Sometimes you just come across work out there that is a perfect fit for you at this moment in time and when that does happen it feels so wonderful inside. I urge you to seek the perfect work that fits your circumstances right now, believe me, you will enjoy it so much more than the ultimate dream job at the wrong time or worse still that high flying job that gives you no rest and no life outside of work.
Think about it, think about securing the perfect fit for you and your life right now and enjoy the journey.
If I stay here I die
I live a lie
I wither in the shade
My smile it does fade
If I move far away
Other hearts will pray
Travellers will thrive
They will feel alive
I will leave,
Nothing to grieve
For I know
My soul does glow
In a twinkling heart
So I will depart
No tears will fall,
For an inner call
Takes me there
I wonder where?
I have had the experience recently of being very surprised with some of my life situations. Fairly recently, I put my life in a suitcase and moved to another country, to what I thought was going to be the best job ever, I thought the job was going to give me everything I ever wanted. I was so positive about it, so excited, so “up for the challenge”…..,.basically, I was super ready for this!! Then when I get there, it turns out to not be what I expected, but hey that’s okay, I accepted that and moved on!! You see I know what is important to me in life and I know what I need from a job that will make every day a joy for me to be there – that way the company get the best out of me in every way possible.
So what happened next? Where do you go from here?
I tell you what I did. I didn’t moan about the situation, I was truthful with everyone around me – especially myself, and focused on the solution to the problem…..NOT the problem. You see there is a BIG difference, a HUGE difference. I know that you get what you focus on, please let me repeat that, YOU GET WHAT YOU FOCUS ON 🙂 So I knew that I had to focus on the solution, I did, and within 2 weeks, I was LIVING the solution, albeit a temporary solution, but still a SOLUTION. Yippee, yippee, yippee, this is a prime example of a positive outcome from focusing on the solution.
This temporary solution has actually worked out much better than I expected, a billion percent better……and it’s now got me thinking, that the place I am at now, this “temporary” place, was actually a permanent piece of the jigsaw puzzle.
I am currently working on a more permanent solution to my career, but that needs more reflection and more time to get me to the next destination. I now have absolute full clarity on what I need going forward, the misty fog has cleared and there are very beautiful and very bright days ahead.
Please remember, FOCUS ON THE SOLUTION, not the problem and LIVE THE SOLUTION, even if it is temporary, you just never know where it may lead you.
Thank you for being here and thank you for commenting.
It’s been over a week since I’ve posted on this blog so I do apologise for this, I haven’t forgot about you.
Being prepared for an opportunity puts you in pole position and I know this has worked for me now and in the past. Preparation is the key to making things happen because you are setting yourself up for when the opportunity takes a smile.
So if you’re hoping and waiting and wanting that perfect opportunity, get yourself prepared now, do what you can today and you’ll be welcoming that new gateway with open arms.
The gateway to the world is there for the taking, do what you can today and it will reduce or fully eliminate all fears of the unknown.
Now that I have swapped rainy Scotland for Sunny Dubai for a while, I sit here in my new home reflecting on the decisions and choices I made that took me here.
When the opportunity came about a couple of months ago, my mindset was strong, positive and open to change. It simply just felt right at the time and when the decision was made to go it was like the Universe opened up and encouraged me along the way.
I went out for a walk on my own last night and stayed out for almost 5 hours, I was enjoying each present moment and felt happy, content and free. I was experiencing life in the moment, in a city I had never been to before and I felt no fear, it was like this was just meant to be.
So whether I stay here for a long time or a short time, I guess time will tell. Right now I feel that this one step will lead me to greatness, a greatness from within where fear has no home.
Remember it’s the decisions that you make everyday in your life that creates your path for tomorrow. What will your tomorrow look like? One thing I do know is that my tomorrow will be hot and sunny.
My friend shared some very simple words of wisdom with me a few weeks ago, he told me to keep an open mind when thinking about my career development. I took those words on board when I was looking at other career opportunities because a lot of my skills are very much transferable. This thinking has now led me on to pastures new and I move out to Dubai at the end of next month to take on a new challenge.
So cast your net wide and challenge some of those limiting beliefs that may just be keeping you away from an opportunity that is truly meant for you.
See the world as an open book and write in it, the words, that you want to read.
At the beginning of every month I pose a question for you to answer and I also provide you with my own answer. Below is this month’s question:
What does a fulfilling life mean for you?
