I learnt so much from so many people who had put their Social Media knowledge to good use, the lifestyles that these people live are wealthy and not just wealthy in pocket, but wealthy of mind.  They help so many people ‘get it’ that I was envious, I wanted to help people in such a constructive and extra useful way.

I sat down and had a good, long think about where I could add value to the people who I met.  The best way for me to help would be to continue on the road of self-development and Social Media marketing and help the people who don’t understand to understand!

So when people groan about Twitter and Facebook and start telling me that they don’t have time for all that Facebook and Twitter stuff they are far too busy building up their business, I can help those people to understand what all the fuss is about, that would really be of value.  If I can persuade these folks that it’s not just people telling you what they have had for their dinner last night and there is a very valid point behind it all, the mystery would be solved and they would get the point and have access to a lot more people than they did before they got it.

With that step now taken I am changing what I do to help people in a very constructive way that they can go away and immediately use.  I offer support at all levels from the strategic planning through to the implementation.  100% helpful and very satisfying for me – bingo!

So may I introduce you to www.letstelleveryone.com  it’s the new me   My first venture is a workshop that will do what I have just described I will help people to get the point of social media.  It’s at 1pm on Weds 16th February 2011 at Hillside, Beeston Road, Leeds.  It will be 2 hours of getting your head round it all and grasping where you fit in and then 1 hour of networking with the people who are new to it too, a fabulous chance to ask loads of questions and to meet people in exactly the same boat as you.

There are  a limited number of seats and I will reward immediate action of booking on with an early bird price £20 if you book on or before Friday 4th February and £30 if you book after that, once the seats are all taken that’s it, as the supermarkets say when it’s gone it’s gone!  Drop me an email  amanda@letstelleveryone.com to reserve your place and I will send you payment details – easy as that.  New knowledge here we come.  Look forward to seeing you there.

Amanda

The old way is the personal networking, the buying of advertising space, the cold calling etc.  The new way is social media, not actually leaving your desk, but being in front of a computer and having the opportunity to connect to not thousands, but millions of people.  Don’t get me wrong I’m not saying log on and there they all are waiting for you, everything in business takes effort after all.  If you can get a grasp of both, my personal opinion is that you are going to crack it.

Another thing that I have learnt is that people, at this current time – call it recession, call it an economic downturn – don’t want to develop their minds, they want to stay afloat and keep paying the bills.  They want business to be a success, they want to have a holiday that perhaps they didn’t get to have this year.  With this in mind I have to update my business model, I have to move with the times.  I have to take what is important to me and combine it with what is important to the people who I meet.  If I truly want to help people, I have to offer them the help that they need and not the help I want to give them.

Another major point of learning for me is that it is great being in a classroom or at a conference venue getting hints and tips for having a very successful business - it is the putting it into practice that is the most important thing, with this in mind not only will I help people with strategies and step by step plans for their social media, I will do it for them!  If people don’t have the time to dedicate to something that they can’t grasp or don’t see the point of – why I go the whole hog and do it for them?  That is helping out in a way that people can value and appreciate.

They say that soap operas are popular as the content is predictable and that’s what people like dependable outcomes and easy to rely on storylines.  A major factor in the popularity of reality programmes is that they are there so that you can judge people.  Some of you may be experiencing a sharp intake of breath at the sheer outrage of that statement, but it is part of human nature to judge.  Some people can be nice and compassionate about it and others are just harsh and horrible as it makes them feel better, there are, of course, millions of people in between these two ends of the scale.

Another controversial opinion coming up – I think a lot of people who are scared to experience life for themselves love reality tv, as they can watch other people doing things and they don’t need move off their sofa that has turned into their comfort zone, or if you need more excitement in that sentence, their ‘extreme’ comfort zone! 

I’ve had clients where the comfort of sitting in their problem (with the tele on) is far easier than making a move to solve it, they have become accustomed to the misery of the situation that they find themselves in, in the cases I have worked with it was ‘no job’ and ‘ job I dislike’.  Sometimes when you get so far into a problem and then relax it’s more pain to get yourself out of it!  That’s where we all need help.  I’ve also seen clients where they have started to make the move, they have started to think about where they need to make the changes to banish their behinds from the sofa and what happens?  Family and friends have opinions about ‘You wanna do this’  ‘Oh no, you wanna do that’.  They mean well, but it’s what is right for them – not us!

We all need someone impartial, on our side, both ears open and ready to listen!  No opinions as to what we should do for the best.  We all know what’s good for us, sometimes we need belief in ourselves and then we can go for it.

Please let me know your opinions and if anything strikes a chord, please feel free to get in touch www.amandawalker.co.uk

Thanks for reading!

I suppose it isn’t a surprise to hear that these things happen, but it was eye-opening.  The BME groups (Black, Minority Ethnic) that are all contributing to the Leeds community really made me think about what actually happens in and around the streets that I merrily make my way through on a daily basis.  I go to different parts of Leeds without batting an eyelid as that is a normal day, but there are things going on to help and support people with their daily lives and I felt privileged to be a part of it, if just for one day.

