Dancing's great for your health.

As someone who has just got into Salsa dancing, I was delighted to read that research conducted by Queens University in Belfast found that regular dancing helps you age well. Now isn't that good news.

According to Anthropology lecturer Johnathan Skinner "Dancing alleviates social isolation, gives us something to live for and literally takes away the aches and pains of ageing"

I've only been doing Salsa for two lessons with my wonderful husband and we love it. Our teacher Lou, tells us we are doing really well and we can regularly be found salsaing round the kitchen as we prepare dinner.

All work and no play, well you know what they say.

Why is it that when we know that taking a break, as in days off, is good for us and when we have oodles of research that backs it up, do nearly 25% of British employees not take their full holiday entitlement?

According to info in the most recent Management Today, it's because they fear redundancy if they aren't there. Very sad but probably true.

Come on everyone, let's get wise on this one. No-one should give up their life to their employer, we all have lives outside work and need balance in those lives. Even if you take a long weekend, you'll benefit so start scheduling in some breaks and reap the benefits of being more productive and efficient; less stressed and a much nicer person to be around.

And no taking the work phone, computer etc away with you, go cold turkey and have a real break. Who knows you may even want to do it again, I so hope so.

Hazel's Monday Motivator Broadcast

I get these wonderful Motivator Broadcasts from the wonderful Hazel Palache and for a Monday morning this was so apt I wanted to share it with you:

"People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing - that's why we recommend it daily." - Zig Ziglar

I was asked recently how I managed to stayed motivated every day. Having not been asked that question for a long time many things have changed so I gave it a minute's thought. You know what I realized; it's really not challenging when you are doing something you love and when you have the right kind of action and marketing plans in place to make it flow more easily.

Have focused creative goals
Create a good marketing plan
Take daily action
Make sure you are serving your ideal client/customer
Be passionate about what you do and know why you are doing it!
Have a coach/mentor to stay on track and keep you accountable!

If you have all the above in place you will find yourself continually motivated.


Hazel is the Entrepreneurs Results Coach. A best selling author, coach and speaker. She is an expert on the subject of creating great results. Her goal is to help you unleash your potential to create the life of your dreams. Learn about her cutting edge result strategies. www.sayyestoyoucoaching.com

..and do get on board and sign up, it's all great stuff.

Hectic week

It's been a really crazy week in our house, schools breaking up, drama end of term events, drama exams, days out and painting so I haven't really had the chance to miss my poor husband who's been in Phoenix since Thursday 16th.

In busy times it's all too easy to let good habits slip a little bit because there's just not time but of course it's a false economy. The time taken to write in my journal, have 15 mins meditation time , go for my early morning walk actually doesn't take that long and is an investment in 'me'. After a few days, I've begun to notice that I'm not quite as in flow as I was and my cheery disposition isn't quite so cheery.

However, at least I'm aware of it and can take some action to restore these good habits and improve life for all around and especially for me. So I'll be having an early night, walking tomorrow and doing some reading and journal writing on Sunday.

Hope you have a great weekend too.

Dark clouds looming

Well there have been plenty of these dark clouds around over the last few days and as you see from my photo this morning , still more abound.

Luckily I was on my way home from my walk when I took this and managed to get home before the rain.

How do these clouds make you feel? What effect does the oncoming storm have? I love the depth of colour, it amazes me how dark it can become and of course it's often fairly warm too so it can feel really weighty and oppressive. Sometimes it can feel like the weight of the world bearing down.

Then of course there was last night. I don't know about where you were but in East London/ Essex there was the most amazing storm that rolled around for hours sending flashes of lightening to illuminate the whole house and crashes of thunder, which Ellie insisted, had caused the house to shake.

I like being safe inside and listening to and watching storms. They are so powerful and remind me how small and insignificant I really am. I don't mean this in a bad way but in a way that brings me to terms with the lack of importance I, like most other individuals, place on small things. When the power of en electric storm is around you, those little things fade.

