Month: December 2012

When I look back on this year I’m almost unsure if all I remember of it was actually my life. That’s how bizarre it’s been!

There have been SUCH highs – and SUCH lows…

There were times I was so sure of what I was doing and so sure of who I was and other times I just had no clue!

There were times I’d wake up and think:  “Oh bummer I’m still alive!”  Dread would fill my heart and I would get up to trudge through another day in what felt like my then rubbish existence.

And other times I’d wake with a huge smile on my face ready for the day ahead and so hopeful of what felt like a bright future.

I’ve had really tough decisions to make – and live by.

And now I’m looking forward to next year.

It’s a mistake to look at our moments as “just”

It’s not “just “tomorrow, it’s not “just” next week or “just” next month or “just” next year – these are gems. Opportunities for something new.

For some, this year has been glorious- for others it’s been absolutely dismal – some haven’t really taken much note because for them it’s “just” been another year – and for some (like me) it has been a combination of so many things.

I once heard someone say you can’t drive forward with your eyes fixed on the rear view mirror. The truth of that is deep.

Forget what is behind you and reach for what lies ahead.

2013 is NOT  “just”  another year.

It is a culmination of moments, days weeks, months – all of which are yours to create something really special.

I hope this time next year you can look back on 2013 with a HUGE smile on your face.

There were times this year I just wanted to pack it all in and call it quits – in crucial areas of my life.

There were times when failures from my past hovered over me and told me that I would continue to fail in places where success had eluded me. The past failures mocked me and asked:  “So what will make this time different?”

Life has never ever been perfect. For anyone. Nevertheless have the courage, grace and generosity to draw out something spectacular from the new year that lies ahead.

Because a new moment sometimes is the difference.

 

Hannah Viviers is founder of Hannah Viviers Business Training and Author of mommy24.com.

You’re welcome to leave a comment or email Hannah directly at hannahviviers@yahoo.com

Isn’t it strange how sometimes there’ll be areas of our lives that are all consuming and we find ourselves shouting: “I don’t have a life!”

There are so many demands on us – and sometimes those demands are genuine and require our attention – but nothing should ever be so consuming it robs our ability to live.

For me the close of a year is a sublime time to close a chapter and begin a new one.

The incredible gift of a new year is the opportunity to do some things differently and in some cases perhaps start over.

If you feel you don’t have a life – get one.

The new start is just moments away.

 

Hannah Viviers is founder of Hannah Viviers Business Training and Author of mommy24.com.

You’re welcome to leave a comment or email Hannah directly at hannahviviers@yahoo.com

Whoop! Whoop!

So this is a reminder for the Personal Development Program I’ll be hosting at the end January, 2013.
You will be inspired, you will be challenged and you will leave the course yearning for greater things in your life. Hopefully you’ll gain the insight into You to make those things you’ve been plotting for years to finally come alive!

A few days ago, Ona Booysen, one of the clients who took the course sent me this:

“Hi Hannah
Thank you, I learnt so much about personal branding, that it helped me secure the job of my dreams . I learnt so much from you that day, how to sell myself at an interview. More than a year later I’m growing from day to day.”

If you’re interested inbox me and I’ll send you more details on what we’ll be covering on the program.

 

Hannah Viviers is founder of Hannah Viviers Business Training and Author of mommy24.com.

You’re welcome to leave a comment or email Hannah directly at hannahviviers@yahoo.com

So every year in January I host a two-day Personal Development Program.

After the experience we’ve had with this course, and even more importantly looking at our clients’ feedback, I can confidently say that coming on this program will change your life.

I wasn’t going to host one for Jan 2013 because we have a business seminar early Feb (Feb 9 to be exact). But I know how awesome the Personal Branding course is and after making it tradition for the past few years I thought I’d just continue… I always charge a pittance for the Jan course because more than anything it’s a kick start for me… more than that is also inspires and challenges me for the new year ahead.

