Secrets To Success and Mindfulness

louisehewison
Sep 18, 2014
4 min read

An Evening with Female Entrepreneurs

I attended the most inspiring talk last night, run by Broad Minded, hosted at The Escape School. Both are doing incredible work, supporting and inspiring others to lives the life of their dreams. Check them out!!

Top tips from Dame Stephanie Shirley and Louise Cox-Chester on success and living a mindful life below...

Dame Stephanie Shirley

Learning Earning, Returning

http://www.steveshirley.com/home "Dame Stephanie is a British businesswoman and philanthropist. Born in 1933, she originally arrived in Britain from Germany as an unaccompanied child refugee. In 1962 she founded a software company, adopting the name “Steve” to help her in the male-dominated business world. Later known as Zansa, the IT company focused on offering part time work to professional women with dependents. Since she retired in 1993 Dame Stephanie has devoted herself to philanthropy, notably for research into autism. She was appointed Dame Commander of the British Empire in the New Year Honours, 2000, and in 2014 the Science Council named Dame Stephanie as one of the Top 100 scientists in the UK."

Read all about Dame Stephanie's incredible life in her book:

Let It Go

Learning

Welcome change

Being an unaccompanied child refugee, Dame Stephanie Shirley learned to welcome change from a young age, using it as a driving force behind her success.

Get comfortable with the unfamiliar
Challenge the status quo

According to Darwin’s Origin of Species -

"It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change."

Earning

Share the risk and the success
Give your employess ownership
Reward and remuneration on results, not time spent
Know what you want and go for it

Returning

Invest - your time, your expertise, your money in people and causes that matter to you
Think about your legacy - what you stand for, what you want to leave behind and what you want to be remembered for?

Tips for success

Work with people who are better than you
Choose your life partner well
Give! The more you give, the richer your life becomes
Think about the issues you really care about and give time, don't just write a cheque. Giving makes you feel good and is the right thing to do.

"If you don't commit in this life, you're just taking up space"

Louise Cox-Chester

Mindfulness At Work

http://mindfulnessatwork.com

"Louise began practicing mindfulness in 1994 when she was a director at UBS. She subsequently used her mindfulness practice to help sustain a high pressure career in investment analysis and fund management at Dresdner RCM. In 2010, Louise founded Mindfulness at Work, to enable people to access low-cost, highly effective mindfulness training, to enhance their performance as well as their happiness in the workplace and beyond. Her clients now include some of the biggest banks, law firms and professional services firms in the City of London. Louise also runs an award winning holistic retreat at her home in Kent."

It was such a pleaure hearing Louise talk about Mindfulness and I am so glad

she is out there making mindfulness more accessible to everyone. You need this practice in your life! Look after your mind and it will look after you!

I am a huge advocate of mindfulness practice, having practiced myself for years now. Mindfulness literally changed my life. By being more mindful I was able to overcome and manage depression, anxiety and panic attacks. I now have so much more clarity and calm in my life. I am more confident with who I am and I am generally much happier, living in the moment and enjoying life to the full.

Why Practice Mindfulness?

Learn to respond, not react
Ability to see & experience things as they really happen
Enhanced creativity & communication
Resolve conflict
Experience more calm & clarity

What is Mindfulness?

"Mindfulness is the smart new way to live your life. You have power to live the best life you possibly can. Mindfulness gives you the tools to live your life to its full potential. And what can be better than that? As we get older time seems to fly past so quickly. When you look back over the last few weeks and months what defining moments can you actually remember? Before you know it another birthday passes and you are still living with the same old stresses and strains. Imagine if you could learn to make a small shift in your thinking that could have a major effect to your life? Well now you can!"

The Science

"Mindfulness training was established in the States in the 1970s. Since then, there has been considerable research into Mindfulness including assessments using control groups. There is now vast scientific proof of its efficacy. MRI scans of the grey matter of the brain’s hippocampus, the area of the brain associated with learning, memory, compassion, introspection and self-awareness, have been shown it to increase in participants of Mindfulness programs. Conversely, the grey matter of the Amygdala, which is known to play an important part in stress and anxiety, has been shown to decrease. Cutting edge companies such as Apple and Google are testimony to the effectiveness of mindfulness at work. Mindfulness can help people to live superlative lives. In the workplace it helps them to build teamwork, enhance creativity & communication and resolve conflict."

WARNING! - side effects to mindfulness: