One of Many

Woman looking to create change

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Guest blog: Should I leave my job?

By

Jane Lewis

Dr Jane Lewis has over 20 years’ experience as a coach, including working as a career coach. She’s an ordained Interfaiths Minister and her passion is helping women find their purpose and direction, and then release the mental baggage that stops them achieving it. Twice a year she goes to Hawai’i to teach and study Huna – the spiritual, energetic and shamanistic practices of the ancient Hawai’ians. Find out more at https://secretartofhuna.com.

Latest posts by Jane Lewis (see all)

This is a guest blog by Dr Jane Lewis.

In my role as a Career Coach, I am often asked by clients, ‘Should I Leave My Job?’ It’s one of those questions to which the answer can often feel like ‘How Long Is A Piece Of String’, but in this blog, I’ll be sharing a few pointers to help you consider the question, should it be burning a hole in your brain just now.

Why you might want to leave your job

The first question I always ask clients is: why do you want to leave your job?

  • Because you’re unhappy?
  • You want to start your own business?
  • You aren’t paid enough?
  • The people are OK, and they don’t treat you badly, but it doesn’t really fire you up?
  • You’re not being given the opportunities you want?

Depending on the answer, my advice will change.

However, there are a few cases where the answer is fairly clear.

If you are thinking of leaving your job because you’re planning to set up your own business, my advice generally is to stay in your job until you’ve got your new business running and starting to pay you an income. Of course, that isn’t always possible, but financially it can make the transition so much easier.

If you feel you’re underpaid, or not being given the promotions and opportunities you deserve, then, assuming you are otherwise happy, the first step is to have a conversation with your boss.

At One of many we talk about ‘having a conversation from your Queen’: stepping in to your Queen powertype, and making your point in a drama-free, powerful fashion.

But what if you’re unhappy, or over-stressed or feeling demotivated?

One of the techniques I invite my clients to use is to identify their career values to see how far the job is satisfying those values.

Our values provide motivation at a very deep, unconscious level. If your career values aren’t being satisfied in your current job, then it is highly likely that you will struggle with motivation and with performing at your best.

Values are abstract, and they are the product of our life experience together with our early conditioning. So if your family put a high value on professionalism, you might well find you do the same.

Your values are key to making any big decision

One client of mine worked in an engineering environment where the money and benefits were OK, and the people were pleasant. The work was challenging, although it wasn’t exactly the area that my client enjoyed the most. It was all OK, but something was not quite right and my client couldn’t pin down what that was.

We did a value exercise and time with family came out in the top 5. The job involved a relatively long commute, and as a result of doing the exercise my client realised that this value was not being met, and this was the reason they were not content.

The client used their list of values as criteria for evaluating job adverts, and soon found a job nearer home, with less travel and more money. Within a year they had been promoted to Director, which was an unexpected bonus!

How to find your values

The process is as follows: ask yourself ‘what’s important to me about my career (or job)?’ You are looking for single words or very short phrases that you can’t put in a wheelbarrow. Abstract nouns; words like:

  • job-satisfaction
  • professionalism
  • growth
  • challenge
  • fun

Keep going until you have at least 8, but don’t worry if you end up with 15 or 16.

Once you have your list, put them in order of importance, based on the way things are right now. The most important values will be those on which you spend the most time and energy.

Then, looking at the top 5-8, for each value, ask yourself: ‘how far does my current job satisfy this value?’ You can use a scale of 1-10 or a percentage scale.

If your job doesn’t satisfy any of your values, or only satisfies a few values more or less, it may well be time to move, or at least have a serious conversation with your employers about how things need to change.

That’s the exact process I used with my client. It’s such a great tool for clarifying your thinking around your job options.

Need help making a big decision?

If you’d like some support to work through the system yourself, you can find a One of many certified coach trained in helping women explore their values using the online coach directory. Click here to find the right coach for you.

About Jane Lewis

Coach, Minister, Huna practitioner

Dr Jane Lewis has over 20 years’ experience as a coach, including working as a career coach. She’s an ordained Interfaiths Minister and her passion is helping women find their purpose and direction, and then release the mental baggage that stops them achieving it. Twice a year she goes to Hawai’i to teach and study Huna – the spiritual, energetic and shamanistic practices of the ancient Hawai’ians. Find out more at https://secretartofhuna.com.

