September 2008 - 23rd Sept 6pm at The Honest Lawyer, Nelson
Stepping outside your comfort zone!
A line up which included not one, but TWO local BusinessMEN - Grant McNeill (who in August 2008 underwent a 30 Fears in 30 Days challenge) shared his inspirational story with the Nelson Her Business Network, together with Stephen Caunter - Specialist Business Manager for National Bank Nelson, who talked us through facing the challenges within small business....especially in today's economic climate. In addition to this, Her Business network Member Lynnette Butler showcased the launch of The Can Can Girls....It was an evening full of inspitaion, motivation and upskilling....!!!
30 Fears in 30 Days Posing as a life drawing model, spending a day in a wheelchair, dancing as a cheerleader at a rugby game and getting buried alive are just a few of the fears Grant McNeill faced during the “30 Fears in 30 Days” challenge which he undertook in August.
Grant, 32, of Nelson says he came up with the “30 Fears” concept after working as a staff member on the Discovery Programme, a camp for New Zealand teens designed to develop future leaders. Teenagers on Discovery learn to excel at learning, break through limiting barriers and develop motivation and self esteem.
"When I came back from the camp, I was all inspired and I started to think about what it would be like to do something that challenged me every day for a month. I talked about the idea with friends and work colleagues, and it has just snowballed from there,” he says.
30 fears in 30 days kicked off on 1st August with a sky jump off Auckland’s Sky Tower at 10.45am. Some of the other challenges included getting his chest waxed, eating an Indian restaurant’s hottest curry, spending a day in a wheelchair, getting dropped out at sea in a survival suit, going back to school for a day in school uniform and getting buried alive.
“The idea was that it’s a journey to becoming comfortable being uncomfortable. Each of the challenges was designed to take me out of my comfort zone in some way, whether it was physically, emotionally or socially,” he says.
“It started out as something I just wanted to do for myself to make myself into a better person, and inspire my own kids, but there was so much interest and support from the businesses I spoke to, that I realised it could become a fundraiser for, and promotion of, the Discovery programme,” he says.
All of the 30 Fears in 30 Days challenges were designed to fit in around Grant’s full time job as the school and community liaison at Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology, as well as family commitments.
“I’m just your ordinary, average guy who goes to work, has kids and struggles to pay his bills from week to week. If I can do this, anyone can!” he says. Grant had a film crew from Duomedia following him every day and taking video footage of the highs, lows and everything in between, which was uploaded each day to official website www.30fearsin30days.co.nz.
Introducing the Launch of the Can Can Girls......HBN Member Lynnette Butler
The purpose of the Can Can Girls website is to provide information which will enable NZ women to make positive changes in not only their own lives - but those of her children.
Whilst many NZ women are the 'purse-holders' in NZ homes, many are not comfortable with their financial 'savvy' - and also, more importantly, are very interested in INCREASING their financial awareness. It is also accepted that financial savvy is only part of the formula, and that in seeking change, many of us need to consider all three aspects - health, wealth and wisdom. And so has evolved cancangirls.co.nz - a centre of knowledge for anyone seeking to make positive change.
www.cancangirls.co.nz includes inspiring stories about other women and the success they have orchestrated in their lives, There are workshops, seminars, and forums where we can all share our ideas on ANY subject which lead to forfillment of our aspirations - including that elusive ideal of creating financial wisdom in our children.
Stephen Caunter - Specialist Business Manager, National Bank
We were delighted to have National Bank, Nelson as our bronze sponsor of the month, and were thrilled to welcome Stephen Caunter - Specialist Business Manager to take to the floor.
Stephen delivered a thought provoking and informative presentation on ‘Taking Action’ to ‘control our own destiny’ within our businesses. Stephen also gave us his spin on networking for women, and provided us with the opportunity to network on the night:
