For all that is said about self-employed entrepreneurs and stay at home parents, being able to be a part of a greater community I believe is essential. For well over a year I was working on my own at home, more or less constantly. I personally did not mind this, but of course there were times when I felt somewhat cut off from the world outside. I am certain many parents would recognise this and agree with me.

The one positive thing was that I could limit the amount of negativity that I took on board, but it also, to a certain extent prevented me from seeing the bigger picture of creating a more visible profile for my business. I was relying on word of mouth, something which should not be underestimated, but without me being the one at the forefront promoting the business, it did not lead to where I wanted to be. I believe that no matter how well you intend to market yourself and “get your name out there”, if it is the first time you work for yourself you are bound to fall into a number of entrepreneurial traps.

Working for yourself unfortunately does not come with a manual, unless you go through the route of an enterprise board or mentoring facility. You learn on the job, for better and/or for worse. Many people think they have everything under control until they somehow are reminded to look “back into” the company rather than just from the inside out. It is a tough exercise and not always a view you want to see. To all of a sudden realise that you may have misinterpreted you customer base, misunderstood what they want, it isn’t easy or something you ever want to realise. Well, know that unless you leave it until your business is about to go into receivership, then with some clever re-thinking and re-structuring you may be able to turn things around. Remember that the banks, the state and the society around you want businesses to succeed, they do not want more “failures” and they do want more jobs. It is in everyone’s interest to make entrepreneurial ideas work and come to life.

So, no matter where you are on your business journey, open up to the wider community, dare to join in Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and all the other social media networks. You will be amazed at the amount of people who are in the same boat as you, people who you may never meet, but who can become good friends and great partners in making your business succeed. What makes us scared of joining in, is usually a lack of understanding the tools themselves, what they can be used for and how they can work best for you. Just because everyone is on Facebook does not mean that it will be the best tool for you and the same goes for all the other networks, you need to figure out what suits you best, stick with it and make it work for you. Take the opportunity and go to one of the many meet ups that are happening around the country, like the first ever SMEcommunity tweetup in Birr, Co. Offaly a couple of weeks ago. It was not only an event aimed at helping entrepreneurs promoting themselves and their businesses but also a great way of meeting up with like minded people, and put a name to the “sometimes” obscure twitter names. Please note that I wasn’t there myself, but next time, I will have the time properly booked into my schedule.

Dare to share, and become a part of the greater entrepreneurial community.

Week 3

Last week was my third week of adapting to my new healthy life style, I know it may sound as if I am trying to change myself completely and I wasn’t all that unhealthy before so perhaps it is not the best way to put it after all. Well, being mindful of eating can be tricky even for someone who is as mindful of everything else in her life, professionally and personally.

I managed to only get out for a walk once during the week, the rest of the week the weather was too bad or I had other things that had to be undertaken, I am not perfect.

Monday was probably my best day, I was on track, I went for a long power walk and I felt focused and on top of the world. I had forgiven myself for eating both some Indian take away on the Saturday and some sweeties on the Sunday. After all a kids birthday party is the ultimate breathing ground for all things sweet and sugary, the only positive action was that I had not eaten any of the birthday cake.

Then on Tuesday my other half decided he was going to treat me and though he knows of my quest and supports me, we ended up going to both the pub and out for a meal. I did not over eat or drink too much but I certainly did fall off the wagon again for the day. I believe you know when you are on a “diet” when you find that even though you are eating something you shouldn’t you cannot even eat that much of it, it is as if the body tells you that a little fun is ok but not too much.

Wednesday went somewhat better and because of being within the confines of my own home I managed to eat well and stay away from temptations but then again I was fearing the Thursday even before it happened. On Thursday I was going to meet a friend and this meant not knowing exactly where or what we were going to have for lunch. What if we were going to eat something very unhealthy what do you say? As it turned out my friend made lunch for the two of us and it was delicious, not completely unhealthy but on the borderline, I enjoyed every bit of it and even offered to lick the plate, not very professional I know but it tasted so good. You know you are onto a good friend when they tell you not to be shy and do it if you really feel like it.

Friday was a day full of temptation and so was Saturday, the kids do seem to enjoy my changed cooking habits but they don’t completely follow suit and so there were things that did not belong on my eating list that did slip through.

Then finally, you know when you have had a bad week when you slowly step onto the scales, fearful and excited, just to see that you haven’t shifted any weight at all. You are at the same weight as you were last week. I must admit I was so disappointed I went straight to the nearest coffee shop and bought myself a hot chocolate with extra whipped cream, why not. I suppose I had only myself to blame, good food, or the lack of it, plus no exercise does not mean weight loss, who was I kidding. In retrospect, I should be delighted I didn’t put any weight on after all I probably only had three good days out of seven, and that is not good odds.

