April Fools' Day

Who knew that when I went to bed on this evening a year ago that I'd be waking up with an idea that would totally change the course of my life, my business and my network. 

It has been an incredible year and I would never have been able to foresee it, and yes, I see the irony in that my strap line is 'Have a Purpose. Have a Plan. Focus on WHY'. Part of having that as my strap line was cathartic, to guide me, and what it has also done is help me to create an incredible ripple effect. I had no idea this was going to happen when I went to sleep on March 31st 2020. 

It was in response to one business closing. One door closed and, oh my goodness, how many doors have opened since then? I cannot count. So, I just want to say very simply that, when you think that one door is closed, that often, it could be for a reason and a really good reason at that.

You may not see it straightaway. I didn’t. You may not know why and it may feel very dark. You may feel very lonely. You may feel really vulnerable or that everyone's against you and that things aren't going the right way. I felt like this. But when you just stop and take a few breaths to regather, regroup and reset and look to see where it is that you really want to go, what you really want to have, who you really want to be and what you really want to do, and when you 'Have a Purpose, Have a Plan, Focus on WHY', then, as the saying goes, the world is truly your oyster.

This time last year, my husband had Covid, schools were closed and the kids and I were doing Joe Wicks every morning. We had been in lockdown for just over a week and my business had just unexpectedly fallen by the wayside. I was trying to think about what it was I wanted to do. I reached out to handful of friends to try to get inspiration and support but I knew deep down that it was time for me to forge my own way and do it alone, do it in the way that I truly wanted to. 

These were really very strange times and I wasn't prepared for it. In fact, nobody was really prepared for what was to come. We didn't think that it was going to affect us. China was so far away. How wrong we all were! 

Carrying on crafting and honing my messaging, I was still wrangling with what business to create. I changed my LinkedIn profile about 100 times a day. Do I go one way or do I go another way? I just trusted that eventually something would come and it did. I woke up with the idea on April Fools’ Day. It sounds strange but Focus on WHY just came to me that morning and I don't know how. 

A new door beckoned and I knew I’d be stronger for it. I spent the next day, designing my logo on Canva knowing that when something is right, it just flows. I often talk about being in flow and I knew I was in flow as soon as I started. I believed that this idea had the potential to go big, the potential to go viral. Well, it hasn't quite gone viral yet, but it has gone bigger than I was expecting as the podcast, Focus on WHY, is now in 81 countries.

My message for anyone out there who is going through a really tough time is to trust in yourself and believe in yourself. Don't feel as though you're on your own though. Reach out to people who you know will support you, who have got your back and take it from there. When I thought that everything was over and I had anxiety, uncertainty, disappointment and anger that things weren't working my way, I turned all of that negative emotion into positive energy and directed it into a space where my superpowers could direct them, taking responsibility, taking control and taking action.

I'd done it before in other areas. This was just the next thing. This was just what I needed to do. It was the right time. It was simply recognising existing skills I had and forging them to carve my own path. Essentially, all the world was on a global reset and now was my time to do my thing. 

I'd been stuck in my own shadow for too long. It was time to move on. Everything that had come to this point had served me in one way or another. I was capable of doing so much more. I had to believe that. So, just when I thought that things were over and in one way they were, it was actually a good thing. People around me helped me to see that what I had to offer was of value to others. All I needed to do was sort out the finer details and hone my message.

Sometimes April Fools’ Day is not a joke or a hoax and 1st April 2020 has proven to be the best April Fools’ Day of my life because what I have gone on to achieve since last year has been just incredible. Tomorrow, I will be celebrating April Fools’ Day! How about you?

Follow your dreams. They can come true but only if you take action. Go for it!