My Answer:
A fulfilling life for me is being able to do everyday what I am happy doing and in doing that making other people happy along the way and helping them achieve their vision, where I can. There are many specifics to this but ultimately the specifics relate to how I want to feel, moment to moment. So for example, lately I’ve been thinking of doing some work in Dubai and I have had a few skype calls with the Managing Director of a company out there to see if we are both “fit for purpose”. Ultimately I am thinking about will this work give me the life fulfilment I am looking for – because the way I see it “success without fulfilment is a failure” (Tony Robbins).
So I think it is important to be successful in life but please make sure that it offers you fulfilment too and by answering this question it may help you with your next step in life.
I had some professional portfolio photographs taken last month in Glasgow City Centre. Below is a little preview of some of them, I think the photographer did really great, what do you think? Keep smiling through the storms my friends, for soon a beautiful rainbow will appear. Much love to you, Clarabelle.
I want to share some personal insights I have gained from the latest book I am reading, it is called “Discover the Gift” by Demian Lichtenstein and Shajen Joy Aziz. I love this book, I love it because it is providing me with evidence that I am on the right path – I know I am, and I also know that I should be sharing this post with you today, because it feels right, I have a calling to share it with you so YOU will benefit too. I guess then if you are reading this post, you were meant to read it, there is a message in here for you, reflect on the message, feel it in your heart and do what you need to do, do the right thing for you.
The book if full of wisdom, the words connect with my heart and soul. Let me share with you some questions the book asks the reader in relation to discovering your gift, this section was called “Finding Your Assets”, I will also share my own responses with you….so here goes:
What does my source say? Love with all your heart, show love, do love, be love.
What am I meant to do? Sing like an Angel, write beautiful songs that touch hearts, inspire souls, awaken happy spirits and ignite passion inside others.
What is working for me in my life right now? Running free, blogging, singing, dancing, music, reading, friends, loving, letting go, sharing, expressing, coaching, understanding, empathy, caring, smiling, meeting, positive communication, giving love, care and attention, reflecting, being brave, listening to my heart, believing my intuition, doing what feels rights, having peace from within, staying calm, being transparent, being me, being forever grateful, being happy now.
If I could do anything I want as a career, and money was not an object, what would I choose to do? Singer/Songwriter, Author, Writing Inspirational Books, Sharing my story, Autobiography, Doing Gigs/Concerts, Blogging, Winning Euro-Vision, Red Carpet Awards, Coaching, having fun, laughter, love, joy and peace in my heart everyday.
Happiness
I have happiness dancing inside of me, I know I am on the right path, because I am doing a lot of the above and I am currently making plans to make them all happen. This isn’t about me, it is about discovering a gift that is meant to be shared with the world, this gift will raise the vibrations of other people, it will have such a positive impact on them and like a domino effect will touch other hearts…..it will be paid forward every single time, it will be continuous positive energy, growing and growing and growing across the Universe, such goodness will come from this, the positive impact is so powerful indeed.
I will share with you the final few sentences from this section in the book:
“We can certainly hold on to whatever it is we think is precious about ourselves, but that’s not how we grow. If you want to see your world blossom in front of you, find a way to give your assets away. It’s an investment in your future.”
I want you to take time to reflect on the above questions for you, really think about the real message that is coming through for you. Now go on and just be you.
Don’t let life pass you by, do all you can to make it a great life, think about who or what inspires your soul, what connects your spirit to another dimension, what gives you that feeling of excitement inside……..hold on to that thought, embrace that special feeling because that’s who you are, that’s what makes you YOU.
There is a special something inside of you, a precious gift that is waiting to be unwrapped, unfold it gently and release its magic into the Universe. I see it now, I see you sparkling and glistening, touching other happy spirits and uplifting the temporary broken ones.
Close your eyes right now, feel that special gift inside of you, let this unique feeling penetrate every part of your being, let it flow, let it out, let it dance with the stars under the moonlit sky……your light is special, like no other light, let it glow.
I know you are smiling now, you feel it, you believe it, now let the people of this world welcome it with open arms.
May you have a truly magical weekend, only you can make it magical, do it and don’t let life pass you by.
Thank you Universe for making this a truly MAGICAL weekend for me and for you.
