#ladyval

I say this because as you already know, nostalgia is my favorite couple and I have seen a lot of hatred towards them with the last act or extra that has come out, it made me a little sad, nostalgia has had several bad moments as well as good moments and although it is true that they are not the best couple and everything around them is not pink and love and beautiful things, I feel that his development is very good, Onodera is a very realistic character and if he has not confessed it is because, as he said before, he has fear about the future, he is thinking what could happen, what will happen with his family, work, his life with Takano in the future so it makes me a little sad to see that they say that Ritsu is stressful for not confessing, both have already reached a point where they already want a stable relationship, look beyond what it is and analyze the development that the characters have had, this development is very beautiful and needs more recognition.

Last week I had the pleasure of attending a networking lunch in London, run by the amazing Lady Val Corbett. I met Lady Val through my very dear friend Lindy Weinreb. Lindy & I headed to the lunch together, first time for us both and what an inspiring afternoon it was. 

I must admit to having been a bit dismissive of networking in the past, a combination of the pressure of having to talk about myself and my work and not really feeling that I was actually getting anything out of it. Saying that, I’ve never not got some sort of work out of the meetings I have been too. I guess it’s a case of just finding the right group for you.

One of the things I found so positive about this group was the fact that I dragged myself out of my little comfort zone and ventured to the city rather than staying local. It was this that made the experience so much better for me. I think stepping out of something you are too familiar with and placing yourself in a situation that you wouldn’t normally entertain, helps to open your eyes just that little bit more and challenge your confidence levels - not always an easy thing to do, but sometimes a valuable life lesson.

The meeting kicked off with chatting to the other attendees. Lady Val’s mantra for this was to think and say - “What can I do for you?”. Introduce yourself as the role you play in your business, tell your listener what sort of businesses you work for and with, the type of work you do and how you could do the same for them. This was probably the easiest networking I’ve ever done and the reason was I didn’t have to prepare a 60 second or 10 minute speech and stand up in front of the whole room. That’s not my forte, nor one of my strengths. However, I can do that 60 seconds one-to-one! That simple difference is what totally diminished the terrifying idea of what networking has always been to me.

The afternoon included two remarkable speakers - Jules Chappell OBE the youngest ever female British Ambassador & our workshop leader Rebecca Stephens MBE, the first British women to climb Mount Everest and the seven summits. The calibre of guest speakers was certainly more than I expected, in fact I was somewhat humbled to be in their company.  The camaraderie amongst all in attendance was such a positive experience for me. Maybe I’ve finally found my networking niche. I can’t wait until the next one. Thanks Lady Val and all your lovely networking women. I’m truly inspired and ready to embrace the next stage of my business life with vigour, enthusiasm and action!

darkfae-xiv said: Ahem. SCREENSHOTS OR IT NEVER HAPPENED! *coughs*

-Coughs- Ahem hem! I present to you, a pretty~