The Power of Positive Thinking

Copyright © 2003 Jan Roberts

Several years ago I was your average mother of four daughters, healthy and happily married (or so I thought). I was professional dressmaker specialising in wedding wear and I was a partner in my husband's plumbing business.

I had always suffered from fairly severe migraine headaches but coped with medication to assist.

In 1986 my life started to take a fairly dramatic turn. The migraines became more severe and more frequent, I started going deaf in my left ear, found difficulty in keeping the car in one lane of traffic without drifting, couldn't shut my eyes to shampoo my hair without losing my balance and falling over. When my family GP referred me to specialists I kept getting told that there was nothing wrong with me and that it was "mind over matter". I even had a CAT scan in July of 1987, which showed absolutely nothing out of the ordinary and added to my general feeling of despair in not being able to function properly, which I had always taken for granted.

I was at the stage by then of getting up in the morning, seeing everyone off to school and work. It was an effort. Even just to wash the dishes was a major commitment. I would then lay down thinking that I would get up again in a few minutes when I felt better and before I knew it everyone was home again at the end of the day and nothing had been achieved.

I was very fortunate in that a fellow mother from the school canteen gave me the name of her hearing specialist and my family GP then referred me to him. I saw him the weekend prior to Christmas and he immediately wanted to do a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) X-ray the week between Christmas and New Year. I told him that I couldn't as we were going away for a short holiday and that as I had already been in this state for some 18 months, a further week shouldn't make any difference.

This was a bad move. I woke up in the early hours of one morning while on holiday and lost control of my bodily functions in the bed. I kept going backwards and forwards to the toilet and the last time I went to sit on the bed, because my balance was off, I missed the bed, fell and smashed my head on the wall and tore my arm open on the zipper of a suitcase. I gave in, lay on the floor and sobbed my heart out.

I had the MRI X-ray the following week. It revealed three brain tumours. The one at the back of my skull, behind my left ear was the size of a tennis ball, with two other smaller tumours. I was not told at that stage about the third tumour.

My main feeling at that stage was just relief that I really did have a logical problem and that I had not been a hypochondriac for the previous 18 months. I entered hospital in January 1988 for 10 hours of brain surgery where the large tumour and one of the smaller ones were removed. The third tumour was at the front of my head and would have required the incision at the back of my head to be closed and a further incision made at the front of my head, which I would not have had the strength to survive at that stage.

My leg muscles had wasted, I had to learn to walk and talk properly again, to write my name, to drive the car, and needed assistance with showering, toileting - everything that I had previously taken for granted. The specialist told me that he did not know what skills I would regain in the future and when I asked him how long I could have survived if they had not found the tumours he very bluntly told me "possibly a week".

Within six months I was very tired of the inactivity and applied for a position cutting lingerie for a few hours each day. I would arrive home exhausted but jubilant, because I was out there doing something again. In August 1989 - 19 months after the major surgery - I was promoted to Executive Assistant to the Managing Director and thought the world could possibly become my oyster
once again.

However, it was not to be. My husband of 23 years left me. The neurologist topped it off with the information of the third tumour. He explained that if he had taken that one out at the same time as the first two, I would not have had the strength to survive the extra four hours of surgery. Back to square one, but within two weeks I was back at work, shaved head and all. I had a good hard look at myself and decided that I could either sit back and feel miserable for the rest of my life (and given that my grandmother and great aunt lived to 107 and 109 years of age, this could have been an awfully long time) or I could get myself up and go forward again.

Since that time I have undertaken extensive further studies, held high profile positions within corporate structures, been listed in the Who's Who of Business in Australia, won state and international awards, travelled all over the world, spoken on and shared my experiences with external groups and I now operate my own successful business.

My message to all those feeling disheartened or downtrodden is that you are the maker of your own destiny. Even if you don't succeed at your highest aims you will still achieve much along the way. Do not allow others erode your sense of self worth. It's a hard lesson to learn but well worth the effort. I never once dreamt that I could achieve what I have even before I became ill but am still learning and still achieving 15 years further down the track.

I have some brain damage in that I have only 10% hearing on the left side of my head. My eyesight has been affected so that if I look down at the ground I can see three of everything which is a real pain when you are trying to get on to an escalator that's moving away from you all the time. I do trip over things fairly frequently. Since having the third brain tumour removed I have been told that I have another two which are only about the size of a pin head. My surgeon keeps a close eye on them. If they start growing I'll pull myself up and start all over again.

I have to admit to being a fairly pig-headed individual. The worst thing you can do is tell me I can't do something because of my past medical history. This tends to be my biggest motivation because my response is immediate - "just you watch me".

