It's a New Dawn, It's a New Day [Issue #13]

It’s a New Dawn, It’s a New Day

Greetings readers, I hope our first newsletter of the year finds you well, healthy and in great spirits!

We’re well into January and hope you’ve eased your way into this new year, one step at a time and ready to take on your goals.

I speak of goals often, but never quite share what they are – audaciously, this way I achieve them. To me, goals are personal. I keep them simple and realistic. They’re for you, your growth and wellbeing. It’s about the person you were yesterday, who you are today and who you want to be / what you want to be doing in life. They provide a sense of direction, even when moving with the flow, they’re always on the back of your mind. So if something doesn’t make sense for you on your path, it’s easy to let it go or move in different direction. Goals also provide a good framework for simply getting stuff done.

In the context of iEMPOW3R, the goal is integrity. We want to do right by people we work with, people from all backgrounds / shapes / colour / size, those who participate in our projects, who we speak with in communities or at events, who invest in us through knowledge share or donations, people who look to iEMPOW3R to deliver on its promises. Don’t get me wrong, there have been times where ideas didn’t materialise or projects didn’t go as planned, and in times like these, we’ll continue to keep integrity and accountability at the heart of what we do.

As we take on this new year, we look forward to continuing our goals.

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iWrite Creative Writing Competition

Our 2022 competition is now complete, with prizes out to participants last week. This brings our third writing competition to a close since starting late September 2020.

Thinking about our competition posters and some of the funniest conversations whilst sharing them – shop keeper asking if he was allowed to take part, at another shop saying he needed to read the contents line by line before sharing it with others (see, integrity!), wide-eyed children with their parents excited about winning an Amazon tablet for their writing, some children boasting of their writing achievements in school, some asking for another poster for their friends.

The time spent in communities on this project in September and October last year was truly such a fulfilling experience.

Keep Learning

I’m often asked about best routes into careers or gaining knowledge in readiness to join a certain profession. My approach has always been to leverage the internet as much as possible in the first instance – thought leaders delivering keynote speeches on YouTube, free courses or events online, connecting with people in the field you’d like to learn more about or learn from, have open discussions in your day-to-day lives with friends, family, classmates or colleagues.

The interesting thing I’ve found over the years whilst working, is you never know what other hobbies, interests or knowledge your colleagues have – these make for really great and enlightening conversations. Learning from others experiences and knowledge gained through education or work is also another great source.

Coursera and Future Learn are two websites that I’ve personally found useful for general education on universal topics, the PMI for project management, LinkedIn events for industry knowledge share, Eventbrite for online and in-person professional events.

If you’re clear about the subject matter you’re interested in or profession you’d like to enter, you can never go wrong with a simple Google search and let the world of knowledge open itself to you.

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iEMPOW3R on YouTube

For fun, I like to learn new things. And in doing so, I try my best to summarise what I’ve learnt with others. If you’ve not checked out some of our short videos on YouTube, there’s no time like the present. We’ve covered topics such as project management, mental health and wellbeing, blockchain technology, and careers, with lots more topics on the way – you can keep updated on new content by subscribing to our channel!

https://www.youtube.com/@iempow3r/videos

iGEN Project

At iEMPOW3R, we believe the best education is learning from experience. We aim to help share these learnings with young people who are embarking in their academic and work lives. We hope to empower them with meaningful information, on the variety of options available to them.

Whether it’s a career in Legal, Finance, Analytics or any other Tech background, Business, Advocacy or Politics, Health and Wellbeing, or a career in Education - we look forward to spotlighting some incredible people making great strides in their lives and careers.

Check out our #iGEN project people spotlights so far, we’re coming back with more and will keep you updated as they release: https://www.iempow3r.com/igen

Supermarket Vouchers

We know these are incredibly difficult times for many and are trying to do our bit to support others and families where possible. Having recently donated ￡500 to a local food bank, we’re also providing access to supermarket shopping vouchers to families in urgent need. Vouchers can be accessed by filling a short form through our website’s homepage www.iempow3r.com If you know of someone who will benefit from this initiative, please do let them know.

Be Inspired

Through this work and over the years, I regularly come across so many people who inspire me. We all do what we do for very different reasons. Some feel a sense of fulfilment giving back because they started from humble beginnings, others see it as a ‘calling’ to serve others who need support the most, some come from a background of community leaders, for others it may be faith-based or simply just a good thing to do – whatever the ‘why’, we can be proud to know humanity will always prevail in hard times.

Some have asked how they can get involved in charity or community work. The cause you’re interested in or support, look it up online and I guarantee there will be a sea of organisations and charities looking for helpful and caring volunteers like you. Many have options to donate, volunteer for specific projects, be employed by them via vacancies, or contacting them via email to see how you can support their work. If you’re interested in helping people directly, mentoring young people or dedicating time with the elderly is a great place to start.

Back to Work...

Until next time wonderful people, keep going, stay inspired, keep your focus, be good, do good, and stay fabulously yourselves!

BUILD, UPLIFT, MOTIVATE, EMPOW3R!