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Making the decision to change…

“I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear”

~ Rosa Parks

Building confidence to take the next step…

“You can have courage or you can have comfort, but you can’t have both”

~ Brene Brown

Getting people to think & act differently

“In an uncertain world, instead seeing the rug being pulled from under us, we learn to dance on a shifting carpet”

~ Thomas F Crum

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Coach with
Janice

Janice specialises in helping to manage career change and work dissatisfaction. As a career coach, she works with her clients, so they can identify strengths, build resilience and connect with opportunities.

She strongly values the ability of each individual to take control and ownership of their lives and career.

It’s the questions that facilitate change and action.

Janice also designs and facilitates workshops for organisations in addition to providing bespoke coaching solutions for individual clients.

Career Change
with Janice

Janice’s experience and skills as a career coach enable her clients to maintain, confidence, energy and focus during times of challenging change.

What my clients
Say

Janice coached me as I was about to leave my employment in order to set up my own consultancy and embark on a new career. She was encouraging and thoughtful and also very skilled when it came to probing and asking the right questions which helped me to focus on what I had to do in terms of planning and organising my future. I can highly recommend Janice as a coach.

Nina Alburquerque

HR Consultant

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Janice Taylor Follow

A career and Leadership Development Coach who writes so I learn to thrive, one story at a time, she is close to completing her collection of short stories.

Janice Taylor @bluesky1001 ·

14 Aug

What will you be walking away from this week? #QuestionOfTheDay #WednesdayInspiration #WednesdayMotivation

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Janice Taylor @bluesky1001 ·

14 Aug

I am learning to love the sound of my feet walking away from things not meant for me - A.G. #QuoteOfTheDay #WednesdayInspiration #WednesdayMotivation

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Janice Taylor @bluesky1001 ·

13 Aug

What beauty might your gratitude discover today? #QuestionOfTheDay #TuesdayInspiration #TuesdayMotivation

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Janice Taylor @bluesky1001 ·

13 Aug

The more grateful I am, the more beauty I see – Mary Davis #QuoteOfTheDay #TuesdayInspiration #TuesdayMotivation

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Janice Taylor @bluesky1001 ·

12 Aug

How well are you playing the cards you hold? #QuestionOfTheDay #MondayInspiration #MondayMotivation

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An Evening with Diane Abbott A few weeks ago, I w

An Evening with Diane Abbott

A few weeks ago, I was profoundly moved while attending the launch of Diane Abbott's book A Woman Like Me at Afrori Books in Brighton.

Unusually, for me, I did not take any notes. I was completely caught up in the moment- because it was how she was rather than what she said that took my breath away. Diane Abbott spoke with authenticity, humour, and grace. I cannot remember most of what she said that night, so I am delighted I have her book.

The whole event reminded me of the quote by Maya Angelou:

I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

Diane Abbott extended grace in acknowledging the racism, trolling, and hate she has faced over the years. She graciously recognised that she had been the only Black female MP in the House of Commons for ten years.

Finally, she was somewhat surprised when we rose to our feet at the end of the fireside chat.

I was so pleased to be there.

Until next time

Did I relax and enjoy? Yes, I did. But today, I

Did I relax and enjoy?

Yes, I did. But today, I'd like to thank the six other people who shared their writing on Sunday evening at our first open mic event at Afrori Books, Brighton.

Thank you to Jaz, Andrea, Pauline, Mally, Ray and Andrew, who all took to our improvised stage to share their short stories, poetry, extracts from their manuscripts and published books in front of a small but hugely appreciative and appreciated audience. I think we had around twenty/ twenty-five people in the end.

But most of all, I'd like to thank my partner in crime, Oliviyah Bain, who is shown in the picture. It was great working with you.

What a fantastic start to what I hope will become a regular fixture in our diaries.

Until next time.

