Outside of the Box

No more justifying...

2012-01-06

Sorry for the long hiatus, with Open Shed heating up I kept on telling myself that I just didn’t have time to write here. But I’ve just realised how silly that was. I enjoy writing here and if I hadn’t started writing here, Open Shed may never have happened. By giving myself the freedom to do something creative and fun I gave myself the space to think up ideas like Open Shed.

So anyway I’m back!

This week I have been contemplating why there are some people out there that feel the need to tell you all the things you are doing wrong… well actually what they perceive you are doing wrong.

Now I’m not saying that I’m not open to feedback, suggestions or criticism. But sometimes it really does get tiring constantly justifying myself and ideas.

Yes, I have done research into that. Yes, I am aware that others have failed doing similar things. Yes, I am aware that there are risks, discomfort and the possibility of failure associated with my decision

I’ve decided this year that I am going to try very hard not to justify myself to others anymore. Anyone who knows me knows I love a chat and learning new things, so I am more than happy to discuss what I am doing and my ideas, but no more justifying!

It just takes up too much of my energy, and for the most part what I say really has no effect on the other person. They have already decided what they think and I am also slowly realising their comments often have very little to do with me. Rather it is their way of justifying why they themselves have chosen to do or not do something.

While I could give you plenty examples of conversations that I have had over the last 10 months that fit into this category, I think a story a friend recently told me sums it up best.

My friend a few years ago was travelling in Thailand and she carried around a tripod with her to use when taking photos. Yes, it was hot and sticky in Bangkok. Yes, the tripod was a little heavy. But she decided that this discomfort was outweighed by the fact that she took much better photos with her tripod.

During her stay three different guys, in different locations came up and asked her very angrily what was she doing? What was the point of having her tripod? And made it perfectly clear that they thought it was stupid of her to be carrying her tripod with her.

Now in each of these cases she wasn’t actually using the tripod at the time (simply carrying), so it wasn’t like she was blocking their shot etc (yes, they were photographers too). It was just like these men took it as a personal affront that this women would be carrying around a tripod with her. It was such an issue for them that they exerted energy to tell her this and then list all the reasons why she shouldn’t be using her tripod.

Why? Why would you bother to get angry at a stranger, about a decision that they made, which has no impact on you?

Its certainly not something I would do, but I can only assume that these men wished that they had their tripods and were angry with themselves that they hadn’t brought it with them (??)

Anyway a bit of a heavy post after a long break, but this is something I’ve been letting get under my skin and its pretty cathartic to share these thoughts. So I’ve put my intention to change out to the world – I know I can’t change other people, but I can change the way I react…

One of many firsts...

2011-11-07

So this is very very exciting! Open Shed is 1 of 5 finalists in the Nokia In Hindsight Entrepreneur Competition.

I’ve been ticking off lots of “firsts” over the last couple of months and a big one is my first business pitch. You can watch my pitch to the judges here

And then please vote for us here before 20 November!

The winner is determined by 30% public vote and 70% judges vote. I’ve done all I can do to convince the judges, so now it comes down to the public vote!

The prize is $10,000, mentoring sessions with the CEO of SKINS, Jamie Fuller and a new Nokia handset. All of which would come in very handy to our little bootstrapped start up!

So head over to the Nokia Facebook page and vote for us – thanks!

Open Shed is LIVE!

2011-10-09

Its been six months in the making, and yesterday Open Shed went live!

It was an exciting week at Open Shed HQ – it started with featuring in a Herald Sun article, quickly followed by my first two radio interviews!

So head on over, join the Open Shed community and start making the most out of all that stuff you have!

Not sure what to list? Take a look around your home. Look in your shed, spare room, storage cage, under your bed for all those items that you only use occasionally and are just gathering dust.

Some of our listings so far (a big thanks to our super supporters!) are large tools, Kayaks, camping gear, indoor bike trainer and board games.

