Well, took some advice and have been asking the Universe to provide and has it come up trumps or what!!

Isn't it funny how you can be totally consumed by a question or problem and puzzle and puzzle about it, looking at all the possible configurations to solve it and 'boom' there is a simple answer staring you in the face that you've completely missed for the last 3 months - DUH!

That's exactly what happend in the wee small hours of Friday morning when I started thinking (as you do) about life in general and what on earth am I going to do and how will it all look in 3,6,9 months time. One of my biggest worries about not working has been what will I do if I can't pay the mortgage? Having just spent two years and a LOT of $$ getting the whole house renovated so that it is now just what I want, how sick would I be if I ended up one of those repo stats - NO WAY is that going to happen.

Crazy really, I made this decision to change careers last October, knew when I finished work without a new job to go to in March this year that I'd ABSOLUTELY done the right thing and then, a few weeks later, start stressing about what on earth I'm going to do and how I'm going to survive when I created the situation in the first place. Maybe I really am a complete fruit loop ...

Yes, the market isn't exactly on my side at the moment, but I've got a heap of skills that are always going to be in demand, and I've never been a quitter before, so why start now??

In short, why not embrace the situation and the opportunities that it's providing like:

• spending more time with my cousin and being there to ferry the kids, support at sports days, concerts, etc


• walking other people's dogs


• doing some volunteer work for Autism NZ which will not only keep me out of trouble, but also teach me new skills, give me some insight into this spectrum disorder and also, help them out - win-win all round and thanks Matt and the committee for giving me the opportunity


• playing tennis and meeting and getting to know some amazing new people that I'd otherwise never have met


• going to agencies doing all their tests (and finding that actually, my practical computer/ typing/packages skills are pretty good - yeah!)


• preparing for interviews and honing my presentation and interviewing skills (by the law of averages, one is going to come up trumps soon!)


• having the cat sitting on my lap purring her furry little heart out in contentment at having company for a change - what a great de-stresser


• planning trips to Australia and Italy for next year's cycling holidays ...


• learning italian


• starting a degree
• tidy up the garden

The list could go on and on and on, but most of all, its a gift to be able to take some time out to smell the roses, listen to the birds and watch them flitting around the garden, be there for other people, get to know the neighbours and generally participate in LIFE rather than seeing it fly by in my rear view mirror.

Thing is, I've got this time out for a reason, there are lessons to be learned that will help me get to the next stage and all I can say is 'Bring them ON'.

Oddly enough, I've got an interview on Wednesday - totally out of the blue I got a phone call on Friday inviting me along. I've applied for about 8 jobs at this particular organisation and haven't even got to the interview stage - well with 2-300 applicants you've got to start doing something major to catch the eye of the recruiter - like maybe ringing up 5 mins before the closing time to ask if they got my application because I haven't received a confirmation e-mail?? Maybe that's what worked this time.

Anyway, for the first time ever, I've got to include a 5 min presentation on a subject I do know about, but in a context (IT) that I'm completely unfamiliar with. Even rang them back today just to make sure that we weren't going to be wasting each other's time, but apparently not - phew, only spent a day preparing so far!!

Thing is, even if I don't get this job, I don't actually mind because now I'm beginning to see how to get the interviews and ringing up any contact people and discussing the role with them is definitely a way to get your name noticed and, hopefully, highlighted when all those applications come zooming into the recruiter's e-mail box. (That is, always assuming that you've actually got the skills they're looking for and you really DO want the job they're advertising!!!)

My diary is completely full for the week and somehow I just KNOW that the right opportunity is getting closer and closer. In the meantime, there's tennis and dog walking and volunteering and catching up with friends I haven't seen for months and reading and baking and - well, the list is just endless. Oh yes, might even manage to get that rhubarb planted ...

Thanks Universe

Well, it's now almost two months since I (crazily as it turns out) gave up my job in order to pursue my 'real' goals and of enabling others to live fulfilling healthy lives. Now given that I hadn't found my dream job in almost 18 months of looking while I was employed, it's probably not the smartest move to become unemployed. Thing is, I KNOW that I did the right thing, what is puzzling me is why I haven't quite got on to the next phase.

So far, I've applied for - ooh, lets see, about 30 jobs and had exactly ONE interview. I really thought that was bound to be the one - the mirror in my bathroom asked the Universe for assistance in finding full-time employment that would further my goals by 4th May - I was due to hear about the job the previous Friday (1st May), but, curiously I didn't. When I still hadn't heard by Monday, I was a little sad, but woke up on Tuesday full of joie de vivre and ready for anything I went for a run. Knocked three minutes of my previous time for that route, so everything was lining up ....

9.37am and its a call from Taz, my recruitment consultant and fab lady, 'really sorry, but you didn't get the job. They offered it to their overseas candidate who had more commercial experience.' Oddly enough, I wasn't in the least worried, I'd already reconciled myself to the fact that I hadn't got the job and, as Denise (my wonderfully upbeat business coach said) clearly it wasn't the right job and wouldn't have furthered my goals.

The thing is, in order to further my goals I do need to be employed, otherwise I run the risk of not being able to pay the mortgage. Question, did I ask the Universe to provide? Actually no, I've never asked it to provide exactly, but have taken a tip from Ali and have sent that message out now, LOUD AND CLEAR.

Funnily enough, the last time my mirror had a date for work to start, I did - a friend totally unexpectedly asked me to do some market research for her. It turned out to be really interesting - who would have thought that there was so much going on in the world of animal diagnostics?(thanks Tina).

Perhaps the biggest mistake I may have made is in expecting things to fall into place without a clear plan of action. The Universe is amazing in the way that it provides what is asked of it, trouble is, it's definitely NOT an interpreter and without me being very specific, how can it possibly "KNOW" what I really want.

Lesson of the day:

1. Re-state my goals
2. Create a plan of action
3. Visualise how my life will be when I'm living my goals
4. Contact everyone I know to see what might be out there
5. GET TO WORK NOW