So if you are in the same boat, don’t despair if you have a week like mine, it happens and it is ok. It is just a matter of picking yourself up, revise your plan and kick start a new, more productive week. I for one feel ready for a new week and this week I am going all out!

I have this wonderful laughing Buddha on my mantelpiece. He stands there representing my ultimate goal of joy, balance and harmony. Surely, it is good to have something to strive for don’t you think?!

Every now and then he reminds me that I need to laugh more, to be even more joyful than I already am. Sometimes he also reminds me of an uncle of mine. When I was younger I was fascinated by this mans laughter, it was as deep and as strong as his hugs, but without the big round belly. My uncle is my modern Buddha, I am certain he is not always happy and/or full of vitality but in my eyes he is all that my statue represents in living form. So why am I talking about my uncle, well it is only a reflection really!

I just wanted to share with you the ability of seeing and appreciating the strength and joy in others.

You may know that Buddha; perhaps he is your dad, uncle, brother, colleague, husband or partner? In fact who is to say that your Buddha isn’t a woman?

I merely think it is appropriate and essential to find laughter anywhere you can these days. Then it’s up to you if you want to rub his/hers belly for good fortune (laughter) or tell him what you are thinking of the next time you find yourself smiling when you are around him.

After all laughing is supposed to make us live longer and I for one rather have lots of laughter lines than worry ones!

Last week I began my quest for a healthier me, not because I need to loose much weight but because I want to be eating better food and feel healthier.

I thought I’d share my experience of this journey with you on and off over the next while to let you know how I am getting on and perhaps inspire some of you to also do something for yourself.

Firstly, this mission is all mine, nobody told me I should do it and I certainly haven’t felt pressured to do it. I must admit I only have an approximate goal, but it will have to do.

Week One

So, last Monday I set out on my first long walk since before last summer, now I do need to emphasis this is not because of laziness on my behalf, but due to a knee injury followed by a heel injury which pretty much took all year to heal. It took plenty of rest and plenty of loving healing, to get me back on track. My medical experience was less than positive and though I would absolutely advice anyone to have a medical assessment of an illness, I am just saying that my MRI scan deemed my knee perfectly ok and my nurse said it would be ok if I took painkillers, needless to say I wasn’t impressed. It does make me laugh now but not at the time and all I have to say is that I am very grateful for all the wonderful friends and family who supported me throughout and drove me everywhere. As a holistic practitioner I did healing on myself, and I had many others doing it to, but I did of course let conventional medicine have its say first.

Right, so due to being out of action for up to seven months, I think my brain told me that if you can’t walk you cannot be healthy, makes NO sense I know but there you go.

My Monday walk was great and I felt so energetic after it that I ran around the house organising and fixing like there was no tomorrow, a very positive start to a new life style. However, the week did not go completely without deviations and so during my first business meeting my sweet tooth took over. I remember thinking that if I restricted my intake to 5 pieces of chocolate it wouldn’t be too bad, or would it?

Tuesday, was a semi successful day, but when the children presenting me with cookies … I had 2. I was not proud of myself and prayed that I would have the strength to go at least ONE day without anything sweet. So with a fridge filled with greens of various kinds, plenty of fruits and some weight controlling brands I set up an eating diary on my fridge so that everything would be on display and nothing could be hidden. It must have done the trick because the following days my determination for not being pulled in by temptation was steady fast. The rest of the week I had a serious sweet withdrawal, with temptations everywhere, and I had to tell myself that this is what I want, and it really is.

I believe every day became easier after that and by Sunday, I had come to realise that I really do love salads of various kinds. They are so easy to make and you can make so many exiting variations and steamed vegetables can be really yummy!

I made it through my first week feeling positive and enthusiastic and though I forgot to weigh myself before I started I know my body has started to process the change and I feel happier in it already.

Can I stay on track? Of course I can!

It is a New Year and New Year’s resolutions are on the top of most peoples “to-do-list” (loose weight, stop smoking, become rich …) but why not pay a little more attention to what you already have, and ensure that this is also on the list. I would like to take the time to make a personal reflection on an area of my life that I feel is essential for me and which I aim to pay even more focus on this year.

