Monday 20 June 2016

For the Undecideds - Ask yourself this One Question

How will You feel if you wake up on 24th June and Remain have won?

Many of us have a little trick we do, when we have a dilemma (which is what the EU referendum is) that after much to-ing and fro-ing, to help give us clarity - we decide to toss a coin.

This is in no way a flippant (excuse the pun) activity - it is more to do with how one FEELS when the coin is opened up. Do I feel disappointed - am I relieved? Does that now make me see the choice I should take?

Well instead of a coin - how about asking yourself the question - How will I feel if I wake up Friday morning to find out that we have voted to Remain (or leave? if you prefer).

I'm betting that waking up to a leave vote will fill you with some excitement - wow, what is in store, what great things can we achieve?  but it may also leave you anxious and concerned.

I remember having the chance to take voluntary redundancy in a large insurance firm I'd worked for, for 10 years. I'd been promoted to director level with a lovely big salary, a company car allowance and an effective network of people I worked with, clients I wined and dined, as well as a good social life to go alongside it.

I was really scared to leave such a lovely comfortable lifestyle, easy work, network and connections but I was also excited at the thought of having a few months off while I renegotiated my future, re-training for a new skill and qualification, so that I could go it alone and start my own business.

I didn't earn a single penny in the first 18 months and used all my redundancy money on re-training and living costs and guess what?

IT WAS THE BEST THING I EVER DID!

Although my bosses at the time were completely dumbstruck (literally I saw the jaws drop in amazement that I wanted to do this, when all I had to do was go into the office every day and watch my savings and my pension grow while I stayed in a nice secure little environment).

BUT THAT ISN'T LIVING!

Furthermore - the other choice of staying was not for the status quo. I knew that security would be challenged again in another round of cut-backs or global factors. Staying in the corporate world was not status quo - there were still unknown hazards on the horizon.

So I took the plunge - the one that said 'I have faith in myself and I have control, I will be my own boss.  There were new opportunities, new networks to build and nurture, new experiences, different kinds of 'rich'. I ended up working part time for roughly the same amount of money - until the recession and then it dropped - but I still had enough to pay my bills whilst being able to do other things like politics and having my grandchildren during the day.

Working from home and only for myself didn't mean I was an island. I had joint ventures with lots of other businesses and I grew my network to one much more diverse and interesting.

In leaving the EU we will have the same new opportunities. We will become something special and unique - we will still connect up with our European friends and we will have control over our lives, just like I have total control over mine now - one more colourful, rich and exciting - instead of being a dull girl, whose spirit was going to be broken, in a dull environment.

That was my one opportunity to take control, to take the choice with some money as support and I took it.

I implore you to do the same. Forget those horrible nasty UKIP pictures that for some reason Farage has seen fit to dirty our skylines with. They have taken leave of their campaigning senses.
Forget the threats made by Remain that we will all die of starvation or our taxes will increase - these things are just not certain, or even likely.

Go with your gut. Answer the question in the headline - Are you up for it? or are you not?
Do you want a new empowered Britain that's in control? Or do you want to be stuck in the EU with mass redundancies round the corner when we see the collapse of the Euro.

We can do all the things we do now but much more - when WE make the decisions and WE take control of our journey.

I'm up for the ride - please make this happen for your children and grandchildrens sake.

Because ultimately if we Remain - those that voted for it will have to look their grandchildren in the eyes when we've lost control of everything from borders to laws - and answer them this question instead:

'Why did you vote to stay in something that was so obviously failing in so many ways for so many countries in EU, grandma?'



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