After 30 Years In A Corporate Environment

I shall always remember that day when I walked in your offices – all because of that advertisement in the Times – and I had no idea where it would all lead me!!

I must admit that I did find the process difficult to start with – but gradually I began to realise that I could survive outside the corporate safety blanket.  I had spent far too many years (30 all together) inside a vast corporate entity – where everything was done for me.

Towards the end of our planning my move out of the corporate world, you tempered my enthusiasm to delay my departure by 3 months, just to put the finishing touches to my plans.  This proved to be a most beneficial step, on 2 counts.  One, you had rightly recognised that I was not quite ready to make the break and two my employer decided it was time for us to part company on acceptable financial terms.  All this happened just 1 week before I was due to tender my resignation – it was around my birthday and Shirley had planned a New York trip for the weekend.  Timing could not have been more opportune and we had a wonderful weekend away.

My plan was to join Shirley in her Training Company and offer additional services to further develop and grow the company.  My first contract took 32 months to come to fruition – and that was through networking.  Since that day we have significantly improved the turnover and profitability of the company and for the first time for a very long time, I have felt real job satisfaction and a real sense of achievement.  Both Shirley and I have achieved our dream cars, Shirley has a SLK Mercedes and I have a S Class Mercedes.

I am continually looking for the next achievement and shall work for as long as I am enjoying it!  Whilst we continue to offer IT Consultancy, Project Management and Training Services, we are also looking to deliver to the market a software product for the Operation Management and control of Learning and Personal Development.

My outlook and attitude is so different now, to what it was when we first met.  I have more confidence in my abilities and me – there is still room for further improvements.  I can now recognise those areas for further development and work on them – it is still not always easy to do!  I have the “Five Truths about Fear” pinned on the board by my PC as a constant reminder.

None of these achievements would have been possible without your constant support to motivate me to look outside of myself – and just do it!  Our recent meeting, after too long an absence, also added to my motivation to get out there and do it.

Kindest regards,
S.B.

P.S. from Connaught.
The five truths mentioned above.
Courtesy of Dr Susan Jeffers, of “Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway”  are:

Truth 1. The fear will never go away as long as I continue to grow.
Truth 2. The only way to get rid of the fear of doing something is to go out and do it.
Truth 3. The only way to feel better about myself is to go out and do it.
Truth 4. Not only am I going to experience fear whenever I’m on unfamiliar territory, but so is everyone else.
Truth 5. Pushing through fear is less frightening than living with the underlying fear that comes from a feeling of helplessness.

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