama. The pandemic taught us we didn’t have to rush around. We revisited old skills, sewing, baking, DIY, being creative.
pursuits was a byword for mindfulness. Colouring in, doing a jigsaw, discovering crochet or baking your own bread became the dopamine feel good factor that built our mental good health and was suddenly cool. Do we need our world to be so fast? I think 2020 proved we don’t need to kill ourselves in living such a fast-paced life. The only people who need us to jump on that train are those chasing the money. Let us observe how nature transforms itself. Slowly, supporting all living organisms along the way. What might our world look like if we followed that example? If we made sure everyone was looked after along the way.
Refresh and renew your mind, body and soul. We discovered our mental health was better Choose to be continually learning, discovering when we slowed down. the meaning of your life by understanding what matters to you and following your chosen path. No surprise there. Don’t get swept up into a fast pace of life that doesn’t serve you. Being isolated doesn’t suit us, we are social animals, but finding gratification in creative I am speaking to myself here too. 22
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We only have one life. Pace yourself.
Together we can transform the paradigm of what it means to live a healthy, prosperous and successful life by living in love, connection and Know what is important or more accurately abundance. Good health is in your physical, WHO is important to you and work on that emotional and spiritual well-being. relationship. Refresh the love you had, renew your purpose to help others and discover the Prosperity is in the wealth of good relationships power of nature as she puts us back on track and contentment in your situation and success following a devastating year of uncertainty. is measured by the happiness you feel from the life you have created for you and those you And if you can’t see that path forward, feel too love. caught up in the treadmill of an ever faster pace You can contact Gill at: of life then contact us at Collaboration Global and know that whatever is weighing heavy Email: gill@collaborationglobal.org on your heart you can find someone ready to Telephone: 07798 601701 listen and BE there for you. Website: www.collaborationglobal.org
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Phil Street
THE INEVITABILITY OF REINVENTION
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“The only thing that stays the same is that ourselves, let alone be ready for a world changing event. everything changes” I was once on the receiving end of this incredible, yet simple advice. There are many variations on the wording, it’s a cliche perhaps but cliches are wonderful snippets of wisdom at their core and this one is no different. This particular nugget came from my father, borrowed I believe from Heraclitus, I’ve taken it on board and always used it in times where it has felt necessary.
The truth is, it usually takes an event that shakes the ground beneath us before we turn to the question - “What do I do now?”.
These words of wisdom have possibly never been more relevant than in the times we are in now. We are all being asked to change the way we live, the way we work, even the way we think and at times it can all seem incredibly overwhelming.
The first was at school, it is very clear now, not so much then. I grew up on an island in Scotland called Tiree. I was desperate to get off the island and explore the world beyond. I never used to think of myself as Academic but if I’m truthful with myself, I was a lazy kid. If I had applied myself, I could easily have achieved greater grades. The world changing event (well, my world at least) that took place was when I failed all my exams and I realised that I may not fulfil my dream of getting off the island. Thankfully, this spurred me to reinvent myself as a far less lazy kid.
If you think about it, you are asked to change on a frequent basis and inevitably, at a time of change, there is an amazing opportunity for renewal and growth. It has been said that humans reinvent themselves an average of 5 times over the course of their lifetime. If that is the case, then it stands to reason we should all be ready for that but I’m not sure that any of us are. The reason for that probably centres around getting on and keeping busy, there is no time to even contemplate why we need to reinvent 26
I have had my own battle with this even before Covid came along. There are clear events that took place throughout my life that I was not able to ride without making a change. Let me explain, perhaps you will relate.
I got the grades I needed on resit and away I went. We will call this Reinvention 1. I was motoring along pretty well for a fair few years after that, sucking up life. I had landed my dream job on a cruise ship (a by-product
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of the attitude upgrade) and was making good progress in a short space of time. What I was not aware of was that there was something holding me back. I was moving forward in everything that I did in the pursuit of satisfying others, but I was neglecting my side of that interaction, both professionally and personally. I was becoming cautious in my opinions for fear of rocking the boat (pardon the pun).
