Red

There is much excitement in the Perkins' household because we’re flying north to see if we can find the big man himself, you know, the one who wears the red suit.  Great debate has reigned as to whether the one at the school Advent fair was real or not – apparently if there is no sleigh, he’s not the real one – the one we saw the following day in the market square, celebrating the turning on of the Christmas lights, was real, proven by the presence of his sleigh (and a wonderful explanation for why the reindeer wasn’t real)! 

Debate rages in other circles regarding the red suit yet, debate aside, there is no doubt the imagery is so powerful, we would probably struggle to convince anyone that he was anything if not dressed in the familiar red suit with fur trim. Try green for example! 

Red is probably one of the most emotive colours, having many associations with danger and warnings (stop signs), fire/heat, violence, ripeness (fruit) and blood.  It is said to be the colour of energy and drive, with dark red implying success achieved.  When working with my son recently he was very clear that while yellow is a happy colour, red relates to anger – he must feel this at some instinctive level. 

In researching this blog the power of red is obvious, arguably, the most powerful.

·         Seeing Red - becoming angry, losing self-control

·         Red Rag to a Bull – deliberate provocation sure to bring an adverse reaction

·         Caught Red-Handed – caught in the act of a misdemeanour or crime with visible
     evidence

·         Red Herring – a distraction from the real issue

·         Red Tape - rules and regulations especially involving excessive or unnecessary
     paperwork

·         In the Red - in debt

·         Scarlet Woman 

      o   Prostitute or

      o   Symbol of Pagan Rome

And my favourite, because it reminds me of my childhood and the Cornish skylines:

·         Red Sky at Night – an indication of the weather.

It is a colour associated with passion and confidence so wear it with pride but equally be aware that some will see it as an angry colour. 

A conversation with a bank manager recently related to her early years’ training and a recommendation to avoid wearing red because it is an angry colour.  With ‘anger’ being the energy in Eastern philosophy which drives a snowdrop up through the frozen ground, I think passionate would interchange well here.  Maybe with the stiff upper lip synonymous with the British culture, we need to keep a lid on ‘passion’ as much as anger lest we can’t handle it!

Having spent 12 years demonstrating how amazing the right red lipstick for you looks in spite of fears and opinions, it was really refreshing to see two women at a recent function proudly and confidently wearing strong red lipstick.  It also reminded me of the L’Oreal campaign earlier this Autumn.

Reds in the House of Colour range are fabulous - use the table below to identify from your skin tone which are your best colours:

Ideal Reds
Spring (warm & clear)	Poppy / Geranium
Summer (cool & soft)	Cherry / Coral Red
Autumn (warm & soft)	Brick / Geranium
Winter (cool & clear)	Burgundy / Carmine / Scarlet

Great Reds for your Season	Soft	Clear
Warm	Autumn – L12, L606	Spring – L12, L55, L606
Cool	Summer  - L28, L50, L307	Winter – L27, L28, L50, L55, L302, L307, L499, L512, L673

As the colour at the centre of the colour wheel, the most adaptable of all colours and the first colour the eye sees, resulting in it being the colour of ‘sale’ signs to attract spending customers in a retail environment; in the words of Bill Blass, 'When in doubt, wear red.' 

‘Good is the enemy of Great’…

 'Good is the enemy of Great'.......

…is a well known Jim Collins quote From Good to Great - he states that:

 

‘Get rid of the good to make room for the great in your life’. 

I’ve noticed an ongoing theme this week:

Holidays are useful changes in energy which either cause a spate of activity before the deadline of leaving, or an injection of inspiration and enthusiasm after which a spot of spring cleaning is often initiated.

• My trusty swimming costume got left on holiday - it saved me finding a plastic bag to carry it in after using it during the day and flying home in the evening!  But this wasn’t the real reason, the Lycra was starting to go (Chlorine is the enemy of Lycra!) and I realised that I bought it when I was about ½ stone heavier, maybe not a lot, but on a 9½ stone frame, that’s 5%.  It didn’t make me feel great.
• As I started to unpack and return everything to their rightful homes, I recognised that at least 8 of my tops, trusty stalwarts, were no longer in regular use - past their best.  They didn’t make me feel great.
• I moved along to my dresses and realised a couple, while fine, never really worked. Each time I would overlook them in favour of another.  While I thought I liked them, they didn’t make me feel great.
• I’ve never quite bought into the handbag graveyard, preferring to have 5-6 covering the main colour/purpose points in my spectrum rather than one in every style or colour possible.  One, well loved and used, was past its best, another too floppy, unstructured, I could never find anything because it either fell to the bottom of the ‘bucket’ style, or the bag flopped over when I put it down and everything fell out.    They didn’t make me feel great.
• And so to shoes.  There comes a time in every shoe’s life when it has earned its retirement but at what point? Sometimes they’re looking past their best before date, other times, past the fashion trend, even though I like the colour or style and they still fit - 2 pairs gone.  They don’t make me feel great.

