The Path to Success

“Turning 40 was a milestone in more ways than one for me.  Someone asked me shortly before I turned 40 if I was happy with my life so far and did I have any regrets. I mentally started reassessing my life and came to the conclusion that I had not been happy for a very long time and the only one who could change that situation was me.  So I decided to end my unhappy marriage, stand on my own two feet and take a bold step to reclaim my happiness.

Suddenly I became a single Mum of two teenagers still attending high school, and was working as an Administration Assistant in a nursing home earning a fairly low income. Working with the elderly was a pure delight and every day I woke up happy to go off to work. I had a great boss who appreciated the extra effort and we were a great team. Then due to ill health my boss left work, in came the new boss and my bubble was somewhat burst. 

It didn’t happen overnight, but my new boss and I just didn’t really click. No matter how hard I worked, nothing ever seemed good enough for the new boss. Our relationship deteriorated to the point where her behaviour towards me started to undermine my confidence and affect my health. It became a struggle to go to work and put on a happy face. Eventually I had enough and I made a formal complaint of bullying against my boss. The company management initially supported me and organized mediation between the two of us. During the mediation time I moved to another work location until the 6 weeks that it took to finish the process had ended. After the mediation was complete, I was allowed back to my work site and I felt confident that the bad feelings had been resolved. 

A couple of weeks after returning to work, I went on 2 weeks holiday.  When I returned to work, I found my office cleaned out and my boss nowhere to be seen. I was about to go searching for her when I was confronted by a senior manager in the organization who presented me with a letter saying I had to attend a meeting the next day to discuss my future with the company.  She then asked me to go home and escorted me off the premises like I was a criminal. I returned the next day to be told I was sacked and see you later!  To say I was devastated was an understatement.  I was now an unemployed single mother relying on benefits until I found another job”.

This is an excerpt from my story which was printed in “The Path to Success” by Sandy Forster in 2008.

It is now 5 years on from when I was sacked from my admin job and I embarked on a new adventure of renovating houses for profit and then going on to create a niche home staging business, Houses to Impress, around my new found skills and expertise.

On top of that, I have become an author in my own right with my newly released book Sold for Top Dollar hitting the market in late April! Although I have to pinch myself some days to make sure I am not dreaming, my life is not without ongoing challenges. I would love to share some of my journey with you through this blog.

Charyn Youngson
Director of Houses to Impress
www.housestoimpress.com
www.soldfortopdollar.com.au

Holding the body together

I know I made a passing reference to using headaches as my main resistance to keeping to a regular fitness program and I joked about it. The truth of the matter though, it is a reasonable excuse in my case. I have been a migraine sufferer since the age of 14 and when I was only 19 I was in a rear end car collision that resulted in my first whiplash injury. Through most of my 20’s I put up with a stiff neck and debilitating headaches that lasted for 2-3 days at a time.  I’d have to lie down in a dark room in silence waiting for the pain to subside and the painkillers to have some effect. No sooner would I get over one migraine then it would start all over again!

I’ve never been a fan of the traditional medical profession ever since I went to a doctor when I was only 16 to get some help with my migraines to be given the advice that it was all in my head – there was no such thing as migraines he informed me! He was right, the pain was in my head but it was real, not imaginary and I should have expected better advice from a so called professional.  So since the age of 16 I have sought non traditional help to manage my headaches – chiropractic, massage, acupuncture – you name it – I’ve tried it. There doesn’t seem to be a sure fire cure to migraine headaches and exercise has always exacerbated the problem for me. The best I could do was to preserve my body the best way I saw fit. When I was in my late 30’s I had another rear end car collision and once again I was faced with constant headaches and a neck I couldn’t fully rotate. This time there was medical evidence I had degeneration in my neck. It took nearly 3 years to gain full mobility back in my neck and to ease the headaches and I still have regular massage and chiropractic treatment to maintain the health of my neck and back.

So that being said, I was quite aware that starting a new fitness regimen may not only spark sore muscles in places I didn’t know I had, but that the running may stir up my neck and headache problems.  While on my runs I was extra conscious of keeping the shoulders relaxed and my chin tucked in and to stretch after each run and so far so good. However on 6th run just as I got back home I felt a twinge in my hip and automatically recognised that my pelvis had dropped – another quirky feature my body likes to throw at me occasionally.  I immediately rang my chiropractor and booked in for an adjustment and thankfully he squeezed me in. I was expecting a lecture from him when I told him I had started running but when I explained the walk/run program I was following and  how I was adding a small yoga after each session he gave consent to continue. “Keep up the yoga – it’s your saving grace” he said.

