Just because you start somewhere doesn't mean you have to end up there

As Stella English (31) was told “You’re fired” I felt a sense of happiness I had not predicted. To see a woman doing well in business always makes me happy. However, there was more to it than that. She had not had been given this career on a plate. Coming from the largest council estate in Europe (Thamesmead, London) she had left school with few qualifications. Yet, her determination, drive and clear self-belief had resulted in her gaining the prestigious position as Lord Sugar’s apprentice.

With this in my mind I anticipate great things from me. Drive and determination will win in the end. Through The Apprentice I could not believe how full of themselves the contestants where. Everyone thoughts they were the best and had no problems in declaring it to the world. Now not everyone is comfortable boasting and bragging. It is a quality that is not always encouraged. However, it seemed to be working pretty well for the contestants in The Apprentice so maybe I will be inspired and at the next interview will persuade the interviewers that I am asset which will be ‘worth my weight in gold’ and with the rise of gold prices and my weight, I will surely be hired in a second. 

Transformations

Whilst watching Ugly Betty, Betty was focusing on the idea of transformations. As she tries to make it in the cut throat world of fashion she is totally aware that looks are important for success and she doesn't look the part. This does not just apply to the world of fashion though.

On Saturday Rihanna performed on XFactor. Now I have always enjoyed Rihanna's music. I felt very sorry for her when recently becoming aware of how many Number 2's she has had. It seems other than the Summer smash of Umbrella she has managed to be pipped to the post on numerous occasions. However, I have never wanted to follow her in any way shape or form. I have wanted to be Beyonce, Britney, Beyonce, J.Lo, Beyonce, Lady Gage and then Beyonce again, but never Rihanna until now. In around 6 minutes I have totally changed my impressions of her. And a quick look on YouTube would suggests I am not the only one to change my mind with nearly 5 million hits in just 5 days. 

Transformations can happen that quickly. It is like Danny sees Sandy after she decides to change her look. Within seconds she changes from the cute plain school girl to the sexy Sandy. However, not all transformations are quite as drastic as Sandy's though. Especially those that involve a change in person, rather than looks. Changing who you are on the inside is a gradual process, in some cases so gradual that the individual can be unaware they have changed at all until a moment of their past reminds them of what they used to be like. 

Charelle will be back :)

If there was anyone out there following my blog I am sorry for not writing. The last few months have not been particularly great and rather than pouring my out my hatred and heart onto my blog I decided to take myself off it all together until I would right something which reflected the true me again. So a new post will be coming soon :)

Auf Wiedersehen Future Jobs Funds

So as the government makes cut of £19 million to Arts Council England my hopes of finding a job get even slimmer. However, every cloud has silver lining. Along with the cuts to every organisation in the Department of Culture, Media and Sport there has been cuts across other government departments. Initiatives that were set up by the previous Labour government are being scraped. One initiative which no longer exist to my joy is Future Jobs Fund. This was an initiative that meant arts organisations could apply for posts to be filled by people who had been receiving Job Seeker’s Allowance for over 6 months. If an organisation was approved they could advertise positions and if a successful person was chosen the government would pay for the individual to work instead of the organisation.

In theory this is a good scheme. Arts organisations that are tight for cash are able to get support and for the individual on Job Seeker’s Allowance they are building their skills which should result in them being able to gain a job after the 6 months. However, the jobs these individuals were taking were positions were entry level and thus stopping graduates being able to get into organisations. I, myself was unemployed over the summer and even with a dance degree I realised my hopes of finding employment were low and so I decided to do a Masters. What I should have done was sign on the dole, wait 6 months and get given a job instead. Now I have £10,000 in debt, a degree, soon a masters, a years worth of voluntary experiences but next to no opportunity of getting a job in the arts.

However, the new government have gotten rid of this initiative so maybe there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Is the removal of this scheme bad for arts organisations. Not really since there are hundred, actually thousands, of desperate individuals will work part-time for free. In fact, these people are likely to work harder since they are trying to prove their weight in gold. So the only people to lose out are the people on Job Seekers Allowance, however, if they really wanted to get some experience they could volunteer. 

Cutting £19million from Arts Council England budget -1

Cutting the Future Jobs Fund initiative -1

Government = 0

Breakin' Convention 2010

Breakin’ Convention is a hip hop dance theatre festival, conceived by the genius Jonzi D and happens at the renown home of dance, Sadler’s Wells. Now Hip Hop isn’t really my thing. As shocking as this may seem when I love walking around in trainers, joggers and my frizzy hair i.e. I can easily pull the look off. However, I decided to volunteer (my favourite pass time, now favourite main time) for Breakin’ Convention .

For one weekend Sadler’s Wells is transformed. Forget the white walls and the politeness of lots of people standing musing over what they just saw. Now, the walls are covered in graffiti and there is music blasting through the levels. The energy is amazing. Everywhere you look people are forming circles and watching people busting a move and then there are the people jamming to the music even though no one is watching. 

Inside the theatre the front rows had been removed and instead people stood. It brought that touch of musical festival feel and just made you feel engaged and engaged people were. Now coming from a ‘dance theatre’ background where you politely watch and clap to show your appreciation I absolutely LOVED the audiences’ responses. If there was a move you liked you would react there and then with claps, gasps, woops and taking your hat off.  

