Getting My Mojo Back!
Photo courtesy of Jennifer Rose Bryant of Women In Business WA
Lesley Dewar is an author and publisher of Stories My Nana Tells. She was one of some leading Perth career women to participate in Mentoring sessions for Year 12 Girls from Penrhos College, Perth, on February 12, 2013, in conjunction with Women In Business WA.
This blog was written half way through her chemo treatment for breast cancer, at a time when she was experiencing “chemo wall” from time to time. Before the event, she proclaimed “I am getting my Mojo back!” She was adamant that by not opting out of the event, but writing her notes and giving it her best shot, it reminded her of her achievements and there is still much more to come.
It was several months later (by the end of April 2013) that she could really say she had her Mojo back – but this is a very interesting blog post about a woman who continues to inspire and lead.
These notes are a summary of what was used for the table discussion – which allowed the girls to ask many questions about choosing a career.
- Lesley’s background :
- Well, I now I am 69, fighting triple negative cancer and building a new business called Stories My Nana Tells. I have been married twice, divorced once and I was widowed ten years ago. I have two married sons and my daughter died when she was thirty four. Today is my granddaughters birthday. Jade is 28 today.
- Career pathways and progression since leaving school.
- I was trained as a shorthand / typist and did lots of secretarial work until I married. Once I became a single parent, I had to earn as much as a man – so I specifically demanded equal pay for equal work, [Read more...]
Building Your Brand – By Blogging.
As a writer, I find putting words on paper not too hard – but even I tend to put off Blogging, as much as I love to write. There is no end of ideas to share; experiences to validate with others; suggestions to share and questions to ask.
Part of the reluctance to blog is wondering whether what you have to say is valuable; will your words go unread or unregarded? Few people leave comments on blogs these days, when a Twitter retweet of your post or a Facebook comment is much easier in our time poor world.
So, how is Blogging relevant? Does Blogging build customer loyalty to your “brand” – whether it is your total retail presence or a specific product?
What cannot be overstated is that your blog is your PRIMARY opportunity to build your brand. [Read more...]
Untethered!
Untethered!
The mobile networking concept, for an Australian traveller heading overseas, is highly attractive but not as easy to implement economically as I had hoped on my trip to the US and Canada in July/August. I didn’t spend a lot but my internet access was very sparse and that came down to
- not doing my homework properly;
- making wrong assumptions about internet services overseas;
- being terrified of incurring a big unwanted bill and
- not mentally splitting my phone/SMS services from my internet access.
Before leaving for the US and Canada in July (2012), I arranged to have my iPhone untethered from the Telstra network – with a simple phone call to them. They recommended that, when I arrived in the US, my Network settings be set to 3G and Cellular data on but Data Roaming OFF. Several messages from Telstra alerted me that new charges would apply, especially for SMS, and at a higher rate than in Australia. Messages on my iPhone could still be accessed at minimal cost using #101# as a dial in number.
As soon as I arrived in Salt Lake City, I purchased an AT&T SIM for $US50 which gave me a US phone number and unlimited phone calls and texts (without attachments) within the US for the next 30 days. The service at AT&T store was very good indeed – the SIM cards were swapped and the phone checked to make sure it worked just fine. When I moved from the US to Canada, the basic service was automatically switched to Rogers for phone calls and texts – but texts were not free from Canada. I added $US25 for overseas calls (including from Canada back to the US and Australia) and figured I was set for the month.
Not quite so fast, Madam! First of all, finding WiFi hot spots for FREE internet access in the US needs a little pre-planning, through sites like http://www.openwifispots.com/ if you can’t log on through a friend’s account.
Hotel WiFi access needs a password for login and is usually only available for guests; open access free WiFi is not freely available except through places like Starbucks, McDonalds, many Barnes & Noble book shops and some cafes. Airports have WiFi almost everywhere – in boarding areas. However, caution is necessary! BEWARE of Wi-Fi networks called “Free Public Wi-Fi” in airports. You’ll get online but most likely they are fake unsecure networks hoping to steal your information, especially if you use them to log into your bank account or use a credit card.