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Be the Woman You Were Born to Be

By

Joanna Martin

Founder: One of many. Author. Ex-doctor. Entrepreneur. Sister. Sometime Actor. Baby Wrangler. Personal Chef. Mother.

Latest posts by Joanna Martin (see all)

You want to make a difference.
You want to be valued.
You want to leave a legacy.
You want to show your children that life can be amazing.

BUT…

You’re feeling lost and don’t know which direction to take.

Do you have this nagging sense that there is something more you should be doing with your life? If you do you’re far from alone.

Life is urging us as women towards greater things.

You know there is more of you to be expressed. You feel that nagging tension inside. A subtle knowing that there is something more that you should do and share. You know that there is more to life. But you don’t know which direction to take or where to start.

Phew! Frustrating isn’t it. But take a deep breath and relax. I hear you sister and you’re in the right place. I’m going to share 4 easy things that you can do to get yourself inspired and moving.

Life’s too short to waste another minute on something that isn’t making your heart sing. And the good news is the time of work being a soul destroying chore that leaves you feeling empty and undervalued at the end of the day is a thing of the past.

We’re in a brand new time where your work becomes far more than an exchange of time for money. We’re in a time where your work can be a hugely rewarding experience. Everything changes when you love your career. Sounds dramatic but it’s true. Imagine it…it’s more than work, more than a career even, it’s your life’s mission.

Everyone has been made for some particular work, and the desire
for that work has been put in every heart. Rumi

If you have that nagging feeling that you’re supposed to do something bigger, something bolder, something greater with your life then read on because I’m going to share with you how you can escape the frustration and start making it happen.

Firstly get grateful for that inner nagging tension.

I know it’s uncomfortable and can sometimes make you feel like you’re going insane. Your mind is in a perpetual whirr frantically searching for what you should do. But fret no longer. Instead rest assured that this inner knowing comes to us all in different ways when we’re expanding into greater possibilities. It’s exciting, a true gift.

I know it can leave you feeling completely lost and wondering ‘What am I supposed to do?’ Annoying isn’t it. I don’t know about you but I’m impatient, so waiting for things to unravel can be super challenging. What I’ve discovered though is this inner tension is trying to guide me. And it’s trying to guide you to.

Once you encounter it, it can never be put back in its box. You can try but it will still be there in the background, it’s a persistent little blighter. It might appear to go quiet for a little while but then suddenly wham it’s back again. It just doesn’t go away.

You see for women meaning is everything, without it our motivation evaporates. Yet for many women finding purpose is the biggest challenge that they face when it comes to career and work. It’s very easy to look out at the world we live in and become disillusioned. Many women fritter their lives away in meaningless or mediocre work that drains them.

Some women are fortunate enough to find something meaningful. But they make compromises on how much they are willing to make, so struggle to make ends meet and become drained.

Imagine waking without an alarm and feeling a burst of joy that it’s a brand new day. The sheets are soft on your skin and you feel refreshed and energised. Brilliant ideas are popping into your head and you get up to write them down. You love this feeling of knowing you are in exactly the right place at the right time. Doing something you absolutely love, making a positive difference to others and being generously financially rewarded in the process.

It’s a BIG difference to meeting the new day with a groan and groping for the alarm to hit the snooze button.

Once you know what your purpose is and you start living it, everything changes. Once you’re truly on purpose that’s when miracles start to become a regular feature in your life.

Don’t fall into the common trap

Many people are waiting for that blaze of light. That mind-blowing clarity where they see a vision for their purpose and mission in techno-colour. That life altering never to be forgotten moment when they know beyond a shadow of a doubt exactly what they are supposed to do with their life.

Sounds great doesn’t it but don’t wait for it. Yes it happens to the occasional person but it’s not usual. It’s a bit like your friends at school who knew exactly what they wanted to do when they grew up. Few and far between right? I think I had one friend like that.

I know that my journey to leading One of Many, this mission to inspire 1 million grass-roots women leaders, has been a journey of unravelling. As I have put one foot in front of the other this mission has gradually revealed itself. And it’s the same for you. You just need to start putting one foot in front of the other.