Are you noticing a theme here?

Working through accessories and jewellery, I removed 20+ items, resulting in a gentle feeling of relief at  the extra ‘breathing space’ in my wardrobe. 

 

By removing a small percentage of energy drainers I’ve freed up myself and the space in my wardrobe.  Even without any more clothes I immediately feel better because the ones left are the ones which make me feel great!

The mantra I’ve passed on to many friends and clients over the years is ‘if you don’t use it or love it, pass it on’.  Regardless of your feelings for 'it', if ‘it’ doesn’t love you, it won’t make you feel great and you deserve more than that! 

Why settle for ‘good’ when ‘great’ is available?

The Business of Life!

The business of life is a fascinating subject.  Whether we’re educators, homemakers, charity workers, carers, entrepreneurs, business owners, creative, service or armed forces personnel; employed or self-employed, it’s all business!

 

Leadership and personal development courses, coaches and training resources are plentiful; I’ve attended and benefited from many, without even touching on and enjoying the literary resource from books and audio books.
As a child, it never crossed my mind that ‘normal people’ won Olympic medals, never mind knew that they wanted to.  When my local Rotary Club sponsored me to attend their Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) programme in my 20s, rather than following and trying to make the best of the journey I thought I was on, I realised it was MY journey to plan, direct and steer.

In the early days books like Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway, The E-Myth Revisited  and Rich Dad Poor Dad illustrated entrepreneurship and new ways of looking at the business of life.  Audio/visual learners can now also enjoy the experience of watching TED talks. For anyone interested in education of any kind, making time to watch Sir Ken Robinson will be time well spent.  This animated one on changing education paradigms was my introduction to his work and I still love it. 

Recently I had the privilege of meeting Lis Protherough who is passionate about ‘…students everywhere to aim high, be all that they can be and keep on climbing.’  She has established her business around this, writing The Book on Successful Teens and is leading by example with her own sons. 

So, with everything pointing me towards entrepreneurship, it was interesting to come across this article  highlighting some of the pitfalls. 

Robert Kiyosaki laid out a strategic plan for developing his key business skills, leadership, sales, marketing and finance.  Ken Robinson talks about why education is changing and needs to change and Lis talks about the 3 pillars of success in her YSC Training Programme:

1. Personal effectiveness,
2. Practical finance and 
3. Modern entrepreneurship. 

I’m an advocate of collaboration and sharing.  Learning from others to further my goals, sharing my knowledge to support others in achieving theirs and working together to achieve a greater result than would be possible by working alone as well as creating opportunities for young people to start fulfilling their dreams.  I believe this is consistent with seeing the return of apprenticeships in the UK as an alternative segue from education to work.  

Recently I heard a teenager quoted as saying 'but it really doesn't matter how you look Mum, people really don't care anymore!'  While it may not be AS important as it might have been in the past, being empowered, authentic and visible (as your true self) is key to supporting you in achieving your goals.  If you don’t look the part, it will take you a lot longer and you’ll have to work harder to convince people that you know what you’re talking about.  Nothing works alone in this life and while your own expertise is paramount, communication is becoming increasingly more visual (YouTube) and all communication needs to support who you are, whether it’s a still photo, a filmed presentation/conversation or a face to face meeting, the messages need to converge not diverge or worse, conflict. 

As a young graduate, investing in myself with a Colour and Style consultation was one of the best things I did, further developing this to gain clarity on my personal brand has been a key enabler for me in focusing on pursuing what’s important to me while progressing my career.  While it's never one thing alone, I'm clear this is one of my investments that has delivered the greatest ROI (return on Investment).

What were some of your best investments or resources that empowered you to move forward in your life?