emergenactivating emerging leaders

THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF EMERGEN - WWW.EMERGEN.COM.AU

Issue 2, 2011

Alicia’s  Update

Blogging  Etiquette

How  do  you  view  your  work?

Breaking  Bad  Habits

The  Laws  of  Networking

A  Young  Entrepreneur’s  Journey

Meet  Adam  Culligan

Small,  Broken  Beginnings

How  Mentally  Tough  are  you?

Meet  Fay  D’Souza

Emergen  Contributors

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Issue 2 : 2

IN THIS ISSUE

emag

But does anything take more courage - is anything more challenging and sometimes

frightening - than to live by our own mind, judgement and

values? Is not self-esteem a summons to the hero within us?”

“

Nathaniel  Branden

         to  the  second  issue  of  the  Emergen  e-­‐mag.      Emergen  is  a  collaborative  community,  activating  emerging  leaders  through  providing  connections,  inspiration  and  promotion.    

Over  the  last  couple  of  months,  we  have  seen  the  launch  of  many  new  initiatives  including  the  Blogging  for  a  Cause  projects  highlighting  International  Women’s  Day  and  National  Volunteer  Week  as  well  as  the  monthly  competitions  focusing  on  topics  such  as  inspiring  community  leaders,  time  management  and  resume  writing.    Well  done  to  Janine  and  Ally  for  organising  these  initiatives!

This  e-­‐mag  is  here  to  promote  some  of  the    amazing  contributions  of  members  on  the  Emergen  website.    All  the  articles  written  in  this  e-­‐mag  have  been  blog  posts  on  the  online  community.    We  have  such  a  talented  bunch  of  bloggers  and  we  would  like  to  share  them  with  you.  

Alicia  Curtis

PS    -­‐    If  you  like  this  e-­‐mag,  please  share  it  with  your  friends  and  colleagues.    

Stay in touch with Alicia

EDITOR’S NOTE

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Alicia Curtis is one of Australia’s most experienced mentors of emerging leaders. She empowers young employees, entrepreneurs and social innovators through her engaging workshop programs. She also releases an annual report on the challenges and aspirations of young leaders in the workplace. Alicia founded Emergen as an online space to activate the leadership potential of young professionals. www.aliciacurtis.com

Welcome  

Issue 2 : 4

alicia’s update

Blogging Etiquette

I've  been  blogging  for  about  10  months  -­‐  how  the  time  8lies!  I  think  back  to  when  I  started  and  I  had  no  clue  whatsoever.  I  thought  blogging  was  as  simple  as  stringing  some  words  together  and  clicking  'publish'.  Little  did  I  know  that  there  is  such  a  thing  as  'blogging  etiquette'.

Top  Tips  for  Bloggers

✓ Proofread  your  post  before  publishing  -­‐  not  once  but  twice  (at  least)!  

✓ Check  your  spelling,  grammar  and  punctuation;

✓ Check  your  formatting,  especially  when  pasting  contents  from  somewhere  else:  line  spacing,  font  type  and  size,  letter  spacing,  etc,  can  go  array;

✓ Reconsider  the  length  of  your  sentences,  and  the  post:  at  times  so  much  more  can  be  said  using  less  words;

✓ Watch  your  language;✓ Don’t  copy  someone  else’s  content  -­‐  

acknowledge  your  sources;✓ Think  about  your  subject  matter  and  

the  relevance  to  the  forum;✓ Show  some  TLC  -­‐  Tweet,  Like  and  

Comment  other  bloggers  posts!✓ Remember  that  your  posts  AND  

comments  contribute  to  your  personal  brand;

✓ Be  respectful  to  other  bloggers  and  commenters;

✓ Remain  truthful  to  yourself  and  your  integrity;

✓ Engage  your  readers;✓ If  you  are  going  to  ‘have  a  rant’  about  

something,  try  breathing  before  publishing  your  post  by  saving  and  revisiting  it  when  you  have  cooled  down  -­‐  it’s  amazing  what  a  difference  it  makes.

 

Remember  that  blogging  is  a  journey  on  

which  we  all  learn  from  each  other.

Janine Ripperwww.reflectionsfromaredhead.com 

Emerging Leaders are encouraged to add their

blogs to www.emergen.com.au

SHORT FEATURE

Issue 2 : 5

I  find  it  interes2ng  to  read  on  facebook  and  twi8er  how  people  talk  about  their  work  -­‐  some  seem  to  have  a  good  day  everyday  and  feel  energised  by  their  work,  while  others  can’t  wait  to  get  home  each  day!    

With  a  little  investigating  about  what  made  people  happy  at  work,  I  came  across  a  study  by  Wrzesniewski,  McCauley,  Rozin  and  Schwartz  that  found  three  common  ways  that  people  saw  their  work.  It  was  either  a:

Job: not  a  positive  part  of  your  life,  something  that  gained  8inancial  rewards  only  and  not  enjoyment  or  ful8illment.

How do you view your work? Do you have a job, career or a calling?

Career: where  there  was  not  only  8inancial  gain  but  also  some  career  advancement  within  their  organisation  too.  

or  

Calling: where  people  are  motivated  to  work  not  only  for  the  8inancial  or  career  advancement  gain  but  they  viewed  their  work  as  ful8illing  and  socially  useful  to  the  world.  

Which  one  8its  you  right  now?  Do  you  think  your  line  of  work  is  a  calling?    

