Inspired to Try

I have always been a great believer in setting myself challenges – I just can’t help it. Seeing how many Mars Bars I could eat without throwing up, how many times I could jump over a stream without getting my feet wet and so on, and I’ve always been able to measure improvement.

My last sense of total positivity and improvement was being part of the team that created our International Women’s Day Event. It was exciting, creative and produced loads of money and opportunity for all sponsors to benefit. Even the flowers donated to decorate our tables were collected to go to Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital so they could be given to their Mums next day for Mother’s Day. It was a ‘feel the love’ day and we all felt the vibe.

Afterwards we were all on a great high and needed time together to celebrate our success. We weren’t ready to go home.  The Day had gone like lightening after the lengthy days of preparation. The guests came and went within four hours (well a few joined us in the evening celebrations!), I managed to down two pints of lager with the encouragement of the table-drumming consultants and it was really great. And then it was all over. It was a bit like how they say Olympic Games Gold medallists feel after their achievement – what else is there left to do in their lives that is going to give them anything like the same buzz? Have they peaked and the rest of their lives will be, by contrast, mundane, pedestrian?

Our IWD Lunch was a day of listening to inspirational women who have put themselves out there to succeed or fail; former Captain of the England Women’s Rugby Team, Catherine Spencer with 63 caps, has had to climb mountains since her retirement and build a new company from scratch. 

Elizabeth Hartley-Brewer directed her hard lessons in life to writing books on child rearing for parents and teachers, to spread the word on best practice across continents in twelve languages. Jo Elvin is steering herself through the print revolution to survive the tough world of publishing. And Margaret Heffernan with her legendary insight observed and analysed for us the need to find our own identity and voice in our personal and business lives of change and the turbulence that brings.

So these are my questions for you. You heard it on the day. What are you doing differently since that day?  In what way have you changed or modified your decisions or behaviour to improve your life or situation or that of another? Are you putting yourself through the wringer, like me and doing something that is hard to do but you feel is necessary. Or is the truth – no change - not yet? 

And now it is time for my big admission that I very nearly told you about on the big Day …..  drum roll …. wait for it – I am doing something for the first time -  I have never done it before and it is terrifying. I am writing a BOOK. There, now it is out there so I’ve got to go on with it. And I keep getting stuck with terrible thoughts like – who is going to want to read about how I got started? Will you want to hear tales of the weird, wonderful, secret world of interviews behind closed doors? Or read of the lives of women I have interviewed over the past 40 years? Or marvel at the revelations of Bosses with attitudes and egos - the good the bad and the just plain ugly?

So my BIG question to you is – (and your response will be a life changer for me – relieve me of a task or drive me on my way - either will make me very happy) – if I write this flipping book – will any of you want to read it? 

Your answer might help inspire me to finish it.

www.angelamortimer.com