This has inspired me to be a part of it for longer and why not?  Looking at my own immediate environment, I live in a street that must have at least 28 households and I know 6 of them, streets that I have lived in before I haven’t even known that many.  This got me to think about the groups that I am in, has that taken the place of the local community?  I look at networking, how many of the people who I meet there do I see outside of the networking environment?  Not many!  Knowing that it is a place for business to grow may seem like a separate entity to my personal or non-business life and that makes me wonder whether it should be separate.  If I was to know my street full of neighbours they may tell others what I do, this is in fact networking – can you see me scratching my head?

At what point did community split into business and pleasure?  At what point did we lose community?  Are there sections of community that are much more dedicated to community than I actually realise?  Do you know I think there are.  What do you think?

I’ve been struggling with a problem that involves a person, I’ve tried raising the problem during NLP training and now I’ve resorted to coaching and EFT and do you know what, after 3 years of struggling with this problem I may actually be making some sort of break through!  So what is it that has made me actually calm down?  It’s that age old thing of accepting responsibility of the feelings that I feel, acknowledging that actually I make myself feel like this, no-one else and to be honest – it smarts.  It’s so hard to admit that the problem is yours, it’s so easy to blame the other person or people. 

When you dislike someone and I mean really dislike someone, nothing that they do or say will ever measure up to your standards, so why bother comparing?  I’ve done this for 3 long years and each time I’ve known the answer, they are never going to win and the sad thing is that the battle takes place in my head!  When someone will never see what you do as the right thing and you will never see anything that they do as an action a human should be taking (:->) why make it harder for yourself by allowing your thoughts to be taken over, to be hijacked by the demons that want to make you feel bad, you might not be saying bad things about yourself, always good, but saying them about other people still makes you feel pretty manky.

So all in all, what have I learnt and what do I need to keep reminding myself of?

1. The only person getting hurt in this invisible battle is me
2. If someone is never going to reach your standards and expectations – why keep on thinking about it?  Accept it and think about something nicer instead
3. If you have a box of tricks or a stash of resources to help you in difficult times, other people may have different tricks, some very unlucky people may have no tricks at all
4. The person that annoys you may be doing the best that they can with their resources

Now the realisation of number 4 shocked me, this person that doesn’t meet any of my standards is trying their best?  Really?  Are you sure?  Is it fair to say that they are not as intelligent as me, is that big headed?  Can I say that, am I being nasty again?  Is it fair to say that they would have certain subject area’s that they think I would do poorly in, as I have no interest, but it is their favourite thing?  Oh yes, and that is the conscious breaker, there are things that the person I dislike would say that I am really poor about, and that makes me giggle as it is very important in their life and reallly not in mine.  So does this mean that the things that are really important to me don’t matter to them – why of course, that is the very thing that makes us completely and utterly different!!!  Ahhh the revelation is clear to me. 

It doesn’t make it easier every minute of the day, but oh boy does it take the sting out, I have to work at it still and it gets easier, I am only human and so are the people in this world that cross my path.

The lovely, well-mannered, pleasant tongued youth that stroll down my road at around 3.30pm each day don’t exist, instead I have some orange looking youngsters that can do nothing but swear and say pretty horrendous things to one another.  Is it me approaching a certain age?  Do I have some insanely high standards when I speak to people that no longer exist?  Is it the norm to call one of your pals the worst names you can?  It is no wonder to me that some people suffer from low self-esteem problems when they can’t even rely on the people that they refer to as pals to say nice things or be on their side, who do they actually turn to for this?

I compare them to my dog, she knows a lot about emotional intelligence, she has even taught me a few things that I really appreciate.  Vida, my Staffordshire Bull Terrier is incredibly loyal, she does not want to put me down, she wants to see me as happy as possible, whenever I arrive home she runs to greet me and showers me with affection and I do the same for her, she does everything that she can with so much enthusiasm I often check the label of her food to see if I can eat it.  When I am upset she sits with me and lets me know that she is there for me.

I think the teenagers from round my way could do with her as a teacher or a coach to help them through their tough teenage years, I think positivity would help a lot more than slating each other.

What do you think?  Please feel free to leave me your comments, as long as they aren’t rude!

Another great learning is that all this learning is all well and totally good, what use is it if you don’t take action? What meaning does that learning have if you don’t put plans in place? Nothing, absolutely nothing, if you learn and don’t do you may as well not be there, may as well stay in bed, may as well not achieve. That’s not me, somebody has taken the time and trouble to let me know the important bits of what they know and I intend to thank them by using it.

I intend to radiate positivity and if I am extremely lucky and chose my opportunites wisely, I will be able to teach someone something about what I have learnt and they can take action too. Imagine if this process went on and on, how many positive and action orientated people would there be?

1. Professional website by end Jan
2. Complete Personal Development Diploma by 28 Feb
3. Paying clients starting March
4. Write workshop and ask for feedback from relevant people Mid March
5. Become Networking monster! A nice monster of course!

Now they are in black and white and available for all to see they are more concrete and I am more accountable – dare you write yours for all to see?

Happy New Year and all the very best for 2010

Amanda

It is now 16 December and my learning curve has been a steep one, not only learning and practising coaching, also learning how to run a business, how to market yourself, needing a brand – there is oh so much to think about and oh so much to do. Do you know what? I love it! There is nothing more satisfying than learning new skills and putting them into action. I’m not at the stage of paying client yet, I soon will be and I can hardly wait.