Don't do it!

I'm coaching 3 new clients and they all have 1 thing in common, they like to read their horoscopes and before you make an assumption here 2 of my clients are guys, it isn't a female thing!!
Now I used to do this too until I realised what an adverse effect it was having on me and my business; I bet you read them too, but some of you won't admit it.
The trouble with reading your horoscope is that when they have 'good' news for you, you 'feel' great, the energy vibes start buzzing but when they mention, bad, lack of, dips not highs and so it goes, your energy shifts THE WRONG WAY because you are expecting bad things to happen and you are concentrating on looking out for bad things. So your focus is on the wrong thing; you draw to you what you concentrate on in this case is 'bad things'.
So my coaches request to you is to STOP READING YOUR HOROSCOPE immediately; focus on what you want to achieve in your business/life by shifting your energy to positive thoughts & feelings, not negative. By changing your focus your shift your energy and draw to you what you want, not what you don't want.

Such amazing talent

I was privileged to be a judge at the Rotary Youth Speaks contest last night at Danetree School Ewell, Surrey. The talent of these young people was amazing.
The contest was split into 2 groups intermediate and seniors. There were 3 in each group, a chairperson whose job it was to introduce the team, the speaker (who had the main role) and a proposer. What was evident immediately was that they had practised well in advance of the evening. The confidence demonstrated by these young people was so clear to see; there were many adults in the audience who were very envious at the talents on show.
The judging was hard but our decision was that Coombe Boys won the intermediate and Notre Dame the seniors. Both go through to the district final on Friday 26th February at Nescot in Ewell.
I am so looking forward to the evening and always leave these events inspired. I'm sure judging the final will be challenging as I expect it to be extremely close.

New beginnings

The last ten years have shot by so quickly but as I look back I'm pleased with what I see; my visions are becoming my reality, so many opportunities pop up from areas I hadn't expected or even considered. I'm loving the way my business has developed and the direction in which I am going. I'm helping many people to realise their dreams of having their own business, developing their talents and creative skills and mentoring them through different stages.
2010 is also a very big year for my family; it's been ten years since my father was diagnosed with terrible kidney cancer, we so nearly lost him but he's still with us (living with a 1/4 of one kidney, totally amazing) I am so grateful to have him and my mum still in my life. They are my guiding light and they have been with me every step of the way being so supportive. They both turn 80 this year (now can I get away with a surprise party I wonder) my niece turns 18 in May (she past her driving test last year and now has her very first car).
This year sees me making changes to my business, adding 2 new programmes...business coaching and my StyleRICH Platinum Group Coaching & Mastermind ProgrammeTM which I'm so excited about. I'm still being creative (an essential part to any entrepreneur) and am working on new products too...more later in the year.
I'm so excited and look forward to helping many people to realise their dreams whether in business, achieving the look they desire to have or advising people on which is the best direction for them to take.

I love receiving updates

I so love my job; when I get updates from clients about how their lives have changed since we met up I just love it.
This week I heard from Andy and this is what he has to say:

I have to say that having decided to hire Sue for a day, instead of half, this has been one of the best decisions made in my life. She chooses articles of clothing for you to try on brilliantly.
If you tell her that an item isn't quite to your liking she just beavers on until in my case, I ended up with everything from suits and shoes to casual wear ~ and she made up a list to refer to say what goes with what with each item which is extremely useful - especially when you are in a hurry.

Would I have ever worn a pink or salmon shirt before? Never! They are now my favourite shirts which she chose to compliment my skin tone and hair colour and I am constantly given compliments from the ladies about how good I look.
All in all my confidence has soared because I know that I look great and because of this, doors open far more readily and people take me far more seriously.

I decided I needed a change to better my life and to move forward and combined a new wardrobe with a book, which can be bought on the Internet called 'Double your Dating'.
Now nine months later I'm having the time of my life, both at work and home.

I would have absolutely no hesitation in recommending Sue if you really are serious about wanting to get more out of life.
You will need a whole day to get a decent set of clothes and will be absolutely knackered at the end, even though Sue carries around a lot of your purchases as part of her service apart from the 4 pairs of jeans which I insisted Andy carry.