FEATURE

You  would  think  that  some  jobs  may  be  more  in  line  with  being  a  calling  than  others.  For  example,  surely  being  a  teacher  or  an  international  aid  worker  would  always  be  a  calling  compared  to  being  a  factory  worker  or  a  cleaner!      But  apparently  not.    The  researchers  found  there  would  be  all  three  dispositions  in  most  industries.    So  how  can  that  be?    How  could  someone  view  a  job  as  a  cleaner  as  a  calling?    

Well  therein  lies  the  secret,  it  all  depends  on  how  we  view  

things.  

In  a  similar  study,  Wrzeniewski  and  Dutton  interviewed  a  range  of  hospital  cleaners,  some  who  saw  their  work  as  a  calling  compared  to  others  who  saw  it  as  a  job.    So  what  was  the  difference?  

The  study  went  on  to  describe  other  examples  in  a  whole  range  of  industries  including  hairdressing,  engineering,  nursing,  information  technology  and  hospitality,  demonstrating  no  matter  what  our  industry,  how  we  view  our  work  will  have  a  strong  effect  on  our  work  satisfaction.  

It’s  similar  to  the  work  of  Mihaly  Csikszentmihalyi,  who  in  his  book  Flow,  explores  how  people  reach  8low  (an  optimal  state  of  experience)  in  their  work  by  working  on  goal  directed  activities  that  challenge  our  skills  and  expertise.  

Work  is  such  a  big  part  of  our  lives  and  despite  whatever  circumstances  we  have  to  deal  with  at  work,  we  as  individuals  can  reframe  our  view  of  work  to  create  meaning  and  possibly  live  a  happier  life  as  a  result.    

So  this  is  my  challenge  to  you….  if  you’re  seeing  your  work  as  more  of  a  job  than  a  career  or  calling,  how  can  you  change  your  disposition?

Alicia  Cur2sEmergen  Founderwww.aliciacur2s.com

FEATURE

Issue 2 : 7

The  employees  who  saw  their  work  as  

a  calling  did  the  following  things:

-­‐    broadened  their  formal  job  

boundaries  to  include  addi=onal  tasks  

such  as  interac=ng  with  pa=ents,  

bringing  flowers  to  brighten  the  day  of  

staff  or  showing  visitors  around.  

-­‐    =med  their  work  to  be  the  most  

efficient.

-­‐    saw  the  bigger  picture  of  the  work  

they  were  doing  eg  helping  pa=ents  get  

beDer.

You  know  you  should  stop  chewing  your  nails,  that  you  don’t  get  much  done  when  you  log  onto  Facebook  and  that  ea2ng  fish  and  chips  from  the  greasy  deli  is  a  really  bad  idea….but  you  s2ll  do  these  things  anyway.

People  usually  persist  with  bad  habits  because  they  get  some  personal  satisfaction  or  reward  from  engaging  in  the  behaviour.      Let’s  face  it,  bad  habits  are  hard  to  break.  Forming  new,  healthier  habits  can  be  even  harder.

According  to  Dr  Nora  Volkow  the  human  brain  is  hard  wired  to  give  greater  value  to  an  immediate  reward  as  opposed  to  something  that  is  delayed.      You  have  a  choice:  Eat  the  chocolate  now  or  have  a  carrot  instead?    For  most  of  us,  simply  knowing  that  eating  the  carrot  is  going  to  eventually  result  in  weight  loss  and  feeling  healthier  usually  won’t  be  enough  to  sway  us.  What  we  want  is  the  immediate  reward  of  sugary,  delicious  chocolate.

And  the  reason  for  this  can  be  found  in  the  neurotransmitter  dopamine.  Dopamine  is  linked  to  pleasurable  experiences  and  our  perception  of  positive  experiences.

So  every  time  you  eat  a  piece  of  chocolate  or  a  delicious  slice  of  pizza  this  pleasure  sensing  chemical  is  released  in  the  brain.    This  dopamine  hit  acts  like  a  reward  to  us  and  reinforces  the  activity  and  neural  connection  in  the  brain.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  we  often  engage  in  behaviours  in  an  automatic  way  without  much  conscious  thought  or  effort.

The  good  news  is  that  every  day  people  are  successful  in  changing  their  

behaviour,  whether  it  be  foregoing  a  packet  of  cigarettes,  running  on  the  treadmill  or  cutting  back  on  junk  food.  

Change  is  possible.    

But  how  can  you  effectively  break  a  bad  habit?  Here  are  some  suggestions  from  the  experts.

The Art of Breaking Bad HabitsMake  the  behaviour  impossible

Researcher  Wander  Jager  believes  that  the  best  way  to  change  a  habit  is  to  make  it  impossible.  She  states  “..closing  the  shopping  centre  of  a  town  for  car  trafVic  can  break  the  habit  of  shopping  by  car,  and  changing  the  menu  of  a  canteen  may  break  the  unhealthy  lunching  habit”.

I  saw  this  technique  used  on  a  group  of  people  suffering  from  type  1  and  2  diabetes  in  the  documentary,  “Simply  Raw”.  Six  individuals  were  selected  to  undergo  an  experiment  to  see  if  they  could  be  off  their  medication  and  insulin  by  cutting  out  fast  food  and  adopting  a  completely  raw  food  diet  over  the  period  of  30  days.  To  achieve  this,  they  were  sent  to  a  retreat  in  the  middle  of  the  Arizona  desert  (far  away  from  shops  and  fast  food  outlets)  and  served  only  raw  vegan  foods.

The  thing  about  this  strategy  is  it  doesn’t  always  work  and  can  sometimes  backVire.  In  the  documentary  it  was  interesting  to  observe  one  participant  became  strongly  resistant  and  rebelled  against  the  approach  by  hitchhiking  across  the  Mexican  border  to  get  alcohol  and  buy  Mexican  food.

