What a whirlwind month and an eye opener too ! I was honoured to be invited to a charity event hosted by Richard Branson in Verbier, Switzerland to raise money for sustainable development in emerging countries. As some of you know, it is part of our mission, going forward, to take our work to developing parts of the world through the use of technology and we have already established some key relationships with this in mind. Our chosen charity is Microloan Foundation and you can read more about their inspirational work here www.microloanfoundation.org.uk

However, I want to focus here on the lesson I took away from Verbier. Imagine the scene ….the Ball was on top of the mountain and they opened up the bubble car for us to get up there dressed in our finery. First snag …high heeled shoes don’t work too well in deep snow and ice in the dark! So, we wore our snow boots with our party dresses and changed into shoes when we got there. What a giggle!

I was dumb struck as soon as I walked in …not only was it a very small, intimate and very beautiful environment but most of the guests were A listers ….including Princess Beatrice! Now then, I am used to mixing with successful people but this was in a different league. One of the auction bids for a holiday on Necker Island reached the £40,000 mark! Richard Branson was the first person to walk up to me and say hello and, needless to say, he is warm and charming but what a pattern interrupt as I stepped off the bubble car!

As you may know by now I tend to observe and analyse and ask myself questions. My first thoughts were that I felt out of my comfort zone …I realised that we are more comfortable in our own environment and know what to talk about in our usual social circles but what do you talk about to people who are operating in a different social stratosphere? I decided to calibrate, mingle and walk my talk …I decided to be an equal and go and find out about the people as individuals and humans with the same human foibles that we all have.

Once I had got over being ‘star struck’ I had a ball (excuse the pun) and made some very interesting new friends.

Also, in hindsight, I recognize that the whole experience was highly motivating for me. It was good to be reminded that ..no matter how well you think you are doing there is always another level to aim for.

Where in your life could you get out for your comfort zone and take your life to another level?

Back to normality we are buzzing with activity for International Women’s week with free places on our Grab Your Future live webinars (see below) and our Gender IQ platform is really taking off and seems to be ticking the right boxes for Organisations who are asking the question ‘where do we go from here if we want to move from talk to action?’

Places are booking up fast for the June, Authentic Leadership seminar. Isn’t it time you really got to know yourself in beautiful surroundings with wonderful supportive women to create a blue-print for the rest of your life? Join us!

And don't forget to 'live with passion'!