RE-EVALUATION

Girls Just want to have fun….Just wanna Just wanna…

It is fair to say this week was calm and relaxed with me singing “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”; I was feeling pretty good that I was a woman and humbled to be among women that know who they are, what can be achieved and where they are going. Surround yourself with positive people so you can live rather than just living/surviving. These positive People would be those that have goals, plans and encourage you to achieve yours…ever hear that saying “Tell me who your friends are and I’ll tell you who you want to be” that saying is true, constant negativity means it is time for a change cause please believe that negative energy is like a parasite sucking the life from you entirely. Speaking of positive thinking, Mr. Watson gave me an inspirational talk about what the world has to offer, know that you don’t have to limit yourself Barbados is sweet fuh days but the world is ready for you to explore and it presents opportunities that will blow your mind and leave you with a broaden view, change the way the brain functions and allow you to think limitless. Great advice Mr. Watson, truly inspirational, he can be described as focused and a great entrepreneur. For those who have never looked up entrepreneur; it is defined as a wealth creator not a petty accumulator, an entrepreneur is innovative, determined, persistent and are the great few who transform transient ideas to enterprises. I’m glad I have this opportunity to learn and overall develop under Mr. Watson.

Landael and myself along with Takara had a brunch chat with KISS Barbados creator Craig Harewood. Mr. Harewood knew that he wanted to be an entrepreneur in secondary school. KISS stands for Keep It Simple Services. He gave us some advice when it came to careers and generally what we should be doing and I admit I need to implement his advice into my goal scheme asap.

• He told us to always know what you are trying to achieve, know the path and work on cultivating that path efficiently.
• With careers you need to have your area of study or interest and narrow it down. 
• Always surround yourself with intelligent, determined, impassioned and goal oriented persons that will be realistic, truthful and encouraging.
• Partnership with companies are important because as partners and sharing the profits this encourages everyone to work harder. When you are getting started as an entrepreneur attach your name to a well established and known organisation and make yourself known to others, that’s called advertising,networking and first step in building your company's reputation.
• Your most important asset besides your skills and expertise to get the job done is confidence.
• Don’t let anyone define you by your age,Mr. Harewood said that with a job he was interviewing for the first question was “how old are you?” the response was “I’m in my 20’s” and guess what... he got the job because he knew what he is capable of achieving age has no bearing on that. 
• Keep in mind there is much to be learned in this life, you will make mistakes but mistakes are just stumbling blocks to be transformed into stepping stones.
• Always give your customer quality and value for their money.

I learned that I definitely need to be more proactive in planning and executing my personal and professional goals in order to achieve what I want to achieve, be more committed to executing my short term and long term goals and constantly re-evaluate myself.

The last thing I did this week was to think about events that would be fun but also feasible for SEED. Technology allowed us (Takara and I) to communicate with Ms. Mapp-Watson. On the agenda was organisation and talk about the way forward. We learned the presentation and had a little homework from Ms. Mapp- Watson to make the script our own. Public Speaking is sometimes difficult but these tips from Ms.Mapp-Watson should help to be more confident and comfortable with public speaking. The tips are:

• Be mindful of your idiosyncrasies which can be defined as a characteristic, habit,mannerism or the like that is peculiar to an individual. For example when I was giving my presentation on Klip Xtreme I kept looking at the ceiling just something I do when I’m thinking. Everyone has them so just be mindful of them because they can be distracting to your audience. Try to control those impulses.
• Always have good posture, don’t look too stiff or too relaxed; good posture is having your shoulders align with your hips and chest up to show confidence.
• Make certain that you enunciate your words properly.
• Look your best because first impressions will always matter, when people see you, a second after, they have formed their perceptions. And clothes make the man/woman. 
• Practice smiling not a fake smile a real “happy to see you” smile, if you have to remember something funny do that whatever works.
• For the ladies remember to be feminine, your voice and how you look also helps to translate confidence, having said that dress appropriately.
• Lastly practice the verbal part of your presentation to deliver it fluently but still not like a script it should sound natural not rehearsed.  

 And I called those umbrella organisations, some calls I actually spoke to the decision makers in the organisations and sent them more information about SEED. SEED is still in the digging phase and needs to be cultivated, well irrigated and reaped and you know what…it is work but also so fun and inspiring to be part of developing and nurturing SEED. We are on track for success.