Change  and  control  your  environment

The  next  best  and  probably  the  most  practical  thing  you  can  do  to  break  a  bad  habit  is  to  change  your  environment  so  that  the  bad  habit  is  less  likely  to  be  automatically  performed.

The  question  to  ask  is  –  What  is  it  in  my  environment  that  is  triggering  the  behaviour  (i.e.  bad  habit)?    For  example,  if  you’re  trying  to  lose  weight  it  doesn’t  make  sense  to  have  chocolates  in  your  home  or  ofVice  at  work.

You  see,  humans  have  a  certain  amount  of  will  power  that  they  have  to  expend  throughout  the  day.  In  our  low  moments,  particularly  when  we  are  tired  and/or  stressed  or  it  is  later  in  the  day,  our  ability  to  regulate  our  behaviour  and  emotions  signiVicantly  decreases.

FEATURE

And  it’s  in  those  moments  when  our  will  power  reserves  are  running  low  or  on  

empty  that  we  are  most  likely  to  give  into  the  temptation  and  reach  for  a  chocolate.  

Therefore,  you  want  to  eliminate  anything  in  your  environment  that  will  set  you  back.

Have  your  environment  work  for  you  by  creating  healthy  habit  back  up  plans.  For  instance,  if  you’re  trying  to  eat  healthier  foods,  have  some  chopped  up  vegetables  and  freshly  washed  fruit  on  standby  for  those  low  moments  when  a  junk  food  craving  hits.    You  want  to  eliminate  any  chance  of  going  down  the  path  of  engaging  in  the  bad  habit  by  making  your  environment  work  for  you.

Establish  a  regular  rou2ne

This  involves  getting  clear  on  what  it  is  that  you  want  to  do  and  then  doing  it  over  and  over  and  over  at  a  set  time  or  place.    Easier  said  than  done,  right?    Well,  yes  and  no.

Peter  Gollwitzer  is  an  expert  on  how  to  make  actions  automatic  and  a  regular  part  of  one’s  routine.  His  research  shows  that  to  make  a  particular  behaviour  automatic  you  must  start  by  selecting  the  desired  behaviour  that  you  want  to  adopt  (e.g.  eating  more  vegetables  and  doing  more  physical  exercise)  and  then  link  this  to  a  speciVic  situation  such  as  a  particular  time,  place  or  feeling.    He  states  “The  mental  act  of  linking  a  speci8ic  situation  to  an  intended  

behaviour  in  the  form  of  an  if-­then  plan  leads  to  automatic  action  initiation…[the  action]  does  not  require  conscious  intent  once  the  critical  situation  is  encountered”.

So  let’s  say  your  desired  behaviour  is  to  eat  more  vegetables.  This  behaviour  could  be  linked  to  one  of  several  things  –  particular  meal  times  (e.g.  dinner  and  morning  tea),  when  at  a  restaurant  browsing  the  menu  or  if  a  hunger  pang  hits.

An  example  of  an  if-­‐then  plan  could  be  as  follows  –  “If  it  is  morning  tea,  then  I  will  eat  a  carrot”.    I  know,  it  sounds  incredibly  simple  and  straightforward,  but  the  act  of  committing  to  this  takes  the  need  for  any  conscious  thought  and  effort  out  of  the  equation.  The  behaviour  does  indeed  become  automatic.

Final  Thoughts

Bad  habits  can  be  hard  to  break,  but  there  are  clear  and  effective  strategies  to  help  you  adopt  healthier  behaviours.  By  making  the  habit  impossible  to  engage  in,  changing  your  environment  and  establishing  a  regular  routine  through  ‘if-­‐then’  plans,  it  is  possible  to  rewire  your  brain  for  the  better.

Have  you  managed  to  break  a  bad  habit?  

Jane Genovesewww.learningfundamentals.com.au

If  you  liked  this  ar=cle,  perhaps  you  also  enjoy  the  following  ar=cles:

Life  Rituals

Training  Your  Mind

New  Years  Resolu=ons  vs  Goals

Crea=ng  Habits  with  the  

Impi  Strategy

FEATURE

The Laws of Networking

“Networking  is  about  what  you  can  give,  not  what  you  can  get.”

That  statement  may  sound  strange  when  we  encourage  people  to  network  to  8ind  new  business.    If  we  focus  solely  on  what  we  can  gain  from  networking,  we  are  not  being  authentic  networkers.

Everyone  networks,  it  just  depends  on  whether  they  do  it  well  or  not.    The  way  we  approach  networking  will  impact  the  way  our  peers,  members  (or  prospective  members)  see  us.    If  we  are  authentic  networkers,  and  people  like  and  trust  us,  they  will  refer  us  into  their  network.

In  order  to  be  an  authentic  networker  we  must:

1.  Give  without  expecting  to  get  something  back.    This  is  the  basic  principle  of  helping    others  without  expecting  anything  in  return  by,  providing  them  with  a  piece  of  information  or  assistance  that  will  aid  them  in  achieving  their  goal/s.    Think  about  what  you  have  to  offer.    Perhaps  you  can  help  others  in  terms  of  mentoring,  putting  them  in  touch  with  reputable  suppliers,  working  on  community  projects  together,  sharing  latest  ideas  on  hot  topics  etc.