As some of you may already know I have my own Professional Coaching Business, Murray People International Coaching, www.murraypeople.com. I set up the business in 2008 after a wonderful career as a Human Resource Professional and now nearly 5 years later, it is still growing strong…I love coaching. I mainly coach Senior Executives in Global Companies but I also do private one to one Career and Life Coaching, I am fully certified as a Professional Coach. I really love working with people and seeing them achieve their goals in life. I deliberately make a real effort to continually develop myself everyday so that I can use my learning in my one to one sessions with my clients, I know the better that I can become, then the better I will work with them, and the better they will become and get the results they want. Every new coaching tool I learn for clients, I also apply to myself, this helps me to personally evolve and increases my self-awareness. So lately I have been asking myself my own questions about my life, here is the question I asked myself recently:
What do you want your life to be/look like one year from now?
So, of course, I went to work and I looked at each area of my life and in great detail wrote down what I specifically want my life to be and look like one year from now. I absolutely loved this process. I looked at the following areas:
Health
Environment
Money
Career
Intimate Relationship
Fun
Family & Friends
Leisure & Activities
Personal Growth
Three pages later and I had a wonderful vision of where I WILL be one year from now because I believe that will happen for me, because I WILL make it happen for me. I have a very good track record, I was thinking of goals I have set myself in the past and fully committed to and I can honestly say I have achieved every single one of them, so this gives me an abundance of self-confidence going forward.
What About YOU?
If you want to make positive changes in your life, I would totally recommend that you sit down quietly with a notepad and pen or type on your computer/iPad and answer that question for yourself:
What do YOU want YOUR life to be/look like one year from now?
What you do after that is your choice, I read my list every morning, so I can get my specific goals embedded into my heart, mind and soul and this helps me to become super focused in achieving that for myself, sometimes without even trying. You see it is like programming my brain to focus on achieving that for myself, so my everyday choices and decisions are in support of those life goals. I am super focused, laser focused, fully committed and fully passionate about making these goals happen for me. I want the same for YOU, I want you to have a better life, I want you to have everything that you have ever wanted, I want the BEST for YOU, I truly and honestly do. It’s your life, GO GET IT!! (I think I may make that my new slogan!!)
May every thought that you think today, be in support of a better you and a better life for you, lots of love, as always, Clarabelle.
I set myself high standards because I want to be the best that I can be. I want to become a better person every day, sometimes I get this right, sometimes I don’t, but as long as I learn from it and apply the learning going forward, I know I will progress.
I don’t strive to be perfect, what is perfect anyway? To me the closest thing to perfect is in the imperfections, that I feel is our uniqueness. I don’t want to be like anybody else, I just want to be me, I like being me and I honestly wouldn’t have it any other way.
Today, I want you to embrace in the fullness of this life, the wonderful person that is YOU, everything about you is special, believe you are the miracle of all miracles. Believe in YOU, in all that you do, let your spirit fly and let your imagination free your soul into the Universe. This energy will take shape and form into something that may be beyond your belief right now but I want you to have faith and hold onto that vision because you are a magnet for it and it’s making its way to YOU.
I would like to share a true story of mine with you today.
When I was 16 years old, my first full-time job was as an Office Assistant in a Solicitor’s Office in Glasgow City Centre. I really loved that job, mainly because I really loved the people I worked with, it was really fun at times and I learned so much with it being my first permanent job.
Escape
Unfortunately, I was in two serious car crashes when I was 18 years old and was in crutches for a year and half and sadly, my position at the Solicitor’s Office had to be terminated because there was no real indication when I would make a full recovery and was likely to return. So there I was at the age of 18, in crutches for 18 months, no job and no real indication from the Doctors at the hospital when I would get fully better. I could have been really depressed about being in that situation, but I wasn’t. I decided to use the extra time I had to read lots of books from the library on subjects I was interested in at the time, it helped me escape from my current reality.
A Christmas Gift
There is a significance to me telling you this story and that is because of a Christmas gift that was given to me when I was 16 years old from the staff when I was working in the Solicitor’s office. They very kindly got me this lovely mug, that I totally treasured, it had my name on it “Claire” and a short poem about the meaning of name. Here is the little poem:
CLAIRE MEANING: LIGHT
You’re quick to solve puzzles Without hints or clues And shed light on situations Known to confuse. The inner glow you have Because of your name Makes your life a lighthearted, Whimsical game. You’ll always know happiness, Love and delight, For you follow a lifelong path Cheerful and bright.
It was my job to make the coffee and tea for everyone throughout the day in the office and every time I made myself a quick cuppa, I would read the little poem and smile with delight, I really loved it so much.