I had a lot of alone travel time, a lot of time to think, analyse etc. It hit me very hard on a bus on the way to Canberra from Sydney – You have got to start caring for yourself and focusing on what’s important to you to truly move forward.
With that mindset shift I basically booked my ticket out of there and went back to work with a newfound confidence and a focus on me. Now, don’t worry, I didn’t drop the pursuit Service of others is a noble thing. Service of others but not yourself is inexcusable. of happiness for others, I was just a lot more focused on emulating that pursuit for me. I This came to a head when I took some time out would do things on my terms for a while. to go travelling around Australia with my then fiancée. It was a deeply one-sided relationship All worked wonderfully, in that time, I met my born out of my submissive personality. Service now wife, a wondrous 50-50 partnership full of others but not myself. That, of course, was of surprise, challenge and joy on a daily basis, always destined to fail although at the time it I started writing and I even wrote 2 stand-up happened, it shook me to my core. I thankfully comedy shows. There was nothing I could not made the choice to stay in Australia and do if I put my mind to it. I transitioned away complete the travelling alone meeting so from sea to start a new life on land, moved to London and found the career path I am now in many amazing people along the way. some 15 years later, recruitment in hospitality. That is when reinvention number 2 took place. Join the discussion... facebook.com/Collglobal
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“There was no higher purpose, no higher calling. I needed money to pay the mortgage and to eat.” Move to reinvention number 3
my own business in a way that makes sense to me and my values. Not someone else’s.
It’s 2009 and recruitment is a business that is heavily reliant on the success and buoyancy of the market in which it provides. My niche was within hospitality and overnight due to the financial crisis the world stopped traveling and spending money in hotels in restaurants.
The growth and reinvention here were born out of basic need. There was no higher purpose, no higher calling. I needed money to pay the mortgage and to eat. I started a business and upskilled because I needed to. Without doing that I do not know where I would be. I do If I am honest, I also was not an especially great not think I even did this consciously, but I am recruiter. I did OK but up to that point it had grateful it happened. come pretty easy with more incoming calls than outgoing. Flip that on its head and you Reinvention 4 and present day get found out very quickly if you have not got the tools to succeed. Reinvention 4 is happening to me right now but the foundations of it were laid in 2017. I got Redundancy followed. I had just got married a double whammy on health that year aged the year before and we’d pumped our savings 39. Firstly, my wife and I were told that we into that so found ourselves very close to the would not be able to have children. Now as it breadline. I look back on this time now and happens that was an extreme diagnosis, and I actually shock myself as to how quickly I we continue to pursue our options on this front. moved to reinvention. At the time, I did not realise it fully, but that really Within a day I had formed a CV writing business. knocked me for 6. It took a hard conversation It was just something I absolutely knew what with a close friend and my business partner to do, and I knew that people needed help. 2 to shake me out of the daze that I was in. As further days later with zero marketing budget it transpires, I had built a legacy picture in my and a huge amount of time spent on LinkedIn, head and that involved children. It forced me I had turnover in the business. to analyse and adapt my legacy vision. Again, I am grateful I did. Soon after, the calls to return to recruitment started and I joined a local firm in a field I was To add injury to insult, later that year, in not familiar with and went in as a junior to learn November I was diagnosed with a condition from the ground up. Even though I did not known as tethered cord syndrome. In short, enjoy the field I was recruiting into at all, they my spinal cord is tethered to my spine. In taught me all the things that I was missing from my case, it is a complicated operation to “demy first stint. tether”. 3 years later and I am still researching my options. It will debilitate over time. Again, It was a steep learning curve but now armed with at the time, I was shaken. these new tools, I went back into Hospitality, an industry I am still deeply passionate about. I The 2 years previous I had gotten past my am still there some 10 years later, and I now run hatred for running and was really enjoying it. In 28
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my brain I was building for a physical challenge of some kind and taking all the joy that came with exercise along the way. I had to stop running immediately for fear of accelerating the problem.
and grow was made easier by the fact that I am surrounded by people who care about me, personally and professionally. Everything is always easier when you have a support network like that.