Breakin’ Convention may seem artificial. Some feel hip hop is for the streets or the dance floor. Breakin’ Convention is hip hop dance theatre with some of the acts really pushing the dance theatre boundary. However, from freestyle circles, the music, the main stage and the after party there was something for everyone. The standard was amazing with international act as well as UK acts showing how its done. My favourite act was the closing act of the festival Pro-Phenomen from France who were phenomenal. Now I am looking forward to the challenge of learning my breakin’, poppin’ and lockin’ and rocking up to Breakin’ Convention 2011 in my Nike ID’s and ready to show my skills. 

The American Dream: does money equal happiness?

Recently I have been looking at the American Dream with its focus on the “better, richer and happier life”. America has always lived by a Capitalistic ideology, which says the more money and power you have the better your life will be. Is that true though? I had fully brought into the capitalistic ideology growing up. I thought that having money would answer all of my problems and make me happy. However, sacrifices have to be made in order to achieve that money and power. (I am not writing this from first-hand experiences, just observations.)  

The major thing sacrificed is time. People in powerful positions work such long hours. They are generally under great stress and constantly having to think about the company and others. How much ‘me’ time do they get? The saying ‘time is money’ is so true which means free time is often seen as a luxury. A luxury which strangely enough the rich are not allowed, other than for a 2-week luxury holiday to some island no one has heard of or Richard Branson owns.  

I have begun to realise our consumer driven world may not be the route to happiness. To strive for a better, richer and happier life is great but in a degree of moderation. Everyone should have a drive to make their life the best. However, that does not necessarily mean we all need to be Bill Gates. AND most importantly we need to realise we can’t all be Bill Gates. The capitalist structure means there needs to be lots and lots of poor to work under one ridiculously rich person. Looking at Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs it is clear that money will only provide you with the bottom levels so in order to actually live the happier life we need to find it in other ways.  

My aim is to find a middle ground. To have the money to enjoy what money can buy i.e. a home, holidays and possibly every apple product going but I am also able to have the time to enjoy what money cant buy i.e. friends, family and walks on the beach.

Facebook: strength in numbers

It has been reported that Facebook overtook Google in the number of hits it received this month. This is the first time since the search engine became renown that it has been overtaken. So Facebook is THE MOST VISITED WEBSITE IN THE WORLD. The co-founders Mark Zuckerberg and Chris Hughes, who met and created Facebook whilst studying at Harvard, must be ecstatic. They are both fantastically rich with Zuckerberg being named the youngest self-made businessman worth over a billion dollars. A billion dollars from a website which costs nothing to access. They provided a free space for people to communicate and then just watched the money roll in as the numbers increased. Facebook is probably one of the most desired advertising spaces and rightly so since millions if not billions log into the website and with the clever profiling advertising is directed in relation to the individuals profile.

So what can we learn from Facebook. That sometimes you have to “speculate to accumulate”. They could have charged for Facebook in the beginning to cover their costs, however, by spending money on their product but keeping the service free the numbers of users rapidly increased. This is turn has allowed Facebook to tap into the major business of advertising with companies and their million pound budgets.
Also, create something you genuinely are passionate about. When Facebook was first made, they did not have dreams of being a world-dominator they just wanted people in the college to talk to one another. If your business is made for a real purpose to answer a need it is more likely to succeed.

They said age brings knowledge... but we have Google

It was socially accepted rule of life – age brings you knowledge and that is why as a younger generation we are taught to trust the advice given to us by ‘elders’. They know better because they have lived longer and are therefore more knowledgable. However, now we have the internet do older people actually know more?

The internet allows anyone to become a mini-expert. In very little time you can go from nothing on a topic to knowing enough. We are going to become the generation of blaggers.

Now I am not claiming that experience brings nothing. There is a great difference between knowing something and have experienced it. Also, age brings wisdom. However, when it comes down to the laws of the younger generation working hard with the knowledge that in years to come they will climb up the ladder. Does this system work today?

Does management have to be the oldest people in an organisation? The world we are living in is changing so fast and businesses need to respond to these changes. Is the older generation equipped to keep up with technology which could never have even been imagined in their early career years? Now it is not about what you know but how you use it.

In the future I see conglomerates that are run by people in their 20’s. The young creative generation is the future.

Retiring at 40? Sounds perfect to me.

A big fish in a pond or a little fish in the ocean?

The idea of being a big fish in a pond or little fish in the ocean has been something I have been debating recently. Moving from the quiet southern town of Chichester to the big city of London. I ask myself which one is better? Was I happier in a little ‘city’ or will the big city answer all of my dreams?

It is fair to say I used to be a big fish in a pond. Everyone knew who I was. That was not particularly hard though. I went to the smallest University in the country and I had a very loud mouth. I also think my frizzy dyed ginger afro made me memorable, or at least recognisable.

Now I have moved to the big City, well as big as you can get in England…London…”concrete jungle were dreams are made of, there’s nothing you can’t do”. It is the city of opportunities. People are here seeking fame and fortune or they want to live the fast life. However, except for the rare few you just become just a face in the crowd, another wannabe, a nobody.

So which is better? Being a big fish is great but it has its downfalls. Always being recognised, everyone knowing everything about you, always having to be the persona you have created around you, it can be a drag. Being a little fish, a no-one is difficult. To feel obsolete as if you make no difference in the world and if you weren’t here it wouldn’t make a difference at all that’s soul destroying.

The ocean brings numerous opportunities which you could never get in the pond. Is it not better to be smaller in a more amazing place, than important in a boring place. The city offers the chance to grow; a little fish can become a big fish. Now imagine being a big fish in the massive ocean, that’s power, that the sort of big fish I want to be.