A mentor, trusted advisor

As the year is slowly coming to an end, it's time for a review of all the meetings we have had, over coffee, breakfasts, over the phone, across the miles via skype,

and finally, one on couches overlooking the Thames.

We kept time by staring across the river to a clock of an organisation that we both have a passion for, past and future, in a venue that I do spend a lot of time in when I get the time, and did explore spending even more time there, but life didn't turn out that way.

It's been an interesting journey. A relationship I sought out to establish, via a network that opened new doors to meeting aspiring women. A first choice that didn't turn out, but a shared passion and stepping out to express my intentions made it happen.

A year of asking questions, and would I say, my actions mirrored hers? Coming out of my shell, asking for feedback, reaching out, yes, the pendulum has started to swing. It's good to know that there is someone who you can share and can prompt you to do more, even when you don't believe that you can.

The tools to make decisions, empowerment to own them, responsibility to take on the next challenge. Will we ever know whether the next step is the right step? But if we never try will we ever find out? How do we manage those that hold you back, or those that say go, for their various reasons?

It is you that knows best. Know Thyself. Take Action.

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Bamboos, Temperate House, Kew Gardens

Just finished reading Aleph, by Paulo Coelho. Picked up this book from the library hoping to be inspired on new journeys. One of the most interesting things that I have picked up from the book was the author's skim-read of an article about the Chinese Bamboo. "once the seed has been sown, you see nothing for five years apart from a tiny shoot. All the growth takes place underground, where a complex root system reaching upwards and outwards is being established. Then at the end of the fifth year, the bamboo suddenly shoots up to a height of 25 metres.." Inspirational, thinking of the bamboo plants we once had in our backyard in Sydney when we were young. It didn't take them 5 years to spread like crazy. More about my late autumn visit to Kew Gardens to come..