This time, I am not reinventing my career, or my relationship, So, when is your next reinvention coming? Chances are you will have absolutely no idea I am reinventing what I believe to be possible. and that is totally fine and completely normal, we most likely cannot know when it comes. I have come to learn that my brain is a gift. I I think you just must be aware that the see things in ways that others cannot see, and opportunity to do so will be presented to you that just because someone can’t see it the at multiple times throughout your life. It is way I can, doesn’t mean that it should not be inevitable. What you do with that opportunity explored. Research all genius inventions and is completely up to you. ideas across time and the vast majority were most likely initially lambasted for being nuts. Surround yourself with people who value you Now, I am not suggesting any of my ideas are and care about you and that opportunity to genius, that would be incredibly arrogant, but reinvent will be accentuated. I am incredibly open to the possibility that one of them might very well be at some point. Ultimately, we must make our time count. Everything I have done throughout 2020 has been about pursuing the things that I am naturally drawn to. I now host a podcast, I am writing a book (The first of many I hope), I am collaborating with people I want to connect with and making the most of being part of the brilliant Collaboration Global community.
Every single second. Imagine the possibility if you do just that. You can contact Phil at:
Email: phil@momentumrecruitment.com Telephone: 07821 528805 Website: www.momentumrecruitment. Equally I have learned new skills about running com | www.thecurriculumvitae.com | www. a business through a severe crisis. It is all hospitalitymeets.captivate.fm incredibly uplifting. So that is 4 major reinventions in my life so far. One borne out of the need to shift my attitude, one on relationships and self-care, one economically and one on health. Maybe that is my lot or maybe I’ve 4 more to look forward to. I have to say, my ability to reinvent Join the discussion... facebook.com/Collglobal
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Charlie Whyman
NATURAL CURIOSITY IS MY SECRET TO BUSINESS GROWTH AND COLLABORATIVE SUCCESS
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“Over the years I’ve stumbled across a fair few hurdles in business and I am grateful for each and every one of them...” As we look forward to a new year and new opportunities it’s time to look inwards and leverage one of the most powerful assets we have at our disposal - our curiosity.
usual instincts were stunted as I HAD to allow curiosity take over to guide me forward. This led to a career highlight of generating a £12.5M sales pipeline off the back of that campaign.
I’m a big fan of assigning a word to a period of time to help set the direction, provide a sense of renewal and add a sprinkle of extra intent and purpose to what I’m doing - if you’ve never assigned the word CURIOSITY to your year then I encourage you to give it a whirl.
I resisted calling myself a marketer for many years and recently I had a bit of a revelation - I realised that one of the biggest reasons for my success in sales and marketing roles over the years has been my curiosity and my ability to tease this out in others, so I stopped resisting the label and embraced it.
My curiosity has taken me around the world and allowed me to have some incredible experiences. From demonstrating a brand new, never seen before laser scanning solution down the world’s deepest gold mine to hosting a conference that resulted in over £3 million in sales in a platinum mine in South Africa in 2015. I was tasked with the challenge of launching a game-changing new product at an event where I wasn’t allowed to tell anyone what that product was! Can you imagine how all of my
Over the years I’ve stumbled across a fair few hurdles in business and I am grateful for each and every one of them because they have fueled my mission to help others to avoid being confused and taken advantage of, by these so-called experts that are constantly telling us what we should and shouldn’t be doing. That is what I love about Collaboration Global, we are a community of specialists who are passionate about their specialism and so always keen to learn more, sharing advice and
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“No one cares about the process or the things that you get excited about. They care about the outcome and what it’s going to do for them.”
