Podcast Episode 12: Why Becoming a Mother is the Perfect Time to Start A Business

Sabine Matharu, Author at The Future Shapers

Episode 12 of The School of Success Podcast Series is now live! An inspiring and eye-opening deep-dive into why becoming a mother is the perfect time to start a business!

This interview with the accomplished Leadership Coach, Author and Workplace Wellbeing Creator, Sabine Matharu, teaches you:

– top tips for overcoming the limiting beliefs that stop people from launching their own businesses;
– what’s really going on in new mums’ inner monologues when they go back to work;
– myth-busting around the risks of launching your own business;
– how to use adversity to laser-focus new career goals and expedite health, wealth and happiness; and
– how organisations can better support working parents

This is also for you if you have an interest in how to optimise career clarity before making a change and how to find the killer weapons required to start and scale a business fast. This is also for you if you’re not sure what a Leadership Coach is and the main benefits of investing in one!

In this super informative interview, Sabine shares her expert wisdom from years as a management consultant turned successful author and entrepreneur working with women across a whole host of industries whether new mums, aspiring entrepreneurs or leaders in their field.

You can find Sabine at www.instagram.com/sabine.matharu/ on Instagram and at www.theempowermentportal.com. Her recent book, “Shift – A New Era Begins” can be found here: www.learnmoreabout.info/shift.

Full podcast episode here!

New York, New York: The City to End All Cities!

New York's Empire State Building Gets a Surprising Upgrade | Architectural Digest

New York City is addictive – once you’ve tasted it, you’ll want more.  A concrete jungle with a skyline to end all skylines, what it lacks in elegance and beauty it makes up for in energy and buzz. The city that never sleeps, it’s a hub of yellow taxis, beeping horns, NYPD vans and Stars and Stripes – everywhere.  If you can stomach the Arctic climes, February is a great time to visit – you’ll benefit from cut-price flights and maybe a bit of snow, if you’re lucky!

Your first experience of Manhattan will doubtless be in a yellow cab.  Brace yourself.  New York taxi drivers are devoid of the charm of London cabbies.  Zero small talk and 20% tipping starts here! In terms of sites to see, The Empire State Building in Midtown Manhattan is a great first stop. Walking through the art-deco surrounds as you ascend to the open air 360-degree observation deck on the 86th floor is like stepping back in time (don’t worry, there’s a lift).  The panoramic views that await are all the more striking by night, the bitter cold etching the stunning vistas into freeze frames of the mind.  The cityscape is breath-taking, with lights spanning horizon-wide across the Hudson and East Rivers and stretching skyward to illuminate the heady heights of the Chrysler Building, the Rockefeller Centre and the Bank of America Tower!

By day, the penthouse floor of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel at 80 Columbus Circle on 60th Street is a top of the range spot to gaze over the Manhattan skyline and Central Park.  If you can’t stretch to the mouth-watering sushi feast on offer, a hot chocolate is a warming alternative on a cold winter’s day.  The views from the rooftop bar of the Standard Hotel, an 18-storey tower arching over the High Line in the heart of Downtown Manhattan’s Meatpacking District are also worth a peek – if you can stretch to a slightly pricey liquid treat, there is no better way to take in The Big Apple than in the chic surrounds of the Boom Boom Room.  But this is a city with far more to it than its 1,776 feet height!

MO Lounge - Dining In New York City | Mandarin Oriental, New York

From East Village and West Village to Wall Street and Chelsea, New York is a hive of activity and character.  The cafe culture is a huge part of daily life, stretching well-beyond the 9-5.  My favourite daily hangout was the “The Bean” at 147, East Village, a large kooky cafe full of charm and character (and delicious banana muffins to boot).  Typical of the New York coffee scene, it is awash with locals on Apple Macs, giving off a collective energy which really stirs the creative juices.  Who knew sitting at a communal table could be such fun?  How very un-British!

While we’re on the subject of East Village, with bars, cafés  and restaurants aplenty, this is a great little spot for young-uns to stay.  Lying east of Greenwich Village, south of Gramercy Park and north of the Lower East Side, the area has become a center of the counter culture in New York and is known for its diverse community, vibrant nightlife and artistic sensibility!

Big Daddy’s, off Park Avenue, was the truly quintessential American diner, with a breakfast menu longer than your arm from milkshakes, pancakes and eggs galore to cute red diner stools, chequered floors and cosy booths – and just a few steps away from the elegant Gramercy Tavern, one of America’s most beloved restaurants with a smart, sexy bar to blow your socks off. The perfect spot for a Bloody Mary or a bite for lunch or dinner.

