On Being Bold and Asking for What You Want

Two days away from work, doing family things has given me time to think, and has allowed the Universe to do its thing and send me things to think about. And the message from the universe is, in a nutshell, "Think Big and Ask for What You Want".

Firstly, there was a conversation in the car with my lovely daughter (here's a photo of her so you can see how utterly gorgeous she is as well as brilliant) while I was driving her back to Uni. She is firmly of the opinion that I should be contacting the national media about Colourful Coaching, and offering them the opportunity to get in at the ground floor by supporting me as I build the business. This is a novel thought, as I had thought of approaching the media and then shied away, thinking that they wouldn't be interested in little old me. She's quite fierce when roused, is my girl (chip off the old block, some might say....) and she was adamant that I should think like a man and ask for what I want. As she says, the worst that can happen is that they'll say no, and I won't be any worse off than I am now.

This coincided with a tweet from the amazing and inspiring Deborah Stewart. She had retweeted someone else's tweet (are you still with me?) that said "Ask ask ask ask. Your success depends on your willingness to ASK".

And then, while browsing in a charity bookshop yesterday, I came across a fabulous little book called "Whatever You Think, Think the Opposite" by Paul Arden, which is all about how, if you think differently about things, you're going to get a different and probably better result than you would if you carried on thinking about things the same way everyone else does.

Hmmm, I'm thinking. Hmmm....someone's trying to tell me something.

And then I thought of Damian Hughes...if you don't know about him, do look him up, he's one of the people that inspired me to go it alone and he's also a shining example of someone who decided what he wanted and then didn't stop asking for it until he got it.

So what effect has all this had? Well, today I have emailed the following people to ask them for a quote on the importance of living an authentic life and showing the world your True Colours:

• Damian Hughes
• Zandra Rhodes
• Chris Evans

I shall do 3 every day until I have enough to make a book - and then I shall make a book! And I need your help, so please give me your suggestions for who else I should ask for contributions, and I'll contact them.

Onwards and Upwards!!

Quick update - since I wrote the first bit, I've also contacted 2 major magazines and offered myself as a contributor. Watch this space....

On Inspiration

Yesterday was an inspiring day, thanks to the following 3 people:

First of all there's Sharon Gaskin, founder of The Trainers Training Company and all round Good Egg. I first came across Sharon when she gave a presentation at a meeting of the Gloucester Coaches Network shortly before Christmas. I found what she had to say really useful,and she had a major effect on my approach to building my business - if you're sick of seeing me on Twitter, blame Sharon :-)

Yesterday, one of Sharon's tweets introduced me to Nicola Bird, founder of Take Action, Get Clients and creator of a fantastic-looking online coaching tool called JigsawBox, which I hope to be able to use in the not-too-distant future. Nicola has provided a free download of a document which I used yesterday to help me to draw up a MUCH more sensible and focused business plan than the one I had originally, and which will, in tandem with Sharon's advice, enable me to realise my ambitions for Colourful Coaching.

Last but by no means least, a few weeks ago I joined an online network for women in business called Business Women's Cafe. Through that, I became aware of a new magazine that a truly inspiring lady called Lisa Mundembe is setting up. This is a direct quote from Lisa that explains what the magazine is all about:

The vision of Inspirational Magazine is to help people to know that there is hope after or during their encounters, that they are capable of still living their dream even though they went through what they went through and for some are still going through what they are going through, that we all have a destiny, we all have talents, dreams/vision and that we can achieve more than we actually think we can if we are determined, dedicated and believe. Inspirational Magazine aims at building individuals, developing individuals, encouraging individuals, challenging individuals, be a positive read to readers and inspiring individuals through real life experiences, real life stories, motivational messages, inspirational articles, encouraging messages/articles including articles that you can learn one or two things from that will be in the magazine.

I read the first edition online, and liked it so much I submitted an article based on my recent blog post about facing your fears. Lisa called me yesterday to say thank you - and we ended up agreeing that I would contribute a series of monthly articles to Inspirational Magazine, the first hard copy issue if which is currently at the printers. Having heard Lisa's story, and the conviction she has about what she's doing, I can only admire her and urge her to succeed. If her plan succeeds, you should soon be seeing copies of Inspirational Magazine appearing in a supermarket near you - please give it and Lisa your support.

There are so many generous, inspiring people out there and I've only mentioned 3 - I'd love to know who inspires you...