In Bryant Park in New York, close to my hotel on 6th Avenue, I enjoyed the beautiful gardens, a ride on a carousel, coffee, a free movie on a Monday night and free WiFi. http://www.bryantpark.org New York has an official policy of extending free WiFi through public spaces, as do other big US cities. The City of Perth is to be commended for implementing their new free WiFi policy, as is the City of Swan.
Otherwise, roaming can be accessed through “hot spots”, which usually are not free. For example, through T-Mobile, access to a Hot Spot requires a paid-plan ($US39.99 for a month for unlimited roaming but which can be subject to daily additional charges depending on location, of up to $US6.99 per 24 hour day). One of the biggest mind shifts required is accepting telephone and SMS services have to be accessed separately from the internet – whereas, for an Australian home based customer, both mobile internet access and telephone / SMS services are highly integrated and we rarely think about them being separate services.
Switching my SIM card from Telstra to AT&T had an unexpected glitch. My bank sends a security code to my Australian mobile phone number to authorise any transaction to a new account, when it is done on the internet. In SLC, I used the notebook to book a hotel in Miami, using a friend’s internet. There was a sudden flurry of activity when the SIM card in the phone had to be switched back to Telstra, so I could receive the required security code and authorise the transaction.
Accessing email was a whole new story, since four or five email accounts come to my iPhone. I could RECEIVE bigpond.com email any time I had internet access through WiFi. With Telstra access for SENDING email from the iPhone not a viable option – Gmail.com (Google’s internet based email service) was essential.
Since I already had a Gmail account, it was a fairly simple step to set it up on my iPhone and I quickly found I could reply to my bigpond.com emails, using the SEND FROM Gmail.com account on the iPhone.
Accessing services like Twitter (without free WiFi) are fraught with cost danger but essential when your Bank sends a message that your Debit Card has been temporarily suspended because of an overseas transaction! A quick message on Twitter that asks them to send you a DM, to which you will (and do) respond with confirmation of the questionable purchase, is worth almost any cost as an SMS. Especially after their phone call at 12:45am (local time) to San Francisco dropped out after less than a minute!
Next month, we will update the installation on my iPhone of a phone service that gives virtually free calls to and from the USA and Canada from Australia, while being free within those countries, and how well it has worked.
Leaving on a jet plane….
For my friends….
I am off to the USA and Canada for three and half weeks, with some definite plans and some very open windows of opportunity while I am away.
Departure from Perth for Salt Lake City: (Jul 25 – Jul 29)
I am leaving Perth at 5:55am on Wednesday 25 July 2012 – domestic to Sydney and then International to LAX. It’s a hoot – right after LAX, I fly to Salt Lake City.(SLC) According to the itinerary given to me by my travel agent, I actually leave for SLC thirty minutes before I have left SYD. Which means if the clock told the truth I would be flying 23 and one half hours between Sydney and LAX. In fact, it is actually only a fourteen hour trip and almost a full twenty four hours from PER to SLC.
So, my first social time in the ground is when I arrive in SLC at 16.01 (4 in the afternoon) on Wednesday 25th July 2012.
I am meeting great friends from Twitter and Facebook; going to a Neil Diamond concert; trading in my Amtrak voucher for a real train ticket and getting to know something about life in Salt Lake City.
Back to Florida (Jul 30 – Aug 2)
On Monday 30th July, it’s an early departure from SLC for Florida (via a short stop in Atlanta) and I arrive in Miami around 3:30pm. My plans are to do at tour of the Everglades – because I missed out on that last time. Otherwise, I am planning to just walk, take photos and meet good friends from my last trip to Miami a year ago.
and on to Burlington, NC. (Aug 3 and 4)
I have two and a half days before I fly out of Miami on Thur 2nd August at 4.30pm to stay with a good friend in Burlington,NC. It’s a short stop over in Altanta, before arriving just after 8:30 at Raleigh Durham.
Friday Aug 3 and Sat Aug 4 – who knows what we will get up to, with those Southern Ladies? LOL.