2.  Understand  the  principle  of  reciprocation.    What  you  give  out  will  come  back  to  you  (what  goes  around,  comes  around).    There  is  an  unwritten  law  that  if  someone  does  something  for  you,  you  are  in  debt  to  them  and  you  feel  compelled  to  repay.

Ivan  Misner  says;  “Master  networkers  give  without  remembering  and  receive  without  forgetting.”

TOP  TEN  TIPS  FOR  EFFECTIVE  NETWORKING

1. Be  clear  about  why  you  want  to  network2. Think  about  what  you  can  offer  people3. Remember  that  networking  is  an  acquired  

art4. Think  about  the  different  ways  you  can  

network5. Write  down  your  recent  contacts  (last  12  

months)6. Now  write  down  who  you  would  like  to  

connect  with7. Think  about  the  best  ways  to  connect  up8. Accept  that  you  may  not  be  successful  

immediately9. Have  a  plan10. Start  now!

Rachel  Seymourwww.xsell.net.au

Issue 2 : 15

So  not  too  long  ago  I  launched  my  LOL  24  Seven  project  

and  things  have  not  turned  out  like  how  I  would  like  them  to  be.  During  the  planning  process  of  this  project,  I  

envisioned  it  to  grow  much  faster  than  expected  and  here  are  the  lessons  I  have  learnt…

1.Market  saturation  There  are  thousands  if  not  millions  of  sites  out  there  who  are  offering  similar  content  to  my  site  and  have  better  I.T  infrastructures  and  networks  which  will  help  them  retain  and  gain  more  viewers.  

2. Content  development  The  content  we  had  were  not  of  a  standard  where  someone  who  say  "omg  I  love  this  site  and  I'm  going  to  keep  on  coming  back  for  more."  Also  the  people  working  on  content  with  me  have  other  commitments  and  could  not  produce  content  as  fast  as  I  would  like.  Investing  money  to  pay  content  developers  so  that  content  can  be  produced  more  regularly  needs  to  be  considered.

3.Marketing  plan  For  the  funny  t  shirt  site  Funny  Tee  Shop  we  had  very  minimal  marketing  (only  google  ads  and  link  back  from  LOL  24  Seven)  and  have  not  had  a  single  customer  yet.  

4.Working  environment  I  spent  a  couple  of  weeks  stuck  in  my  room  trying  to  Vigure  out  ways  to  improve  the  site  and  promote  trafVic.  I  have  pretty  much  isolated  myself  from  the  outside  world  most  of  the  day,  not  the  best  way  to  get  new  ideas  and  motivation  to  develop  content.

The  upsides  to  all  of  this  are...

1. Kick  up  the  ass  These  hurdles  and  lessons  have  forced  me  to  do  even  more  research  and  help  myself  understand  the  market  a  bit  more.  It  also  helped  me  see  what  I  need  to  invest  more  time  and  money  on  and  what  I  should  be  less  concerned  about  too.

2.Web  design  I  have  learnt  how  to  make  a  basic  wordpress  website  and  can  do  very  basic  logo  design  on  photoshop.  Skills  I  never  thought  that  I'd  be  able  to  learn  but  was  forced  too  during  this  whole  process.  

3.  Importance  of  marketing  Now  I  know  the  importance  of  marketing  a  product  that  is  not  particularly  unique  to  the  market.  Although  I  still  believe  that  most  of  the  marketing  lies  in  the  quality  and  uniqueness  of  the  product  itself,  for  products  that  are  competing  with  other  brands  that  offer  similar  products,  marketing  is  VERY  important.  

4. Not  much  loss  One  of  the  great  things  about  this  project  is  that  is  does  not  require  too  much  capital,  if  I  decide  to  scrape  this  project  now  I  have  only  lost  about  $350  or  less  which  is  not  much  considering  that  I  pay  $800+  for  one  unit  in  University  and  the  lessons  I  have  learnt  are  way  more  valuable.

Now  what?

I'll  be  going  back  to  the  drawing  board  to  see  what  myself  and  my  business  partner  wants  to  pursue  with  this  project.  We  will  be  considering  whether  we  want  to  continue  this  as  a  project  or  Vind  a  way  to  turn  it  into  a  business.  Currently  there  is  not  cashVlow  coming  in  from  it  (we  can't  sell  and  audience  when  we  don't  really  have  one).  

I've  picked  up  a  part  time  sales  gig  to  help  pump  some  cash  into  my  bank  account  so  I  have  some  money  to  live  and  also  invest  in  different  projects  down  the  line.  Its  also  good  to  help  me  keep  in  touch  with  the  external  environment.  

Take  the  lessons  I  have  learnt  to  move  on  to  the  next  step,  keep  on  failing  until  I  Vinally  succeed.

Aaron KooEmergen Entrepreneur’s Representative

www.akooxp.com

SHORT FEATURE

A Young Entrepreneur’s Journey

Issue 2 : 16

INTERVIEW

Adam  is  a  NSW  Emergen  member  who  leads  a  fairly  ac2ve  and  proac2ve  lifestyle,  being  involved  in  crea2ng  leaders  in  ice  hockey  interna2onally  and  unigrad;  a  leading  graduate  jobs  guide  for  universi2es.  

Tell  me  about  yourself?

As  a  young  athlete  I  always  had  a  passion  for  sharing  my  skills.    As  a  Canadian,  ice  hockey  is  the  sport  that  took  my  fancy  and  has  in  return  given  me  experiences  I  hadn’t  thought  of.    So  much  so  that  I  had  been  planning  all  along  to  take  engineering  in  university  up  until  the  last  minute.    I  was  8illing  out  my  application  having  worked  so  hard  to  achieve  the  grades  and  courses  for  acceptance  and  my  father  sat  me  down  and  asked….“Are  you  sure?    If  you  could  make  a  great  living  doing  anything  you  wanted  to,  what  would  it  be?”