When a storm has passed the air seems fresher, the burden has been lifted and everything seems lighter. It's as if the torrential rain that usually accompanies these storms has washed , not only the streets but my head too. I feel clearer.

I love the power of all water and love to be by the sea. I love to walk along empty beaches when the sea is pounding the rocks and crashing up the beach. Perhaps this love of water is also why, when my head feels heavy, I often go and have a shower, allowing the power of the water to pummel my scalp and clear my mind.

Where I am in my life at the moment, the storms mirror some of my inner turmoil as I try and decide where I need to go next. Sometimes, I just roll the same things round and round in my head and can see no direction then at other times, I get flashes of clarity just like when the sun shines out of that magnificent blue sky, after the rain.

The storms and erratic weather won't last for ever and neither will my fuzzy head, wonder what will develop out of it all?

The fun and challenge of midlife.

Does midlife mean anything to you? Do you relate to it as a time of your life? How does it feel to be there? Are you excited and hopeful, confused and disillusioned or caught up in it all and being carried along?

Wherever you find yourself, have a look at what my dear friend Karen Knott is doing. Karen is a coach and facilitator who works with mid-life women to help them make the most of this important transitional life stage and at the moment she is doing a wonderful A - Z of midlife on her blog - http://midlifematters.wordpress.com/

I recommend you take a look and laugh and cry along......

Here's the latest one.

"F is for 40’s and 50’s

When people ask me when midlife starts and ends, I try to explain that it isn’t a definable chronological age, so much as a life stage that we pass through in our own time, according to our own unique circumstances. So why then have I chosen 40 and 50 to represent F in my A-Z of Midlife? Well, because most people WILL move in and through the hugely important midlife phase at some point during this time.

There is something about those ‘big’ birthdays that end with a nought… they symbolise the ending of one decade and the beginning of another (obviously, duh!) but there’s something else about them. For a start, they tend to be the birthdays that many people find ‘difficult’. They seem to represent a psychological threshold – with some determined to stay THIS side of the threshold and others realising that they want things to be somehow ‘different’ the other side of the threshold.

For the baby boomer generation, our 40’s and 50’s represent something very different to that of our parent’s that’s for sure. Age boundaries are considerably more ‘fluid’ now, due in no small part to improvements in health, wealth and education – consequently, we have different opportunities and expectations. When I was 40, I gave birth for the first time, another friend became a grandmother for the second time and another was forging an impressive career path in corporate banking. All a similar age but each with very different realities.

We now know that 40 is the ‘new 30’ and 50 is the ‘new 40’, don’t we? What we don’t really know is WHAT the ‘new 30’ or the ‘new 40’ actually means for us – but at some point during these years, we are very likely to embark on the distinctive midlife journey in an attempt to find out.

Importance of a meal

Still on my Simple Abundance journey even though I haven't mentioned it in my blog recently. This year I've managed to get the whole way to July 15th without missing a day and I'm getting so much out of this wonderful book. I also know that I'll be reading it again next year and still learning.

I thoroughly recommend it - "simple Abundance - a daybook of Comfort and Joy" - by Sarah Ban Breathnach - request it as a pressie.

There was a lovely piece in it yesterday that I just want to share:
"The evening meal should be the higlight of the day. If the day has been peaceful, pleasurable and profitable, it's time to celebrate. If the day has beeen difficult and discouraging, it's time for comfort and consolation - blessings by themselves and reason to celebrate. Either way the celebrating table bids"

A reminder to us all of the need to stop and to come together to share, to talk, to support and to celebrate.

Are you committed?

Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness concerning all acts of initiative and creation. There is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans; that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen events, meetings and material assistance which no one could have dreamed would have come their way. I have learned a deep respect for one of Goethe’s couplets: “Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now!” ~WH Murray

Network on foot too.

I do many of my one to one networking sessions on foot now especially when the weather is good. We walk and talk so are not tempted by cream cakes and other delights and of course we get some exercise in too.