Robert Kushner Installation, Gramercy Tavern — ROBERT KUSHNER

If you prefer even finer things in life, a stroll through the civilised Greenwich Village will give you a snapshot into the lives of Danielle Steele’s upper middle class ladies.  If you fancy a lazy afternoon in a café, you can while away the hours watching New York’s equivalents of Chelsea yummy mummies treating their well-turned out tots to tea and cake!

For a lively gastronomical experience you won’t forget in a hurry, hop a little further north to The Chelsea Market in the Meatpacking District.  One of the greatest indoor food halls of the world, it has more than thirty-five vendors purveying everything from soup to nuts, wine to coffee, cheese to cheesecake.  It also boasts eclectic pop-up shops displaying all manner of delights from hand-made jewellery to beautiful cards and prints such those designed by Ashleigh Verrier (see below).  Top that off with a visit to the world-class High Line (a stone’s throw away) and you have a perfect afternoon.  A one mile, haven-like park built on an elevated railway 30 feet above Manhattan’s West Side, it provides beautiful views over the Hudson River and beyond!

 

Chelsea Market interior

 

A top spot for dinner nearby is The Monarch Room, the American Restaurant-Diner also located in the Meatpacking District.  With an ambience and price tag typical of the area, it is super trendy with a buzzy exclusivity that is hard to beat.  Fantastic cocktails and a diverse menu ranging from grilled octopus and duck breast to peanut butter wedge and chocolate cake make for a memorable feast!

Another must-see site is the famous Central Park, some 800 acres in size.  Just north of Midtown, it’s home to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir, tennis courts and a sizeable lake. You can even roam around it in a horse and carriage if you’re feeling lazy post brunch  at the Loeb Boathouse below, is a stunning spot for brunch overlooking the lake.

The Loeb Boathouse Central Park | Restaurants in Central Park, New York

Shouting distance from Saks on Fifth Avenue, Barney’s on Madison Avenue and Broadway, a leisurely walk amongst the trees can topped off with a bit of retail therapy and any number of Musicals from Pippin to Wicked.

If you’re after some respite from New York’s mayhem, The Ace Hotel on Broadway is just the ticket. Dimly-lit with with cosy armchairs and sofas, this chilled lounge-bar is a great example of New York being “a city of interiors”.  Step off the bustly New York streets into Ace and you’ll enter a snug hub brimming with New Yorkers, Brooklynites, international travellers and freelancers unwinding to the dulcet tones of brilliant live music displays on Sunday evenings.

I’d also recommend a trip to Wall Street.  Situated on the Southern tip of Manhattan, it buzzes with testosterone befitting a global financial centre and is a stone’s throw from the famous Brooklyn Bridge and its spectacular views of Manhattan (dinner at The River Café overlooking the East River is memorable).  The Financial District is also within spitting distance of the stunning new World Trade Center and The World Trade Center Memorial, a salutary reminder of times passed.

A note of warning for single ladies out there looking for love.  If you’re visiting New York in the hope of “hooking-up” with a handsome American, best look elsewhere.  Described as “a candy store for men”, women vastly outnumber their male counterparts and are known to be every bit as determined and toned as professional predators.  This is a city of wash-board stomachs like no other.  The other tip for English tourists is to speak slowly and clearly, over-enuciating to the nth degree.  While most New Yorkers go bananas over our “cute” English accents (cue: “I’m dreadfully sorry to bother you” – again), it takes, on average, about three attempts to be vaguely understood. Most odd.

One of the other notable aspects of New York and an apt analogy for the difference between the English and American personality has to be the cars.  While London’s roads boast Mini Coopers, BMWs, Aston Martins and TVRs, New York is replete with black, oversized A-Team style vans, Mustangs and Cadillacs.  Such was the prevalence of colossal black vehicles parked astride 5* Hotels, I half expected Barack Obama to step out on state business.

But joking aside, New Yorkers can’t be faulted for their warmth, enthusiasm and lack of reserve. This is a people who take pride in letting their military personnel board planes first and who fly the American flag with unapologetic patriotism – a refreshing contrast to London.  The  scale and compression of the high-rise buildings give off a vitality and animation so imposing it seems almost pop-up.  Like nothing I have ever experienced, with a noise and buzz of elephantine proportions, this really is “The Land of Hope and Dreams”.  If you feel a little flat, it will bring you alive; if you feel the wrong side of motivated, it will make you dream bigger.

It is perhaps best summed up by John Steinbeck: “New York is an ugly city, a dirty city. Its climate is a scandal, its politics are used to frighten children, its traffic is madness, its competition is murderous. But there is one thing about it – once you have lived in New York and it has become your home, no place else is good enough.”