I am referring to friendships! Friends being the people who you speak to regularly, met perhaps every day or at least once every couple of weeks if they live nearby. The people who you trust and expect to be there no matter what, the people who you would trust as much as a family member, if not more because they are not immediately related to you and so come without family ties. Why not ensure that this year they do not only exist on your list but become a priority, ensure that this year you do not take them for granted, and that you give them the time they deserve.

As a “fly in” to this rainy, but incredibly beautiful country, I feel I have a certain insight to what it means to create friendships in a country that is not your own and so I do value them incredibly much. When I first came to Ireland, I knew nobody and as I became synonymous with my better half his friends became my friends, but never truly mine. Having friends in this instance meant so much to me! I wanted friends but did not know exactly how to go about getting some. You may laugh at this, what could possibly be difficult about it? Well, I am not sure if this applies to others going abroad, but I found that yes, of course I could very easily chat to people, hang out and socialise. However, it is not the same to “get on with” your colleagues and fellow students as to have them as your own personal friends. Creating friendships take time, even if the connection is there more or less immediately.

I never met any acquaintances that weren’t polite or including since I moved here, but it took time before I met someone who I could call my friend. She is now the godmother of one of my children and though we live busy lives and do not meet up all the time I count her as one of my closest friends and value her opinion very much. I have other friends of course but once again it took time to really get to know them and to be accepted and to accept them. Friendship is a two way system and it has to work both ways, and be wanted by both parties. One of my other friends were initially a customer for an organisation I used to work for, but when our paths met outside of work we instantly got on and I have learnt so much from her over the years and really enjoy her company. No matter how I met my various friends, I know that I can count on them and I would inevitably be there for them if they ever needed me.

What I would like to emphasise (perhaps both to myself and others) is that if you have something good going, work on it and show that you care. I am not proposing that you send them lots of flowers and be at their doors every couple of days, but I am simply suggesting that you keep letting them know that you are thinking of them, keep cultivating the friendship and make sure they know that you don’t take them for granted.

Don’t just be a friend act like one!

On the very eve of the New Year I hope that you have had a great one!

I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for reading my blog and for visiting the site. I sometime find it amazing to think that we are in our 3^rd year and this is only the beginning and I am only getting started. In 2012, I intend to make the website even more about you and I want you to be more involved in what I put up and what I write about, if you have any suggestions, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

I don’t know about you, but 2011 was a year of self-realization for me and I have had the privilege to meet some wonderful people, some in person and some online. If you had told me at the beginning of the year that I would meet people online that I would now consider valued friends I may have laughed at you, but now I have to laugh at myself for not realising the full potential that the social media community offers. Don’t ever underestimate the strength of the internet, but also never loose track of what is real! Know that you can be a spiritual person and still ride the waves of the internet, tweet like a professional and connect with the world through your blogs.

What happens now? Well, tonight I am going to “tune in to” my parent’s dog and help him through a night of fireworks and celebrations, whilst focusing on building on my own energy. A thought for someone else is a great way to start a new year, nothing big, nothing fancy, but it is the thought that counts.

If there is anything I can say ahead of a new day and a new year it is; keep it simple, keep it achievable and go for it! There is no time like now!

Wishing you a Happy New Year, see you in 2012.

This being the week of Christmas, generally makes people forget about work and other things that may trouble them, and why not? Christmas is the one time of the year when extending a greeting will not be a sign of madness but a sign of genuine compassion for others.

In the midst of finishing up my own work, preparing paper work, and emails etc. I have had a great few days so far. I have had time to catch up with friends and enjoying my family. It has made me smile watching my children becoming increasingly excited by the impending arrival of Santa, and I intend to cherish their delight for as long as possible.

The other day I had the pleasure of attending my son’s first school performance and of course I was mighty proud. I was in fact incredibly proud of both him and his younger sibling who decided to show everyone in the room just how much he loves to dance. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen anyone dance so enthusiastically to “Rudolf the red nosed reindeer”, he freely offered everyone a good laugh. You got to love children and their ability to do things without fear, just literally going with the flow and see where it takes them.

I had intended to write a post about something completely different, but then felt that the only thing that seemed fitting is to remind you all to enjoy this holiday! Not matter what your circumstances are (in work or personally) there is only one TODAY and you family and friends will only be here for so long … so please take the time to appreciate all that they are to you and all that you can be to them.

Remember to smile, remember to enjoy and remember to be grateful!

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!
Mal xxx

If you have read my previous blogs you may have noticed that I recently got my writing mojo back, after many years out of the loop it is incredibly satisfying and I enjoy every moment of this new found love of mine.

