Challenge is the one time where you learn more about yourself than you ever knew.  You can either decide to lay in a corner and cry or you can stand up and go for it!  This doesn’t mean that you don’t have to be afraid or take uncalculated risks, it just means that you will pluck up the courage to work with your fear and get to know yourself even more than you do.  To give your self the chance to develop the areas in which you lack and become stronger in this way.

We have moved our studio to a bigger and even better location, and it’s not about changing our style, value or products, it’s about improving the service which we offer to you as our client.  There will now be almost more space than we know what to do with and this will push us to grow and learn even more.

All you need to do is take it one day and one step at a time and I can guarantee you will be amazed at what we can all achieve!

Riani Labuschagne

Professional Photography

“A strong woman works out every day
to keep her body in shape
but a woman of strength looks deep inside
to keep her soul in shape

A strong woman isn’t afraid
of anything
but a woman of strength shows courage
in the midst of her fear

A strong woman won’t let anyone
get the best of her
but a woman of strength gives the best
of her to everyone

A strong woman makes mistakes
and avoids the same in the future
but a woman of strength realizes life’s mistakes
can also be blessings and capitalizes on them

A strong woman walks
sure footedly
but a woman of strength knows
when to ask for help

A strong woman wears the look
of confidence on her face
but a woman of strength
wears grace

A strong woman has faith
that she is strong enough for the journey
but a woman of strength has faith
that it is in the journey that she will become strong”

Edith Venter

Professional Photography

Its unbelievable to think that Woman at Work has been going for a year!?  We’ve been there photographing these networking functions since they started in December 2008 and it’s truly amazing to have walked this road with Toni & Tanya and see their vision evolve and grow like it has.

The woman at work year-end function was held at the Glenvista Country Club and we had an absolute ball.  No microphone glitches, nothing (I know… unbelievable) The Glenvista Country Club offers an indoor & outdoor function area and they will help you arrange everything.  You can even get married there and have your wedding photos taken on their lovely green golf course…

The charity of choice for the evening is Carita’s Home situated in Brackendowns.  An extract from their website:”Yvonne Deetlefs saw an urgent need for a safe, secure and loving environment for abandoned and abused children. The result was the birth of Caritas Home, May 2001. There are anywhere from 14 to 24 children living at Caritas, all of whom have been placed with us through Social Workers and the Courts.  The outward appearance of our house gives the impression of an ordinary home in the area. This is so that the children can live as normal a life as possible and ensure a “Place of Safety” for the children” 

Yvonne and your team, thank you so so much for everything you do for all of these children.  I’m sure it means more to them than they will ever be able to express!

Edith Venter was the guest speaker for the evening.  Let me tell you she is one remarkable lady!  Even though people judge Edith (without really knowing her) she still addressed all the ladies with an opening about how important it is to never judge  any other person because you never know what they might be going through.  It takes so little effort to tell another woman her hair looks pretty, or you love her dress and I promise you by building up other people you will feel uplifted yourself. 

  Here is a little something Edith read to all of us:”

A strong woman works out every day to keep her body in shape, but …

A woman of strength kneels in prayer to keep her soul in shape.
   A strong woman isn’t afraid of anything, but …
A woman of strength shows courage in the midst of her fear.
   A strong woman won’t let anyone get the best of her, but …
A woman of strength gives the best of her to everyone.
   A strong woman makes mistakes and avoids the same in the future, but …
A woman of strength realizes life’s mistakes can also be God’s blessings and capitalizes on them.
   A strong woman walks surefootedly, but …
A woman of strength knows God will catch her when she falls.
   A strong woman wears the look of confidence on her face, but …
A woman of strength wears grace.
   A strong woman has faith that she is strong enough for the journey, but …
A woman of strength has faith that in the journey she will become strong.”

And I truly found this inspirational.  Read these words again and just think about it for a while…  Edith Venter is a graceful lady, and even though she is standing on a podium she speaks to you like she is sitting across from you in your sitting room having a galss of wine or cup of tea.  She makes you feel like you’ve known each other for years and years. 

Truly a very different person to what the media portrays…

This is one year end function with great photos. Every woman at work networking get-together is such a great function because there is always constant laughter.  Basically ladies, business women, mothers and friends coming together to network and have a great time!

Riani

I read this piece on the internet some time ago (what a awesome contraption the internet is hey?  Bringing people all over the world together to share knowledge)
I want you to take a minute to read it, and just take two minutes to think about it and to take whatever piece speaks to your soul and remember it.

“Promise Yourself

To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind

To talk health, happiness and prosperity to every person you meet

To make all your friends feel that there is something worthwhile in them

To look at the funny side of everything and make your optimism come true

TO THINK ONLY THE BEST, TO WORK ONLY FOR THE BEST AND TO EXPECT ONLY THE BEST

To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own

To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future

To wear a cheerful expression at all times and give a smile to every living creature you meet

TO GIVE SO MUCH TIME TO IMPROVING YOUSELF THAT YOU HAVE NO TIME TO CRITICIZE OTHERS

TO BE TOO LARGE FOR WORRY, TOO NOBLE FOR ANGER, TOO STRONG FOR FEAR AND TOO HAPPY TO PERMIT THE PRESENCE OF TROUBLE

To think well of yourself and to proclaim this fact to the wrold, not in loud word, but in great deeds

To live in faith that the whole world is on your side, so long as you are true to the best that is in you!”
-Christian D. Larson

I just had the most inspiring week with Dr John F Demartini last week….