I am always available to address groups and can be contacted via email at janroberts@jrexecutiveservices.com.au or through my website: http://www.jrexecutiveservices.com.au

Successful Minute Taking

Copyright © 2003 Jan Roberts

Minute taking is a very important part of any Board or Committee process but is also an art unto itself. The art for a successful Minute Taker is in being able to walk into a meeting of people who are often unknown to him/her, listening to discussions that are often completely foreign to him/her and being able to competently compress what is often hours or days of discussions and outcomes into a short, understandable but comprehensive listing of recommendations, debates and agreed outcomes.

Where shorthand transcription was considered "old fashioned" in the 80's it is now a highly sought after attribute in the corporate world once again.

Taping of meetings has also become far more sophisticated with many Minute Takers taking advantage of the digital recording equipment now on the market. This allows the Minute Taker to take notes as well as digitally recording the discussions. The software supplied with this digital recorder allows you to download the voice files onto a PC (with headphones and foot controls also supplied). These voice files can be emailed to Board Members if required or even burnt to a CD to allow for permanent records of the discussions. Also, when controversial decisions are required to be made and there is are any disagreements on decided outcomes from the discussions, these discussions can then be listened to again (or verbatim notes typed up) to assist in clarification of matters. Digital recording is also far clearer than the old analogue recorders using, cassette tapes. A digital recording is made via the technology of a micro chip. Other advantages are:

• no more stretching or breaking of the tape half way through a meeting
• no having to turn the tape over or find another tape should the meeting take longer than anticipated
• a digital recording cannot be changed.

To assist with the flow of meetings, a call for agenda items should be circulated 10 days prior to the meeting, with an agenda template supplied so that all everyone has a clear idea of the intended discussion, a final agenda with relevant backgrounds papers to be circulated 1 week prior to the meeting and then the approved minutes circulated within 10 days of the actual meeting date.

Whether you use shorthand, tape or digital recording equipment, or a combination, following these "rules" will assist you in becoming the perfect Minute Taker.

Bookkeeping - The job we all love to hate

Copyright © 2003 Jan Roberts

Are you one of those individuals in small business who throws all your receipts, etc. in the general direction of a shoebox for that dreaded job at the end of the financial year, or are you too busy and simply ignore it and hope that it will all go away?

Do you realise that you are costing yourself money by not attending to it on a monthly basis?

When you are faced with the inevitable at the end of the financial year and have to then deal with the matter, many people drop the lot into the laps of their Accountants to input all the accounts for the year and then prepare their tax return. This then necessitates far longer, expensive accountant time when you cannot remember what individual receipts, etc were for.

If you were to contract to a Bookkeeper to come in once a month for a short period of time (at a far lower cost than a CPA) you would have a current record of all your income/expenses as well as a far more comprehensive idea of your cash flow situation. There is no need to go out and buy expensive accounting software as most Bookkeepers would have their own and would simply set you up on their system as a new client. At the end of your financial year it is then simply a matter of handing the Balance Sheet and Profit and Loss reports over to your end of year Accountant who would then audit the yearly entries and prepare your income tax return.

Many small businesses do not register for collection of the GST as they find it too hard. By law, if you earn over $50,000 per annum, then you must register for the GST. However, if you do not register for the GST you will obviously not charge GST on your services even though you will still be paying GST on everything you purchase. You will, therefore, be unable to claim back the GST component of your purchases. You will however, be able to claim expenses in the normal fashion.

Another advantage is that if you want to keep track of profits or losses on individual jobs, they can also be set up under job numbers which will give you very accurate reports on your profitability (or lack of it) to allow you to review your charging structure.

In the same sense, budgets can be set up in conjunction with your Bookkeeper with monthly Profit and Loss reports against that budget to once again clarify how your business is progressing. This gives you the ability monitor your progress. Much better than if you keep the "shoe box" method and find out at the end of the year you have under-performed in a major way.

If you are concerned over sharing of your documents, signed confidentiality agreements can be requested from your Bookkeeper to ensure your privacy and confidential financial details are protected.

The process outlined above will save you time. You will know your financial status at any stage of the financial year, and you won't have the "end of year migraine". The big plus is a big saving ... no unnecessary, expensive accountant's fees.

Jan Roberts is a South Australian based professional businesswoman whose talents include Association Management, Conference/seminar Organising, Committee Support, Accounting and Public Speaking and is the winner of several state and international awards including selection in the International Metropolitan Executive & Professional Registry with inclusion limited to those individuals who have demonstrated outstanding leadership or achievement in their occupation, industry or profession.
janroberts@jrexecutiveservices.com.au 61 8 8186 5731
http://www.jrexecutiveservices.com.au