As when I coach on foot, I always seem to come back with a greater understanding of the person and a bigger picture and we both feel great too.

Last Thursday I walked with Karen Flint, (in the photo) who I'd met at one of my Athena meetings and at last our diaries coincided to let us get out there walking. Not only was it a lovely warm day but I discovered a new part of a route, got to see the lake at Highams Park in all it's glory and learnt loads about Forever Living Products. I was in fact using one of their lip balms as we walked and it's the softest and most gentle lip balm I've ever used.

I recommend both Karen, who is a very engaging and hard working lady totally and the products, which Karen is clearly fully committed to. To find out more, visit http://www.freedomofbeauty.com/

Wonderful weekends

Just back from another "neighbours 'do'" and this must have been one of the soberest ever!! Are we getting too sensible? Running out of steam? Too old? Who knows and does it matter if we still have fun?

We realised that these 'do's' started 10 years ago in January and apart from a year when Mark, Becki and the girls first moved, we've been going strong ever since. So many shared experiences, in jokes and sore heads and the kids who age from 7 - 17 now have literally know each other most of or all of their lives.

Now a days we stretch it out until after Sunday lunch but the adults are already planning the long weekends when they are all off our hands and we can head off to places new for a whole weekend.

Although it wasn't as drunken and riotous and events passed, Alan still needed to have a doze in the sun.....

He was also dozing in the sun last weekend when we escaped, without 12 year old, to celebrate my birthday in Deal.....

Al was just saying how doing more things at weekends seems, in a bizarre way, be the secret to feeling that you've done more and yet not being shattered. Sounds weird I know.

On our last two weekends, we've been away for about 26 hours yet have been really chilled and relaxed and felt we've been away for ages. I recommend doing this much more often.

Here are some more photos of my favourite location - anywhere really that is beside the sea.

I have to admit to not rating Deal Pier at all, it didn't look much from the distance and as a result , we didn't go out on it. Realised later that it won an award in 2008 - Pier of the Year 2008 by the National Piers Society. Oops!! Read a bit about it here - http://www.doverdc.co.uk/news/press_releases/deal_pier_wins_national_award.aspx Yes, I'll go out there next time I visit.

And finally, like this photo too.

It's so important to chill, so important to recharge your batteries so please do.... You'll be more efficient and a nicer person to boot.

Praise for Breast Cancer Care

The one thing on my priority list this morning was talking to someone at Breast Cancer Care about my experience of the Pink Ribbon Walk last Saturday. I had been so impressed that I wanted to pass the message on to the people who do all the hard work.

Through the medium of Twitter I was able to get a name and number and I've just called the lovely Georgina who was a delight to speak to.

Having worked for charities myself for many years I know only too well how hard it is to fund raise especially in these challenging times, yet how important it is to get that money in. I also know how often we follow up problems and issues to complain and how easy it is to feel happy about something but never quite get round to letting the people that matter know about it.

I got a load of pleasure being able to pass on this great feedback to Georgina who I'm sure will pass it onto her team and I know I made her very happy too.

So, who could you tell today about some wonderful experience you've had? Who could you feedback to? Whose day could you make? ...and is this something you could do more often?

If you're into walking then I can heartily recommend a Pink Ribbon Walk for you in 2010. Have a look at http://www.breastcancercare.org.uk/server/show/nav.725

Inspiration from Victoria Player

Days since I posted but I know where those days have gone and that's OK, I've been really busy and will be blogging about the things that have taken up my time especially my Pink Ribbon Walk as soon as possible.

Today, after being out of the office a great deal, I'm in catch up mode and one of the things I needed to get to speed with was Victoria Players - "Women';s Entrepreneur Club" so I'm starting from scratch and getting to know what's going on etc.