I  replied,  "with  teaching  and  leading."    The  rest  is  kind  of  history!  From  teaching  ice  hockey  in  Australia,  Japan,  and  the  United  States  to  ocean  kayaking  in  Western  Canada  and  Mexico.  I  have  had  the  experience  to  teach  and  lead  young  and  old  and  I  have  loved  every  minute  of  it.    Most  recently  I  was  the  Athletic  Director  for  a  preparatory  Ice  Hockey  Academy  in  Banff,  Alberta,  Canada.    Here  I  worked  with  15-­‐20  year  olds  grooming  them  as  athletes  and  future  leaders  heading  for  collegiate  athletics.    This  was  the  most  rewarding  experience  to  date.  

I  now  reside  in  Manly,  NSW  and  get  to  pursue  my  passion  of  public  speaking  and  leading  tomorrow’s  youth  through  my  role  with  Unimail,  a  graduate  attraction  strategies  8irm  based  in  Sydney.    We  produce  a  leading  graduate  jobs  guide  (unigrad),  a  leading  job  

search  website  (unigrad.com.au  which  has  so  much  more  than  just  jobs)  and  also  specialize  in  employer  branding.    I  am  the  national  University  Liaison  and  as  such  travel  the  country  preaching  work  ready  skills  and  self-­‐development  on  behalf  of  universities,  careers  of8ices  and  student  societies  all  with  a  view  to  building  the  unigrad  brand  on  campus.

What  is  the  project  you  are  most  passionate  about  right  at  the  moment?

I  am  completing  a  tour  of  all  the  university  careers  fairs  across  the  country.    I  am  personally  attending  27  fairs  and  am  organizing  our  company’s  attendance  at  a  total  of  37.    At  the  same  time,  I  am  managing  the  displays  and  materials  for  40  clients  who  are  also  attending  career  fairs.    As  part  of  my  role  as  University  Liaison  is  to  communicate  with  universities  on  a  consistent  basis,  I  am  most  quali8ied  within  our  organization  to  manage  this  project.    All  the  while,  I  am  working  with  student  societies  and  careers  of8ices  to  deliver  

Identify, develop and create

Meet Adam Culligan

Issue 2 : 12

speaking  engagements  on  getting  the  career  of  their  dreams.

As  this  project  will  conclude  at  the  end  of  the  April,  my  next  major  project,  which  I  am  very  excited  about,  is  developing  a  strategy  for  the  delivery  of  Work  Integrated  Learning  (WIL)  that  will  see  career  skills  education  get  dove-­‐tailed  with  the  delivery  of  regular  curriculum  materials  in  Universities.

In  my  spare  time  I  am  also  putting  together  a  small  network  of  public  speakers  to  meet  every  few  months  to  share  ideas,  deliver  new  presentations  and  basically  work  with  others  in  the  same  space  to  develop  their  skills  as  public  speakers.    I  am  doing  this  in  partnership  with  a  colleague  by  the  name  of  Josh  Mackenzie,  another  brilliant  youth  leadership  speaker.

 What's  your  favourite  book  and  why?  

I  would  love  to  say  something  inspiring  or  informative  like  the  Outliers  or  Eat,  Pray,  Love  but  my  favorite  book  to  date  has  been  the  Da  Vinci  Code.    I  love  puzzles  and  mysteries  and  I  am  fascinated  by  organized  religion,  especially  in  a  conspiratorial  fashion!    I  generally  try  to  read  escapist  8iction  rather  than  the  former  so  that  book  ticked  all  the  boxes  for  me.

What  are  your  special  hobbies  and  interests?

I  spend  a  great  deal  of  time  on  my  bikes.    I  ride  and  race  mountain  bikes  and  commute  from  Manly  to  Sydney  CBD  on  my  road  bike  daily.    I  also  surf  occasionally  and  golf  as  much  as  I  can.    I  play  ice  hockey  in  the  AIHL  (Australian  Ice  Hockey  League)  for  the  Sydney  Ice  Dogs  competing  nationally,  though  it  might  be  dif8icult  to  continue  this  year  due  to  competing  interstate  travel  schedules  between  work  and  hockey.

What  are  your  aspiraQons  over  the  next  1-­‐5  years?

My  main  goal  over  the  next  8ive  years  is  to  solidify  myself  as  a  go  to  public  speaker  in  the  arena  of  youth  leadership  and  career  skill  building.    It  is  something  that  I  work  on  consistently  and  truly  enjoy  the  most  Fortunately  I  work  for  a  fantastic  organization  that  promotes  the  pursuit  of  this  goal  and  is  working  with  me  to  get  there.    My  role  within  this  organization  sees  me  speak  very  often  to  the  groups  I  want  to  speak  to  so  I  will  continue  to  promote  myself.    As  mentioned  above,  I  am  also  developing  a  strategy  for  the  delivery  of  Work  Integrated  Learning  (WIL)  that  I  believe  will  be  invaluable  once  recognized  by  professors  and  the  academic  community  as  a  whole.    I  look  forward  to  being  a  part  of  this  movement.

 Based  on  your  learning  experience  so  far,  what  one  piece  of  advice  would  you  give  to  other  Emergen  members  and  why?