So hip back in place, I’m back in action!

Walk Run Program

Well I started my walk run program!  I have the extremely good fortune of my home being exactly 5 minutes from the local soccer pitch, which is the recommended warm up and warm down time that needs to be incorporated at the beginning and end of the walk run program. Once I reached the pitch I timed my first one minute walk before starting the first of 7 runs. It was a little difficult keeping the timing exact for the 1 min swap over between the walks and runs because I’m as blind as a bat without my reading glasses. I did wear the watch with the largest face that I own but I still struggled to see the second hand moving! However I soon worked out that it took about 1 minute to walk one side of the 4 sided pitch and the 1 ½ minutes run was about one and a half sides of the pitch so I stopped trying to see the second hand on my watch and instead gauged the changeovers on the distance I ran around the pitch.

The walks in between the runs made them bearable and gave me chance to keep my breathing under control. I was breathing so heavy about the halfway mark that I felt a bit light headed but the feeling passed thank God!   Then you start feeling muscles cry out in strange places – let the pain begin. You don’t realise how many things you have to think of while you are exercising – breathe deeply, suck in your pelvic floor to add to your core strength (very important at my age), keep the shoulders relaxed and chin in… was that number 4 run or number 5???  Keeping count is a mind game in itself.  Ok I’ve only got 2 runs left – I can do it! One run left – I’m almost there. On the last run I got a sharp pain in one foot so I had to stop and stretch it – I’m not sure whether it was a cramp or just a pain but I finished the last run a little bit short and just walked the pain out until it felt ok. I still had to do the five minute walk home but I felt surprisingly uplifted on that walk home and that it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I finished the session off with 10 minutes of dru yoga and 5 minutes of meditation and felt very pleased with my self for the rest of the day.

 Day 2 – I opened my eyes and ears and heard raindrops. Surely I can’t exercise in the rain! It could have been so easy to use that as an excuse and not get out of bed but I thought I can hardly give up after one day. So I got up, got dressed and by the time I pulled my sneakers on the rain had cleared.  It was actually refreshing breathing in the wonderful smells of damp grass while I walked to the park. Definitely one of the side benefits of exercising outdoors is to get in touch with nature. Beats working out in a gym any day!

My leg muscles seemed a little resistant to the first run but I soon got into the rhythm and before long I had made it to the halfway mark.  Keep breathing, keep moving, visualise the wobbly bits getting firmer! Before long I was on the walk home having finished my second walk/run. The rain had stayed away and I felt ok until the last 100 metres to my house. All of a sudden my muscles started aching and I could hardly move my legs in front of me. I struggled up the steps to my front door and immediately headed for the bathroom to run a hot bath. I raided the pantry cupboard for the bi-carb soda and added a combination of essential oils to the running water that I thought would help relieve the aches and paints. While the bath was running I did my 10 minute yoga session and then I headed to the bathroom where I soaked in the bath for a good 20 minutes.

The bath helped dissolve the stiff muscles and day three I was up and running again. Day 4 was a day of rest and boy did I enjoy that! It gave my body a chance to recover and revive before resuming my program on Day 5. I was halfway through my first week of my walk run program and although it wasn’t easy, I was feeling more energised. Hopefully my body will hold up……
 

Running to 50

I haven’t run anywhere for about 25 years. Running is my least favourite exercise and I usually avoid it like the plague. But a funny thing happened the other night when I was lying face down on the massage table. The beautiful lady, Blis who was doing a spiritual clearing massage on me laughed at my wobbly bits and said “Charyn you have such a fat ass! I just want to lay down on it and fall asleep!”   Now no-one really wants to be told they have a fat ass but it’s not as though I wasn’t aware of it – I merely had been accepting of my slowly expanding womanly shape as I got older and unfortunately less active. Hell If I can’t love my body at this stage in my life, then who else can! The truth is though I’m not happy with my wobbly bits and it’s about time I did something about them.

