Over the years I've been influenced by a number of remarkable people who have done amazing things.
Some: the writers, the singers, the artistes, have powered into my psyche by saying or writing words which have resonated with me on a personal level, reflecting some aspect of my life back at me, as if they were speaking just to me. Songs written for armies of other people have felt like they were MY song when a few select words have echoed a thought or a feeling that I've had.
Others: actors and actresses, have sandblasted their way through my tougher exterior and melted my inner thoughts and challenges, leading a way for me to follow.
Others still: seemingly random things that someone does or says, and which have a profound impact on how I think, feel, relate.
I think we all have these.
What's important it's what we do with them - that we stop and take a moment to listen to the message they are telling us, take in what their story has to share with us, understand their truth and how it can lead us to better things.
It's also really important, where possible, that we let these inspiring people know what impact they have had on us, how something that they have done has imparted knowledge or truth or feelings for us. If you get an opportunity to do so, let someone know that what they have said or done has had an impact on your life.
Meet and connect with your heroes and heroines where you can - go to a book signing, wait at the stage door after a show, message or tweet them to let them know their impact.
Then go out there and aim to be a positive influence in someone else's life yourself.
Meet your heroes - let them know what they have meant to you. Then go out and be one.
Onwards and upwards!
Angela Garry
Wednesday, 13 July 2016
Monday, 11 July 2016
Update re: my March 2016 post "Bad Debtors - TIME TO NAME AND SHAME"
Original posting: 11 March 2016.
Updated: 11 July 2016 (as the offenders have taken down their www.globalfocus.co.ke website - so I'm now including their Facebook and LinkedIn URLs instead).
Notes: My comments sent to the company via Twitter and Facebook in March 2016 were deleted.
I am STILL owed $930 by Global Focus Training Group.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It's time that I publicly name and shame a bad debtor - Global Focus Training Group (https://www.facebook.com/globalfocus.co.ke and https://www.linkedin.com/company/global-focus-training-group) and my contact there, Mr Paul Kimeriah, based in Nairobi, Kenya.
I'm fed up with waiting nicely, and begging and pleading to be paid my fee for performing work for them. Delivering training is my work, my business, my livelihood, and I am owed money which is rightfully mine. So, let me tell you the details, in the hope that no-one else gets stuck in the same predicament...
Nearly a year and a half ago I went on a trip to Africa to deliver some training. I had been approached by a company who asked me to run a 3-day programme in two venues - one in Nairobi (Kenta) and then again a couple of days later in Arusha (Tanzania). I had a great time on the trip, the trainees in both venues were lovely, they all gave really positive feedback on the training, and the two guys from the company who booked me were very enthusiastic about making plans for further trips, more courses, building a PA network and running a magazine - all with my involvement. Everything seemed rosy. The agreement had been half of the fee beforehand, half on completion. They paid the two halves in relation to fee for the Nairobi course, and the first half of the fee for the Arusha course. The final portion would be paid electronically as I left Africa. Except it wasn't paid - and still hasn't been, in full.
Quite possibly I could say "more fool me" for allowing myself to be duped. However, the company had already paid the other three portions of fees electronically - and we were already planning repeat trips and more training. I saw no reason to not believe that they wouldn't pay me. The final portion of the fee, including the cost of my travel visas, came to $1300 US. When it was not paid within a month of returning to my home in the UK, I invoiced them again, now adding a 10% late fee. This brought the outstanding amount to $1430, in November 2014.
I sent repeated messages to the company during this time and afterwards, only to be continually either ignored or told that they were still awaiting some payments. So, I emailed the attendees of both of my courses - had anyone not paid yet, and if so, could they please do so? All of the responses I received were that the attendees had paid in full. I chased the company further and continued to be fobbed off with excuses or no responses at all. Eventually, around Easter 2015 I called in a firm of international debt collectors who then chased on my behalf, on and off. Finally, in December 2015 a payment of $500 was sent through to my bank. This still left almost $1k outstanding. The debt collectors said that they hoped the company would pay the remainder by February.
In March 2016 I awoke to see yet another posting from the company on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, proclaiming the successful delivery of their latest training programme, with a photo of a reasonable number of smiling attendees. (I mention 'reasonable number' as it could be claimed that a very small group might not have earned them enough money to pay me - but the photo shows enough people, I'm sure, to manage it.) Still no payment though. So I decided ENOUGH IS ENOUGH - the time has come to name and shame, and I posted comments on their Facebook page asking to be paid - and the comments were removed almost immediately. I then posted comments on Twitter, LinkedIn and formally shared the Facebook post with all of my contacts. (Let's not forget that I'm the world's most connected PA Trainer, after all.)
The offending company is Global Focus Training Group - https://www.facebook.com/globalfocus.co.ke/ - my main contact there was Paul Kimeriah.
In addition to today's postings about their latest course, in the many months since I delivered the training for their attendees, their Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/globalfocus.co.ke/?pnref=story ) has shown that they have run at least 10 courses, probably more, throughout Kenya, Rwanda, UAE, etc.
And yet they still owe me $930 for delivering training which received excellent feedback from all of the attendees.
BAD FORM, GLOBAL FOCUS TRAINING GROUP AND PAUL KIMERIAH! PAY YOUR DEBTS!!
Disgruntled? Me? Oh yeah.
Please share this post. Thank you.
Angela Garry
Updated: 11 July 2016 (as the offenders have taken down their www.globalfocus.co.ke website - so I'm now including their Facebook and LinkedIn URLs instead).
Notes: My comments sent to the company via Twitter and Facebook in March 2016 were deleted.
