The Final Countdown...
What a freaking amazing year!
Don’t get me wrong, it hasn’t all been rainbows and butterflies, but this year for me, was one of lessons learnt, growth, being inspired by those around me and being able to inspire others.
Before I started to write this final post for the year, I circled back to the very first one I wrote in January called “Fresh Starts”. I was so excited for the year ahead, I’d set up some new expectations for myself around work/life balance and some rituals to help me achieve this and you know what – it worked! I’m so glad I stuck to my “new” way of working and living as it helped me through a year peppered with high work demands, illness, relationship breakups (haha, yes, more than one) and a little bit of imposter syndrome.
This now brings me to the final countdown, as I’m taking my first holiday in twelve months and heading over to Europe for some food, wine and fashion! I always like to take stock at the end of the year, and this is what I learnt in 2018:
Getting out of your comfort zone brings great rewards – as a new business owner, this year I really made an effort to go to as many business, social or general networking events as I could to expand my circle of contacts and wow – what a circle it has become. I was humbled by how many people I came into contact with who genuinely wanted to support me and MADI and I’m grateful to say that many of those contacts have become great friends. If I’d stayed at home in the comfort of my pj’s none of this would’ve happened so, get out there and mingle!
Diversity is a conversation we all need to have– for those of you who follow my interest in diversity, you’ll know I was moved by the #100daysforchange initiative this year and made a pledge to support it. For 100 days I featured women from all walks of life across my posts and socials and from the comments, likes and reactions – this was a big deal for many of you who could relate or were inspired by the stories you heard. Let’s keep the conversation going.
Everybody has a story– I worked with so many fabulous coaching and recruitment clients this year and every single one of them had an amazing story. Whether they were starting out, had been working for 35 years or had a business going through growth or decline, I’ve been inspired by every single person. Take a minute to ask someone you don’t know that well the question, “How did you get here? What has been the choices you’ve made in your career/business that brings you to today?” I guarantee that you’ll leave the conversation with at least one little nugget of advice or inspiration.
2018 has been a year of "establishment" for myself and MADI, but next year is going to be the year I take things to the next level! I’m excited to be really driving the recruitment services of MADI, along with some cool new developments for MADI Coach. I’ll be putting myself out there a bit more across the socials, as I want you to know, trust and believe in the person behind the business. Thank you to everyone who has supported me on this journey and bring on 2019!
Be Fabulous.
Lisa xx