We are living in a truly exciting and unique time on the planet. In our new paradigm world, there has never has been a greater time for crafting a truly unique career path that harnesses your greatest gifts and provides the income you need to live a truly fulfilled life.

Our belief is when your life’s work is a true expression of your authentic self, work is a true joy.

Now is YOUR time.

Perhaps you, like many women, know you have lots more to give but you just haven’t fully embraced it yet.

This is your birth right. It’s not a question of whether you deserve it or whether you’re good enough. Sadly it’s incredibly common for women to be lacking in confidence and unconsciously holding themselves back.

Are you unconsciously saying no?

Secondly get yourself a really nice journal and commit to writing in it every day. Carve out some time for you to connect with your hearts desires. You can’t create or allow yourself to receive your truly juicy life if you are unconsciously saying no to it.

You need to start saying yes to yourself. Yes to all the good things that life has planned for you. Yes to experiencing great joy, satisfaction and fulfillment.

In order for you to escape that nagging tension that’s slowly driving you nuts you need to start opening your mind. Start allowing yourself to hear and receive that inner guidance that’s there for you.

“Do something today that your future self will thank you for.”  Sean Patrick Flanery

A major problems when we feel lost is we do nothing. But this inertia further compounds the problem. Instead you need to start to take some action because taking a step one direction will begin to create some movement in your life.

Be bold right now and make a decision now that you’re going to do something to quiet that inner niggle. You’re going to discover its secrets. You’re too valuable to keep hiding away. Go and buy yourself a really nice journal.

I do love yummy stationery.

You might like to write a little statement to yourself in the front of your lovely new journal…

I am dedicated to discovering my destiny. My meaningful path to success. I open my mind and heart to hear the divine guiding wisdom that is available for me. I commit to creating special time for myself each day where I will allow myself to dream and connect with my hearts desires.

Then sign and date it. Something powerful happens when you write things down.

Why make time for yourself?

“Investing in yourself is the best investment you will ever make. It will not only improve your life, it will improve the lives of all those around you.” Robin S. Sharma

Thirdly don’t go it alone. Women are wired for connection. When we feel connected we flourish and thrive. So come and join our vibrant One of Many community and hang out with a group of supportive, inspiring and courageous women.

Women who you can share your dreams and aspirations with. Women who will cheer you on and hold your hand when you wobble. Wobbles are bound to happen as you open up to the wonder that life has to offer you.

And finally…

Be bold. Start taking some action that comes from the inspiration that you receive.

When I was a medical doctor I realised that we all have a time limit. We live our lives like we don’t but we all do. I asked myself if I knew what mine was would I continue to be a doctor.

I was a great doctor. The nurses and patients loved me. I was smart. I was making a positive difference but…

it wasn’t my difference. Do you know what I mean?

The answer was absolutely no. So that night I made a decision. The decision was to do what felt like me. It was a bit of an aha moment as I realised I wanted to go to drama school. Acting had always been a hobby of mine. I had dreams of being a professional actress but I’d never believed in myself enough to give it a crack.

I got into a great acting school, was loving it and having fun. But I didn’t feel like I was making my difference. That was the time I went to my very first personal development seminar. As I saw the guy on the stage telling stories and facilitating change I thought that’s it. That’s what I want to do. I made a committed decision and I ploughed everything I had into developing myself to be a life coach. I did this despite the little negative voices in my head. “You can’t do that. You’re too young. Who is going to pay you?” You know the ones.

I developed a fairly successful life coaching business by just doing what my mentor told me. This led to me working for a coaching business and travelling the globe leading training seminars of up to 3000 people at a time. But I got burned out.

After recuperating I launched a speaker business and took it to 7 figures in 12 months but again got burned out.

When my son James was born I was breast feeding him in a darkened room. He was so precious and that quote from the Dalai Lama popped into my head. “The world will be saved by the western women.” I realised he was talking about me. I had to do something to make the world a better place for my son. The world would not be changed by political women leaders but by all women. By me and my sister. By you.

This was a huge wakeup call for me and that’s when One of many™ was born. I knew I had to do something for women.

I share because I want you to see that discovering your destiny in an on-going unfolding. It’s only when you’ve finished that you will be able to connect the dots. You can’t connect them in the beginning.