our knowledge means we all learn together samples to try and no one cared. – there is a natural curiosity that enables the birth of great collaborations. That day I learned the best lesson I could have ever learned about marketing and one that I From Olive Oil to Laser Scanning Systems, my teach today: curiosity led me to starting my first business back in 2006. I grew up with parents that both No one cares about the process or the things had small businesses and was very aware of that you get excited about. They care about the the risks and the fact that it would be no walk outcome and what it’s going to do for them. in the park. The business was called Palmavera Ting Ting - the lightbulb went off in my head Fine Foods, an artisan fine foods business that and the following week I had taster pots of the imported food and olive oil from Sardinia. The oil and talked about how the acidity affected olive oil was made by myself and my father the TASTE and why the specific type of olives at his property over there - he bought a place that we grew made the oil taste so good. that came with 160 olive trees that hadn’t been touched in years and we were curious to see I then started to ask lots of questions and listen what we could do with them. A gold award for - how did my customers intend on using the two years running in the Great Taste Awards oil, what tastes did they prefer, what did they care about and how did they talk about it? told us that we were onto something! I sold out of everything that day and not just It wasn’t all awards and fine foods though so the olive oil. allow me to paint you a picture. A few years later I found myself at a very Imagine a logical engineering student standing different type of event selling laser scanning on a market stall in Holmfirth in Yorkshire trying systems. The company I worked for lost a to sell Olive Oil for £9 a bottle by excitedly pretty significant sale one day to one of our telling people how cool the growing, picking competitors and I was curious to know why and and bottling process was as well as the varying how, to stop it happening again. We had the levels of acidity in the oil and how to work better solution - the hardware was better, the software was better and our customer service around it.... was our proudest offering and despite all this the customer chose the competitor. Do you think I sold much oil that day? I made no sales.
So WHY did this happen?
Turns out it was just me that was excited On reflection we weren’t differentiating about the science behind making oil - I had no ourselves and demonstrating the value we 32
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offered in-line with what the customer (and our value what we had to offer. ideal customers) wanted. It was time to make everything about them Marketing isn’t just about lead generation - it’s instead of us. Time to be curious. a business development system that needs input from sales and customer service. In other It was time to refresh and renew our marketing. It was scary at first, we were worried that by being words, getting to know your customer. more specific in our market and more targeted During the sales process we discovered what we would limit ourselves and miss out on was important to that prospect, and what wasn’t. opportunities. Instead the complete opposite We dived deep into each and every interaction happened, we received more enquiries from that prospect had with the business, up until qualified leads, the sales process was faster the point when we lost the deal. We uncovered and easier AND we didn’t get as many tyrequestions, challenges, pain points, goals and kickers wasting our time anymore. values that were nowhere to be seen in our marketing or sales collateral - at that moment It was because of this process that we landed we realised just how big an opportunity we a significant contract with the UK Police too - we were presented with an opportunity, we now had in front of us. listened intently, we asked questions and we It was time to stop contributing to the noise incorporated the responses into a very targeted in our industry and stop trying to capture the marketing campaign. We remained curious about our specific customers and their needs. attention of everyone. We needed to stand out for what we specialised A new challenge in and target the prospects that would really Fast forward to 2017 and I was travelling Join the discussion... facebook.com/Collglobal
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around the world again but this time I was marketing a brand new TeleMedicine solution to the shipping industry. I love going to events and meeting new people - it’s a haven for learning and a goldmine for curious marketing intelligence. During the first six months of the year a new curiosity was tugging at my heart and getting stronger. Over the years I’d learned lots of hard lessons having made mistakes and taken wrong turns with marketing agencies and teachings from various ‘experts’ - I’d also heard from many other people in the industry that had had similar experiences and left none-thewiser and felt like I had learned enough to find a way to be part of the solution.
and pretty much anything you set out to do so that you could get more out of it and avoid any disappointment or frustration. There were various steps to this framework but it didn’t have a name. I even used it to tackle the Everest Base Camp hike and this was the story I wanted to tell. But how do you tell that kind of story in 5 minutes?!