I spent 3 days with him on the “Master Planning Seminar” which was truly challenging and inspiring. It is a 3 day course spent introspecting & answering 2000 questions about your life, your values, your goals and inspirations. I found it extremely challenging as I found myself questioning whether certain goals and dreams were really my own or simply an ideal that I have injected in to my life to subconsciously impress other ‘authorities’ in my life…

I also had to question whether my doubts were based on reality or simply a result of huge fear that these dreams may actually be truly my own, in which case I would have to face these fears and challenge myself to really live the life of my dreams….

It was a valuable exercise and though I only completed half the work in the allotted time frame, I now have a much better understanding of who I am, what my true values are and what inspires me….. This has given me the framework to complete my master plan ie the plan of how I am going to achieve the goals and dreams I have set for myself without setting myself up for disappoitment and anger by setting unrealistic goals that are not truly aligned with my highest values!

We also attended 2 talks by John: one was on “How to live an Inspired Life” which again was very much based on discovering your true values and being authentic. The other talk was on “The 5 S’s of Leadership” and John was on fore with that one (or at least I was after yhat talk!!!)

According to John Demartini, there are 5 S’s that make us a leader:

(1) service – what service do you want to provide to the world? If you love what you do and do what you love and can’t wait to get up in the morning to do it, the whole world will be excited to receive it and pay you for it!

(2) specialised knowledge – when you are inspired about something, you love to do it, you love to speak about it, you love to learn about it and this naturally leads to specialised knowledge in whatever area you are inspired by. This gives you certainty and the one with the most cretainty rules!!

(3) speaking – a leader has a vision and a message and is inspired to share that message. A leader will also embrace both suppirt and challenge in pursuit of that higher vision. As a result, a leader is a natural speaker – just look at Presdent Barack Obama – he is an inspired man with a vision and a message and knows how to convey that message top the world. He speaks with certainty and from the heart and people are inspired!

(4) selling – a leader knows how to communicate in terms of other people’s values. They know what they want, and they know how to communicate what they want in a way that is meaningful to others. Again, Barack Obama is a prime example pf this – he connects to people in terms of their highest values. This is called caring when you are in a relationship and selling when you are in the busineses world. It’s the same thing! learning the art of communicating in this way is vital if you want to be a leader!

(5) Savings – a leader ahs enough self-worth and values themselves enough to pay themselves first in the form of savings. If you don’t value yourself, how do you expect the world to?

So, it actually all boils down to being authentic. Everyone is a born leader in the area that they are inspired by! If they are authentic, that is, true to their own values, they will naturally be inspired. An inspired person has a vision, a calling, a message and will naturally have a service they wish to provide, will naturally develop specialised knowledge in that area, will naturally want to share that knowledge by speaking, will develop the skills of communicating and selling and in so doing value themselves enough to save and build wealth. The key lies in authenticity…..

Fianlly, I spent the weekend facilitaing at “The Breakthrough Experience” and that was truly inspiring. It was also challenging but that is what makes it so rewarding at the end! The Demartini Method (Regsitered and Trademarked) is a unique set of questions which assist you in balancing perceptions, dissolving fear and guilt, resentment and infatuation and awakening your inspiration. It is a huge honour to be able to assist someone in dissolving years of hurt and anger and then to watch them open their hearts and feel true gratitude for that person or event or themselves….  I am grateful and inspired to be a Trained Demartini Facilitator and I am comiitted to learning and mastering this work so that I can assist more and more people to let go of the emotional baggage and their doubts and fears and guilts and to open their hearts and live inspired lives!!!

I left there on Sunday feeling truly grateful for a wonderful week of challenge and support and growth and learning. I am not here to play small. neither are you! You are not here to play small. Give yourself permission to live an amazing and magnificent life – find the leader that is inside of you and let it emerge and live an inspired life!!! You deserve nothing less! As John always says: “No matter what you have done or not done, you are worthy of love!”

If you would like to learn more about The Demartini Method, I offer private ne-on-one consultations, group facilitation as well as executive and corporate coaching. Email me at: louised@cft.co.za for more details.

So we went to see Dr Demartini again last week and not a minute too soon! As usual, he did not disappoint…. I for one was shocked and a little disappointed with myself, when I realised how much I had got drawn in to all the fear surrounding the government changes and uncertainty in SA at the moment. After a few minutes of listening to the man speak, I was hopeful and inspired again.

So rather than worry about what might happen, let’s ask how what is happening serves us and how whatever happens will serve us? What oppurtunities will open up? How can we make a diiference? How can we empower ourselves and help those around us to do the same so that together, we are an empowered nation that adapts to change and becomes a global force in the world?

What I know for sure is that I love this country – and while change is scary – it is also inevitable and our ability to adapt to change is what will determine the amount of joy we have in our lives and where we choose to play in this game of life. What I also know for sure, is that leaving this country also comes with a host of changes and uncertainties and almost feels like a betrayal (for me at least).

So I have made a decision to be one of the people who will stay and do whatever I can to empower myself and my family and give others to permission to do the same and hopefully, together we can make a difference in South Africa. John gave us a quote last night (not sure who it was that orginally said it) but it goes something like this: “never underestimate the power of just one person or a small group of people to make a difference and change the world, for in fact, it is the only thing that ever did!”

I believe that if we start to work together and shift our perspective we CAN make a difference – so let’s celebrate what is right with South Africa and be grateful for what we have! It would be nice if a few of you would support me on this and give some postive feedback (cos it’s pretty much guranteed that I will get challenged on this big time!) So what do you love about South Afriva? What can we celebrate?