Is your inability to say no holding you hostage to your calendar?

July 24, 2021 Melanie Hawken

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“Only once you give yourself permission to stop trying to do it all, to stop saying yes to everyone, can you make your highest contribution towards the things that really matter” - Greg McKeown

For many of us, turning down a request or invitation can be extremely difficult. One small word can trigger emotions in us like guilt and shame. Ultimately, we are scared that someone won’t like us or reject us because we said no. The reality is you need to maintain healthy boundaries. You cannot possibly say “yes” to every request and invitation that comes your way, and if you try to do that, you’ll only burn yourself out. If you haven’t already…

It’s never too late to reinvent your personal brand, here’s how….

June 6, 2021 Melanie Hawken

7 ways to create the best version of yourself...

I have coached and trained hundreds of people on personal branding and the number one question I get asked is: “Is it too late for me to reinvent my brand and change perceptions?” The good news is that it is never too late.

How to finally take the plunge into your courage zone

May 16, 2021 Melanie Hawken

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“As you move outside of your comfort zone, what was once the unknown and frightening becomes your new normal.” - Robin S. Sharma

If you want to start running, you aren’t going to put your hand up for a monster marathon. You’ll begin with some light jogging and build your way up slowly. When you want to get into a swimming pool, you tend to dip your toes in first to test the water. Even though you know it’s not the best strategy to get in so slowly, it still feels easier than taking the plunge and jumping in. Why not adopt the same approach when it comes to stepping out of your comfort zone?

It's never too late to reinvent your personal brand, here's how...

May 2, 2021 Melanie Hawken

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7 ways to create the best version of yourself...

I have coached and trained hundreds of people on personal branding and the number one question I get asked is… “Is it too late for me to reinvent my brand and change perceptions?”

Use the gift of hindsight to let go of the past and reframe your future

April 11, 2021 Melanie Hawken

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“If a problem can't be solved within the frame it was conceived, the solution lies in reframing the problem.” — Brian McGreevy

I started my career at an advertising agency at the age of 21 as an account executive. I was privileged to work on a luxury car brand as part of my first portfolio. A few months into my role, an international client was visiting from Germany and the agency needed to present some work rather urgently one Friday afternoon. My boss was unavailable so I took it upon myself to go through to the client’s office and present to this executive. The following day I get called into my MD’s office and asked me to explain why this client is so furious.

1 Choice + 2 simple words is all it takes to be successful

April 4, 2021 Melanie Hawken

“All overnight success takes about 10 years.” — Jeff Bezos

When you think about success, often it feels like it will come from one game changing decision or one significant event. Someone is finally going discover your talents or give you your big break. The problem with this way of thinking is that you are putting your happiness in the control of someone else’s hands, you are leaving your life up to external factors. When you keep waiting for things outside your influence to drive your sense of accomplishment, it tends to leave you despondent and feeling out of control. You are always future focused and this is where anxiety breeds so it’s definitely not a good strategy.

How to become the chief architect of your life

March 13, 2021 Melanie Hawken

“If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.” - Jim Rohn

If you had to design your ideal day from the moment you wake up to when you go to sleep - what does that look like? Some things to consider...

1 choice + 2 simple words is all it takes to be successful

February 28, 2021 Melanie Hawken

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“All overnight success takes about 10 years.” — Jeff Bezos

Compassion is your compass to happiness

February 21, 2021 Melanie Hawken

“Because one believes in oneself, one doesn’t try to convince others. Because one is content with oneself, one doesn’t need others’ approval. Because one accepts oneself, the whole world accepts him or her.” - Lao Tzu

The definition of compassion is “to recognize the suffering of others and then take action to help through acts of kindness”. The component of action is what separates compassion from empathy, sympathy, pity, concern, or any other compassion synonym. The difference is that compassion gets involved”.

How to beat Zoom fatigue

February 5, 2021 Melanie Hawken

“To do two things at once is to do neither” - Publilius Syrus

The spontaneous conversation in the passage has disappeared. Because you can’t just pop your head into someone’s office, you now need to set up a dedicated time in the day to chat to them. Multiply this across your team and numerous stakeholders and your day is a jam-packed calendar of virtual meetings.

