For those of us who have never quite slotted into a single box, the traditional career path can feel like a compromise. You are a strategist who also makes music. A teacher who also designs cakes. A designer who also runs a consultancy. While you may have started your career in one lane, the options are now opening up and it's very possible for you to build a different structure. One which involves multiple sources of income all building, with the potential to compound over t

Originally published on Cleopatra's Worldwide CAMFED (Campaign for Female Education) is a charity I have supported for years. This is an edited interview with Portia Kuffuor, one of their representatives, exploring the foundation of the organisation, its impact, and its ambitions for the future. How did CAMFED start? CAMFED was founded in 1993 by Ann Cotton. It began in Zimbabwe with financial support to a group of 32 girls to enable them to attend secondary school, proving t

Originally published on Cleopatra's Worldwide One of the great enemies of achievement, the tendency to procrastinate is a very genuine challenge and not something to be embarrassed about or seen as a personal weakness. Procrastination comes when you have this frustrating feeling that while you know you want to have done something, there are a million other ways to spend your time than in the doing. Whether it's a website you've been meaning to create, a book you wanted to wri

Originally published on Cleopatra's Worldwide — January 9, 2020 While the first few years of your career tend to be defined by the constant struggle for more — more money, more ownership, more freedom and more responsibility — a moment suddenly comes around where you land a very serious responsibility. The responsibility to help shape someone else's career. More often than not it becomes another chore. Something we have to do and put time into alongside our full time jobs. As

Originally published on Cleopatra's Worldwide — December 29, 2019 Two women celebrate their 70th Birthday. They both feel very different about this milestone. One 'knows' that her best days are behind her and that life is drawing to a close. The other woman figures that what a person is actually capable of, at any age, depends much more on her beliefs — and she believes there's more fuel in the tank. She's always been interested in mountaineering and decides, if not now then

Originally published on Cleopatra's Worldwide — November 27, 2019 All over the internet people are looking for productivity hacks; tips and tricks to help you do more, faster. Successful writer and marketing authority Seth Godin offers one simple trick to making everything faster and easier. That secret is: "Stop chasing shortcuts." – Seth Godin We look for shortcuts, or hacks, all the time. In marketing, careers and relationships, we want a quick success plan; to jump forwar

Originally published on Cleopatra's Worldwide — November 20, 2019 Lessons from Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Beyoncé and Halle Berry, on how to meet challenges with grace and keep progressing while others around you spiral. In 1993, Ruth Bader Ginsburg became the second woman in history to be appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Throughout her journey from education to employment she encountered many people who discriminated against her because of her gender. "I became a lawyer when w

Originally published on Cleopatra's Worldwide, September 17, 2019 "A woman must have money and a room of her own." – Virginia Woolf In it she passes on one of the most underrated keys to both creativity and productivity. We live in a culture of constant interaction. We work in open plan offices, in teams. We have an acronym for the fear of not going to every social event. Even when we're physically alone, we avoid accepting this — if we're waiting for someone we get our phone

Originally published on Cleopatra's Worldwide — August 23, 2019 And how to calm down that voice obsessing over the result… There is a moment in the film 'The Bucket List' where Morgan Freeman's voice says, "I believe that you measure yourself by the people who measure themselves by you." It's a slightly clunky sentence that takes a moment to digest, but when it does it becomes very powerful. True success looks like being respected by and on a level with people you respect and

Originally published on Cleopatra's Worldwide Congratulations! You've hauled yourself through the painful job application process and the sweet taste of success is imminent. They've made you an offer. However your work on gaining job satisfaction is not yet done. While most companies actively build some negotiation room into their offer, latest research suggests that less than 40% of people are actually going after it. Great for employers but a bit of a shame for you! Your ab

Originally published on Cleopatra's Worldwide "Jack of all trades, master of none"; an insult warning you that by trying to tick many boxes, you fail to master any. Whilst this can hold you back at times, we're frequently shown examples of people throughout history who, whilst famous in one field, were also greatly accomplished in another. Their example suggests that once you've mastered self-discipline, your attention can be re-directed with great success. "Music is emotion

Originally published on Cleopatra's Worldwide "Nature gave us friendship as an aid to virtue, not as a companion to vice." – Cicero King Arthur is a legend. Literally. Whether he was a real King is unknown. His reputation, however, names him as one of the Greatest rulers Britain has ever known. Accompanying him in folklore are the Knights of the Round Table; King Arthur's council with whom he consulted before reaching decisions. The significance of the round table is the way

Originally published on Cleopatra's Worldwide "The difference between normal language and seductive language is like the difference between noise and music" – Robert Greene In 1937, a journalist named Napolean Hill wanted to understand what exactly it takes to become rich. Over the course of 20 years he studied 500 of the world's wealthiest men including Henry Ford and Andrew Carnegie. The results of his research were published in a book optimistically titled Think and Grow R

Originally published on Cleopatra's Worldwide — February 27, 2019 Quick success is something we see a lot. In the media, on Instagram and on TV, the age of successful people can seem very young. There's a tendency to celebrate this — look how much they've achieved already! Whilst it's never as rapid as it looks from the outside, some people undoubtedly do climb quickly. But if you aren't built like this, there is another way to success and though it takes longer, there are to

Originally published on Cleopatra's Worldwide — February 2019 As someone who hasn't yet worked out how to be a billionaire inventor with an athlete's body and the charm of a Princess, I think it makes sense to try and learn from people who have. Fortunately, for Global self-esteem, there aren't many people who have managed to nail all of these things at once, but there are some names which stand out under each category. "I have no special talent. I am only passionately curiou

Originally published on Cleopatra's Worldwide — June 3, 2018 At the moment the idea of following a traditional career path seems to be losing its appeal. The accelerated growth of companies like Uber, Bumble and AirBnB are turning the spotlight on a new career path: that of the entrepreneur. One man who knows exactly what success takes is Phil Knight, the founder of Nike. In 2018 he was ranked at 29 on the Forbes Rich List with an estimated net worth of $29.6 billion. In 2016