Good Morning,

Today I am asking you to take a good look at how you see yourself?  What's your take on you and where you are at, in your life, relationships, career, and horse life and work.

How do you rate your potential right now - a 5* Ten or a knock down 3.5?   Well today I am going to show you how to start thinking better of you, to have a much higher regard for yourself, and your potential.  Everyone has potential, just not everyone explores it!

Did you know that low expectations, lead to low self esteem, and low achievements?!  Did you also know that high expectations, lead to high self esteem and high achievements?!  

Regardless of whether or not your teachers, parents, peers or whoever told you that you were not good enough - Today you can change all that - you just have to take control of your life.; oh and low financial support and income and even dyslexia is no excuse either!  

Did you know that self made millionaire Lord Alan Sugar started life as the son of a proverty stricken east end tailor?   Jamie Oliver, Richard Branson, and David Bailey are all dyslexics who were all told they would never make anything of themselves - all proved everyone wrong.

Let me tell you part of a very true story.

When I was 3 my mother was told that I had socialisation issues and learning difficulties; because I preferred my own company and did not really interact with the other children around me.   What the staff failed to spot was that I was at the grand old age of 3 already totally obsessed with horses; spending as much time as I could standing on top of the slide, or swinging as high as possible so that I could catch a glimpse of these magnificent creatures in the field next door.

School was not much better.   I never felt like I truly fitted in and was bullied mercilessly.  Even the teachers made fun of my name, misspelling it and mis pronouncing it to make the other children laugh.   This lasted through high school, where my full name Chantal was turned into Sh-- Hell, Shan't Tell, and other such names.

When we were at a careers convention at school, I decided I wanted to be a lawyer and was laughed out of the hall.  I was repeatedly told I was too stupid, not intelligent enough, and I still have the school report that stated that the best my parents could hope for, for me was a job stacking shelves at a locally grocery shop.

It looked to all the world that their predictions about me were true.  My dad moved to Saudi Arabia when I was nearly 14; he came home infrequently, and the last time I saw him was just before I took my 'o' levels, or GCSEs as they are now called.   He was home for two weeks, and being the eldest daughter and the apple of his eye, I was stunned and shocked when he refused to speak to me for the entire time he was home, despite my mum trying to find out what was wrong.   The first day of my exams I received a card, which we all thought was a good luck card from my father, but it turned out to be something quite different.  It was a card containing a letter from my father, telling me that I was a failure, a failure to him as a daughter and as a human being; that the only thing I would ever be good for is getting married and having children, that my education was a complete and utter waste of time, and he disowned me as his daughter.

I hid the letter away for many, many years; and needless to say I did not do a well as I wanted in my exams, but that did not stop my dream of becoming a lawyer!

No I did not go to University instead I went to the local technical college and qualified as a PA; getting a job in a local firm of Solicitors; from there I went to college and night school and qualified as a lawyer - it was hard work and long days and nights but bloody worth it!

I had a very successful career, earned great money and lived and worked on the Cheshire/Merseyside/Wirral Court Circuits and the Manchester/West Yorkshire circuilts.  I travelled the country meeting clients, Judges, Barristers and often attended The Royal Courts of Justice in London; and I worked for some amazing firms of Solicitors, such as Berrymans Lace Mawer, Eversheds in Leeds, Ramsdens in Huddersfield, Jacksons in Chester where David Jackson and I set up our own practice together.

Throughout all that time, and despite so many setbacks I never stopped believing that I would make it.  I did not always know how, in fact I was running by the seat of my pants, I just believed that I would and nothing would stop me believing.  

So here is my first step for you to work on today.   What do you want to believe?  What do you want to believe about yourself?  The simple truth is that you can believe anything you want; and whatever you choose to believe will be true for you, in your life, because that is the view that you will cling to.

So if you want to believe that you are a success, or Can do something - then believe it.  Accept that you may not have all the answers you need to actually get to your goal, but your first step today, is to believe that you are already achieving, you already believe that you can do it. 

Change your focus on what you beileve about you, and you will begin to change your reality!

Until the next time my friends.

Chanti xx