Now I Understand

1. Never underestimate your internal strength

I have a confession to make which I am not particularly proud of; when I first got to Halifax, I had a bit of a wobble and I wanted to come back home after just two days.

It became clear to me after just two days that the purpose of my trip was not going to be met and I do lead a rather spoilt and charmed life in London so the idea of having to ‘rough it out’ did not appeal. However, with most of us, there is an inner strength that can kick in and make you make the most of a situation.

I left Halifax with a massive smile. I had achieved a great deal and will be going back this month as I managed to get engagements to get some work done. Most entrepreneurs have bags of inner strength and I was surprised that I did find that ability to ‘snap out it’. If you are thinking of being an entrepreneur, look back at situations in the past where you feel you had to find some inner strength to deal with things going against you. If you did – then you have at least one of the qualities needed to be an entrepreneur. The only thing I can promise you is that things absolutely will go against you when you start your own business!

2. Realise how important it is to feel connected – Facebook is a must have for those on extended leave

Being away from home is not easy. I have always questioned the value of social networking sites such as Facebook. Why not just phone people? My view has now completely changed!

I was using Facebook a lot and it stopped me feeling cut off from the world of my friends and it was great to keep up to date. Again, the lesson here for entrepreneurs is obvious. When you start a business, it is lonely and because of the hours you have to put in you will have little time to keep up with all your friends. That is when Facebook can be invaluable as it helps you keep up to date with what your friends are up to and ensure that you do not feel isolated and cut off. And a big thanks to my friends for helping me with Facebook.

3. Setting SMART goals really does work in keeping you happy

Before I went to Halifax, I set myself some unrelated goals for my five week stint there. One was to lose some weight (5lbs) and the other was to learn Italian (through a brilliant 8 hour CD course loaded on to my iPod). These goals were able to really motivate me and make me feel a sense of achievement. I was also able to say that I would have paid a fortune to go away somewhere for five weeks and learn a foreign language and lose some weight. I have now decided to go to Italy next year for six weeks – and immerse myself in the language and the culture – I simply adore Italy (the history, the food, the people and the culture).

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