Pardon me boy, is this the Chattanooga Choo Choo? (Aug 5)
On Sun 5th, at 9:00am, it’s on the train, headed for New York. This time, I will get on at the front of the train, not the back! It’s a full twelve hour trip to New York but not arriving at JFK and taking two hours to get into town is an advantage. It will be just a short trip from Penn Station to my hotel!
New York! New New York! (Aug 5 – 7)
Into bed earlish on Sun 5th, with two whole days to wander around in New York on Monday and Tuesday – definitely must get to Central Park and it’s fabulous museums and galleries this time – or maybe the Bronx Z00. Not sure, yet -except that I am having lunch on one of those two days with an online friend of long standing – whom I have not yet in the offline world.
Canada calling….. (Aug 8 – 13)
Wed 8th August is my Mum and Dad’s anniversary – their 70th. Last time I was in Canada, last year, I was there on Mother’s Day. It’s early out of bed and out to JFK to fly up to Toronto to meet Colin and Pauline at lunch time and to stay for a nearly a week. There will be fishing and swimming up at the lake; walking on a glass platform around the top of a new building and, if I play my cards right, I will get to see the new Van Gogh exhibition in Toronto or / an meet a couple of writers in Toronto. Since I am leaving Toronto on Tue August 14, for San Francisco, at 6:30am (which means being at the airport around 4:00am), it will be taxi departure for sure!
Redwoods and bugs (Aug 14 – 16)
A San Francisco arrival at 10:30 on Tue Aug 14, I am hoping to go straight out of the city into the redwoods with some new Facebook friends (an opera singer and her etymologist husband) who have offered to show me some awesome ancient trees and bugs that live in and around them. Because I am leaving San Francisco on Thu Aug 16, at almost 7:00pm to come home to Australia, it means being at the airport by 4:00pm – so, there will not be time for much more sightseeing than seeing the sequoia. If that doesn’t fit their schedule, there is still a lot in San Francisco that I did not see last time.
I still call Australia home…. (Aug 16 – 18)
Flying out of San Francisco on Thur Aug 16 and headed for the International Date Line, I lose a day on the calendar in a trip that will take just over 24 hours to complete.
Communications:
This time I have unlocked my phone from Telstra for the trip, so my usual mobile number will accept and send SMS messages (as long as I remember to turn off the roaming / browsing facility)
I have my iPad, which I can log on to hot spots and my Notebook – so I am more comfortable this time that my communications will be adequate with email, Facebook and Twitter.
Three and a half weeks is not long enough – but it is the best I can squeeze out of my schedule.
It’s going to be a great trip!
Do You Interview Your Networking Group Organizer?
Do You Interview Your Networking Group Organizer?
Having participated in networking activities for many years and written a book about developing Networking skills, I want to discuss what constitutes a valuable networking service for you.
By a networking service, I mean a commercially structured group designed to help its members to network with others to develop mutually beneficial sources of business.
Some have joining fees, and/or ongoing membership fees, restricted membership (usually based on occupation), and dictate a level of minimum participation, which may in fact be weekly. Events also attract attendance costs.
Others have no joining fee, structured levels of membership and some “free” activity participation, as well as paying for event attendance (usually when catering is involved)
Another model is open association, with no formal financial membership requirements, apart from paying for your own breakfasts or so, and the occasional glass of wine.
The driving force behind running a networking group can be true altruism – providing a genuine environment in which professional people can meet and talk and build their own business connections. The spin off for the organizer is a sense of loyalty to the organizer and their business, and respecting their right to deny direct competition in their own profession from participating in their group.
It may be a networking group that is focussed on a particular part of your business or personal development. Business coaching is a common theme for these networking groups.
Another is the commercial network model, where membership fees are the primary revenue for the organizer. A range of levels of Membership may be offered and Members are offered a variety of “back office” services including website listings.
