I read a report in the paper the other day that the British are guaranteed a long, hot Summer.  Get the barbeques ready and the sunglasses out.  Who needs to fly abroad anyway?  This way you get to beat the ash.  So, what holiday plans have you got for this summer (or winter if you’re in Oz)?  Please do share the exciting ones with us – it always gives me ideas for my next vacation!

In a few days, Greg and I are flying out to Antibes in the South of France.  It’s not technically a holiday because we’ll still be working out there but it still gives us a chance to dine out on all that yummy French food.  Isn’t French food just the best?  I just love the way the French practically build their whole day around their meals.  I like that they place this at the centre of their existence.  It says something about how healthy they are – rather than placing their lives around their workload.

Holidays aren’t just an annual event are they?  In our business we permanently aim for the relaxed edge that holidays give us.  What you get out of holidays – the time to unwind and relax and get the work/life balance into perspective – we try to strive for everyday.  How can you bring the holiday into your work-life?  It’s actually more productive than you think….

Think about it this week as you soak in the sun in your lunch-break.

My Mum has 3 Golden Rules.  I’m sure she’d never be able to teach them to you – but they are things I’ve noticed over the years that apply as well to business as they do to mothering.

1. Never show up to a party empty handed.

It’s polite, thoughtful and just good form to take a bottle of wine, flowers or a gift of some sort.

Similarly in business, if someone has given you the gift of their time to help you out in business – what can you give them to say thanks?

2. Happiness is more important than financial reward. 

My Mum never expressed too much concern when I wanted to leave medicine and become an actress.  She continues to support me no matter what I want to do, as long as I’m happy. 

I think we should all “mother” ourselves in this way in business.  Take your own happiness “temperature”.  Are you still happy doing what you’re doing? If not, perhaps you should nurture and support yourself and let yourself do something you enjoy for a while. (Who knows it might make you more money like mine did!)

3. Relationships first.

No matter what happens, or what someone does or doesn’t do – the most important thing is to maintain the relationship.  If there is love and trust in the relationship people will be empowered to make the right choices.  There’s no room for judgment. 

I notice this holds true with dealing with staff.  People don’t come to work to do a bad job.  If you empower people, and love them enough, they are more likely to achieve than if you berate them.

As I write this I think I could write a million things I learned from my Mum that impact my business, but 3 will do for today.  What did you learn from your Mum?  Was is it empowering?  If not, turn it around – there’s some great life lessons in there if you look.

Thanks Mum.

It’s all about London this week.  At one point last week I thought I’d never get to say that…  But on Monday, Greg and I safely touched down upon English soil and boy are we relieved.  We always feel comfortable coming back to the UK and we’ve settled nicely into our new house.  Plus I have to say, the springtime weather is just gorgeous….. blue skies and sunshine!   

We’ve got lots of lovely plans for whilst we’re here – and most of them revolve around catching up with you!  If you haven’t already heard, I’m doing a special complimentary webinar for all you British entrepreneurs on the 29th, I’m at Mark Anastasi’s Social Media Summit event this weekend and then of course, I get to see you at my very special “Presentation Secrets” event on May 7th and 8th.   So, I’m hoping plenty of time for us to catch up and connect in person.

There’s so many things to do in London (which is why we love it so much) but unfortunately we missed one of the highlights of the year – the London Marathon. But whilst we were up in the sky our Hannah was pounding the streets.  She got to the finish line in an impressive 5:22:34.  But more impressively she’s raised nearly £2000 for charity!

You have to be careful what you wish for!

Last week, after an incredibly successful round of Shift presentation Secrets evets (or 1-day Intro events) around Australia- the 3-day intensive training (Presentation PROFITS) Sold Out!  That’s right, with 130 people in the room we absolutely could not fit another soul in!  Which was great news for me but no so great for the dozens of people waiting on the waiting list to be called in case someone decided to roll over to next year!

But the collective prayers of these Aussies seem to have been heard!  Much to the upset of my staff.  Let me explain…

The venue we had booked for our event, called us up and said “we’ve put you in another room- its about the same size, you won’t mind will you?”  Mind?!  I think they thought our event was a quiet sit down affair where everyone would squeeze in and not move for the whole day.

They obviously didn’t recognise that a Shift Training is interactive, full of exercises and lots of loud music!

We flew Tam to Melbourne to pore over floor plans and measure chairs, but no matter how we shook it, their change had meant we wouldn’t even fit the 130 people in any more.  Grrrrrrrr!

So thankfully the great people at CQ venues in Queen St have come to our rescue- with a lovely big room.  Which was lucky really considering EVERY OTHER VENUE  in Melbourne was booked out that weekend! Ahhhh- the joys of running events.

The problem is now 130 people (ourselves included) have to re-organize our selves into a new venue  (did I mention Grrr?).

But the good news is for those people who simply couldn’t wait another year- like Christine- they don’t have to.  You see the room at QC is bigger – so we could COMFORTABLY fit in another few profit-minded souls.

At today’s count there’s another 11 places still available.  So if you’re keen to get to this year’s event check it out here:

Shift Presentation Profits with Dr Joanna Martin

The moral of this story- never underestimate the prayers and affirmations of a few like-minded individuals to wreak havoc on otherwise perfectly laid plans!

Love Jo!

Hi!

What an extraordinary week! Greg and I were commenting a couple of day ago how we feel we’ve had a proper holiday.  I guess that’s what you get when you throw two mums and two kids in a car and tour around England.  It’s been so fun and I feel like I’ve learned SO MUCH.  English history is so interesting.  Greg and I nearly have the lineage of the monarchy sorted.  Although for the life of us we can’t figure out why Victoria, the daughter of the 4th son in line to the throne became Queen- were there really no male heirs before her?  What happened to the Y chromosomes in that generation?! 

What’s more- I think I have eaten chips in every pub outside London and my expert opinion tells me there is great variety in the quality of the humble chip!  (Hopefully my waistline does not reflect that!)

This last week with “MUMS ON TOUR 09″ we’ve been to: Devon- where we visited my old stomping ground, site of my first job in England 14 years ago, Lynmouth; Bath; the Cotswolds; Stratford-upon-Avon (for those of you who know how much of a Shakespeare fan I am, you’ll understand how cool that was); Oxford and Henley!

The Mums are worn out and had a day off with some shopping today while I sat here in Starbucks and wrote this blog post for you.

Other exciting things this week- this Saturday is our first “Presentation Secrets” event in London.  It’s all sold out. But we still have a few tickets left for next weekend…  Everyone who’s attending can sleep rest assured that they will be getting a well holidayed, very focussed Joey this weekend!

And finally last Wednesday I was grateful to have the opportunity to speak at the London “Yes group” which was loads of fun.  Make sure you check out the Speaker training blog: www.shiftspeakertraining.com/blog and subscribe to my youtube channel: www.youtube.com/drjoannamartin for more in detail public speaking training.

Cheers,

Joey