Step Grandmothers?

Well it seems there is quite a furore surrounding the announcement of Camilla being Grandmother to Princess Charlotte, but of course she is. Children need parents and grandparents in their lives, people to love them, protect them and be there for them. It's the adults around that have their own agenda and in turn spoil the innocence of family relationships and prevent bonding within extended families..

As a life coach, dealing with family unrest or disputes is a frequent occurrence, it can be difficult to move on in life when others tell you it is wrong, and step families are high on the list. Second families are now common place, yet despite the acceptance of divorce, re-marriage, step children and step siblings, there is still a stigma attached to the step parent. Often excluded from social gatherings, and outcast by family members, so how does this negativity occur?

Well in years gone by family dynamics changed as a result of war, shorter life expectancy and incurable illness, the changes in the modern world mean that relationships often come to an ultimate conclusion naturally rather than forcibly. As a society we search for blame yet we should search for resolve.  Loyalty can be damaging when misplaced. When a widow or widower remarries there is support for the continuation of their life with company, yet a divorcee will not receive the same support regardless of the same emotional need. The children in the battlefield are more interested in being loved and appreciated and building relationships.  If this were not the case then I would not see clients with this dilemma and programmes such as 'Surprise Surprise' would not exist.

It's much easier to give advice when on the outside looking in, or when driven by more outspoken or confident family members. As the dust settles so does the cold light of day, do you honest want to exclude people from your life because someone else thinks you should.  Everyone has their reasons for the make or break of a relationship, years are wasted being a casualty too.

So what should Camilla do? Take a back seat, deny Princess Charlotte the pleasure of time with her Step Grandmother, one whose Father has taken on as his Father's wife.  Looking back solves nothing but looking forward and embracing change can enrich and fulfill your life. Nobody really knows the complexity of family and life when watching through a press presented window. Who honestly knows the complexity of our lives when watching from outside.

For others outside of the royal family, with your own family difficulties, why? what has created the barrier from you? not by someone else, what limiting belief holds you from moving on with the people you love?

There are second wives and husbands everywhere wondering why. There are parents and grandparents wondering the same.

Is tomorrow your new day?

For a free initial coaching consultation contact us at aicoachingsolutions@aol.co.uk

The Coaching Guru: Driving School Growth

The Coaching Guru: Driving School Growth: Over the last few months, as the recession has lifted driving schools have moved from strength to strength, with many expanding their ...

Driving School Growth

Over the last few months, as the recession has lifted driving schools have moved from strength to strength, with many expanding their business and taking on new instructors, or moving into the automatic market.

The years 2008 to 2013 were predicted to be low income years for ADI's with 2014 to 2017 showing a predicted growth pattern, which includes more young learners, who only account for 65% of the trend, more foreign licence holders taking a test after one year in the UK, refresher lessons amongst the older driver sector has increased since the DVSA called in more drivers who are on specific medication, have a particular disability or illness or have been referred by the Police.

Typically in the period of recession instructors find themselves seeking alternative employment or joining a franchise, but when the economy is slow there is no magic cure. The current figures for provisional licence holders across the 15 to 20 age group is 587,212, with less than half of these taking lessons. 21 to 25 year old's hold 557,975 provisional licences, taking the younger age groups over the one million bracket. It is estimated that one third of green badge holders have no learners, are retired, work abroad or in the corporate market. So generally speaking the recession at it's worse was harsher than many anticipated.

With the current boon expected to carry us into the next couple of years the anticipated entry into the register will see a rise, as figures have been low for sometime this can only help not hinder economic growth.  With a general election in just a couple of months, the future of the driving instruction industry as we know it has the potential for all change depending on who comes into power.

The growth of learners has been seen across France, Sweden, Belgium, Spain and Germany, where learning to drive is far more expensive than the UK. In previous years it was known for other EU residents to take a driving test in the UK then take it back to their country to exchange, there is no reason for this not to continue.

The next down turn is estimated to be 2019.

Can driving schools with rapid growth sustain their income stream, in the current climate it is viable, but it is also hard work.  The last twenty years of study show that a small school which expands is likely to lose their instructors to sole trading once they feel comfortable in the structure of business, for some it can be a headache they wish they had avoided.

Manipulating the market is doable by all sole traders, without the need for cut price lessons, team work is vital in dual car schools and cooperatives tend to fare better than the old fashioned systems. Making sure you cover your costs is essential, being a nice person is great but not when you are up at night worrying about your instructors, filling their diaries and remaining friends. Upholding reputation is key for growth to continue.

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