It was a day when at least seven women came to me in tears because they had enough. Enough of being overlooked for promotion, enough of having their ideas hijacked by their manager, enough of doing more than their male counterparts with less recognition, enough of the demands in their personal life… ENOUGH of feeling invisible.
That day reignited the feeling I had subdued; I wanted to help women accomplish what mattered to them most. I wanted to do so beyond helping a few and I wanted to do it full time.
On that strange and wonderful day, I decided once and for all…
The time was NOW.
After 30+ years of working in the corporate world at senior levels, across various industries, I finally decided to take the uncomfortable plunge and do things completely my way… or so I thought.
I saved enough money to pay the bills for a while so I could fully concentrate on establishing my own business… an Institute that helps up-skill people in the professional and entrepreneurial world who wanted to excel in business.
My desire was to create something unique and something that especially supported the female professional. How difficult could it be?
I knew exactly what to do
I was not naive, I knew there would be challenges but that did not discourage me. I was knowledgeable, experienced and above all, ultra-uber-enthusiastic.
Nothing was going to get in the way of me and my goal.
I rolled up my sleeves up and got to work.
- Easily decided on the content…
Ok, flabbergasted at how I would put over 30 years of experience into simple, bite-sized lessons.
- Tweaked it…
More like analysed it to death.
- Wrote the content at a comfortable pace…
i.e. tapped away at my computer until even the computer was getting tired.
- Tweaked it…
Multiple times. Let’s just say, the exact number may disturb some readers.
- Professionally recorded the content…
Have you ever recorded the perfect moment only to press replay and preview a black screen?
I recently joined that club.
- Tweaked it…
The good recordings but still checked the black screen ones – because you never know, right?
- Swiftly sourced the images…
Ok, Ok – this took a bit longer than expected but it was not my fault. There were so manyprettyrelevant pictures on the internet.
- Tweaked it…
Why can’t all social media sites agree to a single, standard sized image?
- Correctly uploaded everything onto the learning platform after sending a few questions to customer support…
Maybe ‘few’ wasn’t exactly accurate… I probably asked a few more questions than a few.
- Tweaked it…
Both the uploads and the questions. A few times.
- Started spreading the word that there was a new kid on the block. I needed feedback before going live…
Yup. I aggressively marketed it to family and friends – old friends, new friends, anyone who could possibly be a friend. NO ONE WAS SAFE.
Disclaimer – the above list is not the complete process. There were many (MANY) more failures, frustrations and fiascos during my journey…
…I would like to pause for a few seconds in silence to thank my husband for his patience.
Ready… set… go!
I was determined to provide an affordable way for people to easily access useful resources to support their own transformation journey.
I ensured everything was to standard. Note to self: when establishing an institute, ‘to standard’ means – legalities, collaborations, paperwork, regulations, accountants, paperwork…paperwork.
After ensuring all was to a standard that could be associated with launching The Institute for Achievement and Excellence, I finally hit the ‘ON SWITCH’.
And so The Institute for Achievement and Excellence was born.
The place where you can access short online courses that provide the complete solution for raising the norm and staying ahead of the curve.
The place that; if you are not sure where to start, what to do and feel overwhelmed by it all; provides the solutions that will give you a road map of what you need to progress, succeed and achieve excellence both professionally and personally.
The place where you could do this in a few weeks and avoid years of trial and error.
In the eye of the storm
The hours were and continue to be longer than a regular 9 to 5 shift, online rules meant I could not always do things my way and unplanned challenges continue to be a part of my daily routine now more than ever.
So what kept me going? Why was I happier, even though it seemed that I chose the harder road to walk? It was because I was doing what I loved and the output of that will be of massive benefit to others.
I was very successful before but something always felt incomplete.
I continue to be successful but in a different way, a way that is more aligned with what I was meant to do.
I found my Ikigai… spoiler alert and shameless plug… it is one of our courses! Finding Your Ikigai
Our journey of learning never ends. There is always something new to learn about a topic even when we feel we have mastered it.
That one, tiny piece of new information could be the trigger that changes our lives simply by changing our perception about the situation. This is why I am so passionate about sharing what I have learned with you.
Our main course – Achieving Professional Excellence – contains valuable information across a broad spectrum of lessons ranging from personal branding, demeanour and grooming; to achieving results with physical, mental and emotional choices; to achieving success with professional, financial and future planning decisions.
It is a single source for the complete picture to your professional development and personal growth.
The journey continues
As professionals, especially women, we face many unique challenges but despite this we want to be:
- Respected
- Valued
- Confident
- Credible
- Successful
- Inspirational
If you ever wondered why some people are considered inspirational or just seem to be in control of it all and able to make the right decisions at the right time, I share the same sentiment.
This is why I am excited to share my knowledge and experience with you via our online courses that are focused on helping you, the professional person, navigate the minefield required to achieve excellence in your working life.
These training courses contain everything I wish I implemented earlier in my life.
To learn how to achieve excellence in your professional and personal life, visit us at:
The Institute for Achievement and Excellence
… and remember, stay curious and keep learning.