I am STILL owed $930 by Global Focus Training Group.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It's time that I publicly name and shame a bad debtor - Global Focus Training Group (https://www.facebook.com/globalfocus.co.ke and https://www.linkedin.com/company/global-focus-training-group) and my contact there, Mr Paul Kimeriah, based in Nairobi, Kenya.
I'm fed up with waiting nicely, and begging and pleading to be paid my fee for performing work for them. Delivering training is my work, my business, my livelihood, and I am owed money which is rightfully mine. So, let me tell you the details, in the hope that no-one else gets stuck in the same predicament...
Nearly a year and a half ago I went on a trip to Africa to deliver some training. I had been approached by a company who asked me to run a 3-day programme in two venues - one in Nairobi (Kenta) and then again a couple of days later in Arusha (Tanzania). I had a great time on the trip, the trainees in both venues were lovely, they all gave really positive feedback on the training, and the two guys from the company who booked me were very enthusiastic about making plans for further trips, more courses, building a PA network and running a magazine - all with my involvement. Everything seemed rosy. The agreement had been half of the fee beforehand, half on completion. They paid the two halves in relation to fee for the Nairobi course, and the first half of the fee for the Arusha course. The final portion would be paid electronically as I left Africa. Except it wasn't paid - and still hasn't been, in full.
Quite possibly I could say "more fool me" for allowing myself to be duped. However, the company had already paid the other three portions of fees electronically - and we were already planning repeat trips and more training. I saw no reason to not believe that they wouldn't pay me. The final portion of the fee, including the cost of my travel visas, came to $1300 US. When it was not paid within a month of returning to my home in the UK, I invoiced them again, now adding a 10% late fee. This brought the outstanding amount to $1430, in November 2014.
I sent repeated messages to the company during this time and afterwards, only to be continually either ignored or told that they were still awaiting some payments. So, I emailed the attendees of both of my courses - had anyone not paid yet, and if so, could they please do so? All of the responses I received were that the attendees had paid in full. I chased the company further and continued to be fobbed off with excuses or no responses at all. Eventually, around Easter 2015 I called in a firm of international debt collectors who then chased on my behalf, on and off. Finally, in December 2015 a payment of $500 was sent through to my bank. This still left almost $1k outstanding. The debt collectors said that they hoped the company would pay the remainder by February.
In March 2016 I awoke to see yet another posting from the company on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, proclaiming the successful delivery of their latest training programme, with a photo of a reasonable number of smiling attendees. (I mention 'reasonable number' as it could be claimed that a very small group might not have earned them enough money to pay me - but the photo shows enough people, I'm sure, to manage it.) Still no payment though. So I decided ENOUGH IS ENOUGH - the time has come to name and shame, and I posted comments on their Facebook page asking to be paid - and the comments were removed almost immediately. I then posted comments on Twitter, LinkedIn and formally shared the Facebook post with all of my contacts. (Let's not forget that I'm the world's most connected PA Trainer, after all.)
The offending company is Global Focus Training Group - https://www.facebook.com/globalfocus.co.ke/ - my main contact there was Paul Kimeriah.
In addition to today's postings about their latest course, in the many months since I delivered the training for their attendees, their Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/globalfocus.co.ke/?pnref=story ) has shown that they have run at least 10 courses, probably more, throughout Kenya, Rwanda, UAE, etc.
And yet they still owe me $930 for delivering training which received excellent feedback from all of the attendees.
BAD FORM, GLOBAL FOCUS TRAINING GROUP AND PAUL KIMERIAH! PAY YOUR DEBTS!!
Disgruntled? Me? Oh yeah.
Please share this post. Thank you.
Angela Garry
Have you got imposter syndrome?
Hi there. Yes, it's been a while.... so, how've you been?
Life has been hectic for me in the last few months, and something that's been grumbling away in the background is what I'm posting about today. You know when you've got an ache, and you think "I'll look that up on the internet, see what it might be?" Well, it's fascinating what you can find by googling...
And another, which says that it can actually be a GOOD thing for us to have: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-36082469
Take charge of your internal imposter feelings now!
ONWARDS AND UPWARDS.............
Life has been hectic for me in the last few months, and something that's been grumbling away in the background is what I'm posting about today. You know when you've got an ache, and you think "I'll look that up on the internet, see what it might be?" Well, it's fascinating what you can find by googling...
Do you ever have days when you feel that you're not all you're cracked up to be? That someone somewhere sometime is going to expose you as a 'fraud' for not being as good at what you do as you (or others) claim you are? A fear of not being good enough, of being 'found out'? Apparently there's a name for this - 'Imposter Syndrome'.
I think this is something I've always felt a bit of - not being good enough, or not being quite enough. If you've felt it too, you're not alone. The late Maya Angelou wrote: “I have written eleven books, but each time I think, ‘uh oh, they’re going to find out now. I’ve run a game on everybody, and they’re going to find me out'."
And it's not just you, me and Maya Angelou.... It's a known issue, worldwide.
Wikipedia says: "Impostor syndrome (also known as impostor phenomenon or fraud syndrome) is a term coined in 1978 by clinical psychologists Dr. Pauline R. Clance and Suzanne A. Imes referring to high-achieving individuals marked by an inability to internalize their accomplishments and a persistent fear of being exposed as a 'fraud'."
Whenever
my internal imposter feelings pop up, I remind myself - for every one
negative thing I feel, think or hear about myself, I've also received a
whole heap more words in praise that I need to remember and keep in mind. Quite possibly, it's human nature for
us to ignore those positive things and only look out for / listen to the
bad. We need to turn that around.
Here's a fantastic post about imposter syndrome, and how to deal with it... http://startupbros.com/21-ways-overcome-impostor-syndrome/
And another, which says that it can actually be a GOOD thing for us to have: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-36082469
ONWARDS AND UPWARDS.............
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