Monday, January 8, 2007

There is more than this! - Finding the Blueprint Workshop in Brighton

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?'
Nelson Mandela



I am busy getting together the material for the next "Finding the Blueprint" workshop in Brighton in a fortnight. It does feel like ages since I last ran it and I don't know why I have let the time elapse because I absolutely love doing it. I really enjoy it when some one calls me afterwards to tell me they have made big changes in their life and they are now on track to doing what they want whether it be work or travel or relationships or whatever. It seems I always have to add to and rewrite all the course material before each workshop because even though I have done it for so many years I just keep learning more and more in the time between the programs.

I try to keep them fairly inexpensive so that they are accessible to more people but each time the venues get more expensive.It is important to me that I hold them in a welcoming place where people can relax and enjoy the two days. Brighton is now a commuter town for London and I have had quite a few young succesful women and men calling me up to book in. There seems to be a theme that resounds with these people..they are educated, successful and fed up! They want something more. They want to live a life that has quality and an inner landscape. They want more than the power they thought they wanted in the early days. The other group that seems to be interested in changing their life is the group of 50+. They have worked a long time often doing work they didnt want to do and now know they may have to work longer. It is time to start creating a life that is fun and meaningful. Is it any wonder I love doing this?

Isn't it just crazy that we often end up doing work that has no relationship to who we are or what our dreams might be? We think we can put our talents in the back of the closet and only remember they are there when we forage around for something to make us look a little special. But all the time they are niggling away reminding us that we are something more. Barbara Sher said it so perfectly when she said "I know I'd be brilliant at it if I knew what it was". We have put away our dreams for our lives so long ago that there are hidden beneath the boxes of shoes and the old dress and the Marilyn Monroe hat all stacked on top. And yet we all get that niggle every morning when we are heading off to do work that is not a reflection of who we are...that despondency that there is something more ..there has to be something more to living than just doing this.

So this is why I love this workshop. It is exciting to see the "excavation" work going on and the fun we have. I remember one woman who really stands out because she was so angry ..really angry with everything and everybody..it was apparent in everything she did. In her hair cut (all spiky), in the way she talked. The workshop goes for two days and I really didn't think she would come back on the second day but maybe the wonders of sleep and the processing that must have gone on overnight saw her walk in chirpy and ready to design a plan for her future. I get so excited and happy when I see things like that. It is not rocket science. We are not happy when we are not being authentic or using the talents we are born to use. She called me about a month after the workshop to tell me that she got so much out of the 2 days and especially she got "hope". She also was able to put in place a life plan with steps to make her dreams happen even though she was in her late fifties.

I often have people tell me to "be realistic". "We all have to eat and pay the mortgage" they say and they are right. We do have to eat and we do have to pay rent and often we do jobs that are providing the way for us to move forward on our path. Just knowing we are on track to that goal makes the work worthwhile and we become grateful for it instead of resenting it.

I think it is difficult to keep on track without support from friends and family. They are often the ones who worry most about us and they try to urge us into safe secure work. There are stories that abound about people who had stopped in the frantic money making race to find out who they really were. They then went on to change their lives. The result was that they now ere living with such passion for their work that they ended up being more successful than they had ever could have imagined and the barrier between work and life had blurred. Being around people who enjoy their work and life is just wonderful. It inspires others.

If you are a Brighton person and want to take part just send me an email. You're welcome.

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