As  I  alluded  to  in  my  8irst  answer,  the  best  advice  I  can  give  is  to  identify  what  it  truly  is  you  would  like  to  get  paid  to  do.    We  spend  a  lot  of  time  working  and  it  is  a  shame  more  people  don’t  love  their  jobs.    I’m  not  saying  we  should  all  quit  our  jobs  and  go  rent  mopeds  to  people  in  the  south  of  France,  but  if  you  are  in  a  role  that  is  the  polar  opposite  of  your  goals  and  dreams,  get  out.    If  you  are  in  a  role  that,  under  great  circumspection,  could  deliver  you  what  you  want  but  hasn't  yet,  take  charge  of  that  situation.    Approach  your  superiors  and  make  known  your  personal  aspirations.    Aspiring  people  are  often  inspiring  people  and  who  doesn’t  want  more  people  like  that  in  their  workspace?    Identify,  develop  and  then  create  the  situation  you  want.

Linde LeEmergen Featured Members Editorwww.genyadvantage.com.au

INTERVIEW

Issue 2 : 13

"The  end  of  a  thing  is  be:er  than  the  beginning."

Years  ago,  I  took  a  job  that  quite  honestly  didn't  look  like  much.  It  had  a  small  salary  attached  to  huge  responsibility.  I  knew  instinctively  though  that  this  was  the  right  job  for  me.  Either  thator  the  fact  that  no  other  job  offers  were  on  the  table!  I  choose  to  believe  the  former.  By  no  means,  was  anything  glamorous.  I  dealt  withsmall  mindsets  that  were  easily  threatened  by  new  ideas.

Right  now,  I  am  thinking  of  my  parents,  whose  small  beginnings  meant  that  in  the  early  years  of  their  marriage  would  negotiate  smallsalaries,  and  the  marital  challenges  that  come  with  it.  How  often  does  one  hear  of  relationships  that  start  out  so  wrong  even  though  those  two  people  knew  that  they  were  meant  to  be  with  each  other.  What  doyou  do  when  your  personality  gets  in  the  way  of  a  good  thing  or  your  humanity  (who  you  are)  gets  in  the  way  of  accomplishing  your  dreams.  Small,  broken  beginnings  are  not  a  curse.  If  anything,                                                                                                                      it  is  the  beginning                                                                                                                of  a  strong  foundation                                                                            wrapped  up  in  adversity,                                                                              either  deserved  or  undeserved.                                                                Ever  heard  of  the  phrase,                                                                                  "What  doesn't  kill  you  can  only                                                    make  you  stronger?"...True  indeed.

Indeed,  small  beginnings  are  not                          glamorous.  In  hindsight,  that  small                    glamorous  job  gave  me  enough  rounded  experience  to  deal  with  a  much  bigger                      

role,  a  few  years  later.  I  learnt  how  to  deal  with  personalities  that  were  vastly  different  and  understand  that  personality  differences  should  never  be  taken  personal  at  any  cost.  That  attitude  would  just  kill  opportunity.  All  my  friends  now  use  that  line  in  their  interviews  whenever  they  get  asked  that  question  about  how  to  deal  with  personality  differences  in  a  team.  Feel  free  to  use  it  too.

Navigating  small  beginnings  is  a  test  of  willpower,  strength  and  humility.  Are  you  will  to  be  inconvenienced  at  present  in  order  to  beprepared  for  Life's  grandeur  later  on.  Jim  Carrey  carried  around  a  $1  million  cheque  that  he  wrote  to  himself  for  years  before  he  began  to  get  serious  roles.  Everyone  who  truly  has  longevity  in  their  careers  or  lives  will  always  need  to  go  through  seasons  that  prepare  them  to  handle  grandeur.  How  else  is  character  developed  unless  you  are  exposed  to  the  opposite  of  say,  patience.

By  no  means  do  small  beginnings  stay  small.  Have  you  noticed  how  seasons  change.  Life  does  too.  The  good  turns  into  the  better  and                              the  bad  turns  into  the  good.           Happiness  is,  as             always,  a                      state  of  mind                                and  never  based  on                                circumstances.

Bridgett Leslie

wordsofhopeunlimited.blogspot.com

SHORT FEATURE

Small,  Broken  Beginnings

Issue 1 : 18

emergen activating emerging leaders

Are you on Emergen yet? Emergen  is  a  collaborative  community  

activating  emerging  leaders.  

www.emergen.com.au

Issue 1 : 15

Do  you  allow  a  nega2ve  comment  to  get  you  down?    Do  you  achieve  the  goals  you  set  out  for  yourself?    Do  you  see  the  posi2ves  in  a  situa2on  

or  do  you  automa2cally  see  the  nega2ve?    

All  of  these  relate  to  our  mental  strength.      As  young  leaders,  it’s  integral  that  we  focus  on  building  our  mental  strength  as  much  as  our  other  leadership  skills.    Mental  strength  is  vital  in  achieving  our  goals  and  reaching  our  best  performance.  

The  Five  Elements  of  a                  

Strong  Mindset

1. Intentions

Set  your  intentions  for  the  day,  month  or  year.    What  do  you  want  to  achieve?    What  would  you  like  to  happen?    Your  intentions  will  guide  your  everyday  actions  and  behaviour.    It’s  your  compass  to  steer  you  in  the  right  direction.      If  you  have  an  important  meeting  coming  up,  spend  some  time  thinking  about  what  your  intentions  are  and  be  clear.  