So if you’re interested do inbox me and I’ll give you more details.

Regards,
Hannah

 

Hannah Viviers is founder of Hannah Viviers Business Training and Author of mommy24.com.

You’re welcome to leave a comment or email Hannah directly at hannahviviers@yahoo.com

 

Thank you to every single person who’s told me how much they enjoy my writing.

Thank you too for every one who has told me I write so well.

Let it be known it wasn’t always this way. I was graded a C average for English in high school – only once – ever – did a teacher at school commend something I wrote.

So I left high school feeling that while I wanted to write I wasn’t good enough. Because that was the message that was sent to me. Constantly.

A few years ago I wrote my second book Mangoes in April. I hope to share it someday.

After six publisher rejections for that book I put my pen down and didn’t write again for years.

One publisher called my writing colourless. Another said it wasn’t believable. Every rejection cut deep into my core and reminded me repeatedly (of the lie) that I wasn’t good enough.

In the hope of getting published – I changed my entire book each time I received a rejection letter. I hoped this would help matters. It didn’t. It just turned my book into a joke and contaminated the purity of the story I’d set out to tell.

I sent TONS of samples and requests to publishers – so the six rejections I received were a mere sprinkle in the ocean of all the requests I’d sent out.

Eventually when I was too wrecked to receive any more criticism about how lousy my writing and my story was – I stopped sending the requests. Worse still: I stopped writing.

Yes they had won. All of them. The school teachers, the publishers, everyone who had told me I wasn’t good enough was victorious:  I had come to believe that indeed they were right and I wasn’t good enough.

By then I had mutilated my book so much that the essence of why I’d written it in the first place was lost.

I can’t remember what triggered my “go” to write again. I guess there came a time when I became so full that I had to let it out and share.

Sharing has always been my reason to write. That need to articulate what’s on the inside – even if the only reader is me. Also what changed  and brought me back to my writing table was that I was no longer writing for an audience. That need for approval had died. And I buried it with glee!   Oh the joy!

I didn’t care who read my work or who didn’t. It didn’t matter if the people who did read liked what I said or loathed every word I’d strung together. I wrote to share. To share me – even it was just to me.

We all have a gift. Something that compels us to share. Something that refuses to die and be put away no matter how many times we’re told we’re not good enough.

I have done tremendous things in my career and personal life – but there are few things that give me more joy than writing.

I love reading my own work. It inspires me and spurs me on.

When it comes to how I feel about my writing you’ll be HUGELY disappointed should you wish to find modesty. I relish how I write – it’s juicy and scrumptious and it makes me so happy.

I appreciate my gift because it was given to me first to enjoy – what I share is from the abundance of what I’ve been given.

I’m grateful for the internet and how it’s evolved because it allows me to share without asking someone to approve my work – I don’t need anyone’s “OK”.

I write what I want, when I want to and share it with as many people as want to receive.

So do look out for my book Mangoes in April. I’ll publish it online – you’ll be able to download it – share it with friends – and I hope more than anything that you’ll enjoy it to the point of being inspired to share your gift too.

Give me a short while though- I’m going back to re-write Mangoes in April as I had wanted to share it from the beginning. It’s a piece of me and now I can truly say I’ve grown up enough to treat it with the dignity, honour, reverence and love it deserves.

 

P.S.  I remain most grateful to my English Lecturer in college, Ms Anne Levitz who never ceased to tell me how fantastic my writing was.  You have no idea how you built my confidence. You gave me the courage to really buckle down and hone my skill.

And many many thanks to my first career mentor Diane de Beer for loving my work (and me) enough to let me fly. I grew so much under your wings!

And to my Dad who always always read every single thing I ever wrote and relished it so! You were relentless in showing me that my gift mattered.

 

Hannah Viviers is founder of Hannah Viviers Business Training and Author of mommy24.com.

You’re welcome to leave a comment or email Hannah directly at hannahviviers@yahoo.com