How To Create Micro Wins In Your Life

January 17, 2021 Melanie Hawken

It's still possible to step into 2021 with confidence!

“The key to realizing a dream is to focus not on success but on significance – and then even the small steps and little victories along your path will take on greater meaning”- Oprah Winfrey

Are your lack of boundaries between work and life getting worse?

January 10, 2021 Melanie Hawken

“Your job isn’t to get people to like you but for you to like yourself” - RuPaul

In an article on CNBC.com, a survey showed that 69%, of employees are experiencing burnout symptoms while working from home. Despite work burnout, the majority (59%) are taking less time off than they normally would, and 42% of those still working from home are not planning to take any time off to decompress.

How to keep the promises you make to yourself

December 20, 2020 Melanie Hawken

Do the same goals seem to repeat themselves on your vision board, new year’s resolution list and annual birthday reflection session? Have you ever stopped to ask yourself why? What is holding you back from making progress? You may have put it down to a lack of willpower or motivation or some other self-defeating story that you now believe as fact.

6 unique ways to create a holiday mind-set without leaving your home

December 11, 2020 Melanie Hawken

“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes… Including you.”

– Anne Lamott

If you asked me what fuels my soul and brings me to my happy place – it’s travel. It isn’t just about arriving at the destination but everything that comes before it. The planning, the research and getting immersed in the culture. In the beginning of 2020, my husband and I had a very exciting trip planned to Italy in June to celebrate a cousin’s wedding in Florence. The kids were going to stay with their granny for the week; any parents reading this – you can understand the added bonus! I was dreaming about cooking courses, writing in Italian coffee shops on cobble stone pavements – you get the picture!

How To Tame The Inner Critic, Stop The Circling Thoughts And Own Your Headspace

November 22, 2020 Melanie Hawken

‘My mind is like a bad neighbourhood, I try not to go there alone.’

– Ann Lamott

We all experience the typical daily dose of circling thoughts – like a recorder going off in our heads reminding us of what needs to happen in the day from who needs what books for school to what projects and tasks need to get done for work.

4 actionable ways to end micro management and build trust with your team

November 15, 2020 Melanie Hawken

“The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them.”

— Ernest Hemingway

Working from home has brought up many challenges - the main one being a pandemic within the pandemic namely ‘performance anxiety’. It’s this need to be constantly on for dread of appearing like you aren’t doing what you need to. Never mind absenteeism, we have gone to the other extreme to overdo presenteeism.

Success leaves clues – but are you looking in the right place?

November 3, 2020 Melanie Hawken

Writing is my passion, but it wasn’t appearing in my calendar as regularly as I would have liked and I wanted to start dedicating a daily space for it. I looked to other professional authors on how they wrote their books and what tips of the trade I could implement. What do they know what I didn’t get the memo on?

5 ways you’re sabotaging yourself without uttering one word

October 31, 2020 Melanie Hawken

“All of us need to understand the importance of branding. We are CEOs of our own companies: Me Inc. To be in business today, our most important job is to be head marketer for the brand called You.” — Tom Peters

A brand is a promise and ultimately a sorting device. If I offered you two bottles of Cola, one being a no name brand and the other a bottle of Coca-Cola – naturally, you will go for the Coca-Cola.

A Letter To My Younger Self: 4 Questions I Wish I Knew Then…

October 14, 2020 Melanie Hawken

Words of wisdom & lessons I have learnt wrapped up in four simple questions…

5 Hacks To Truly Own Your Time

October 3, 2020 Melanie Hawken

“Slow down and everything you are chasing will come around and catch you.” – John De Paola

I’m sure at some point in your life, you have come across the dreaded ‘scope creep’. If you’ve ever done a building or renovation project, I’m quite sure things didn’t quite come in on the original budget. There was ‘just this’ one last thing that you hadn’t taken into consideration. Or a project at work had much more involved than you originally anticipated and left you scrambling to try and produce more for the same resources.

‘My mind is like a bad neighbourhood, I try not to go there alone.’

– Ann Lamott

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