However, when my employment got terminated at the office I never seen my treasured little mug again….until 15 years later, yes my little mug came back to me and here is a photo of it below:
The Original Claire Mug from the year 1989
So how did it find its way back to me? This next true story is fascinating.
My younger sister, Leanne met her husband to be Cameron when she was 22 years old and Cameron was 18 at the time. My sister and I had both decided to spontaneously go out the evening she met Cameron, they instantly fell in love with each other and are now very happily married with three beautiful children. The interesting fact here is that Cameron had lived in Cape Town, South Africa all his life and him and his family emigrated to Scotland to live, the year Leanne and him met.
Our Claire
A few years after they met, Leanne and Cameron got married and it was a very beautiful wedding. Shortly after the wedding, Cameron’s mum, Joan, who works in an Accountant’s office, was showing her friends in work the wedding photographs, she then also showed the ladies in the office downstairs the wedding photographs. Whilst looking through the photographs, one of the ladies said, “Who is that bridesmade girl?”, and Joan said it was Leanne’s sister, Claire, they said that’s “Our Claire”, “She worked here when was 16 years old…..we kept her mug, please give her mug back to her and tell her we are asking for her”. WOW, Joan had been working in the Accountant’s office upstairs from the Solicitor’s office I worked in when I was 16 years old and none of us knew.
Joan, surprised me one day, she turned up with the mug for me and told me the whole story, what a truly wonderful surprise it was….after 15 years, they kept the mug and it was returned to me.
I still find this story very fascinating and especially that the mug has poetry on it…..which for me as you know, poetry, if part of my life, it is part of who I am.
24 Years Later
I have visited the staff in the office since then, some of the original staff who worked there when I was 16 are still working there, almost 24 years later. They have also allowed me the use of their offices to hold coaching sessions in…this time I am not the receptionist, I am the business owner meeting with my own clients…..I feel I have come along way since those days as an Office Assistant.
True Love
I am not exactly sure what the moral of the story is here, I think you will have your own take away from it. All I know is that, my “Claire mug” was meant to come back to me and it took a family to emigrate to Scotland from Cape Town, South Africa and a real love story to make its way back to me…..how lovely indeed. I really treasure this “Claire mug” with all my heart, I believe, true love brought it back to me and now I share this story with you today.
If you have an uplifting true story you would like to share, I would really love to here it, why don’t you share it on my blog, I would be happy to dedicate a blog post to it for you.
This is a blog post from an old blog of mine, I wrote this post in April 2010, 2 years prior to me starting this poetry blog. I thought I would share this with you because it is amazing how life evolves as we grow and develop. If someone had told me back then that I would now have a poetry blog and was so commited and passionate about it, I would never have believed them…..my creative writing desires are stronger than ever. We are all on a journey of personal evolution, much of this will be invisible for you right now, who knows what great things you will be part of in a few years from now. Much love to you today. Clarabelle
Personal Evolution
Below is that original post from April 2010:
I absolutely LOVE my job but it wasn’t an easy job getting here—it took me 36 years of learning, being, doing, hoping, having, not having, feeling and experiencing the highs and lows of real life and work. It is only now that I feel wise enough and knowledgeable enough to share this experiential learning.
When I Grow UP I want to be…..
From the age of 5—15 years I went through different phases of wanting to be a Mum, Air Steward, Dancer, Model, Nun, Song Writer (I had a real desire to write the winning Eurovision song – still do!!), Primary School Teacher, Nursery Nurse and a Secretary. So where did my early career ideas come from, maybe………
Mum: Watching my mum lovingly support and care for our family; wanting to be just like my mum and also being the proud owner of various dolls such as (in its day) the famous ’Tiny Tears’.
Air Steward: Wanting a ‘glamorous’ lifestyle (perceived) and the opportunity to travel all over the world, maybe even marry a pilot!! I also think the popular TV advert for Caledonian Airlines had a big influence….I remember wanting to be a ‘Caledonian Girl’.
Dancer: I was a massive fan of the hit TV Programme ’Fame’ and loved dancing from an early age – still do 🙂
Model: Watching Miss World on TV and aspiring to be like one of these beautiful woman. I wanted to wear that crown!!!
Nun: There was a real religious influence here from my childhood days, in particular at Primary School and I went through a really ’holy’ stage—that was until I discovered my like for boys!!