After the massage when I was debriefing with Blis, she asked me what was my resistance to exercise and I thought about it and replied – it gives me a headache. Well she gave me this piercing look and said “so does sex but does that stop one partaking in it?”  She has an interesting point of view. “Charyn you need to engage in some sweaty exercise like running to get yourself in shape. Forget about running to lose weight or change shape – think about it as getting your body ready for the next man in your life. You want it to be strong and firm not loose and wobbly.”   Well that vision of Blis falling asleep on my big fat ass has finally motivated me to get moving this morning. I jumped out of bed at 6 am pulled on my sexy running gear (Blis told me I need to be looking great while I exercise) turned on my ipod, cranked up my favourite Pink album and set off for the nearby football pitch as the sun was coming up.

To get prepared I googled “Beginners running tips” the night before and found a beginners plan to gently ease me into a running program so I don’t injure myself or give up.  The golden rule on how to start running is to be patient. Let your body adjust to the running gradually and don't be tempted to rush it. That is great advice but in the past when I have decided to get fit and start an exercise regime I have always been so fired up and gung ho about it I end up with so many aches and pains. I hate pain, so pretty soon it’s always been a very good excuse to stop doing it.

This time it’s going to be different. I am going to start on the recommended walk/run program… The website had a one week plan to walk/run, starting with 1 minute walk followed by 1 minute run with 7 reps until you have done 14 minutes. 14 minutes – I can do that!  It doesn’t seem so daunting when you break it up like that. Then each week you gradually increase the time you can run – forget about how far you are running or how fast – just concentrate on increasing the time you can run. Seems very achievable to me!

Not only do I have a sensible plan but I have that motivation of getting my body in top condition for the next man in my life! I remember when I was 13 (only just!). Up until then I had always bitten my fingernails. I had tried all sorts of remedies including painting foul tasting liquid on my nails to deter me from taking a nibble.  Nothing worked until one day I had this thought that boys weren’t going to like me unless I had beautiful long nails. I stopped biting them overnight and have had beautiful long nails ever since.  It is amazing how our minds work – we just need to have the right mindset and the motivating factor that will really make a difference.

This time I definitely have the motivation that is going to make a difference – the vision of my super taut body wrapped around a man! I’ll keep you posted on my running journey.

Benefits of Power Napping

Are you one of those who believe that an afternoon nap is laziness or for old and sick people? People jokingly refer to it as a “nanna nap” but there may be proof that catching a few zzz’s in the afternoon can be beneficial to your health.

I have been working excessive hours of late, sometimes 18 hour days and yesterday in the middle of a Friday afternoon I honestly felt like and easily could have just laid my head down on the desk and snoozed off.  But I pushed through the overwhelming tiredness and continued on working.  Today was Saturday and I had some errands to do, grocery shopping that was needed to fill the pantry and since the weather is starting to cool down a little here in Adelaide, bit of shopping for some new season clothes. When I got home in the early afternoon I was both hungry and tired so first I ate then I took the Saturday paper off to bed with me, read for a little while and then had a much needed afternoon nap. I felt great when I got up. Not only was I energised but I was actually feeling creative …hence this article!

It reminded me that many years ago when my children were young and not very good sleepers and I struggled with never-ending tiredness I used to regularly have a Sunday afternoon nap. It was honestly the highlight of my week. Closing my bedroom door, shutting out the world and recharging my batteries gave me the strength to get through the next week. Well my children are now adults and I live alone so I can’t use that excuse but I am thinking perhaps for my own sanity to get me through this extremely stressful and busy time maybe I should invest in some “me time” that includes power naps.

I did a bit of research and scientists have found in recent years that the human body requires only as much sleep as the brain will allow it. In other words, so long as the brain is functioning at full capacity, there’s no great requirement for sleep. The big thing is that the brain needs a rest every now and then, and apparently, the brain can refresh itself and go on “like with a full tank of gas” with just a short, 20-minute power nap.

Apparently these short 20-minute power naps for people who are really engrossed in their work, almost always provide a fresh burst of new ideas and energy. As a creative person, I always need new ideas! Power naps tend to eliminate the need for caffeine boosts during the workday and they guarantee a reserve of energy so that the working day isn’t followed by an evening in which one then falls asleep on the couch watching TV or even worse at a social event.

