01 Jul Results don’t equal your self worth!

I’ve always been a bit of a story teller. When I was young I would write down tales, diary notes, my thoughts on the world. It was my way of having a voice without actually having to vocalise anything.

Nowadays, as a business owner and official grown-up (most of the time!), I’ve grown in confidence and learnt that while some stories are wonderful to read, others need to be told. An opinion only matters when it’s worth something either to the person saying it or the one hearing it. So if you have something worth saying, make sure you put it out there.

When another person has an opinion about you, there are times it can feel like a fact. In school, I was never the smart kid or the popular one. In fact, I’ll let you in on a little secret I was bullied through most of primary and early secondary school. The few people I’ve told that to never believe me because of where I am in my life now. I was scared of everything and with a helicopter parent, I never really had to take many risks so I lived in my little safety net always saying no to opportunities.

I remember the day I had a time slot to meet with the school’s career advisor. I recall the shape of the room, the layout, the furniture and where I sat facing her behind her desk. It was half a lifetime ago and yet I can remember it so vividly. I said I wanted to be a teacher, and after barely even a beat, she responded, “Perhaps consider nursery nursing.” Neither job is harder or less important than the other, but that wasn’t the point I hadn’t expressed any interest in nursery nursing before and she was ignoring my choice.

I knew then she didn’t think I had the required leadership skills to work with older children. I was only 16years old and my future potential was being decided for me.  I’d just got an A in my English exams and passed all seven standard grades.

However, I did get a D in Computing, and my parents had hired a math tutor to get me through my exam which I did. Throughout school, I excelled in the subjects I loved and felt useless in others. Two years later, I managed to pass all of my higher exams with decent enough grades, left school and went to college.

I had no clue what I wanted to do as a career.

I studied a bunch of subjects like Psychology and Economics. Of course, being a millennial I wasn’t alone in that and new jobs are being created all the time. I found myself in college, and I don’t mean in a spiritual or cult-way, I gained confidence and learned how to stand up for myself. So, I decided to do make a bucket list and apply for a job overseas. Every single person in my life had an opinion and told me I’d be back home within 2weeks but this time I wasn’t listening.

I worked the entire season and even began ticking off that list which eventually inspired the charity work and volunteering I do now as part of my business. When I got home, I applied to university to study Business Management which I thankfully passed and then went on to do a course in Creative Writing. In between, I accepted several jobs which took me to the Balearics and mainland Spain, and I volunteered in an orphanage in Romania. In 2012, I quit a decent paying 9-5 in sales and went on on a sabbatical travelling to Hong Kong and South Africa.

I came home with an idea for a business (and a manuscript for a novel!)

I launched MakeMeASuccess copywriting business, that expanded to include business coaching – Haute Copy & Couture Coaching. In 2014, I published my first novel and now currently working on a YA trilogy and a non-fiction business book. That grade I got in computing didn’t stop me from building my first website, teaching myself basic coding, or learning how to create visuals for my social media. I may not have been teacher material at 16, but nowadays, I’m coaching entrepreneurs one-on-one and in group workshops. And I’m a volunteer Teen Mentor working with the charity Move On. I don’t say any of these things to boast, I say them because I hope it will show you that education comes in many forms, and the only opinion that will decide if you fail or succeed is your own.

One of my proudest achievements recently is I’ve been invited back to my old high school to give a talk to pupils and students during career’s week. I’m planning on telling them my story in the hope it will inspire some of them.I hope you’ll do the same, you never know who might need to hear yours…