I would love you to help us grow the Open Shed Community (and your renting prospects!) by spreading the word about Open Shed.

We plan to continue to add features and we would love for you to tell us what else you would like to see / do via the site.

Thanks for all your support to date!

1st blog birthday...

2011-09-19

I apologise for neglecting this blog a little recently. We are but weeks away from Open Shed going live and things are a little busy (ok hectic!).

But I couldn’t let today pass without a post – its my first blog birthday!! It was 12months ago today that I posted Guess what…. So after 12 months, 47 posts and countless daily gift ideas (I promise I will resume these soon!) I thought I might quickly reflect on the year that was…

A little over 12 months ago there was a shift in my life. I discovered twitter and through it met some awesome people online and in real life. I started to really get into the world of blogging and decided to start this blog.

Suddenly I was also going to twitter meet ups, Social Innovation Sydney, Social Media Women and blog conferences. I did a freelance writing course. I totally started to dream big (and while I have always been one to have a zillion “big” ideas) I actually started to think about how I might make them happen. In a nutshell my world suddenly seemed to expand with different people and ideas – it was like I stumbled across a new universe!

This new world, helped me develop the confidence to totally turn our lifestyle (yes, D came along too!) on its head and start developing Open Shed.

Today, 12 months on, we are house sitting in the gorgeous Clare Valley and feeling very lucky that we have given our BIG idea a go. Since March the travelling start up has been based in Hervey Bay, various locations in Sydney, Wagga and now Clare. We love the house sitting lifestyle and all the amazing new people that we have meet.

Life is busy, but fantastic – I feel very lucky!

Thank you to everyone that has supported me over this amazing 12 month journey – I will never able to express in words what it has meant xxx

Childhood literary memories...

2011-09-02

Last month we house sat my mum’s place and I discovered on her bookshelf some favourite childhood books. I took them over to my regular babysitting gig and shared them with Mr 3. It was really nice to catch up again with The Ballon Tree, The Paper bag princess and Sally’s Secret. And to relive reading my brothers’ favourites to him: Peepo, I’ll always love you, Hurry Up Franklin and Edward the Emu.

Books provide such wonderful memories – not just the fabulous stories, but who read to you, where you were, how safe you felt.

One of mum’s favourite books to read to us when we were younger was The Selfish Giant. I still remember the voices mum did and how she always got teary in the same places. Mum actually gave us our own copies of The Selfish Giant last Christmas, so we can continue to share the story.

And last week I was looking for a children’s book to give a friend who had just had a baby. I saw Peepo and instantly thought back to how much my baby brother loved it. So of course I bought it, and I hope her little girl enjoys it just as much, 23 years later.

I would love to hear what your favourite childhood books were. Do you now share them with your children, nieces, nephews?

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Life update...

2011-08-18

It has been a busy couple of weeks in my world! Lots of exciting things to tell you about, but I thought I should just stick to the top 3:

1. We announced the name of our new site – Open Shed, and unveiled our logo!!

At this stage we are working towards the site going live late September / early October and we will be having a launch event in Sydney in mid October.

You can keep up to date on all the Open Shed news via:

It would also be fabulous if could let your friends, family and colleagues know about Open Shed, so that we can start growing our community. Thanks in advance!!

2. I have joined the PlanBig Community Advisory Board for the next 12 months. PlanBig is this awesome site I stumbled across across at the start of the year, which essentially helps bring people together to make things happen! I wrote about the PlanBig over on the Open Shed blog a few weeks ago, so why don’t you have a read here or check the site out.

I’m really looking forward to our first Board meeting in September when I will get to meet the rest of the Board in person!

3. And last but certainly, not least – I have started guest blogging over at Dear Jack, the Jack Cards blog.

Jack Cards is a really cool US site started by Australian, Katherine Santer. It delivers pre-scheduled ready-to-go (stamped and addressed) greeting cards to the sender just in time to write their own personal message inside and drop it in the mailbox. Or if you’re in a hurry, Jack Cards will handwrite your message for you and mail your cards directly to the recipient. There are heaps of beautiful, fun and quirky cards to chose from.