2. Confidence

Do  you  have  a  strong  self  belief?  Or  is  your  lack  of  con8idence  holding  you  back  from  what  you  should  be  achieving?    In  my  years  of  leadership  development  of  young  people,  I  know  that  con8idence  is  built  through  action,  small  consistent  steps  towards  who  you  want  to  be  and  what  you  want  to  achieve.    What  is  the  next  

challenge  for  you  to  develop  yourself  and  your  con8idence?  

3. Optimism

Do  you  see  the  positive  things  in  your  life  and  appreciate  them?    And  do  you  reframe  the  negatives?  We  can  so  easily  start  to  see  the  negatives  in  our  life  and  work.  Instead,  optimism  allows  us  to  practice  focusing  on  the  positives  in  our  life  and  work  and  gain  the  bene8its  of  doing  that.    What  8ilter  do  you  see  life  through?  

This  includes  people  too.  I  have  a  rule  to  think  the  best  of  people  rather  than  the  worst.    A  colleague  may  be  10  minutes  late  for  meeting  and  you  could  automatically  start  thinking  “I’m  obviously  not  that  important  for  them”,  “they  don’t  want  to  hear  what  I  have  to  say”  or  “why  do  I  bother?”.    All  this  negativity  when  they  could  be  honestly  be  running  late.      How  quick  does  your  mind  jump  to  the  negative  thought?    And  can  you  become  aware  of  this  and  8lip  it  into  a  more  positive  one?

4. Focus

How  well  can  you  focus  your  thoughts  and  attention  on  what  you  want?    Focus  is  about  commitment,  consistency  and  control.  

Commitment  -­‐  being  committed  to  focusing  on  your  intentions.    Do  allow  yourself  to  get  distracted  with  what  others  say  about  you?    Or  do  you  stay  committed  to  your  own  intentions?

FEATURE

How mentally tough are you?

Issue 2 : 16

Consistency  -­‐  being  consistent  in  our  thoughts  and  actions.  Are  you  aware  of  your  self  talk  and  thoughts  on  a  daily  basis?  Do  your  actions  represent  what  is  most  important  to  you  and  do  you  act  on  your  intentions  on  a  consistent  basis?  

Control  -­‐  focusing  our  attention  on  what  we  can  control.    I  love  the  Serenity  Prayer  which  is  “please  grant  me  the  serenity  to  accept  the  things  I  cannot  change,  the  courage  to  change  the  things  I  can,  and  to  have  the  wisdom  to  know  the  difference”.        

5. Motivation

Motivation  is  the  energy  towards  our  goals.  How  do  you  maintain  your  motivation?    Dan  

Pink  in  his  book  Drive,  asserts  that  motivation  is  about  three  elements  -­‐  autonomy,  mastery  and  purpose.      1. Autonomy  means  your  ability  to  choose.  Choose  your  goals  and  how  you’re  going  to  achieve  them.      

2. There  is  nothing  more  motivating  then  seeing  yourself  progress,  this  is  mastery.      

3.  Use  your  purpose  and  intentions  to  motivate  you  to  act.    If  your  purpose  doesn’t  motivate  you,  then  maybe  you  need  to  rede8ine  it  until  it  does.  

So  how  do  you  improve  your  mental  strength?

Alicia  Cur2sEmergen  Founderwww.aliciacur2s.com

FEATURE

INTERVIEW

There  may  be  a  few  of  you  who  are  thinking  about,  in  the  process  of  -­‐  or  running  your  own  business  ventures.  

Fay  is  very  passionate  about  her  work  and  seeks  to  engage  businesses  to  be  able  to  use  video  and  8ilm  as  a  medium  for  marketing.  Fay,  like  many  of  us  also  enjoys  the  8iner  things  in  life  such  as  good  food,  dancing,  singing,  music  and  of  course  great  company.  It  certainly  takes  a  lot  of  will  and  courage  to  jump  into  the  deep  end  to  start  up  a  new  business,  please  read  on  to  learn  more  about  Fay's  journey  and  what  words  of  wisdom  she  has  to  share.

Tell  me  about  yourself

About  myself  as  a  person...  I'll  start  from  about  6  years  ago...My  exciting  journey  to  Australia  began  as  an  international  student.  Coming  from  the  suburbs  of  Malad,  in  Mumbai  (India)  I  had  the  chance  of  a  lifetime  when  I  embarked  on  a  journey  to  Perth  in  2005.  I  decided  to  take  on  the  media  degree  at  Notre  Dame  University  and  completed  a  four  year  term  where  I  graduated  with  Honours.  I  was  advised  to  also  add  business  knowledge  to  that  mix,  so  I  majored  in  Marketing  and  Public  Relations.    I  am  SO  thankful  that  I  have  parents  who  are  uber  encouraging  and  supportive  of  me.  Without  their  help,  I  would  never  have  been  here.

I  realised  then  that  I  love  cameras  and  capturing  life!  My  interest  lies  in  storytelling,  be  it  in  the  form  of  still  photos  or  moving  pictures.  I  specialised  in  screen  production  at  NDU  and  absolutely  enjoyed  every  moment  learning  about  all  the  possibilities  in  terms  of  using  media  in  everyday  life  and  also  for  business.  The  degree  covered  everything  from  journalism  to  drama  production  to  theories  of  communication.  

My  honours  thesis  revolved  around  the  process  of  creating  and  developing  media  for  business  use.  I  worked  with  Scitech  -­‐  a  science  organisation  making  science  fun  for  kids,  and  co-­‐produced  'career  videos'  that  showcased  different  science  careers  in  a  fun  and  interesting  manner.  It  was  a  great  experience  as  I  got  the  chance  to  really  think  about  the  variables  involved  when  it  comes  to  producing  media  for  clients.

