To all the people who gave up on me...
I thank you
Decided to be a bit provocative as have been having lots of conversations with amazing friends and peers about rejection and resilience and how we move forward.
But it’s true - to all the people who gave up on me - I thank them. Because it’s a valuable learning curve in self-belief.
I mean to be honest, I give far more thanks and gratitude to those who have never given up on me and do sense checks and take heed of not just the times when everything is all roses but also the times that there is a struggle.
But without those people - the ones that decide not to take a chance on you whether they know you or not don’t really count - more the ones that came, took what they needed for their own hierarchy of needs and then decided that it was time to move on - those betrayals or moments of hurt or recognition should I say - actually turned out to be great signposts.
Whenever I do coaching, a lot of it is focused on self-ownership and belief and knowing that you can equip yourself with the tools to keep going.
But also recognising where there is support and asking for help for those who are willing to offer it. But not in a way that’s advantage taking. No, I always think it’s important to acknowledge the value of someone’s time even if there’s issues around payment or fees - either they will not accept it or perhaps you are struggling to afford what their time is clearly worth.
Anyway, here are my thoughts on sponsorship as luckily Journalism.co.uk decided to put a little audiogram together when I was thinking as I spoke to them just before the end of the year. Have a listen to the full podcast if it helps.

And here is what Ariana Grande sang about saying Thank You and using it to move forwards:
In other news - apart from lots of coaching, I was lucky to talk about peace and conflict resolution and how that has guided my journey during a World Cafe session run by the Rotary Peace Fellowship Alumni Association. It was a 24 hour conference covering a wide array of topics. I give kudos to the organising committee. I have a strange relationship with the network in that the class I was in was an unusual experience which one day I’ll write about but sadly I’m in touch with very few people from that class nowadays.
But the wider network I find is full of some pretty cool characters. Maybe I was just in the wrong class for someone like me who likes to question a lot. But again a lesson in not giving up just because you don’t fit in one pocket. Anyway the opportunity was one I don’t regret. And the fact I got such engaging questions about storytelling at the peace conference was super cool.
And finally because I put this out on social media - here are some brilliant sandwiches my mother made. Chumpchanu sandwiches are a Gujarati Kenyan Indian staple and I won’t have anyone say otherwise. Full of vegetable goodness. So this have you thought about is going to ask what’s the best sandwich you’ve ever eaten?
Thank you for reading. Thank you to the paid subscribers who keep me going, especially in these freelance times. And if you like what you read and get from me, please do consider subscribing or here’s my ko-fi QR if you wanted to buy me a hot chocolate equivalent.