My research even found a book written on the topic Take a Nap! Change Your Life by author Dr. Sara Mednick. Take a Nap! Change Your Life is the scientifically-based breakthrough program that shows how we can fight the fatigue epidemic. sing the unique Nap Wheel on the cover and interior graphs and charts, it shows us exactly when our optimum napping time is, and exactly how long we should try to sleep—even how it’s possible to design a nap to inspire creativity one day, and the next day design one to help us with our memory. There are tips on how to create the right nap environment, a 16-step technique for falling asleep, a six-week napping workbook, and more. It even talks about how it’s possible to design a nap to inspire creativity one day, and the next day design one to help us with our memory.

So next time I feel like having a doze in the middle of the afternoon I am not going to fight it.  I am not going to feel guilty.  I am simply going to lay down on my office couch have a power nap and fill my brain up with gas!

Sold for Top Dollar arrives.

Today I officially became an author! The first delivery of my book Sold For Top Dollar – Low Cost Home Improvements to Maximise your Sale arrived at my front door late this afternoon and my daughter Kate and I declared happy hour and cracked open a bottle of bubbly!

Who would have thought that 2 years ago, when the seed of an idea about writing a book germinated in my mind, that today I would be a fully fledged self published author with an international book distribution deal.

Wow how did that happen? It has been an amazing journey, starting with a critical turning point in my life when a relationship with a man who I thought was my soul mate, ended for no reason. To say it dented my self confidence is an understatement and I don’t want to bore you with the details. But what I will share is I went through a very dark period where it took every fiber of my being, to climb out of a very deep hole.

I can remember the morning that the announcement came through on the TV in my bedroom that Heath Ledger had died of an overdose. When the commentators were talking about the problems he had with sleeping after he completed filming the Dark Knight and the break up of his marriage, I could totally relate to the fact that I’d just like to fall asleep and not wake up. It’s not like I wanted to die, as I’m sure Heath didn’t, it’s just that when your life is in turmoil and you can’t sleep, you can’t eat, you can’t turn off the chatter in your brain, you just want some peace – you just want to sleep!

Unlike Heath, I didn’t turn to drugs and I didn’t resort to alcohol – I was encouraged by my Life Coach, Danni, to start small and dream big! So I immersed myself in work and creativity! I had a vision of where I wanted to go with my business and I created opportunities for myself that I took immediate action on. A week after discussing my idea to write a book with Danni, I had the opportunity to be a contributing author in a compilation book of inspirational stories from authors around the world that was being published by Inspired Spirit Publishing. I jumped at the chance and within 3 months of my application I was a published author in The Path to Success which was distributed both in the USA, Australia and several other countries. I was on the same front cover as Mark Victor Hansen, Jack Canfield and Dr Wayne Dwyer. Amazing! Mark Victor Hansen and Jack Canfield of Chicken Soup for the Soul series have sold 130 million copies of their books worldwide and they are on the same book cover as me!

Next step…..write my own book – Sold for Top Dollar.

229 days and counting down until I turn 50

In my last post I was talking about how facebook has changed my view of the world and made me realise we are all so much closer as a Global community. When I finished writing the post, I went onto facebook to let my friend Kerrie know that I had mentioned her and her book and noticed she had just updated her status to say her father in law had just passed away.  In that moment I was able to offer some comfort and support and let her know I was thinking of her and her family. I wasn't the only one – many of her online friends have expressed caring and support to Kerrie since then. I know Kerrie is heartened to know she isn't alone and that collectively her global facebook community is there in spirit to help her through this sad time. We really are living in an amazing time in with technology where in an instant of something happening we can communicate an event to a large audience and we can connect to the people who care about us.

It is a public holiday in Adelaide today (Adelaide Cup Day) and I am extremely grateful to have had a three day weekend to recharge my batteries. Last year was an extremely busy and hectic time while I was juggling working in my business, attempting to work on my business and at the same time writing a book about what I do in my business. Needless to say I didn’t have much downtime! In fact I was pretty much working 24/7!

I am sure that a lot of entrepreneurs out there experience the same daily battle of attempting to keep a healthy balance in our lives. When we embrace the technology of internet and social media marketing it is all very exciting. There is always something new to learn, new techniques to keep up with and new people to connect with. It is so easy to get swallowed up by the need to know what is happening every minute of every day and to actually turn off from the constant updates. Every day while I am here at my computer working I get constant updates – facebook messages that pop up, new emails and skype conversations etc that I feel I have to respond to immediately.

