No one stood up for me! I was heavily pregnant with my first child and working for a international airline in Sydney. I boarded a crowded Forest line bus in peak hour. Having fought my way to a standing position, I was a little disgruntled. But forgave everyone in an instant with a kick of comfort from the little joy inside setting me a-glow secretly. I was in my late 20’s having worked my way up from the bottom and had already become a trainer and trusted advisor to many at work.

Suzy a work colleague squeezed her way through a few stops later.  Usually a kind and cheerful personality she seemed in low spirts. I asked her what was wrong “you don’t seem yourself?” I asked.

And then it hit me as it had hit her!  She said “you know I have been catching this bus for many years every day back and forth. I have been sitting in the same chair at work for the last 20 years!  I didn’t mean to. I was going to do something different. Other things. But now I can’t! I am a single mother and I do not know what to do. How could I change jobs? I am now well past 40 years old!”

At that moment, I made a decision, to find a way not to be on that bus.  And to help others not to be on that bus either. Now more than ever with the opportunities today and the tools available to us, with technology, we do not have to be on that bus. We can control how we work.  In fact, these days, working remotely, in the cloud, we can be where-ever we want to be.

So, my advice to Suzy was – Suzy, you can change. All you have to do is get off this bus!  Let’s get off this bus together!!