Songwriter: I used to lock myself in my bedroom for hours and make up songs, I would practice and practice them all day long and never got bored of it—this was a perfect escapism for me at such a young age. To this very day I still remember the songs and so do my closet friends. We often burst into these songs after a few wines!!
Primary School Teacher: I used to babysit for my next door neighbour when I was in my early teens—I loved watching their 3 kids, probably because I could be a ‘big kid’ myself. This inspired me to want to teach young children to learn and develop—I then found out that I would need to study for a further 5 years after Secondary School and this sadly (at the time) put me off.
Nursery Nurse: Again my love for children and helping them to learn and have fun. My Guidance Teacher at Secondary School totally put me off the idea “that’s not the career for you he said, that’s not a good job”. How easily influenced I was as a teenager.
Secretary: Well I figured I would go with the safe bet and be a secretary, after all I was good at typing, passed all my Secretarial Studies exams with flying colours and oh yes my mum did that when she left school and she told me fabulous stories about her career in this field. That was it at the age of 15 I aspired to be a secretary. Well there was nothing else, was there……???
My Career Path
So I finally had come to the idea that I would be a Secretary. So I went to typing College to learn how to touch-type—this proved to be a very worthwhile skill to have during all my future jobs. What where they? Well, my career experience consists of:
Shop assistant, sales representative, hotel waitress, 20 years of various office type jobs from receptionist through to human resource management. A couple of these jobs which I liked and some others I have quite closely hated.
An Independent Decision
Then at the age of 34 I decided to think very carefully about my future career and where it was heading. Why then? Well lots of reasons I believe, but I think coming out of some personal turmoil combined with some major achievements made me a much stronger person with a really determined ‘can do’ attitude.
This included personal triumphs and goals such as Graduating from University in 2005 in Personnel Practice, running the New York marathon in 2007 (I then later did the London Marathon in 2010) and Graduating again from University in 2008 in Human Resource Management. It was in 2006/7 when I seriously reflected on my future and felt much more equipped to correctly answer the following question…….
So what do I really want to do when I grow up?
To answer this, I identified my core values and what they meant to me, I looked at what job activities I particularly enjoyed doing, I thought about what are my strengths, what was I truly passionate about doing, what excites me in life, where did I want to see myself 5-20 years from now and the ultimate question: How was I going to get there?
I had a real belief and confidence in myself and I knew I wanted to have the freedom to explore new territories, learn new things and meet new people. I knew that I wanted to help other people achieve their dreams, goals and aspirations in life. I wanted to coach and mentor people to do just that, I got excited about the thought of it and felt strongly passionate about it. I was truly ready for this and felt fully motivated and inspired to do so.
What did I do?
I researched into Coaching, I wrote to no less then 200 practicing coaches in America asking for their advice, I then went to New York and met some of those coaches, left my full-time job as Human Resource Manager, studied for a further year and achieved a Diploma in Coaching at Distinction level (94%), started up my own business at the end of 2008 and that’s where I am at the moment. I have BIG plans for the business and I know that I will only achieve this through hard work and commitment. To be honest, at times it feels like starting all over again—to what it was like over 20 years ago.
What have been the best parts of my job so far?
Most definitely supporting and empowering other people to achieve their dreams, goals and aspirations in life. Almost 90% of my work to date has been career/business/leadership goals related and with my Human Resource Management background and sound coaching and mentoring experience—it works very well and benefits my clients greatly.
Also being my own boss and having the freedom to use my creativity and innovation to lead the business into great things that will inspire others to achieve great things for themselves.
Personal Learning
I have learned so much over the last 17 months of my business (to date almost 5 years!!) and I feel very proud to say that I have video blogged my real time journey all along the way. My vision is that one day it will be professionally edited and shared with you at home in the format of a short film/documentary.
But………what about being a Songwriter?
Hey, I can still do that, my career ain’t over yet, it is just at the beginning—the true beginning.
******
On 29 March 2013 – Clarabelle says:
I have now had my business for almost 5 years and I still continue to love it…….I am also planning another business which is indirectly linked. I must say however that nothing at the moment, beats the feeling of writing for this blog and getting messages from other bloggers and readers out there……you are magnificent in every sense of the word and my heart and soul is touched everyday with your responses. I see my future in this blog and I do hope you join me on the journey.
Thank you for reading this post today, lots of love Clarabelle.
Clarabelle 