I've just listened to Victoria's audio on "3 keys to turning online conversations into currency" and I thought it was excellent. What I was really impressed with was her really clear guidance on what she wanted her listeners to do next. One of those was posting on her blog. Now although I often intend to do that I don't often get round to it , yet today I did and it's inspired me to do so more often.

The information in the short audio was concise, simple and really inspirational so now I'm off to set my action points, diarise them and get going and then I'll listen again.

I have been spending a lot of time recently on my investment in social media/social networking and it's been great. I still have a lot to learn but I can see the communities growing very quickly and I know I'm going to reap the benefits here very soon.

I look forward to what Victoria offers next, I'm off to catch up a little more on this one.

If you want to get onto this too, visit http://www.womenentrepreneursclub.com/ or http://www.victoriaplayer.com/

Coffee hangover

Been giving all this well-being and wellness so much thought and have been struggling where to start. In fact I've really been pushing it all too hard, trying to make sense, trying to get clarity, trying to find the next step.

Have decided to stop pushing and let it go and believe it will flow.

Started yesterday off with a splitting headache and it never left. Started off not knowing what it was. Worked out as the day went on that it was lack of coffee!

I don't drink much coffee at all and can go for days without but on reflection I've been upping the intake recently - again not much but for me, much more than before - now it's catching up on me and my body's saying 'no'. It's still with me today and that's after drinking loads of water yesterday, chilling last night and having an early night. I have to listen.

Do I want to go through this again and be under par for 48 hours? I think you know the answer. I'm drastically cutting back and keeping the odd cup for a big treat.

Wellbeing? Wellness?.....

Which is it?

My experiment regarding my own wellbeing or wellness is not quite flowing but actually that's ok. It's not flowing because I'm not clear, so how and why would it flow? I'm not even sure what definition to work too so I'm exploring.

I went out walking this morning with the specific goal of sorting out all the thoughts in my head regarding what I was trying to do. I walked in wonderful sunshine through parts of Epping Forest on a walk I love and I sat on an old tree trunk for 5 minutes just being. Am I clearer? Well, a little and what I have done is accepted that this is all part of the journey.

There is a reason for me being in this state or at this stage.

Why do I want to sort out my wellbeing or wellness? I was 50 on my last birthday and I look and feel much younger. My philosophy re age is that it's just a number and we all know 25 year olds going on 50 and 77 year olds who have as much energy and joy de vivre as many who are in their twenties.

I'm in good shape, I walk miles, I'm positive but in my mind I'm not as fit or toned as I could be. I don't eat as well as I could, I'm still seeking the balance I crave and the calmness in my life ....so I've decided to go seek it and I believe that great things will happen as a result.

I was meant to come to this place and the lack of clarity is testing me as will all the things I aim to do over the next while. In fact I've been on this journey since I turned 50. It's been a year of challenge and has called for persistence and determination and I've struck with it so far.

It's exciting and it's scary and I need your help , guidance and support as I follow this path. I'm going to blog, tweet, talk and mostly do recording the ups and the downs and ask loads of questions and as I'm drawn more and more to work on wellness and wellbeing with wonderful women and use my walking as an integral part of it all, this experiment will teach me so much.

Short and sweet but powerful!

"It takes 64 seconds to retrieve your train of thought after interruption by e-mail, one study shows.

That means if you check your in-box every 5 minutes, you waste 8.5 hours a week. Try intervals of 45 minutes, and turn off the "new e-mail" pop-up alert."

Source: Thomas Jackson, PhD, Loughborough University.

Well that surely gave me food for thought, what about you?

Do it Kenny's way.

When I'm coaching, either in 'walk and talk' sessions, over the phone or in my Business Manager capacity, I'm working with wonderful women in business who need to present ideas in meetings or communicate projects, developments at conferences. Some are just concerned about how they tell people what they do in a simple and clear way.

My philosophy is 'why reinvent the wheel' when others have explained how you do this so well. In this case, a dear friend and colleague Kenny Harris http://www.headsurfing.com/ who is writing here about staying on top of your material– without over-reliance on notes or (hopefully not!) a script......