Working with clients from the inside out is essential to a successful shopping trip/consultation. I need to understand where you've come from, what habits/beliefs have you developed over time that are now holding you back and often you don't even realise the impact this is having on your actions and reactions to them. Assisting clients to break through these self limiting issues is such a rewarding part of my job; as I say "image is so much more than what you wear".

A Swine of the Times

Summer has gone past at great speed; it made me laugh how they decided to cancel summer about half way through due to the weather at the time, then summer promptly started up again (well for a few days anyway). I'm looking forward to wrapping myself up in the beautiful colours that are now appearing in the stores. Have you seen them? There are many light weight knit cardigans which come in handy when you are nipping in and out of the car. I was in Wallis the other day and I must say they have yet again another great season of styles available that will last you well beyond this year; such good value and you don't have to be under 25 to walk through their doors. They have really thought about their target market and have increased their ranges to suit all ages so go on take a look.
This autumn supposedly is going to taken over by swine flu (I've had it, it wasn't pleasant but I've had worse)so wrap yourself up in M&S's lovely soft tracksuits that are available in beautiful shades of burgundy & blue. Just because you are laid low doesn't mean that you should wrap yourself up in dark depressing colours which make you 'feel' worse. Wearing colour does lift you, pink for example is a great colour to wear if you are feeling under the weather; whilst brown is a great colour to relax in. Worn together as a colour combination, WOW.
I'm looking forward to seeing the beautiful autumn colours appearing as I travel around the UK; I love driving and can often be out and about before 6am. I love that time of the day as the world is waking up and watching the colours appear in the skyline. I appreciate them rather than dismiss them.Do you?

Capsule Wardrobe

What is this elusive capsule wardrobe? does it exist? is it a myth?

To make your holiday capsule wardrobe:

You need a selection of base colours....navy, grey, black or brown or white/cream for summer. To these add teal, pink, purple (these all go very well with the base colours). Add cardi's (please don't button them up all the way leave a couple of buttons undone at the top & bottom) in base or complimentary colours.

A good choice for holiday capsules are cardi's and cami's they look so nice and can be dressed up and down. Look for soft viscose fabrics that skim the body. Another choice could be viscose shirts (long or regular length) that can also be worn as a jacket, which is a lot lighter to carry.

Travel in your heaviest clothes, jeans/chino's for example and carry your jacket.

When I was employed to go on cruise liners as a Speaker I took 4 pairs of trousers, 4 t-shirts, 4 shirts and 4 jumpers; this allowed me to make up 24 different looks because all the colours worked together.

The capsule wardrobe isn't a myth at all.

BBC2 The Speaker

Have you been watching this programme?
Youth today get such a bad press but I have been very privileged over the last few weeks to meet many young speakers in various contests being held around the country; I have been impressed with their skills, their passion on their chosen subjects...some of which are controversial. It is amazing to watch how these speakers come to life as they get into speaking, I'm loving being involved. But it isn't about just standing there opening your mouth and hoping that the correct words will fall out, in the right order at the right time. To become a better speaker you need to invest in yourself; it's no good leaving it to the last minute and think you can 'blag a speech...you can always tell when it hasn't been prepared, it just doesn't flow naturally, you don't appear confident, you stumble as your thought processes stall and you start to panic and block your speech in your mind. A speech needs to be rehearsed several times before it is 'aired' it doesn't need to be word perfect in your mind because if it is and a word comes out in the wrong order you are thrown and you will be unable to find a starting point again. You do need however to build your speech in such a way that you can easily remember the pattern in which it flows.

Public speaking is a skill which can be learnt, apart from coaching with me I highly recommend Toastmasters International which is an international group which offers support, guidance and coaching on a fortnightly basis. Your investment is £80 per year and you go as many times a year as you can and you will learn the art of public speaking in a safe learning environment. I am President of my club www.epsomspeakers.co.uk or the web site to find a club near you is www.toastmasters.org. Toastmasters is featured on one of the speaker series and it is highly recommended by the programme.

Don't put off investing in you and your skills, you never know when they will come in handy. The skills that I have acquired through Toastmasters has quite literally opened up the world for me.