Katherine and I met a couple of weeks ago in Sydney and we both quickly saw similarities in the themes on this blog and Dear Jack.

Happiness comes from happy relationships and Dear Jack is about ideas, ideas, ideas – yours & ours! Ideas for how to connect thoughtfully with the people in your life, and how to create special and memorable moments for life’s important events – Dear Jack

So when Katherine asked me whether I was interested in writing for Jack Cards I jumped at such a fantastic opportunity! My first post is up, with more to come soon.

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Life update...

2011-08-15

It has been a busy couple of weeks in my world! Lots of exciting things to tell you about, but I thought I should just stick to the top 3:

1. We announced the name of our new site – Open Shed, and unveiled our logo!!

At this stage we are working towards the site going live late September / early October and we will be having a launch event in Sydney in mid October.

You can keep up to date on all the Open Shed news via:

It would also be fabulous if could let your friends, family and colleagues know about Open Shed, so that we can start growing our community. Thanks in advance!!

I’m really looking forward to our first Board meeting in September when I will get to meet the rest of the Board in person!

3. And last but certainly, not least – I have started guest blogging over at Dear Jack, the Jack Cards blog.

Katherine and I met a couple of weeks ago in Sydney and we both quickly saw similarities in the themes on this blog and Dear Jack.

Happiness comes from happy relationships and Dear Jack is about ideas, ideas, ideas – yours & ours! Ideas for how to connect thoughtfully with the people in your life, and how to create special and memorable moments for life’s important events – Dear Jack

So when Katherine asked me whether I was interested in writing for Jack Cards I jumped at such a fantastic opportunity! My first post is up, with more to come soon.

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Hen party fun...

2011-07-26

Last weekend I went to a fabulous wedding in Kingscliff. After a very wet week in Sydney it was pure bliss to fly up there and see some blue sky and get some warm sun on my lilly white skin! It was the perfect location for a winter wedding.

As I was flying back I remembered that I still hadn’t written about the Hen party. Now this bride just wanted something low key at home, where we could chat, have fun and enjoy themselves. She had also never had her colours done or been to a personal stylist. SO she decided to invite us all around to her place to have afternoon tea with The Beauty Tutor!

It was a great afternoon! Sarah Donges aka The Beauty Tutor chatted with us about the right styles and colours for us over champagne and yummy food. And the Beauty Tutor’s makeup experts, Megan and Sarah gave us all a mini make over.

The style session started with us all taking our measurements and conducting a “body shape analysis” and then Sarah talked us through the do’s and don’ts for our shape. We then did a similar things for colours. Sarah gave a great overview to our group of 15 and then chatted to us individually as well. We also got these great little cards to assist us next time we are shopping.

Bubbles, nibbles, great chats, clothes and makeup – all you really need for a fabulously girly hens party!

Love to hear about some of your hens party or personal stylist experiences…

Encouraging men to soften the f*ck up...

2011-07-20

Last week over on the Foxhound Blog I wrote about a fabulous online community called PlanBig, which essentially helps bring people together to make things happen! I’ve recently joined the PlanBig community and in my post I shared a little bit about some of the cool people and plans I have encountered via the PlanBig site.

One of these plans is called Soften the F*ck Up and is all about challenging the stereotype of the ‘real man’ in Australia because right now too many Aussie men are turning to suicide. The campaign seeks to reduce the stigma of mental health amongst men, because without reducing the stigma, we can’t promote mental health literacy and empower young men to seek help.

The Soften the F*ck Up site was launched on Friday and I urge you check it out and share it with all the men you care about.