Hot Air Or Life-Changing? How Coaching Banishes Stress & Transforms Lives

instincts and coaching

“Attention energises, intention transforms”

Deepak Chopra

Ever wondered why you’re unable to make change despite feeling frustration, boredom, anxiety or depression about your current life?

Here’s why..

To make any big change in your life, you need to do more than recognise discomfort – you need to create the time, space and resources to get real clarity. From there, change becomes easy.

Ever wondered why people telling you what you should do rarely works? Because sometimes it comes more from a place of projection, protectiveness and bias than objectivity and real listening – truly sitting in the moment with you and really hearing what lies beneath is usually quite different, leaving you feeling heard, understood and pumped to uplevel your life.

This is exactly what I thought coaching wasn’t when I first started out. Honestly, I was hoping it was a quick fix involving talking to a wise owl who could help me cut corners and expedite change fast.

I couldn’t have been more wrong.

When I heard it was being guided by the coach asking a series of questions to help me work out who I was and what I wanted, I thought it sounded like hot air.

Then we started practising coaching – and I ate my words fast..

I quickly realised helping someone connect to who they truly are and what they truly want versus telling them what they should do, is where the magic happens.

I see this kind of magic happen daily with clients – whether midwives moving into project management, financiers moving into consulting, lawyers moving into coaching or graduates moving into advertising and beyond.

It’s not rocket science, but boy does it work.

As a wise friend on Mindline once said, really active listening is like developing a sixth sense.

So I say again – attention energises, intention transforms. Finding space to be truly heard and to deconstruct what’s really going on for you is an essential component to creating the intention required for change.

So if you’re feeling misaligned with your life or career, what’s stopping you?

And if you’re still feeling stuck, remember, nothing changes if nothing changes 💫

#coaching #life #career #change #listen #plan #goals #transform

 

Podcast Episode 8: Insider Secrets to Nailing a Successful Global Business From Scratch!

Beco_George_1

Episode 8 of The School of Success Podcast Series is now live! This insightful interview with George Bramble, Founder of the award-winning eco-pet company, Beco, gives inspiring insight into how to build a successful global business you’re truly passionate about!

My chat with the accomplished, tenacious + resourceful, George, is not to be missed if you want to know:

– how to find a business idea that inspires you + makes great money;
– what the best route to entrepreneurship is;
– why mindset is key to success;
– common myths that will keep you stuck;
– insider tips on how to scale a business; +
– top tips for effective selling.

This is also for you if you’re not sure you have what it takes + have no idea where to start.

In this super informative interview, George shares his expert wisdom from over 10 years’ experience building an extremely successful global business that saw him go from sticking stickers on dog bowls on a roof in the dead of night to becoming the leading compostable poop bag specialist + a supplier of eco-friendly pet products to over 43 markets worldwide in a pet industry worth over $99 billion in the US alone.

You can find George @beco_pets on Instagram + at www.becopets.com

In the words of Beco, love your dog, love our planet!

Listen here!

Podcast Episode 2 with Marisa Ribordy: Re-align your Life + Develop A Toolkit for More Conscious Living

Episode 2 of The School of Success Podcast Series: How to Re-align your Life + Develop A Toolkit for More Conscious is now live!

This inspiring interview with the intuitive yogi, women’s guide, writer + workshop facilitator, @marisaribordy, teaches you How to Re-align your Life + Develop A Toolkit for More Conscious Living helping you connect more deeply to your true self so you can shift your life from the inside out.

This is for you if you’re feeling off-center, disconnected from your true self, constantly tired or drained by city living or otherwise or have a feeling you’re on the wrong path but you don’t know where to start to get clarity on who you really are and what you really want.

This is also for you if you want to find greater peace + balance in your life, develop your mind body connection + learn how to listen to your instincts more so you can get clear on areas of your life that aren’t truly aligned with you and your greater growth and happiness. And develop that strong sense of self + clarity that underpins confident decision-making.

In this warm-hearted interview, Marisa lovingly guides you to discover a range of powerful tools to help you develop greater self-awareness and connection to your true self so you can realign your life in a way that makes you feel truly happy and free. Formerly @wildhappyheart, you can now find Marisa at @marisaribordy on Instagram and at www.marisaribordy.com.
Since this podcast interview, Marisa has embarked on an inspiring series on women’s workshops centering around the magical cycles of the moon and how you can set powerful intentions around manifesting + letting go at these times. Be warned she is a powerful manifester with magical tools to help you create your dream life whether in work, love or otherwise.

I hope you enjoy it!

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