At that point the thought of summiting Everest seemed like a more likely challenge but the universe had my back and all of a sudden the letters O,T,T,E,R jumped out at me. A client at the time was a little bit obsessed with otters, so much so they were enjoying an influx of inbound leads on LinkedIn as a result I didn’t know what the solution was at that of talking about their love of otters on their point, but I knew that it involved me starting my profile. own business and that I wasn’t going to figure it out whilst still employed and doing the job I All of a sudden my framework had a name was doing at the time. and everything felt like it had finally fallen into place. So one day I walked into my boss’s office and handed in my notice. The one thing I’ve found 3.5 years into my second attempt at running my own business is I had no plan, no savings in the bank - just a this - when you let your curiosity and intuition glimmer of belief that I would figure it out and be your guide, you’ll uncover some incredible a burning curiosity that propelled me forward. opportunities and partnerships. Never get Let the OTTER be your guide frustrated if you have to leave something unfinished and come back to it later - more Just shy of my 3 year business anniversary I often than not (and especially the case when entered a speaking competition with the PSA it came to naming my framework) the universe (Professional Speakers Association) and had to has a good reason for distracting you or leading come up with a 5 minute talk. you away from it at the time. Dive into an opportunity first - think about it If you would like to know more about the OTTER later framework please do get in touch. Maybe this is the year for curiosity to propel your business I’ve always been a firm believer that everything forward and create the renewal and growth happens for a reason and that sometimes, when you have been looking for. you need something the most the universe will present you with an opportunity. You can contact Charlie at: This competition pushed me so far outside of Email: charlie@charliewhyman.com my comfort zone I skated around the feeling of Telephone: 07399 581907 panic for some time. Website: www.charliewhyman.com Over the years I had developed a framework that could be applied to business marketing 34
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Jim Doyle
ARE YOU JOURNEYING INTO THE UNKNOWN?
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Images of flames flickered in my mind. The sound of my father shouting in distress woke me up from a deep sleep. I was shaking and frightened. It was the early hours of the morning. I was on holiday in the Channel Islands, 700 miles as the crow flies from my father and my family home.
Specifically, it led to my later entrepreneurial path followed by a complete change into personal development. I now use those unimagined skills to help business leaders and entrepreneurs avoid the pitfalls I made and to clear their self-doubt and procrastination.
Next day, feeling extremely vulnerable, I I see personal growth rather than renewal as acquired a pocketful of coins to call the the key to our effectively moving forward in international operator to call the village shop the present Covid-19 climate. near my home to check if anything was wrong. According to Merriam-Webster: My family home had been completely Renewal is “to make like new: restore to destroyed by fire during the night. Fortunately freshness, vigour, or perfection” Growth is “a my family were safe. stage or condition in increasing, developing, or maturing” That was a turning point for me. Perfection as we used to know it, is no longer Somehow I “knew” something in a way which relevant. However, personal growth can did not fit with anything I had learned. propel us forward to handle new challenges in new positive ways. I was in my early twenties. Excited, exploring, learning. A ‘normal’ life ahead as Every situation has a new meaning compared an electronics engineer. This experience to 12 months ago. You and I have found it triggered a mixture of fear, excitement, and necessary to find new emotional and mental curiosity. resources to manage our state during this extraordinary time. As I did many years ago, That was the beginning of my journey into the we are all now entering into the unknown unknown. It shaped my life. It led to personal growth and changes in my life which I could My career evolved well over the years never have anticipated. It was exciting and progressive, but there was
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always an underlying awareness about the deeper aspects of life. I learned dowsing – that is the use of rods or a pendulum used to find water and especially, to answer questions which could not logically be known. Dowsing perfectly complemented my curiosity and became a key part of my skill set many years later.
Redundancy was both exciting and frightening. Another corporate career did not appeal, I had wanted to “do my thing” for several years. Now the possibility was real! I had no idea how far I was venturing into the unknown again. I thought I knew the way forward but made a false start. It hurt.