Here’s a reminder of those 4 easy steps…

  1. Get grateful for that inner nagging
  2. Make time to write in your journal daily
  3. Connect with other supportive women
  4. Be bold and follow your inspired action

I’d love to know what you’re inspired to do. Leave a comment and let us know.

If you’re would love to delve deeper to find the key to unlocking your true career fulfilment our BeFulfilled event is for you.

BeFulfilled™ Your Life’s Work

A two-day retreat to uncover your greatest contribution, and find clarity in your career and finances.

This workshop is designed expressly to help you discover and define your inherent value, to express it, and be rewarded for it.

Book a call with Maria our lovely customer services manager to see if it’s a fit for you.

Our intention is simple. To support professional women to handle the day-to-day so they can unleash the bigger impact they feel called to make in the world.

We believe real leadership is less about skill, and more about having a well of physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual strength to draw on. Every week we support thousands of grassroots leaders globally with our free articles, videos and online trainings with powerful tools and methodologies created BY women FOR women.

Become One of many women creating strong, meaningful connections in our community.

 

 

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(Podcast) How to create the support you need

By

Joanna Martin

Founder: One of many. Author. Ex-doctor. Entrepreneur. Sister. Sometime Actor. Baby Wrangler. Personal Chef. Mother.

Latest posts by Joanna Martin (see all)

The instinctive response of the feminine energy is to collaborate and band together. We believe this means as a woman you can’t thrive unless you’re connected to others. And that as women we achieve our individual success with and through others.

Perhaps you, like many women, feel called to make a positive difference in the world. If you do then you’re going to achieve your greatest difference by having the right support network in place.

Let’s just get clear, this is not about networking – this is about the right people, in the right place, at the right time who can support you to thrive.

Today you get a sneak peek into some of the content from our BeFulfilled event because in order to make your difference in the world you need a strong leadership platform on which to stand. Discover the secrets to creating yours through Conscious Network Design in this Soft PowerCast (podcasts for women).

You’ll discover

  • The 4 key pillars to build to create your strong platform
  • The importance of your emergency pillar and how to foster and nurture so it’s there when you need it
  • How to bring sane consciousness to who you have and who you don’t have in your network
  • How to begin to consciously activate the elements you don’t have

As women we have a tendency to believe we need to do everything ourselves and therefore often have difficulty accepting help and support.

In this Soft PowerCast you’ll learn how to:

  • Bring your focus to some key areas and give you practical solutions on how to:
  • Be clear on what you’re great at, and don’t be afraid to tell other people
  • Look for what you can give first
  • Be open to receiving when help is offered- sometimes even when you don’t NEED it.

Listen to the podcast here

 

Our intention is simple. To support professional women to handle the day-to-day so they can unleash the bigger impact they feel called to make in the world.

We believe real leadership is less about skill, and more about having a well of physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual strength to draw on. Every week we support thousands of grassroots leaders globally with our free articles, videos and online trainings with powerful tools and methodologies created BY women FOR women.

Become One of many women creating strong, meaningful connections in our community.

Is it time for you to BeFulfilled?

For many women their greatest challenge in work is finding their purpose. Without a sense of meaning, our motivation evaporates. Still more of us find something meaningful, but because of our love, we make compromises on how much we are willing to make, so end up with an expensive hobby rather than a business.

If you know you have way more to give and would love to unlock your career potential then our BeFulfilled event is for you. It’s a powerful 2-days where you will identify your true heartfelt vocation. You will leave having identified work that is an expression of who you are, and with a plan to bring that into its full, financial fruition.

“I have been going crazy for a long time trying to work this stuff out for myself. Thank you so much for sharing and showing me the way. Thank you xx” – Kay Daze

“As a marketing consultant I have always made others visible and hidden behind the brand. I knew that I needed to be visible with my new brand ‘Business Butterfly’ as a marketing trainer and mentor. As a result of BeFulfilled I now have clarity and the confidence to step into my light and transform the invisible to the visible.” – Shari Thompson

We’re here to support you to blossom and thrive in life. If you’d love to experience greater fulfilment in your life, give yourself some support right now and have a chat with Maria.