Hard Work warning. You have to learn it, and you have to rehearse it. I’ve lost count of the times I’ve shared a stage with an ‘internal’ or industry speaker who stumbled over their material, or lost their way. Afterwards, they’ll often say something like “but you make it look easy”. It may look easy, but only because I’ve put the work in (and the same goes for most other professional speakers).

Here’s how you make the hard work a bit easier.

As soon as you know you have to speak, put a few pages in your notebook aside for that event. Start with an outline of what you want to say, do, or achieve.

Over the weeks or days before the event, keep notes in your book whenever an idea comes to you about a point to make, or a story or example to use.

When it comes to writing, start with the opening, and the ending, and learn those off by heart.

Have a full rehearsal during the weekend before. And whenever you have a moment (in the car, on the train, or while grabbing a coffee) have a run through of different parts of the speech in your head. Do a full walk through (yes, on your feet) the day before. And then again during the evening before (and early in the morning of the event too if it’s possible).

Finally, by all means use short notes or bullet points, or a mind map – but don’t get tied to them.

Kenny's an inspirational and entertaining speaker, consultant and workshop leader on creative thinking, innovation, and humour. He works with leading companies, public organisations and small businesses to help them get more ideas and better ideas, more of the time. He's the creator of HeadSurfing, a radical programme of creative thinking for individuals, teams and organisations.... and he's a brilliant guy too.

If you can imagine it....

"If you can imagine it, you can achieve it; if you can dream it, you can become it." ~ William Arthur Ward

I working hard on this.

Have a great day.

No camera, how sad.

When I walk I so often have my camera but neither yesterday morning first thing nor on my 'walk and talk' session today, did I have it with me.What a shame.

Yesterday I seemed to come across oodles and oodles of bright pink peony roses and I also met people like Mandy and her daughter Amy, whom I hadn't seen for ages.

Today, no peonies but Knighton woods in Buckhurst Hill was full of wonderful pink and purple rhododendons, yellow water lillies, birdsong and ducks. In the middle of our session, Hannake and I took time out to stop, listen and watch and there were so many different bird sounds.

Now I'm back in the office, the birds are still singing this time in the garden and tomorrow morning, I'm taking the camera.

Just one of the joys of walking.

Monthly review throws up 'gems'

At the start of each month, I take some time to review the one that's just passed. It was working my way though a terrific book called 'Simple Abundance' that inspired me with the idea and no matter how often I read and re-read the book, the gems of wisdom still appear.

Today as I sat in the sun, this one re-surfaced.

"There is an old Indian proverb or axiom that says that everyone is a house with four rooms, a physical, a mental, an emotional and a spiritual. Most of us tend to live in one room most of the time, but unless we go into every room every day, even if only to keep it aired, we are not a complete person."

I love this. Does it resonnate with you?

All in a weekend.

What a wonderful weekend I've just been blessed to have. The weather was glorious so we spent every moment we could in the garden. We ate there, entertained, relaxed, did a little gardening and I also continued with my clearing and de-cluttering - a journey I've been on now for about 18 months.

The length of time could lead you to believe that my house is full of clutter. Not true at all but in my experience it all takes time. I've been working on it bit by bit when the time is right and often the clearing out brings up other things that need action.

An example of this is time spent in the attic where you often unearth things you didn't know were still there. In the attic were also a number of things that Ellie had outgrown and records of Al's , some of which could be worth some money. So the de-cluttering stopped as we photographed item and wrote them up to sell on ebay.

More recently I've been clearing books from the office and was able to start selling some of those to colleagues and people new to the coaching field. Over the weekend, I spent many pleasant hours on the sun lounger or in the hammock seat reading and looking through books to work out whether they should be kept or passed on.

Work in the office is in it's early stages. I have a clear image of how I want it to be and a book I found on Feng Shui will definitely help.