What I learned today…. In conversation with Kirsty Spraggon

I have received some wonderful feedback over the last week about my new radio show Real Women/Real Success. If you didn’t catch this week's show you can listen to it or download it to iTunes here... or visit Blog Talk Radio

My guest today was Kirsty Spraggon, author of Work As If You Own It and an expert on building relationships for life and business success. I just loved chatting with Kirsty!

Here are some of the insights that from our conversation that particularly resonated with me:

• Success is like climbing up a mountain. If you keep putting one foot in front of the other, you will eventually get to the top.
• Successful people still feel overwhelmed, intimidated or downright scared about the path they are pursing, they just don’t let that get in their way.
• Stop trying to find work life balance and instead focus on FURK – combining FUn with woRK.
• Think about the relationships you are building as a long term investment in your success. They might not lead to new business today or tomorrow, but if you nurture them the will be valuable to you in the long term.
• Be yourself at work, give people a chance to see the real you. Authenticity is about people wanting something real from something genuine.

And, a great comment Kirsty shared after our show… ‘Success is like building Ikea furniture. It might cause you all sorts of frustration as you build it but will feel incredibly satisfying when you look back and made that myself!’

A former real estate agent who achieved global Top 1% status with RE/MAX Kirsty now works as a coach, consultant and speaker, assisting people to increase sales, networks and connections for life and business success.

To find out more about Kirsty visit www.kirstyspraggon.com.au

Little sacrifices, big results...

I was reading an article in the Sunday papers about Shakira who, in case you haven’t heard, is a Latin American pop sensation and the fourth richest woman in music


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During the interview, she was talking about a strict diet she was currently on, all fish and vegetables, and explained “You want to be skinny and have a good body? You have to workout every day and say no to certain foods.” When her interviewer commiserates, Shakira shrugs and says “You can’t achieve anything in life without a small amount of sacrifice.”

In this instance Shakira was talking about her body, but it is a sentiment she repeats throughout the interview, and one that I wholeheartedly agree with.

“You can’t achieve anything in life

without a small amount of sacrifice.”

So often people expect achieving their goals and dreams to be easy, requiring the bear minimum of effort on their behalf. But that’s rarely the way it works. Most success, whatever the goal, is the result of constant and continuous effort and a willingness to make these make compromises and small sacrifices along the way.*

Think about the goals you want to achieve and ask your self what small sacrifice or compromise can I make that will take me closer to my dreams. Commit yourself fully and watch your future unfold.

Remember, achieving what you want in life won’t always be easy but it will be worth it!

* If you want to be a pop star with a hot bod, saying no to chocolate will probably seem like a small sacrifice. I am of course much relieved that this is not my goal as saying no to chocolate would be more than I can bear!

Read the full article about Shakira here

What I learned today…. In conversation with Karen Miles

This morning was the first episode of my new radio show Real Women/Real Success.

You can listen to the show or download it to iTunes at Blog Talk Radio

My guest today was Karen Miles, the author of The Real Baby Book You Need at 3am and an expert on motherhood and it’s impact on women’s identity and career. Karen and I had a great chat.

Here are some of the insights that I took away from our conversation:

• Women are setting themselves up for failure as mothers, right at the start, with the concept of the ‘birth plan’. The baby has the plan, not you!
• It’s important as a working mother to reinsert yourself into the equation, considering yourself and your needs doesn’t make you selfish
• Juggling is something that clowns do really well, and not something that people do particularly well
• Focus on work life mix – what’s in your day that fulfils you professionally personally, as a mother and so on
• Invest in yourself and your key relationships
• Create clear delineation between working time and family time
• Get back to You First Thinking; back your instincts, back your needs and back yourself as a person.

Karen is also the founder of Miss Scarlett, an online stationery boutique that creates gorgeous cards for time-savvy mums who want the option to email their cards.

www.karenmiles.com.au

www.missscarlett.com.au