Pictures, courtesy of @izzytaylormedia

Relax and enjoy This is what I will tell myself

Relax and enjoy

This is what I will tell myself in the lead-up to our Open Mic event on Sunday, 22nd September. I will repeat this phrase as I introduce our event and kick things off with my story – Knife on a Bus. I have been practising every day for the past week, so what could possibly go wrong?

Well, probably quite a lot; you can never tell with last-minute cancellations, technology issues, or last-minute nerves. You cannot account for everything. Still, one thing I can strive for is to take a breath, decide to relax, and enjoy whatever happens.

An attitude that stems from a piece of advice I was offered by a colleague many years ago after we had delivered our first career development workshop. It has always stuck with me because it is a great reminder to be fully present in the moment so you can dance gracefully with a situation and flow with it.

And there is still time to join us on Sunday 22nd at 7pm.

Until next time

Making the most of this glorious weather to practi

Making the most of this glorious weather to practice my reading for our open mic event on Sunday 22nd September at Afrori Books.

Learning to pace myself at sixty Recently, I hear

Learning to pace myself at sixty

Recently, I heard on Radio 4 that ageing is not a gradual process – we do not age along a gentle incline. Instead, it seems we age in fits and starts, and from what I can remember, the two critical ages are 40 and then 60.

At forty, as the mother of an eighteen-month-old, I did not have the time or energy to worry about ageing. At fifty, I was two years into grieving after the death of my mum, but now, at the age of sixty, I must confess I am feeling it in a way that I haven't before.

These days, I need to pace myself and allow enough space in my diary to get things done – I can no longer throw tons of energy at something for prolonged periods. I am fortunate; I run my own business. It is easier for me to control and manage my diary. I can generally avoid juggling too many different projects at a time and focus on the one thing in front of me.

I fully embrace the fact that I do not have the same energy levels as I did when I was younger. I can be firm and not allow others to shoehorn activities/events into my day.

Now, more than ever, I can appreciate the Korean proverb:

Do not draw your sword to kill a fly.

Or, for those who prefer more corporate phrasing, work smarter, not harder.

And that is what I plan to do moving forward. Get older and work with it; who knows, I might even enjoy it 😊.

Until next time.

Is it time for a new chapter? There are several t

Is it time for a new chapter?

There are several times during our adult years when we find compelling reasons to create a new chapter – to launch our lives again. We live in a world of discontinuous, constant change.
The Hudson Institute

Today, I am sharing my revamped post on the Hudson Renewal cycle – a model I have used extensively with clients. Now, I am looking at it for myself because I wonder if I am starting to move towards a new chapter. And though I can't quite see how things will turn out, I am on a path. I suspect a wiggly one with many twists and turns but a path, nonetheless.

In any case, the link to my Careerresilience is in my bio.

Until next time

Until next time

PS Thank you @izzytaylormedia for the photo, especially now you have your new camera 😊.

How do you surprise yourself? Despite being an i

How do you surprise yourself?

Despite being an introvert, I've always felt a bit of a performer– one of the reasons I ended up singing as part of a gospel choir for seven years and even managed to bag a solo 😊.

So, one month from now, on Sunday, 22nd September, I will be co-hosting an Open Mic event for writers and authors at Afrori Bookshop, Brighton, with Oliviyah Bain.

And I will be sharing - Knife on a Bus, the short story I read at the Emerging Authors Showcase at the Brighton Book Festival in June this year.

So, and this is the real point of today's update: if you want to share your writing with a live audience within a warm and supportive environment, send a 300-word sample to authorsopenmic@gmail.com, and we'll confirm your five-minute slot.

We want to support writers in getting their words heard, and we'd love to see as many writers from the Global Majority as possible.

We're hoping to make this a regular thing.

So, how might you yet surprise yourself in 2024?

Until next time
PS The link to attend on the 22nd Sept is in the Bio.

