Some years ago, I was involved in a network marketing company. It was an interesting chapter in my life and one I am glad I experienced. I have a lot of crazy memories from those days, and I learnt a lot about life, people, business, and myself.

Did you know that CEO’s of multi-million (or billion) dollar companies sit on the toilet just like you and me? They also put their pants on one leg at a time!
Remember this next time you feel intimidated by someone you perceive as more successful than you.

One of the greatest things I took away from my experience, apart from some very special friends, was the importance of continuing education.

Up until then, I had mostly thought of education in the traditional sense, going to school, college or university. Here I was exposed to a range of conferences and events, fantastic speakers, and awesome books. I met and heard from so many people that reinforced what my grandmother had always told us: ‘You can do ANYTHING you put your mind to!’.

It’s not where you’ve come from, but where you are going.
It’s not what you’ve done, but what you are doing.

I learnt that there were little chunks of time in my day that I was not fully taking advantage of. One guy learnt how to speak French over a few months, on his way to work in the traffic!

It doesn’t matter what the project is. If the result is important enough, you will make ‘whatever it takes‘ a priority.

I must have listened to thousands of cd’s, ploughing my way through amazing stories from inspiring speakers. I became enthralled in hearing the rocky road so many had travelled from nothing – to good – to great – to AMAZING! And people called them an ‘overnight’ success.

We all have a story about how we got to where we are today.

Some people told me I was being brainwashed. I decided I was fine with that. It was ‘positive brainwashing’.

I was learning how to reprogram my mind and replace negative, limiting beliefs with positive contributing ones.
I was learning how to get my mind into a state of growth and discovering the foundations of building resilience.
I was learning how to empower others and as a result, this brainwashing was making me a better person.

Despite having a plethora of educational resources and tools literally at our fingertips through online courses, blogs, podcasts, webinars, forums, tutorials etc I am surprised that there is still a huge gap in education around some crucial life topics. I guess it is proof that we need the courses currently available, and the ones that are being created!

Education empowers us.

It allows us to make better and more informed decisions.

It also requires us to sometimes suspend our current beliefs and view things from a different perspective.

Education provides us an opportunity to add value to others.

It allows us to make a difference and to make it count. For me, it also means listening and absorbing without judgement.

I was brought up in a household where there was no discrimination, and we were taught to be inclusive of everyone. This included race, colour, disability, background, financial status, sexuality, and more.

I grew up thinking this was normal and had little idea of how controversial a lot of it was.

I brought Ben up the same way. I wanted him to be kind to others even if it was just the assistant at McDonald’s. It’s not their fault your thick shake took 2 minutes longer than you wanted it to. First world problem people!

We talked about respecting peoples’ positions without the need to compromise our own values or giving misplaced respect for them as a person. Just because someone is older than you doesn’t mean they are wiser.

It has only been in the last decade or two that I see a world so different to how I view(ed) it in my bubble and how I was brought up to think. Not everyone is caring and compassionate, inclusive, and accepting. Not everyone considers others and how words and actions (or lack of words and inactions) can make a person feel. And even the best of us don’t get it right all the time.

And when did the world get so many problems??

Holy cow SO MANY problems!! I wonder how many of these could be solved by:

• Working together – everyone brings something different and of value to the table
  
• Considering and being responsible for others – how will your decisions affect someone other than you?
  
• Opening our minds – “all roads lead to Rome” – you don’t know what you don’t know – there is more than one way to … well you know what I mean
  
• Remaining non-judgemental – my way is just ONE way
  
• Making decisions from a place of love – all decisions are made from the position of love OR fear
  
• Educating ourselves – there will never come a time when we know everything

One of the last strong personal views I remember Ben sharing with me was, why the topic of ‘battered men’ in abusive relationships was not spoken about as much as women. It was an interesting question and one I had no answer to. Actually, I didn’t really know it was such a big thing until he showed me figures and research. He was great like that. You could always count on Ben to back up his beliefs and have evidence or research on hand if you asked him 😊

Today I have so many questions. (And yes, I would love to discuss them with him). I will share some over the next few weeks with you my fabulous readers.

Why is ‘Black Lives Matter’ a thing? Are we that UNadvanced as a society that in 2021 it matters, in any scenario, what colour our skin is? What do blind people who have never seen colour think about this?

Why are women still fighting for the same rights as men and why are so many industries still severely testosterone-heavy?

Why do we need advocates and ambassadors for the LGBTIQ+ community? Why is it such a misunderstood space? If you are a heterosexual reading this, when did you make a conscious choice to be attracted to members of the opposite sex?

Next week we will explain the acronym LGBTIQ+ and give you some insights into what it’s like to be part of this community.

This week, Thursday 21st October, I will be part of a panel for the Good Grief This Hurts symposium run by the Children’s Hospital Qld. I am honoured to be in a position of educating through my experience, around how to help our younger generations cope with grief.

[This is a FREE webinar and well worth attending.]

What I have learnt has come from watching and listening, not talking and judging. I have had an education myself and have been privileged to learn from (my) kids and to be in their space. They really see things from a different and often enlightened perspective.

See you next week…

Much love

Dalya xx 💙