We’ve enjoyed working with leading Australian life coach and author Shannah Kennedy for many years now and are excited to introduce her limited edition reading title; Want To Feel Calm and Confident? To help you find out more about Shannah, we asked her to answer a few questions for us.
What’s one question you wish you had asked yourself when you were first starting out in your career?
I wish I had asked myself the question of what my answers would be to knock backs! At first I thought they were a bit soul destroying, and cold calling was just awful. It wasn’t until a few years down the track that I learnt to really embrace a bit of ‘no’, a bit of a door shutting. Every no leads to a great yes! A yes bigger than I thought would be possible. The key was to just take a step, then another step and then another. This is where most people stop. But I keep going, I take another step where others drop off, and then I take another. This leads to stronger confidence, stronger authenticity, and awareness. I wish I had a good comeback line for my internal mind that would have helped me out in the beginning. Every no is closer to getting that golden egg! Embrace them, learn from them, let them give you fuel.
How do you find work/life balance?
I don’t think the word balance really means much, but to feel balanced in the middle of an extremely hectic day is such a rewarding state of mind. For me it is organising and owning my time, having boundaries, habits to support me and breathing. Breathing, and committing to it changing my life and gave me the calmness I needed to make great decisions, to be able to present when with my family and have that quality with them. Planning my time, my space, allows me to be the best version of myself each day which is my goal in life. To live each day with gratitude and openness. I will not always get it right, but finding out the best formula for yourself to shine, evolve and flourish is how you find your solution to work / life balance.
What does success mean to you?
Living the life I choose. If I wake each day and feel like I chose today I feel successful. I choose what my attitude will be, what kind of a wife I will be, what kind of a mother I will be. Fun, warm, kind, present. I choose to be fit hence commit to walking, yoga, weights and breathing and meditation practice. These are non negotiable as they protect the asset (ME!). I choose to be present for my clients and to challenge myself and my time management daily. We have 72 blocks of 20 minutes per day. How do I use them to feel successful? Choose them and how you spend them.
What’s the one stationery item you can’t live without?
The written diary, week to an open page. I seriously cannot function with out this. Even my high powered CEOs revert back to the written diary for a sense of control, a sense of balance as they can see the whole week. Oh and a great pencil!! Crafting how I will spend my time each and every year, month and week is exciting, creative and challenging. Owning your time and ticking off your list of the day adds to your sense of achievement in life that a phone just cannot do!
Discover Shannah’s Book here.
Find out more about our other authors here
