Opportunity - Sharing the Janergy Effect

Opportunity - a time or set of circumstances that makes it possible to do something.

How many times have you had opportunity knock on the door and you haven't let it in?

I have, and sometimes it has kept knocking and knocking and I still haven't let it in.

The bell rings
It yells out
It looks under the door and calls out
It peeps through the keyhole
It goes away
Comes back
And practically breaks the door down to try and get your attention
But for whatever reason, you just wont answer it and let it in.

Eventually though, you get the message that maybe those "opportunistic" moments are presenting for a reason and maybe you need to take notice and open the door.

One of my favourite movies is Yes Man where the main character takes on the challenge of saying YES to everything and I mean everything, and with that brings great adventure and positive change in his life as he overcomes his fear of the unknown. Sure it's a hollywood blockbuster, but the message is very clear - SAY YES TO OPPORTUNITY WHEN IT PRESENTS, even if you feel scared.

Over the past 6 months since I was made redundant, I have been open to all opportunities. I even saw being made redundant as an opportunity to consider what else might arise here in Melbourne and I guess the biggest thing it did was give me time to think about what I want next in my life.

I used my time to do some personal development, get some life coaching and see where my strengths are and how I can use them to my advantage. I tapped into a lot of free events that I found on facebook and meetup and went along to see what I could glean.

One of the great things I did was attend a free public speaking course. It was amazing to learn in really simple steps how to get up and talk in front of a group. At the end of the night I volunteered to get up and do a 2 minute impromptu speech to about 30 people. I talked about finding purpose and how I wanted to pursue some things that would satisfy me in a personal and professional way. I talked off the cuff and felt an incredible sense of achievement from this. Was it uncomfortable - Yes, was it worth it - hell yes. But I saw an opportunity and I took it.

Work opportunities have been less forthcoming, so I have had to think about my longer term plan. Maybe my opportunities aren't here in Melbourne, as I have found that securing ongoing work hasn't happened and the financial impact has been devastating. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Melbourne, but I need to take notice of the resistance that is surrounding me.

I have found that the more I have tried to lock down my future here, the less it seems probable. Six months is a long time to hold on for maybe, so I am listening to this loud and clear and taking notice of the blockers. There's a big world out there and maybe I am meant to be out there amongst it.

When you apply for over 100 jobs and get only a handful of interviews, then you have to wonder if there's a bigger plan ahead, right? And with that, I need to act.

In my last post, I talked about meeting a lovely man and as we have spent time together we have both agreed that maybe our opportunities are elsewhere and with that I have joyfully accepted this and set the motion of change in effect.

I have given notice on my place and begun to downsize my possessions so I can travel lighter. I have a lot of stuff and I don't want anything to hold me back. I already paid for most of it to be in storage for the past 3 years at a staggering cost of nearly $5000, so I am prepared to give it all away if need be, because as much as I love these items, I don't love them enough to pay to keep them locked in a warehouse gathering dust.

My "One Day" is here and I am freeing myself of all this baggage. I hate to think I am living in a throwaway society, but I have to take charge of my life and be realistic about circumstances and things need to change.

I started to unpack everything I got out of storage and it turned into a garage sale. I literally opened my garage door and put some stuff out to sell. How's that for opportunity.

So what else can I share about opportunity?

• If something keeps nagging away at you, then maybe it's opportunity trying to get your attention? Listen to it! My ex husband kept nagging away at me and eventually I listened and I realised that the opportunity to live a happy peaceful life was passing me by.
• If an opportunity arises, take it, jump on it, embrace it. You may welcome it wholeheartedly, or you may not think it is right for you or has any benefit, but you'd be surprised what doors open up just by saying "yes". Whether it's opportunity to further your career, go on a date, get up and speak in front of strangers, take a road-trip, whatever it may be, JUST DO IT. Use it to broaden your world and your life experiences. You can always change your mind if it isn't working, but the opportunity may not present again, and you don't want to live with regret.
• Embrace fear. Make it your friend and let it guide you to bigger and better things. The comfort zone is a great space if you want to live in comfort, but being out of your comfort zone is where our magical moments happen. The more uncomfortable we are, the greater opportunity it gives us to grow our confidence and abilities and to enjoy our life.