Climbing the corporate career ladder had been hard, yet I loved the work I did, it really was like climbing a mountain, the experience was worth every step. The peak of my career was 2 years before redundancy. I had reached a stage of dissatisfaction and emptiness. Let’s say it no longer made my heart sing. 38
Then I established a small business focused on my specialist design skills with a small team. Some years later I formed a separate partnership in a similar business sector. Those years were often distressing. Not because of
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high workload but my discovery of the gaps in told. My business definitely suffered. My my knowledge. experiences and insights were extraordinary and life changing. In the corporate world there is an invisible support network around you. Love it or hate it, There was still a deep inner emptiness, a search it is there and it supports you. From sales and for answers, yet I could not state the question marketing, through to accounting and admin. if asked. There is usually a way to achieve an outcome from somebody whom you may not realise is On a weekend energy healing event, I realised I effectively an expert in their field relative to you. had to do a three-year training. Now that really was jumping into the unknown! I knew I had to That is why I find Collaboration Global a great train for three years, I was deeply driven; I knew community to be part of, as each have their I had to do it. I did not know why. There were genius in their own way and are willing to help. many questions without answers. A family of specialists with a culture that is the Following my instincts was the best thing I complete antithesis of the corporate world. could have done. Then my next inner journey of conflict began. Practising my healing training In an SME or entrepreneurial role, that support on others resulted in their 10 year plus health is missing, you are wearing so many hats, issues rapidly disappearing. That experience you can’t name them all. You do not have was incredibly exciting, but it was terrifying. the necessary skills or time to fill those roles, Who was I to help people make changes like unless you contract them out this? This was self-doubt and procrastination at the highest levels. Back then, social media had yet to evolve, even now, does social media provide the answers? A business is a reflection of its creator’s consciousness. My business was not I fell into probably every pitfall that every performing well. I had gone way past the point business owner does. Plagued by self-doubt of transition and no return. and procrastination. I was on another journey into the unknown. If only I knew then what I Now, many years later I have integrated my know now… training and experience to create the business that fits my transformed and conscious being. I simply kept moving forward step by step I now identify, measure and clear the root like every other entrepreneur. I developed causes of low performance for businesses and an annoying minor health issue. The business leaders because I have done it for recommended solution by a consultant was myself first and have developed the skills to not acceptable. My next decision was another take people on that journey too. huge leap into the unknown. But I did not know it! A visit to a mind body soul exhibition What insights or advice do I have? was exciting and puzzling. I met a fascinating person and experienced powerful energy or As an entrepreneur, there are several key chi for the first time. I decided to work with points I learned the hard way which affect how them. we stay on target. Particularly if you are from a corporate career background. It started out to supposedly resolve my minor health issue. I then went through a deep • The greatest challenge is you process to address what was happening from • Not the conscious you who wrote the my ancestors. If you live in the West, this may business plan sound strange. In the Orient it is familiar. • The one who had doubts and uncertainties • That is your entrepreneur’s saboteur An inner crisis arose, I could not fully understand • It is not the technology, the market, the what I was experiencing or what I was being cashflow or the customers Join the discussion... facebook.com/Collglobal
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• Your feelings and mindset determine the decisions you make • They also determine how you react to circumstances • They determine the limits to growth before your entrepreneur’s saboteur takes action
at least 30 minutes before taking your quiet time.
If your mind is overflowing with interference, you really need to re-complete this exercise. Simply hold the question in mind, without expectation and be aware of what answers If you are procrastinating or struggling with appear. success beyond reasonable expectations, are looking for renewal in your outlook and growth It is not a science! in your future I suggest these 5 basic questions You know how you feel and think. you need to regularly ask yourself: All are rated 0 to 10 where 10 is a great result. Simply have an internal chat with yourself. 0 is not. Don’t be too serious, be like a young child. Answers scoring below 7 or 8 need to be My recommendations are: addressed. • Take a walk in nature with your phone set to do not disturb. • Yoga or meditation Take your choice of quiet time. • A quiet 15 minutes before going to sleep while thinking about the question. That means no phone calls or social media for How to ask the questions:
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The questions are:
They provide a great starting point to growth, both personal and business.
1. How much do I want to succeed in this business? 2. How good is my relationship with the business? 3. Is this limiting belief my own? (It may be parental, perhaps cultural or somebody else’s) 4. Is this procrastination mine? 5. What is my relationship with money? The answers may surprise you. They certainly surprised me!
