Life in Hong Kong

The past couple of months have been emotional for me and as I've said to Nick, I've been in some sort of "funk" - the word "funk" doesn't say much but at the same time says it all.

My parents visited during the early stages of my funk and it was nice to have them around as it stopped me from getting really down, and since then, Nick has been a champion through this time offering me options from moving back to Australia and commuting to living in the city to suggesting I go home for a holiday. However I felt it was better for me to stay and work through my emotions rather than run away.

Losing Pirate hit me hard and to come home from the magical experience of our South American holiday and lose him 1 month to the day was very difficult. Missy has also had a difficult time adjusting and is still missing his presence. It might be difficult for some people to relate but when Nick is away for work, which varies each week and can be up to 4-5 nights a week, my cats are my companions. Pirate was more so than Missy as Missy has always been independant and likes to do as she pleases, whereas Pirate was always close by - he loved to sit on my lap, cuddle up beside me on the lounge, sleep in his basket under my desk or on top of my desk while I worked. He was never too far from me.

Anyway... my "funk" has now passed and while being with my topsy turvy emotions, I realised that I've been "existing" in Hong Kong, instead of "living" in Hong Kong. I'm not sure if it makes sense but I was living my life around Nick's schedule and feeling like I was losing myself in the process.

My life is blessed and I have nothing to complain about. Nick supports me in all that I do and loves me for being me, but that was just it... I was not always being me and I was starting to become a bit of a recluse, not wanting to socialise or move forward. I started to notice that when Nick left on a 2 or 3 day trip, that I wasn't leaving the apartment - that's definitely not healthy.

It's not news to me that we have another 15+ years here in Hong Kong however this process of "being" has helped me to accepted that Hong Kong is my home. Thankfully, business ticked over due to word of mouth, friends organised social get togethers that were hard to say no to and Nick just allowed me to be.

Allowing me to be, has allowed me to move through this funk and come out the other side feeling better about myself and ready to embrace Hong Kong as my home.

During my awakening I realised that my small business coaching and consulting work (100% of my clients are women) is what is sustaining my business, and as much as I would love my personal development workshops to be the crux of my business, Hong Kong is just not ready.

In accepting all that is, opportunities have presented themselves.

1. A yoga centre who want to expand their services asked if I would like to exclusively offer my soul coaching and workshops out of their centre. They would promote me to their clients, manage my schedule, take all bookings etc and I can use their space instead of having to rent venues each time I run a workshop. 80% of their clients are women.

2. One of my small business clients asked if I would facilitate her Cross Cultural workshop for new expats living in Hong Kong on an as needs basis. The majority of her participants are women.

3. My online presence has introduced me to many amazing women around the world and by late September I will have my own online radio show that compliments my online magazine. These are both aimed at women.

4. Through my online contacts and my soul coaching colleagues, there is a possibility that I'll be facilitating workshops for women in various locations throughout the US late next year.

Once I stepped out of my own way, I could see that the Universe was providing... My passion is to work with women on a more personal level however I never considered that my small business coaching or consulting was on a personal level. It took one of my small business clients to say how much I've made an impact on her life, for me to realise that the Universe was providing, I just wasn't recognising it.

I now need to let go of control and be in the flow... I actually love coaching and whether it is small business women or a woman wanting to make a change in her life, it doesn't matter... I'm still doing what I want to do, it just doesn't look how I thought it would look.

I look around me and I'm truly blessed to have people in my life that believe in me, even when I wasn't believing in myself. The smallest of communication touched my heart and now I find inspiration every day.

All I did was shift my perception and a whole new world opened up for me. That is a blessing in itself!

In love and gratitude,
Nicole x