Tracey Clark of RegimA and host of today's Christmas in July
It's taken long enough for me to have faith in the GPS and ... oh wait, I did redirect myself to a route I was more familiar with on more than one?occasion?while heading out to the breakfast I was guest speaker at. Do any of you remember the old day when I was so freaked out at driving anywhere by myself that it put a damper of most exciting events?
I think it happened at the perfect time because this morning I was asked if I would be interested in driving about 3 hours out of town to host a workshop. Before I would have been in a hysterical panic, but this new and much braver me is ready to travel pretty much anywhere! Holy cow ... let's hope the Universe, filled with opportunity, didn't just hear me say that.
Today was an exciting enough step and a huge realisation for me for a few reasons.
Firstly, this is the industry that I spent most of my years in and one that I thought I would never go beyond, so it was bitter sweet to be in the mix of it all again.
I think that because times can get a little tough, I do wish that I were back in the industry and locking myself in a treatment room for a few hours and switching off while I got lost in doing a massage or healing. ?The 'project me' part of that statement is the consciousness of know that I was never truly present in those treatments in the first place. I spent far too much time wishing I was out of those rooms to ever want to be back in them again.
With my mom's first student and best friend of nearly 30 years
The other part of me was thrilled to see the odd familiar face while the other part of me was just as thrilled to be in a new line of work and as far away from salon and spa life as possible. I think the talk that Tracey Clark of RegimA made about the new credit act, made it sound all too stressful to be a part of dealing with products, customers and clients. Or ... I just did it for long. Or, the real reason ... I am so happy in what I do that I wouldn't want to do anything else.
That doesn't mean that I didn't have one of the strangest experiences as a blogger, social influencer and speaker today.
It was thrilling for me to be able to bring some very?influential?people to the breakfast because RegimA means more to me than just a talk at an event. Tracey and myself go way back. I think I met her when I was finishing school and she was studying at my mom's beauty school. We ended up working together for many years and the bond has never been broken.
Years later, I left the field and started a blog! At that point a big part of 'project me' was my skin that resembled my teenage years. Tracey was there in a flash and one of the first people to believe in me and my blog enough to partner with me and offer me products.
There are so many people who have believed in me along the way, but by my side where 2 sets of incredible ladies and Twitterers who I was thrilled to share the day with. Jules and Michele of Curvy SA and Lindsey and Nikita of NewsClip. There ladies have been an amazing support and now that I'm driving #FollowSA I am learning how important it is to network people together.
@JulesCurvySA, @LindseyKin85, @Jodenecoza, @NikitaGA & @CurvySA - The only Twits in the room
The craziest part of my morning was realising that I wasn't in a room full of Twits. In actual fact, my four friends and I were the only Twits in the room.
I guess that everyone listening to me talk must have been as foreign as me staring into a crowd who get through life not having any form of online presence. Truth is, it threw me and I really didn't feel that I was the right person to be sharing my story today. It took a lot for me to be kind to myself, reel me back in and remind myself that I do have value to add to any crowd I stand in front of. It's back to the same old feeling of wishing I could just hide behind the laptop always and not have to throw myself out into the world. That ain't gonna happen now that I'm having way too much fun out there in the world.
Unbelievably, it's taken me over 4 hours to blog ... I could come with a whole lot of reasons why, but sometimes it's about cutting myself some slack and just having a slow, long blogging day!
Before I go and start sifting through some urgent emails *rolls eyes* I have to say a very big 'wow' to Tracey's brother Craig and his dance partner Natalie for an unbelievable dance experience. I'm slowly beginning to understand the power of dance ... and seem to enjoy the escapism and silence it allows my mind!
Craig and Natalie from Exhibitionsdance.com
That's a wrap ... Amen!