Let your inner higher self, lead you wisely forward. To your success on your business journey. You can contact Jim at: Email: jim@differentlight.org Telephone: 07711 330211 Website: www.differentlight.org
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Profile: Taking a look at a key Collaborator in the community.
Gina Gardiner
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Who is Gina Gardiner? I’m a sister to an amazing woman and sisterin-law to a lovely man, aunt to my sisters son and my brother’s 5 children, (sadly my brother David died very suddenly 10 years ago), great aunty to 9 and godmother to 8 and slave to Leo the cat (at least that’s his expectation!).
however I have a rather challenging relationship with technology!
What fills you with joy? So many things – the moon through the trees, a beautiful sunset, the natural world and working in my garden. Being with family and friends, travel, exploring new things, music, I have many great friends and consider myself laughter, seeing clients become empowered to be very blessed. I have learned to look for and independent and CAKE!!! the gift in life even when it is challenging. What is your reason for BEing? Or in other There is only one me – I’m optimistic, positive words what are you passionate about? and passionate about what I do. I have a I am passionate about my work which is to very strong sense of purpose and I’m pretty support people, so they become the leaders determined. My mum used to say bloody of their own life. Personal empowerment and Enlightened Leadership are at the heart of minded. what I do and who I am. I love speaking, writing, gardening, traveling, live theatre, doing new things. I love my work
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I have a mission: – To positively impact on a million people in the next 5 years through the development of Enlightened Leadership, supporting the development of leaders who will lead with integrity, compassion and the courage to do what is right.
of fear, the decisions you make are going to be very different.
I’d choose LOVE. There are many people who would assume this focuses on the love you have for a partner, child, or a parent. They may believe that there is no place for love in business, that love is pink and fluffy. My view is very different.
Every relationship you have with others is a reflection of the relationship you have with yourself.
The reality is that most of us move up and down the spectrum according to the situation. However, we each have a default setting – the place we spend most of our time. Shift the I believe that Enlightened Leaders have a vital setting and you change the quality of your life. role as we move into a new era of consciousness Fear closes things down; it makes us play small. – to become the spiritual matriarchs and patriarchs of the future. Those who live towards the fear end of the spectrum will tend to live in the past or be It gives me huge pleasure to watch people anxious about the future. Their ‘present grow in confidence and self-belief and unlock moment’ is taken up with regret or worry, this their full potential. spoils any chance of sustained happiness and fulfilment. If you could choose one Collaboration Global behaviour or value that you identify with what Love is very different and has so many aspects, might that be? so I’ll share just a few:
Loving who you are (wobbly bits and all) means you have the confidence to create and maintain loving but firm boundaries, to step Living from a place of love is at the opposite out of your comfort zone, to use your authentic end of the spectrum to coming from a place voice, to look for the best in others and to 44
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develop resilience and hope in challenging circumstances.
a way of being – the result – both the recipient and the giver are richer for the experience.
Love of others means you demand the best of them, you see their potential and believe in them. You have high expectations, support them, challenge them and hold them to account. This is true for family, friends and colleagues etc. When people know you really care they will take on tough developmental feedback because they know you only have their best interests at heart.
Love of nature, the environment will be what makes the difference to whether this amazing planet we live in will sustain the human race in the future.
Love for others (even those you don’t know) facilitates kindness, compassion, and care. Rather than fearing those who are different, coming from a place of love means you recognise we are all connected and that even when you don’t agree you can still find a way forward. Being of service and helping others becomes
The decisions we each make day by day will decide. Our choice! Love of learning – we are card carrying students of life. We are the common denominator we take with ourselves every moment of every day. Every situation offers us the opportunity to learn or not. Being mindful, curious, courageous, prepared to try new things and see failure as an opportunity to learn, ready to explore and grab the opportunities which present themselves come from living from a place of love.