 

Over three years ago I said yes to moving to Melbourne. It was an opportunity that I didn't want to regret pursuing, so I took it. It's been a great adventure, but maybe its purpose has been fulfilled. In fact, I know some things have. I always wanted to live here. It has enabled me an incredible amount of self-growth. I have made some amazing friends who have stood by me along this journey. I found my voice and I like it. I feel empowered, confident and strong and that my not have happened had I stayed in my safe space.

I have also met the lovely man and had my heart healed. However our journey turns out, I know that the care and kindness I have experienced in the short time I have known him is something I have never experienced before and it is an absolute joy to have had that unexpected opportunity.

My bigger picture is now to move to Canberra, pursue some contract work there, get myself back on top financially and then see what opportunities present and I will be doing this with my new found love beside me.

Opportunity awaits and I am ready for it.

See you soon for the next word that I pull out of my lucky dip. I can't wait to see what it is.
💗

aussie curves challenge - style inspiration

how do you know when you find the style that is right for you?  what inspires it and how do you bring it to life?

i had a period of my life, where i kind of fell into a style slump.  it's not that i wasn't bothered, but i was a single working mum, living a lifestyle that didn't really allow me to spend a great deal on fashion and it became a bit of a why bother kind of thing.  i always wanted to look nice but fashion wasn't the most important thing in my life.

once things settled into a better lifestyle routine, i started to make some changes.  my son and i moved to highgate hill and lived in the iconic torbreck building.  Living in west end/highgate hill made me come alive. i felt like i belonged somewhere and was able to let my style shine through.  i slowly started to incorporate different elements into my looks cause in west end, anything went.

not long after this my sister moved to india on posting and then began to send me parcels of stuff and one of the parcels contained these incredible shawls and beautiful garnet jewellery. the jewellery went on and never came off for many years and the shawls were so incredible that i'd never seen many around, and when i wore them to certain events, i would feel amazing and they were a great talking point and they had a story.

she would continue to send parcels containing trinkets and clothes she got at markets and many of them were adorned with beading, sequins or just generally fantastic and unusual and i started to build a look that became my own. then started, the where did you get your outfit question. a question that i still get nearly 20 years on. these items, teamed with my own re ignition of sewing saw my wardrobe slowly build.

my style inspiration has definitely been from india.

i ended up going to india for a holiday in 2000 and quit my job and stayed for 6 months.  india is a country of extremes - poverty vs wealth, dirty vs clean and the one constant in all this is colour. colour is everywhere - from the buildings, to the food, to the clothes and didn't that make my heart sing.

 

 

while i was in india, i got to see some incredible fabrics, beadwork, traditional clothing and after months of living in a world that made me feel so humbled and inspired i returned home with many treasures, including this 60cm statue, my bobble head people (grandma and grandpa) hand beaten cutlery that was all bundled into my suitcase amongst all my other goodies.

if you went to a traditional indian party or a wedding, it was pretty normal to wear something colourful and adorned (hence the sari above) and if you have been to an indian clothing store in australia, it is wall to wall beauty and it's hard not to be mesmerised by the amazing colour and beading.

of course my bags also contained many pieces of beautiful clothing mostly from the market along with a few other beauties that i keep tucked away.

for this challenge, i was excited to get out on the footpath and do some twirling.

 

 

 

 

 

the indian style influence is definitely something that is with me most days with my silver bangles only ever getting taken off if i am going through airport security, getting a massage or have to enter a library (they jingle a lot).

 

my look above was my work outfit for Friday and quite timely given that i decided to share my style inspiration.

I certainly wouldn't want to be someone who is pidgeonholed as only having one style, but india was definitely the kicker for me and i find most outfits are inspired by it in one way or another - whether it be colour, jewellery, texture or something pink and when you combine them all together - KABOOM - it's like a party that is waiting to happen.

Does finding a style that suits come from experimentation, magazines, from family and friends, people on the street or like me through travel - there are so many opportunities to build on the inspiration that is all around us. Go forth and style it up.

what i wore

pink skirt and tie up top from new delhi, india

shawl from janpath new delhi, india

singlet from target

necklace and anklets from fiji

workwear was

jeans from target

shoes from mollini

top and earrings from india

a little fashion interlude

I thought today, i'd do a little post about my outfit i wore.  i don't do them often, but maybe i should.

Over the past few weeks, there has been a fair bit of change at my house - physical, mental and probably spiritual and it seemed to culminate this weekend with the finalisation of room change arounds and the uncovering of some great and not so great fashion finds.  I took the opportunity to cull, cull cull.

