When I left university, I stumbled on to a career path that just wasn't right for me. I worked as a Secondary school teacher for five years before making a radical change. I wanted to become a photographer. It took a lot of hard work and scary moments but I fully believed that if I enjoyed what I did, my passion would show in my work and more work would come as a result. It was great to hear this same philosophy shared at the Gap/GLAMOUR reader event...
Last Tuesday evening, around 120 GLAMOUR readers braved the cold and headed to Gap's flagship store on Oxford Street to hear GLAMOUR magazine editor Jo Elvin in conversation with TV presenter Jane Moore; executive director of Gap's award-winning P.A.C.E education programme, Dotti Hatcher; campaigner and founder of the charity Kids Company, Camila Batmanghelidjh; and DJ and radio presenter, Annie Mac.
These inspiring women shared their life and career experiences and I think it's fair to say that everyone left the room feeling like they could achieve anything! I had to lower my camera to applaud the moment when Dotti Hatcher said "Paint your own picture of success, don't base it on what you think other people have... only when I stopped doubting myself and decided just to be me, true happiness set in and my life changed for the better."
Camila Batmanghelidjh pointed out that many of us will have more than one career in our lifetimes and the resounding message was "Just get on with it!". I couldn't agree more.
"If you're passionate about what you do, it doesn't feel like work"
Dotti Hatcher: "Think of something you like doing and go for it!"
Annie Mac: "You are not defined by what you look like"
Jane Moore: "Self-confidence, self-confidence, self-confidence."
Jo Elvin: "Work-life balance is so important"
Camila Batmanghelidjh: "If I could speak to my younger self I would tell myself to be mad sooner. It's so much fun!"
You can read more about the event in the February issue of GLAMOUR, on sale in January.