The joy and power of journaling Recently, I have

The joy and power of journaling

Recently, I have had a few people ask me about my journaling practice and then serendipitously, I found this quote in Robert Holden's Higher Purpose – How to Find More Inspiration, Meaning and Purpose in Your Life:

'..the purpose of keeping a journal is to learn to be truthful with yourself and to recognise your true voice…'
My reasons for journaling have changed; what started as an experiment almost seven years ago is an essential part of my life today - so much so that I am often found with a rucksack to accommodate my A4 notebook and pens.

But back to the quote.

How many of us are being truthful with ourselves? And yes, this feels particularly pertinent right now.

Increasingly, journaling is helping me hold myself accountable, hold up a mirror to myself and my life, and check if I still like what I see. It is the one place where I cannot hide.

It has also helped my voice grow and evolve because that is precisely how our voices emerge—by using them and saying what we have to say, if only to ourselves, at least to start with.

I've had my ups and downs with journalling and writing in general – sometimes stories, ideas, and posts flow from me and at others, it's a hard slog. For the past year, it has been more challenging – not sure why so I have taken the time to look at how, when and where I write:

And what seems to be working right now:

Mixing things up with locations – coffee shops, libraries, sitting by the sea, all tend to help me generate fresh ideas I can work on once I am back home.

Writing prompts are helpful for me, and recently, I have been using @jackeeholderinspires Holder's Nature, Self-Discovery card deck in addition to her 49 Ways to Write Yourself Well. This book is packed with tips, guidance, and information on starting and maintaining a sustainable writing practice.

Most recently, I have created writing blocks – and committed to two a day during the summer months, an AM and PM block of one and a half hours. Recognising the need for larger chunks of time to do the heavy lifting – I set my timer, plug myself into my Spotify writing playlist, and get my head down.

Until next time

How do you put a giraffe into a refrigerator? An

How do you put a giraffe into a refrigerator?

Answer: Open the door, put in the giraffe and close the door.

Question: How do you put an elephant into a refrigerator?
Answer: Open the door, remove the giraffe, put in the elephant and close the door.

Question: The lion king is hosting an animal conference; all the animals attend except one. Which animal does not attend?
Answer: The elephant they are still in the refrigerator.

I wish I could take credit for the above, as I found it on a managers' forum ten years ago. At the time, I was looking for a light-hearted quiz to include in my Maintaining Energy and Focus in Tough Times workshop for a local council. I can't remember why I didn't use it in the end; perhaps I thought it was too frivolous for my intended audience.

But I couldn't resist sharing because what you find while clearing out stuff can be intriguing. I am back on my decluttering mission, which has been in stop-start mode for at least two years.

Today, I am trying a new approach because it's what I do every day that has the most significant impact. So now I take fifteen minutes to focus on and clear one area. With laser-like focus, I can achieve a lot in those fifteen minutes, and it stops me from feeling overwhelmed by the volume of stuff we have: books, papers, cassettes, notebooks, etc.

So, I am eating my elephant one bite at a time 😉.

Until next time

Beautiful Betty Sitting by the sea as I often do

Beautiful Betty

Sitting by the sea as I often do after a swim – I noticed this plaque for the first time.

I have no idea who Betty is, but seeing this inscription on the back of the bench reminded me of the quote by Maya Angelou:

'I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.'

I can only imagine that Betty, whoever she was, made at least one person feel beautiful enough for them to commission and place an engraving on a bench by the sea.

There is no other information, just two simple words someone thought enough to describe a person's life and impact.

I wonder how much time Betty spent by the sea and the significance this bench might have held for her. What made her beautiful—her smile, her eyes, her personality? I will never know, but what a wonderful way to honour someone's memory.

Simple and to the point – Beautiful Betty.

Until next time

Just managed to catch him on camera – enjoying the

Just managed to catch him on camera - enjoying the apples on our tree 😊.

Enjoying a walk in St James Park with friends yest

Enjoying a walk in St James Park with friends yesterday and came across this heron enjoying the attention of the crowds 😊.

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Janice’s experience and awareness of her own resilience and ability to ‘bounce back’ has enabled her to develop her expertise in helping people to maintain energy and focus during challenging and tough times.

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