Her Bold Universe

Last week I had a breakfast meeting with one of my mentors, and I thought I’d give you a bit of “behind the scenes” about how I’m building my own career.

I prepared for the meeting by journalling on where I was at with everything so that I could show up focused, present and articulate. I also revisited notes from previous mentoring catch ups, so that I can build upon what my mentor is sharing with me. This helps me to get clear on what I want, my aspirations and the current challenges I am facing so that we can dive right into the heart of the conversations from get go.

By the way, my mentoring conversations are never all about me. I don’t want them to be, either. I love to hear about how my mentors are going, how their work is progressing, and what they are thinking about. It’s invaluable insight into potential career paths and also to expand my thinking and learn more about the industry I’m in.

I sometimes hear of people with no mentors at all - either they don’t feel empowered to seek a mentor, or they are too busy. My experience shows me that it is invaluable to have one mentor, and it’s even better to have multiple mentors with different backgrounds who can provide you with a range of perspectives.

I left breaky feeling excited and energised, and for me that is so important. I also have some homework to do, which also useful. Continuing momentum and my trajectory of growth is important to me, so I love having those little actionable bits of advice out of a meeting.

If there is only one quote that I could keep forever, it would be this one.

I first came across it in Brené Brown’s book Daring Greatly, and ever since it has been a passage that I have returned to, again and again.

Fear of criticism and failure are obstacles that I have to overcome, again and again. But the energy and the essence of this quote help me remember that my truth is more than the fear; my truth is that I want to make a positive difference and I want to strive in the pursuit of worthy endeavours.

Do you have any quotes that inspire and energise you?

Energy is contagious ✨ ✨ ✨

The start of the year is a great time to refresh your annual goals. If that’s you, here are a few thoughts to help you.

Vision, goals, planning and the journey - they all have a part to play. A goal gives direction for that journey and a way to plan and measure the steps forward.

Goals are a tool you can make work for you.

Happy New Year!!

I love welcoming in a new year and spending time in meaningful reflection. Although I have not set any “resolutions”, and my goals are set, I like the time to think deep about how I want to show up and the values I want to embody.

Wishing you all a year full joy, meaningful growth and happiness 🥂 🎉 💫

✨ the evolution of Her Bold Universe ✨

In 2017, I started a blog called Her Bold Universe. It was a way to share my experiences and to - hopefully - help others in their careers. Writing a weekly blog was fun, and I enjoyed the process.

Five years on, I have grown significantly in my career, developed my perspective, and learned about what I care about and what I want to contribute towards. After a break from writing to focus on a wedding and purchasing our first house, I realised something. **It’s time for Her Bold Universe to evolve as well.**

I’m as passionate as ever about empowering people in their careers and helping them see themselves as leaders. I’m just as energised by the power of STEM and creativity to solve the global crises we face.

So I want to work at the intersection of the two.

My vision is to empower emerging leaders in STEM to create careers that are fulfilling and impactful. My message is simple: anyone can be a leader. 💥

Her Bold Universe will be more than a blog: it will be a place on the internet where you can go to find inspiration to make a difference. It will be a home for insights and ideas about how to build your career.

As my website relaunch develops in the background, I’ll be sharing a series of posts and maybe even videos (if I can ha) about emerging leadership and fulfilling careers as a way to reintroduce you to Her Bold Universe. ✨

Have you set your goals for 2022 yet? ⚡️

Whether you have or haven’t, here are a few little tips to help you set up 2022 to be the best year yet!

Which resonates most with you?

#2022

Happy 2022 everyone! How did you welcome in the new year?

I love the New Year; there is something so refreshing about the chance to stop and unwind as well as the opportunity to set new goals and recalibrate habits. Plus it’s summer here and I spend a lot of time at the beach 🏖

Have you set goals for this year yet? I don’t set New Years Resolutions per se, but I do like to spend time reflecting on the year that was and look forward to the year ahead. What do I want to focus on? What positive habits do I want? Who do I want to be?

2021 for me was a year of introspection which culminated in a pivot in my career path and a lot of personal growth. Now, I feel bursting with excitement to tackle 2022, and excited to set some new and challenging goals.

2022 is about doing more of what energises and excites me. It’s about presence and leaning into the moment.

What are you excited for this year? ✨

As we wind down to the end of the year, I wanted to take a moment to say thank you for your support of my work and to share a bit about what’s coming up in the New Year for Her Bold Universe.

⭐️ From January 10, I’m opening 2 x coaching places for 12 week, 1:1 coaching programs

⭐️ In late January I will also be launching a new email newsletter. I want this to be value-packed so stay tuned if you love a good newsletter.

⭐️ Over the next few weeks I’ll be sharing posts about how to make the most of this time to both enjoy recharging and to set goals to set up your career for 2022 and beyond 🌠

I’m also up for a chat so if anything piques your interest feel free to shoot me a message!

I have some exciting news... 🥁 I am relaunching 1:1 career coaching in January 2022!

I believe that our careers are ours to create. My vision as a coach is to empower you to proactively develop your career, seek opportunities to make a difference, confidently set exciting goals and become a lifelong learner.

If you’re an emerging professional keen to invest in your career development or a team leader seeking to help your team, reach out via DM and we can arrange a call to see if I can help.

Another handful of Atomic Essays! 🎯

For those of you looking for ways to unwind or recharge this weekend, check out the essay on 7 Ways to Respark Creativity. I’ll be doing most of those activities this weekend!

Don’t forget you can save this post and come back later to read them, or just swipe across and read whichever resonates most with you right now.

✨ ✨ ✨

What is “purpose” and why does it feel so abstract?

At its simplest, my definition of “purpose” is that the work we are doing is creating a positive difference. You can define this on all kinds of scales, from a task level to a big, life and career level. I believe we all want a sense of purpose in our work; to feel like we are aligned to something bigger than ourselves or to be making a positive difference somehow or to know that we are helping people.

Defining it for your whole career can feel daunting and overwhelming, though. I get it. I ask myself this question frequently.

But here’s a little reminder: it’s ok if you haven’t figured it out. We’re constantly evolving and growing and learning. Your purpose might change, or maybe you haven’t come across something that resonates with you yet. Your purpose today might not be the same thing in 10 years time, and that’s ok too.

For me, when I look back on my own journey, I started to think about purpose when I realised I wanted to help people. From there, it evolved naturally, but it takes deliberate reflection and it’s an ongoing process.

If you’re feeling stuck, or overwhelmed, pause for a moment. It’s ok not to know your purpose right now. Keep working with integrity and to your values, and create space to reflect and notice what lights you up. Become curious - consider what the purpose is of the task you’re doing and how it fits in with a bigger picture. Allow space for growth. These are all things that can help you get closer to uncovering your purpose.

Sometimes it helps to have someone to talk it out with. To help guide you. To prompt you or challenge you. That could be me! I have spaces open for 1:1 career coaching - send me a DM if you’re interested in hearing more.