37 years ago, today I started my own business… I joined the ranks of the “Self-employed” – The Brave Entrepreneurs - The Mavericks - Pretty fluffing amazing! As my friends in Jamaica would say “Big Up Yourself”

In the seventies and from my working-class background no one told girls at school they could have a meaningful lifelong career, still less run their own business… My advice to young women wanting to start their own business today with all the fantastic global tools at their fingertips and drawing from my funny, amazing, harsh, brutal yet brilliantly rewarding career journey (No regrets whatsoever by the way) would be – Dream very fluffing big, anything is possible, you don’t get there on the first class train in the early days, however you will arrive at your destination and it will feel fantastic... Never sell yourself down the river, know your worth- even when you don’t have a £ in your bank account, go for it, plenty will want to exploit you, make you feel less than the amazing unique creative person you are. Be clear on what your offering, never lose sight or focus on your “why” who you are and what your business (you aim to achieve) Ride the storms, there will be many, lick your wounds, go within when you need to, ask yourself the questions and don’t allow yourself to be defeated, sometimes we can be our own worst critic. There is no such thing as a mistake. Every decision you make is a learning experience, and the only real mistake you can make is not to try in the first place or be defined and kill yourself (mentally) over your perceived failures (sometimes these so called failures can take you down and I mean really take you down) the light at the end of the tunnel goes so close to being out that in your mind that’s it, your crap, you totally doubt yourself, spiral into periods of awfulizing “I am not good enough, look what I did wrong blar, blar, blar” Fluff it get back in the fluffing saddle girl! At least you had the balls to own your own businesses – you went for it; you took that big risk in the first place. Learn from these experiences and don’t stay down for long, if you do it’s so much harder to come out from under that cloud, get your ass up and get back out there. Tap into that goddess intuition which is there just wanting to support you every step of the way, to help you, guide you. Don’t wait for the right moment to start. As Richard Branson says “Screw it just do it” The longer you wait the harder it becomes to start. If circumstances prohibit you from starting, then do something towards that start. (This applies to starting your business or coming back from a SETBACK)

Next year I celebrate 40 years in the Spa & Wellness Industry. It seems like only yesterday, I still feel that optimism, passion and joyfulness (and adrenalin rush) that absolute self-belief I had back then. I think that’s the marker for a career, taking risks and going for it as - A well-made decision. No excuses – Screw it just do it!

Energetically - Spring & Autumn are my favourite seasons. Both gift us with very clear unmistakable vibrations and ancient messages. The powerful pull at these times connect us with our relationship to the environment around us and our path, our purpose in life. They are dynamic seasons which have a powerful effect on almost everyone. For me, the months of March & September signify the feeling of “anything is possible” - they are big months of change, when the seasons transition. September’s transition is from Summer to Autumn. On Tuesday 22nd September we celebrate the Autumn Equinox a brilliant Pagan festival, when the sun crosses the Earth's equator from North to South, this only happens twice a year and I passionately celebrate all the Pagan festivals! I have been known to wear white and walk into the ocean and float flowers on the sea under the soft glow of the moon as the women do in South America to celebrate this time by offering gifts to the great Goddess, mother nature, who, at this time is beginning her decent from Earth into the deeper depths of the underworld. This is a purging, cleaning time when it’s good to decide what we want from life and what we don’t! The equinox marks the time when daylight and night time are approximately the same length, there is a spiritual shift and you can totally feel it. When day and night are at their most equal, the feeling is tangible... I am already working with that powerful balance today (1st September) The smell of Autumn is in the air and there is something reassuring and very persuasive about that. September, like March, always has that effect on me – “A call to action”. After the year we have all been through, lockdown, unprecedented upheaval, juggling all our emotions, loss, work/business issues, out of work, family, finances, loss of identity, and experiencing fear in every area over our present & future, balance is something we all need right now.

It might be reassuring to think about it this way. Remember, how as a child/teenager/student/parent, your year began in September with the return to school after the long summer break? (Admittedly - 2020’s break has gone on for a long, long time!) You felt excited, it was seen as a time of organisation, of preparing for the future, a time of a higher level of organisation, decluttering, full on business, timetables, time management, the urge/need to "learn something/do something new". I love the back to school, new academic year vibe... Everything about it is a prompt for letting go for change, for renewal. The activity in the fields is busy, the farmers are flying around country lanes (sometimes scarily) in their tractors, busy sorting out the fields, harvesting and getting ready to sow their winter crops. It's a dynamic season which has a powerful effect on almost everyone. Back to school, back to work, back to reality, back to what we want, back to whats really important... Covid is not going to take away whats important to us. Now more than ever we will have a real sense of what that is, what is really important, what really matters to us. We can use this natural time to let go, to cleanse, purge, declutter and decide what we want from life and what we don't. There is so much about 2020 that we need to let go of, so much fear and pain, however there is also much to be thankful for and there is so much to plan for. Nothing stays the same in nature, therefore we can hardly expect ourselves to be the same month after month, year after year. I hope the world will have matured and grown after this year of Covid. I hope we will seek new ways of caring, of kindness, with different goals in place to move forward with integrity. We cannot stop or turn back the clock; we need the constant flux & flow so we don’t stagnate, but we can learn. When the flow is vibrant, healthy and in balance, we move forward in a beautiful way and the world becomes quite literally, an amazing place. Happy September x

37 Years Ago - 5th September 1983

SEPTEMBER 2020