It’s strange how life can take you down paths you really would never have imagined that you would take. Firstly, I never imagined I’d still be living in the land of rain i.e Ireland, when I first set my feet on Irish soil sixteen years ago, that was never in my plans. Secondly, I would never in a million years have imagined I would be working in the field that I am (and loving it). Working as an energy facilitator (note that I am consciously staying away from the more commonly used terminology that so many shy away from as soon as they hear them), it one of the most rewarding things I have ever done and the reason why this website came about.

Telling my entire story would require me to write a book (who knows) but in short … the reason why I write this blog is for you to get a sense of who I am, the journey I am on and have been so far, and ultimately I hope to inspire and motivate others to see the enormous amount of possibilities out there.

I may not have all the answers, and I may not have heard of all the healing options available, but my mission is to search and tell you about as many of them as possible. I also aim to share other people’s stories, their experiences and their suggestions, I believe that only by informing yourself will you find what it right for you.

In between that I hope to give you some flashes of positivity and every day thoughts. As someone told me yesterday, “positivity is great but we are all humans at the end of the day and it is not always possible, but being optimistic is a great place to start” thank you P.

I hope you enjoy my posts, please feel free to share them and I hope that your journey to centeredness will be a great one.

This week I was reminded at how much I really love and used to love writing.

When I was younger I used to write on something constantly, not only diary comments but stories about life in general and fiction of course (I still have a box full of these stories and observations stored away somewhere) but then as I moved country the writing stopped. So why did I stop? To be honest I am not sure why, but I could probably come up with a million and one reasons, but tragically none of them worthy of being expressed. I got lazy, it happens!

It was only once I set up bCenteredU that I got back into the swing of writing and when a friend reminded me of the initial passion for writing, that is when inspiration came flooding back to me! Now I can’t stop. :)

However going back to the early days of writing, I remember how much of a comfort writing was, as much as it made me look at what was going on around me it was a great way to escape also. Sometimes it was self-critical, sometimes just incredibly eye opening, but most of the time just filled with creative and lively accounts of things that surrounded me.

You don’t have to be an author or a scholar or academic to write you know! You don’t even need to have an aptitude for perfect grammar or a specific aim or intention. Writing personal accounts is like talking to yourself but putting it down on paper, and it is powerful!

You can write about anything you like, get it of your chest, break down a situation or just air your feelings.

From a more spiritual point of view writing is a great way of letting go. Once written down burn it, flush it out in the toilet or distribute it to sea, whatever you like, it will release some, but perhaps not all that you hold within.

Have you ever read an article, or a book that just GRABS you? You read and read until there is no more! What do you think makes you do that? It is the pureness of what has been written, that something extra that your unconscious self relates to and wants more of, once again the power of the written word there it is!!

I would suggest to anyone to write, at least a little, whenever you feel like it. It doesn’t matter if you are in a bad place or in a great one. Writing is merely a wonderful way of getting to know you! So pick up your pen, get a small notepad and get writing.

Last weekend I took time out for ME and it felt so good!

Sometimes I wonder how come it so easy to tell others to take care of themselves but when it comes to us it is near to impossible. I believe most of us have a deep rooted tendency to ignore what we really need and want!

Well, in my case this creeping feeling of “need” has been present for a while, but I had kept on making excuses not to listen. Then I remembered what happened the last time I didn’t listen to guidance I’d been receiving and I tell you that were enough to make me jump at the opportunity to attend the workshop that took place last Sunday.

For all purposes this workshop was of a holistic nature, after all this is the business I am in, but I tend to be quiet selective in what I attend. It has to feel right and it has to “speak to me”. As it goes the facilitator asked us all why we had come along and some had some really valid a deep reasons, when it came to my turn to explain my presence I could only say, what was ultimately the truth .. I had no idea what the workshop was about, I had not read the description or spoken to anyone about it, I had merely booked my place based on the inkling that this was what I needed. Needless to say this received a round of laughter, but the facilitator said nothing else of it but that all reasons were good reasons. Now how about that! We do not NEED to have a reason (well a good one anyway) to do something for ourselves, we just need to go with the flow and act upon the signals that our body gives us.

Point being that between working, being a mummy and a wife, there is ME and I also require attention and a boost of self empowerment every now and then.

So the next time you feel you really need something for yourself, think about what is stopping you, see the possibilities of YOU TIME and at first possible opportunity go for it. You do not need to go to a workshop to have time out, but any time with you, for you will do! I could also do with a cinema visit, a night out with the girls, a holiday and some retail therapy but that can wait ;-) What I really needed then was time to re-connect with what I really want and yes I got just that!