Hi all,
To say that this year has been a rollercoaster is an understatement - from two personal award nominations for my two businesses, to having to find employment, to being asked to open a youth centre with the Lord Mayor, to discovering a whole new passion....crazy but character building shall we say?
Its funny, but as i reflect on the year, i realise that my passion for helping others has increased to a whole new level. It was as if my personal sacrifices were put there on purpose, to ensure that my vision for the future remains clear - a some kind of cleansing process to make me really understand and appreciate the difficulties of striving for excellence!
However, let me tell you about the highlight of this year which flags up exactly what i mean: late last year, i accepted the fact that the economic climate had really affected Cultiv8 Solutions and i needed to find employment, for the first time in 5 years, to cover all the bases.
I began working for an employer whilst running Cultiv8 Solutions in my spare time. However, the emotional transformation from being an entrepreneur / business owner to becoming an employee again was too much - i lost about two stone in 10 weeks, stopped socialising with friends and became really grumpy at home. Furthermore, poliTRICKS began to set in, affecting the impact that i wanted to create, making me even more stress out.
Then a colleague of mine stated that he de-stressing by playing Golf...one of the most elitist sports with a global reputation for not serving the needs of diverse communities...what a challenge! After a couple rounds as a guest at his golf club, i was hooked!! Totally and utterly hooked!!
Now im not saying that i get down on my knees every Sunday at the altar of my local church, but i do believe in God and have always tried to live a good and positive life but God DOES move in mysterious ways - within two months of my attending those golf rounds, i a) Found a new home based role in Golf b) negotiated terms that allows me to continue running my businesses c) Have the responsibility to change a whole sport!
In short: My remit is to increase the level of equality and diversity with Golf nationally within the UK - this includes helping the more 'traditional' golf clubs widen the level of diversity within their memberships and advising the national governing bodies of Golf on how to increase diversity throughout the Sport in line with the 2016 Olympics and beyond!!
So what does that mean for my clients: Nothing changes in terms of the quality service that i provide through Diversity Strategy consultancy and Executive Coaching - in fact, it enhances my service provision because it allows me to be more innovative and gain access to more funding streams!
So please contact me to discuss how we can make your business grow, become more sustainable and more profitable in 2010!
Right, Im off to get my golf handicap by 2 today....Till the next time, J