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You are a founding member of Collaboration I see each day as a renewal – an opportunity Global, can you share what your experience to make it the best day it can be. Not always has been since you joined? easy, particularly over the last year. When I’ve had a knock back, I’ve focussed on what I can Collaboration Global is a unique organisation do rather than what I can’t and on achieving my with values which are absolutely in tune with purpose with renewed energy. Having a great my own. Meetings give me the opportunity to sense of purpose is hugely helpful, it offers me fill up my batteries, to explore and share ideas, light and a reason to get up and get going on to challenge my thinking, to find a group of even the darkest days. people who are as passionate as I am about what they do and making a positive difference Being out in nature or in my garden gives in the world. It is a place I feel safe to be me – me the opportunity to ground myself, to feel to be vulnerable and know I will not be judged. renewed and regenerated – note to self- to do A place where deep thought and laughter sit it more often! cheek by jowl. Led by incredible people for incredible people! Are you free to operate within your Genius? What does that mean for you? This issue of The Quest has focused on ‘Renewal and Growth’, how do you imagine I think we are all free to operate within our that this will manifest in your life? genius when we get out of our own way. I feel so fortunate that have had the opportunity to Renewal and growth are an ongoing feature share my genius in so many ways as a teacher, of my life – In my professional life I have writer, speaker, coach, trainer and mentor. I reinvented myself and what I do several times, love my work and feel privileged that I can it is a process which is ongoing. make a positive difference in so many ways to others. I am continuously outside my comfort zone learning and embracing new technology. What vision do you have for your business Who would have thought just over two years and your life going forward within the ago when I first started my second business – Collaboration Global community? Genuinely You Ltd that I would have flown out to LA to make a TV series, have made over 200 I believe that Genuinely You Ltd will become a videos, been interviewed on over 100 podcasts successful, global organisation with close ties and radio shows, and created numerous to Collaboration Global and the people within substantial online programmes. Prior to this it. being in front of a camera turned me into a gibbering wreck. Life is complicated and the pace of change has never been greater. Those who are There has been tremendous growth as I have isolated or who work in silo’s are far less likely gained the confidence and expertise required to create or maintain the positive advantage. to achieve my goals. I’m constantly learning I believe wholeheartedly that collaboration about the ‘stuff’ I need to do in order to move is vital if businesses are to thrive as it offers forward and I continue to do the deep inner the opportunity to harness the combined work on myself. expertise, experience, skills and enthusiasms of those involved. Whilst technology continues to be a challenge, I have discovered that persistence and I believe that as The Enlightened Leadership tenacity combined with copious amounts of Programme grows, Collaboration Global tea and cake as I look back, I realise I’ve made will become a natural part of participants tremendous progress. development.
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www.CollaborationGlobal.org
If someone is interested in getting involved with our Collaboration Global community, from your perspective what might they expect when they get there?
Outside the meetings there are lots of other opportunities to learn new skills and engage with other members experience and expertise. There are social activities too.
Don’t expect 60 second elevator pitches or a greasy cooked breakfast. Don’t expect trivial conversation about the weather, the footy or how difficult life is. Don’t expect to sit on the side-lines and simply be an observer.
You can expect to get out of the group what you put into it and find support and friendship, a place for both renewal and for growth.
Thank you, Gina, for being one of our central pillars of collaboration and a truly You can expect the meetings will be well enlightened leader. planned, well led and supported. Gill and her team do a grand job and members are invited to present and lead sections of the meeting. You can contact Gina at: You can expect to meet members who are a Email: georgina.gardiner@gmail.com great bunch of people who are passionate Telephone: 01206 230497 about what they do, keen to learn and to share. Website: www.genuinely-you.com You can expect to learn about members of the group – I mean really learn about them and what makes them tick. You can expect a range of activities which make you think outside the box, reassess your beliefs and approach to life in a thoroughly enjoyable way. Join the discussion... facebook.com/Collglobal
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Be Our Guest! Be our guest at one of our regular live online sessions and meet our community. The last Tuesday of the month 3-5pm online What happens: We learn - as a member shares their genius We discuss – as we consider ways to improve our business and life We debate – a topic of the day or a belief system We connect, collaborate, and grow! Click the link below and we look forward to seeing you there. https://bit.ly/3gcOrT3
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www.CollaborationGlobal.org