I was ruthless in my endeavours and started the journey of letting go of some items that i had been storing for so long.  It's a really hard thing to do when you have emotional attachment to some things, but the reality is, that some of these items no longer represented who i was in terms of shape, size, or just general age of some things.

I let stuff go and it felt good. It's amazing what a good clean up does for your mind.

A couple of things were taken out of storage today and put in my cupboard and with the unearthing of some fabulous shoes i decided to build an outfit around them.

These shoes came from a trip to India, where i found them in a random shoe store in New Delhi and decided that i needed a pair and so did my sister.  They are gold and have bells on them, so they are awesome without even putting them on your feet.

My next unearthing was these fabulous tops that came from Sri Lanka. I was surprised when i remembered that i had got them back in the start of 2007 when we went on a family holiday.  I even remember buying them, cause i had to limit myself to 4 even though i wanted to buy them all.  In currency conversion, they were about $40 each, so i thought they were a bargain. And the detail on them is just incredible.

 

They are so beautiful.  They need to be worn over something unless letting it all hangout is your thing,  I knew that one of these had to be worn with THOSE shoes today.  the underneath outfit wasn't a problem, but deciding on which of the tops to wear was, How would you choose. 

well, i just held them all up in the mirror against me and let the top decide.

In the end, i went with the green. I did buy it a long time ago, but i feel the colour is still relevant and the top itself is something that i haven't seen many of.

I know it's on the neon side, but it just felt like the right one to wear today.  I didn't take a photo of my outfit with my bag though, but managed to take a photo of the bag when i was out having coffee this morning.  i was really chuffed with the overall look.

  

What's great about these tops is that they can be worn over anything, depending on the occasion -jeans, skirts and imagine it over a super swimsuit. given they have a flowy feel, are forgiving with the beautiful bumps that are hiding underneath, it's a winner.

What i wore:
shorts made by me
camisole from huudaverti
shoes from new delhi
top from Roma 4 in Colombo Sri Lanka (this is a must along with Odel, if you are ever travelling there)
bag from second hand store in brissy

mr davinda

one of our friends has recently gone on a trip to india and every time i hear of someone going, i get so excited, as it's a place like no other.

in 2000, i went to india to visit my sister who was on posting and it didn't take much convincing for me to quit my job and stay for six months.

there's some strict rules around working in india, especially for foreigners, but i managed to jag a short term job in new delhi at the imperial india - one of the most beautiful hotels.

underneath the hotel was the engine room - the lockers, laundry, and the staff meal area.  each day you would head down for lunch and watch the cooks prepare massive pots of dals, currys, fresh cooked naan.  you could take this with hot chutneys, fresh green chillis, and a coke in a glass bottle, with a wedge of lemon of course.

some days before i went to work if my tummy didn't feel too good, i would have a quick nip of scotch - this was purely medicinal.

the imperial even had its own staff doctor and most ailments of the stomach were diagnosed as dysentery, which was cured by some pills in a brown paper bag. (you can see why i took the scotch option). when you wiki dysentery, it paints a pretty crappy picture of what goes on in ones undercarriage.

when pay day rolled around, we would all head down to the engine room and wait to collect our cash,   which was stapled in a wad and handed over from a big suitcase.

my job was to manage the business centre and write a procedures book, along with some much needed streamlining of the processes that took place, and if you are familiar with india and it's quirks, then you can imagine there was probably a few.

it was a small team that worked in the business centre, and when i arrived, mr davinda was the self appointed manager. Well, that was until i came along and he took it upon himself to resign.  i think his feelings were hurt and he tendered his resignation as follows.

 

General Manager, Hotel Imperial, New Delhi
Under compelling circumstances i cannot continue my service. Pl accept my resignation we/ 15.4.2001.  I am sorry to create such like situation.
Thanking you. etc etc

Of course, it's never nice to think that anyone has to make a choice that they don't really want to, so six days later, he wanted his job back and presented a letter to the effect.

General Manager, The Imperial, Janpath, New Delhi
Sir
Due to upset and pressure on my mind, i have given my resignation.  Now i have re-organised the vessel of my mind i want to withdraw my resignation and want to continue my duties with same spirit as i was doing. Pl allow and forgive me for the shame.
Thanks, yours faithfully, Davinda

Well of course i was going to let him have his job back. It was India after all, where liberties can sometimes be taken, and upset and pressure of the mind can be forgiven.