On the site you will find some excellent resources, videos and personal stories. There is also this powerful manifesto:

This manifesto is a call to arms for men around the world to reunite and have each other’s backs. This is a call for men to bring back the meaning of mateship and of being a man. Being strong isn’t about who can keep a stiff upper lip for the longest. It is time to challenge the status quo.
I am a strong man. I am a strong man who knows who I am and is comfortable with that. One who empowers and treat others the way that I want to be treated – with justice, equity and respect.
I am a strong man.
I am a strong man because I care for others just as much as I would care for myself. I am going to make sure they take action if something doesn’t feel right or if I am not feeling well. This means talking about it with my mates, my family and anyone who is able to help me.
I am a strong man.
I am a strong man who looks out for my friends just as I want them to look out for me. This means checking in on, supporting, and empowering my mates and never leaving them behind. I’m going to have the tough conversations when we need to.
I am tough enough to admit faults.
I am strong enough to look after my family, my mates, people around me and myself.
I am man enough to have the tough conversations.

Simply Irresistible...

2011-07-10

Just a little bit of Sunday silliness – do you remember Robert Palmer’s Simply Irresistible? Those identically dressed dancing women with pale faces, dark eye makeup, bright red lipstick AND slicked back hair?

Yesterday I heard it for the first time in ages and I instantly thought of being in primary school and insisting every morning that my hair be slicked back into a pony tail, with NO BUMPS!

Simply Irresistible was big in 1988/89, so if those dancing women were my inspiration, I was 8 years old and in Year 2. Perhaps its time to take an embarrassing, (but funny) flick through the old school photos to confirm.

Got a favourite ’80s video clip to share? Or perhaps an embarrassing hair style?

Thinking about vulnerability, courage, authenticity, and shame with Brene Brown...

2011-07-05

I feel incredibly lucky to be able to say that last week I got to hear the funny and insightful Brene Brown speak in real life! I loved it – laughed, cried, got goosebumps and got thinking about embracing vulnerability (my own & others) in my life.

Brené has spent the past ten years studying vulnerability, courage, authenticity, and shame. Brené spent the first five years of her decade-long study focusing on shame and empathy, and is now using that work to explore a concept that she calls Wholeheartedness. She poses the questions:

How do we learn to embrace our vulnerabilities and imperfections so that we can engage in our lives from a place of authenticity and worthiness? How do we cultivate the courage, compassion, and connection that we need to recognize that we are enough – that we are worthy of love, belonging, and joy?

I first heard of Brene via TED and I highly recommend you check out her talk

I’m currently reading her book The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are and plan to write about it once I have finished, but I just wanted to make sure you were aware of Brene and her research.

To give you a bit of a taste test (in 140 characters of less!) here is what I tweeted during her talk:

Brene Brown talking about the gift of imperfection: building authenticity & courage in leadership & life. Awesome start – so funny!

Difference btw motivation & inspiration. We motivate people by what we know. We motivate people by who we ARE.

Brene Brown – what is it that we are up against? We live in a culture of never enough. The shame / fear of not being extraordinary.

We can navigate the culture of scarcity through embracing vulnerability.

What we know about ourselves is not as important as how we treat ourselves.

Close ourselves off from vulnerability & pay a price. Vulnerability is the birth place of love, joy, innovation, creativity.

How do we access joy? Actively practice gratitude. Pay attention & be grateful for the ordinary moments.

Hope is learned. You cultivate hope by setting goals, pathways (to achieve), agency (I can do this).

You can’t numb selectively – numb the bad, numb the good.

Kids should be encouraged to fail. If not they become fearful of try anything they don’t already KNOW they are good at.

Act of courage: let ourselves be seen

Brene Brown fav quote- don’t try to win over the haters, you are not the jackass whisperer!

To live a creative life we must lose our fear of being wrong.

‘Cool’ is an emotional straight jacket – you’ve got to be ‘uncool’ to be innovative.

Vulnerability in men shakes women to the core. We don’t know how to hold space for that. We need to practice.