Go Study Abroad- A Postcard from Provence
Dear Aunt B,
It was a pleasure to spend time with your eldest daughter while on holiday in the South of France this week. Congratulations to you for supporting her decision to study abroad. I am also happy to report that your financial contribution appears to be a sound investment. (No, she did not ask me to have you send money!)
Scrolling through her Facebook updates and photos might lead you to believe she has been on a continuous 5 month vacation, but the life lessons she is learning are unique and not on offer at her University in rural Missouri!
Having lived in Europe for the past 10 years, I am obviously biased in favour of the experience of going abroad. Observing her in her foreign environment, inspired me to list below the reasons everyone should study abroad.
While I do not share your belief that it is a coincidence she and and her long-time boyfriend chose the same small city in the South of France, I will tell you that we find him to be delightful! Her choice shows good judgement and more than any of the points mentioned below, is a positive indicator of her future happiness.
Je t’embrace,
Suzy
P.S. Here is the list of 7 big benefits of studying abroad:
1. Mastering or at least Improving your language skills is bound to happen!
2. Cultural Immersion is the best way to truly acknowledge that cultural differences exist. Learning how to identify, accept, communicate and thrive in a multicultural environment is a valuable career skill.
3. Broaden your horizons. Being away from the environment in which you were raised, creates the distance and perspective to make choices about your future. Not just choosing between A and B, but understanding what it is about a city or a culture that inspires you.
4.Humility in appreciating the generosity of a host family; acknowledging that a few peers may have lucked out in their placements; but there are always some less fortunate.
5. Finding your own way outside the bubble, that is an American University Campus, is a challenge. Budgeting daily expenses as well as planning and financing cross-border travel may push your resourcefulness to the limit!
6. Your expectations will shift as you see people operating differently in their daily lives and using resources, especially space much differently (public transportation and American McMansions are a few examples)
7. Even if you hate living abroad, you will have learned something about yourself and you will have great stories and memories that hopefully you will laugh about someday, when you get over the trauma.
Filed under Adventure, Just Life | Comment (0)
No Excuses
There once was a women named CeeCee, who worked for five years building her business, largely by word of mouth, one satisfied client at a time. She had the location of her dreams and was doing work that she was passionate about. One day, a loyal client offered CeeCee a great opportunity to speak to a group that was an exact match with her target group. CeeCee was flattered and immediately recognized the potential.
As the day for the event grew near, I asked CeeCee, “are you ready and are you excited?” The barrage of excuses that followed was unexpected. CeeCee explained how busy she was, how bad the timing was, how exhausted she would be, etc. She had canceled the event with short notice and when I looked at this otherwise strong and confident women, I saw only fear. Not in her eyes, because she didn’t look at me as she rattled off her excuses, but it was all over her face and in her voice. This was not fear of failure; it was fear of success!! Of all the obligations she mentioned, this speaking engagement was the only one that had the possibility to change her life, or at least, leap her business forward.
What excuses do you make for walking away from your shot at success? Take a look at this video and you might see that your fear of success is a luxury problem?
Filed under Entrepreneurship, Inspiring | Comment (1)
Unbridled Optimism
Optimism is infectious, much like entrepreneurship, and the two often go hand in hand. Luckily, both are less nasty than the current flu on offer!
Despite all of the economic doom and gloom of the moment, I am more upbeat and optimistic about business than I have been in recent years, so I’d like to share 9 reasons to be optimistic in 2009!
1. Market! What goes down, will eventually come back up!
2. Opportunity! Crisis forces change and this is an advantage for small business.
3. Innovation! People and companies will be open to doing things differently, instead of the way they’ve always done them.
4. Efficiency! More mindful spending is good for you in the long run, even if your company is unaffected by the downturn.
5. Reality! With the illusion of prosperity and easy money stripped away, you will make better decisions.
6. Courage! Have the guts to make a move you’ve been contemplating.
7. Momentum! Identify what is going well in your business or career and build on it.
8. Hope! Obama.
9. Inspiration! If 1-8 don’t do it for you, surround yourself with people that are seizing the opportunities and reap the rewards of their infectious optimism!