This year, 2010, my New Year resolution was to invest more time in myself, get back to basics and focus on my health and well being. I started the year off with good intentions by booking myself into a weekend yoga retreat and made a commitment to spend more time practicing Dru Yoga. I haven’t been as diligent as I hoped with this commitment but I am hoping to do another retreat real soon.

It became more evident this week that I have to try even harder to switch off and relax when I had some routine blood tests that identified I was anemic! So that explains the constant feeling of exhaustion! Having a 3 day weekend was a golden opportunity to potter around the house, catch up with family and friends and watch a movie or two. Yesterday I resolved myself from even turning the computer on and I had a wonderful day out and about. I was tempted to check my emails when I got home but I successfully restrained myself and the world didn’t fall in!  I also spent most of Adelaide Cup Day away from the computer but really had to turn on to write my blog.

Let me know how you cope with the work/leisure time condundrum.

230 Days and counting till I turn 50

I can clearly remember when I was advised by my internet marketing coach to get on Facebook about 18 months ago and start building a profile, as this was going to be a great business strategy.

I originally had no concept of how it worked and initially was very hesitant to get on there and start making friends. I had much, much better things to do and thought it was the biggest waste of time and something for the younger generation!  Over time though I got the hang of just observing what my community of facebook friends were saying and felt that I was getting to know some of them.

Almost a year ago, I travelled to the Gold Coast for a 3 day seminar on “How to Write a Best Seller”.  I had started writing my book at that time but was floundering a bit with the processes and thought this course would be the answer to how I could turn my book into successful business strategy. I went with a friend but didn’t expect to know anyone else in a small conference room on the other side of the country.

Imagine my surprise when I came face to face with one of my facebook friends Kerrie Phipps!  We had communicated a few times, even once had a phone conversation but we had never met. She lived in Dubbo and I was from Adelaide.  It blew my mind that that communicating via facebook could lead to a completely unplanned and random meeting in a distant location.

Kerrie and I became fast (actual) friends from that day on and we were both accepted on the book writing program to write a best seller.  We have supported each other through the challenges of running our own businesses and trying to find the time to write a book. We have had some highs and some lows along the journey but we were always there to cheer each other on. Our relationship reminds me of when I was a young girl and I used to write to pen friends overseas.  Technology is changing at such a rapid pace and it is not always easy for my generation to take on but I am so glad that I have now embraced the global facebook community. Now I have jumped out of my comfort zone even more and started writing a blog – who would have thought!! 

I caught up with Kerrie on the Gold Coast again a couple of weeks ago and was one of the first lucky people to get a personally signed copy of her brilliant book “Lifting the Lid on Quiet Achievers – Success Stories of Regional Entrepreneurs”.

It’s a collection of stories of “everyday Aussies” having a go at what they love doing, creating great businesses and impacting on their community along the way. It is an inspiring read and it is a credit to Kerrie that her passion and dedication in unearthing these stories has resulted in showcasing our sometimes forgotten Regional Entrepreneurs. It is in all good book stores all around the country now and if you can’t find a copy click here.

Congratulations Kerrie. I am so proud of you.

Your Facebook Friend
Charyn Youngson

231 days and counting down until I turn 50

Wow! I have publicly announced to the world that this year I will be turning 50!  In 33 weeks, 231 days, exactly. I constantly tell people that age is just a number, which it is and then completely fail to admit my true age. You see, I am very blessed with amazing family genes, which means I look considerably younger than I actually am. So it has been easy to just nod and agree when someone guesses my age at little over 40 and sometimes younger! A little harder to explain when I say I have two adult children aged 24 and 22 however I just quickly say I had them very young!

Why am I sharing this now? Well I recently started writing articles for my new blog without any real direction. But tonight after work I sat down to chill out after another extremely busy and hectic day, to watch a movie that my sister dropped in and ordered me to watch and return by 10pm to the DVD store.  The movie was Julie/Julia, the true life story of Julia Child's story and her start in the cooking profession which is intertwined with blogger Julie Powell's 2002 challenge to cook all the recipes in Child's first book. The light bulb finally came on for me while I was watching this superb storyline.  When Julie Powell was about  to turn 30 and was underemployed with an unpublished novel, she decided to seize the day and cook her way through "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" in a year and to blog about it.