The opportunity to provide the occasional contribution to a newsletter; being part of a directory where your professional skills are showcased; being part of an internal discussion group on LinkedIn or Facebook or a similar platform (usually with rules about what can and cannot be posted) and having the opportunity to be a guest speaker on occasion within the networking group are all factors which make networking attractive, regardless of the occupation or business of the participant.
Networking is a very personal event and activity. Finding the right structure to help you continue to build your own network takes time and effort, as well as money. Some models may suit you. Some may not. Some people like to mix and match different models to get a broad range of options to maximize their time and money, when they participate in networking. Finding the right group of fellow networkers is something which also needs careful consideration.
If you are only “networking” to try and advance your own business interests, your interaction with the groups you choose may be short and with little profitable results. If you are committed to helping others build their own businesses by helping them fill the gaps in their own walls of strength and growth, you will proper.
We would like to hear your comments of your networking experiences and hear suggestions on what would make your networking experiences more satisfactory.
About this blog:
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Lesley Dewar shares her new eBook with you. Nothing to buy! It is a gift and you can share this link with your friends.Simply click on the book cover to get your own copy of ”Networking To A Plan”
GTi Racing Girls update – Targa South
Dear Team GTi family
Killarnee Targa South West has come and gone and what an event it was, this May 2012.
Many of you were either present or had family and or friends participating and will know what a magnificent event the organisers put on in 2012.
The GTi Girls were thrilled to run alongside their new Team Green Colleagues at Thompson Racing and benefited greatly from the team’s collective wisdom and generous support. Mitch and Paul and all the boyz made the girls feel very welcome.
It is indeed wonderful to work with people who share our values – family, friends, racing – and who work as hard as we do to promote the sport, the sponsors and the good times that we are all fortunate to enjoy in this country.
Likewise, the GTi Boyz were pleased to show off the Perana in her first Targa hit out. With a late change in the co-driver’s seat (Jurgen, an experienced motorsport competition driver and instructor agreed to jump in next to Simon given Murray Armenti’s unexpected absence during the weekend) the boyz were a new team in a relatively untested car – and they delivered the goods. The car was a standout with the crowds decked out in traditional Ford racing colours and the [Read more...]
One Hundred Heroes
Living in the hills in Stoneville for many years, our iconic red tailed black cockatoos kept me company on many a lazy afternoon while the Eagles battled on the football field or the Carnaby’s white tails sent my Dad running as they showered him with “honkey nuts”. We watched them raise their babies; tease Burt, our pink and grey galah and as a kitten, Splinter was fearless in confronting them in the branches of the banksia.
Marri trees covered with their intense white blossoms gave us “summer snow” every autumn; when March flies appear from nowhere to feast on the nectar and us, and a short time later uncountable tonnes of white stamens drift down to fill the kerbs to overflowing. Driving along Stoneville Road towards to Mundaring, for all those years, I knew little of the critical future now faced by our white and red tailed black cockatoos.
For the past six months, through meetings and public protests; Facebook, blog posts at Stories My Nana Tells and other social media sites, a lot of friends and I have been engaged in a campaign to bring their plight to the attention of [Read more...]
Welcome To Fans Of GTi Racing Girls
Welcome to Fans of GTi Racing Girls!
Stories My Nana Tells is proud to be a continuing sponsor of GTi Racing Girls team and to share the excitement of Targa racing with them.
What Do We Do?
We entertain, engage and educate children, through storytelling!
That is us, in a nutshell of eight words! But we do a great deal more than entertain, engage and educate children, through storytelling. We are not racing car drivers – but we are close!
As the writer of all the Stories My Nana Tells, I know quite a bit about cars and racing. One of my career highlights was becoming the first woman in Australia to sell cars! My name is Lesley Dewar and I spent about ten years in the car industry in Western Australia – in a variety of jobs. There is still a bit of petrol in the blood and running around the Kwinana Motorplex at 200kmh in the GTi Evo was great fun. One of my sons is an XU-1 expert these days, too and loves his cars!
Keeping the conversation going with your kids …
Whether you are away and calling home, or catching up at the end of a busy working day, kids are not the easiest of people [Read more...]