For  me,  video  is  so  powerful  and  pertinent  to  our  society  because  it  helps  us  connect,  learn  and  get  inspired  like  never  before.  I  got  to  meet  all  these  creative  people  in  Perth  and  was  mentored  by  Damien  Blythe  -­‐  a  true  professional  and  someone  who  has  a  mountain  of  8ilm  knowledge  and  experience.      A  business  can  gain  much  from  use  of  video  in  their  strategy  and  my  aim  is  to  both  educate  and  deliver  video  to  business  whereby  they  are  able  to  use  it  and  pro8it  from  it  as  well.  I  love  working  in  teams  and  for  me,  8ilm  production  and  working  with  a  talented  crew  is  an  absolute  pleasure.  I  hope  to  work  with  business,  entrepreneurs,  social  causes  and  also  create  opportunities  for  8ilm  students.

What  is  the  project  you  are  most  passionate  about  right  at  the  moment?

My  production  company  -­‐  Titanium9  Productions  is  in  development  at  the  moment  and  I  have  begun  to  meet  with  people  and  share  my  ideas.    Alicia  Curtis  met  with  me  recently  and  she  was  so  encouraging  about  it!  

This  year  I  hope  to  gain  a  foothold  into  what  it  takes  to  get  a  production  company  up  and  running.    My  main  aim  is  to  get  out  there  and  8ind  out  who  wants  to  be  involved  in  creative  productions  and  which  businesses  would  be  keen  to  bene8it  from  

Meet the Inspiring...

Fay  D’Souza

Issue 2 : 18

INTERVIEW

video  productions!  At  the  moment  I'm  working  on  my  website  and  also  have  joined  a  couple  of  networking  groups  to  gauge  interest  and  speak  to  people  about  the  biz.

What's  your  favourite  book  and  why?

One  of  my  favourite    books  is  'My  Experiments  with  Truth'  by  M.K  Gandhi.  His  accounts  of  his  daily  encounters,  and  the  development  of  his  philosophy  'Satyagraha',  a  term  he  coined  himself.  It  literally  means  his  involvement  in  bringing  India  to  freedom  was  absolutely  revolutionary  and  he  inspired  people  like  Martin  Luther  as  well.  

The  book  takes  us  on  a  journey  from  his  early  days  as  a  lawyer,  to  his  humiliating  cast-­‐out  from  a  train  because  of  his  skin  colour.  It  has  de8ining  moments  -­‐  those  moments  which  took  him  from  being  just  another  coloured  man,  to  someone  who  really  believed  that  all  men  had  equal  rights.    Gandhi  was  a  simple,  humble  man.  The  book  has  his  writings,  but  it  was  through  his  humility  that  his  gumption  shone  through.  

I  think  it's  one  of  my  favourite  books  because  all  my  life,  I  had  looked  up  to  him  as  'Father  of  the  Nation'.  But  in  reading  his  writings,  I  realised  that  a  was  an  ordinary  man,  but  the  things  that  made  him  'great'  was  his  great  commitment,  great  belief  in  his  ideas  of  freedom  and  his  great  patience  -­‐  these  are  things  that  I  strive  to  reach  myself...  and  the  man  is  great  inspiration  in  that  regard!

What  are  your  special  hobbies  and  interests?

Reading  would  top  that  list.  I  also  enjoy  meeting  new  people  and  having  a  good  conversation  over  a  meal.  I  love  walking!  Long  walks  on  the  beach  are  my  absolute  favourite  and  I  live  near  South  Beach  in  Fremantle,  so  I  consider  myself  really  lucky  to  have  that.

Singing  is  one  of  my  passions;  I  enjoy  it  very  much  and  have  always  been  part  of  choirs  all  my  life.  At  the  moment,  I'm  part  of  the  choir  at  a  monastery  in  Leederville.    I  also  love  dancing!  I  could  do  this  for  hours  on  end!

And  8inally,  I  love  playing  the  electronic  keyboards,  but  I  secretly  wish  I  could  be  a  piano  player!  That's  probably  one  of  my  deep  passions.  Listening  to  the  greats  -­‐  Beethoven,  Bach,  Mozart...  just  absolutely  fabulous.  I  8ind  it  amazing  that  pieces  composed  so  long  ago  are  just  as  enjoyable  and  relevant  to  the  musician  even  today.

Based  on  your  learning  experience  so  far,  what  one  piece  of  advice  would  you  give  to  other  Emergen  members  and  why?

We  can  dream  all  we  want,  but  it's  the  effort  and  sincere  determination  along  with  a  8irm  belief  in  your  dream  and  passion  that  will  get  you  results!  Get  out  there  and  make  things  happen.  

Linde Le

Emergen Featured Members Editor

www.genyadvantage.com.au

CONTRIBUTORS

Emergen Contributors

Jane Genovesewww.learningfundamentals.com.au

Linda Lewww.genyadvantage.com.au

Rachel Seymourwww.xsell.net.au

Bridgett Lesliewordsofhopeunlimited.blogspot.com

Aaron Koowww.akooxp

Janine Ripperwww.reflectionsfromaredhead.com 

Want to join the Contributors List? This e-mag is a collection of some of the blog posts written by Emergen members. If you would

like to be a contributor to this emag, the first step is to blog more on Emergen.

This publication is free to distribute, in fact we would encourage you to share it with your friends and colleagues. Don’t forget you can join Emergen for free by going to emergen.com.au

Alicia CurtisEmergen Founder and E-Mag Editorwww.aliciacurtis.com

Issue 2 : 20

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