Julia Child and Julie Powell were separated by time and space; both women were at loose ends… until they discovered that with the right combination of passion, fearlessness and butter, that anything is possible. I try to minimize the amount of butter in my daily diet however what I do have in common with Julie and Julia is passion for what I do, fearlessness to take on new challenges and an absolute belief that anything is possible! Their story has inspired me to do what Julie Powell did. She set herself a time challenge to keep herself on track, focused and accountable.

What could I possibly set as my time challenge and what would people like to read about? The only thing I could come up with was my complete avoidance of being happy to celebrate that I was turning 50 this year.  So I have decided to be fearless and admit it to the world and write about my journey for the next 231 days. I am single, so at the end of every day I don't have someone to sit and listen to how my day was – good, bad or downright ugly so from today I am now going to write my daily thoughts in my blog and send them out into cyberspace for anyone and everyone to read. Here goes ….

Day 1 of 231.

Today I signed off with my publisher for the final typesetting and book cover approval for my first book "Sold for Top Dollar – Low Cost Housing Improvements to Maximize your Sale". Very soon I will have a print ready copy in my hot little hands and it will be off to the printers. It is hard to believe that it was 2 years ago when I first had the seed of an idea to write my story about renovating, selling and staging houses for profit. But today I have been pinching myself to accept as true that finally not only have I realised my dream of writing a book to inspire others but I actually have my own publicity agent.  Today my publicity agent sent through for my approval the first press release that is going out to be sent out to all sorts of media announcing the imminent release of my book and the first of many book launches that I have planned for this year.

It is all very exciting and scary at the same time but that's how my life has been for the past 5 years, one exciting, scary day after another! My “Sacked to Successful” story started 5 years ago…………….but that’s another story for another day.

Until tomorrow

Charyn Youngson

STATEMENT BY GLENN STEVENS, GOVERNOR, MONETARY POLICY
 
At its meeting today, the Board decided to raise the cash rate by 25 basis points to 4.0 per cent, effective 3 March 2010. 
 
The global economy is growing, and world GDP is expected to rise at close to trend pace in 2010 and 2011. The expansion is still hesitant in the major countries, due to the continuing legacy of the financial crisis, resulting in ongoing excess capacity. In Asia, where financial sectors are not impaired, growth has continued to be quite strong. The authorities in some countries are now seeking to reduce the degree of stimulus to their economies. 
 
Global financial markets are functioning much better than they were a year ago and the extraordinary support from governments and central banks is gradually being wound back. Credit conditions remain difficult in some major countries as banks continue to face loan losses associated with the period of economic weakness. Concerns regarding some sovereigns remain elevated. 
 
In Australia, economic conditions in 2009 were stronger than expected, after a mild downturn a year ago. The rate of unemployment appears to have peaked at a much lower level than earlier expected. Labour market data and a range of business surveys suggest growth in the economy may have already been at or close to trend for a few months. There are some signs that the process of business sector de-leveraging is moderating, with the pace of decline in business credit lessening and indications that lenders are starting to become more willing to lend to some borrowers. Investment in the resources sector is very strong. Credit for housing has been expanding at a solid pace, and dwelling prices have risen significantly over the past year. New loan approvals for housing have moderated a little over recent months, however, as interest rates have risen and the impact of large grants to first-home buyers has tailed off. 
 
Inflation has, as expected, declined in underlying terms from its peak in 2008, helped by the fall in commodity prices at the end of 2008, a noticeable slowing in private-sector labour costs during 2009, the rise in the exchange rate and the earlier period of slower growth in demand. CPI inflation has risen somewhat recently as temporary factors that had been holding it to unusually low rates are now abating. Inflation is expected to be consistent with the target in 2010. 
 
With the risk of serious economic contraction in Australia having passed, the Board moved late last year to lessen the degree of monetary stimulus that had been put in place when the outlook appeared to be much weaker. Lenders generally raised rates a little more than the cash rate and most loan rates rose by close to a percentage point. 
 
Interest rates to most borrowers nonetheless remain lower than average. The Board judges that with growth likely to be close to trend and inflation close to target over the coming year, it is appropriate for interest rates to be closer to average. Today’s decision is a further step in that process.