Meet Katie - My New PA

I'm delighted to announce that this week we welcome Katie Foster to The Raw Food Coach team. Katie is my new PA, working part-time from my office and part-time from her own. She steps into some of the shoes plus a few pairs more that Beth my former part-time PA filled and will be my full-time right-hand woman, handling all calls and emails.

I asked Katie to write an introduction so you can get to know her; some of you may have seen her with me in London last week at the Brian Clement event hosted by The Fresh Network. The picture above is one I took of her there, hence the busy background - the event was packed!

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Hi everyone, I’m Katie and I’m very pleased to meet you all!

I’m 36 years young(!) and live in Littleport, Cambridgeshire with my gorgeous husband Terry, the love and passion of my life, and my beautiful step-daughter Kayleigh.  Terry and I moved to Littleport from London in November 2006 to live with Kayleigh and it was a move that both excited and terrified us but one we have never had any regrets making.

I’ve been a PA now for around 14 years (good lord is it really that long!), working for various types of companies but, with every one I’ve spent time at, I’ve become more and more disillusioned and frustrated with the way the majority are run and the impersonal way in which employees are generally treated.  We spend such a large proportion of our lives at work that it has to be right, and I’ve personally now reached a point where I feel passionate about the need for my time to be spent making a real difference, not just to the people I work with but to the universe outside the four office walls! 

So, I thought, it’s time for change and the only person that can make that happen is me!

I’d seen Karen’s shout out for her ‘Dream PA’ in her eZine last year but, through my commuter fogged brain (5 hours a day travelling to London and back was certainly dampening my Va Va Voom!!), I was too slow off the mark and missed the boat….gutted!  However, knowing I desperately needed to quit the commute, I found myself a job in Cambridge working for another one of “those” companies (there were some very lovely people there though so all was not lost!).  By the start of 2008 the fog had well and truly cleared and with that came a clarity that I had never experienced before.  I knew in my heart and in my soul that this was my year for change, my time to start reaching for my dreams and living and breathing my own reality. 

My first stop was to sign myself up for Karen’s one day Raw Food For Beginners Class on 2nd February.  My raw journey to that point had certainly been more in the research stage, I was (and still am) receiving Karen’s weekly eZine and regularly looking at her fantastic website and blog but, for some reason, wasn’t allowing myself to take that final step into living raw.  The one day class was amazing and thought provoking and I loved every minute of it.  Karen is a very inspirational woman and a motivational teacher and I came away from the day feeling ready to embrace a way of life that I knew felt right for me.

During the week that followed the RFFB class, I emailed Karen to thank her and her helpers for a fantastic day and, even though I knew from Karen’s eZine that she’d found her ‘Dream PA’ in August, I decided to listen to my inner voice that just wouldn’t quieten and put a little feeler out to her just in case her situation had changed.  To my absolute delight Karen was indeed in need of some PA support – hurray!!  We had a chat on the phone and a face to face interview and hey presto….my dream job was offered to me and I very gratefully and happily accepted.

Karen has asked me what I’m most looking forward to with this role and I think my answer would be EVERYTHING!  It’s going to be such a pleasure to work with a person as caring and inspiring as Karen is and in a field that is totally focused towards making us all feel and be the very best people we possibly can be.  I’m so honoured to have this opportunity to not only support Karen but to support all of you in whatever way I can along your raw food journeys. 

Well…this is where my own raw journey truly begins!  I’m taking my time and feeling my way, listening to my body and trying to do what feels right for it without forcing it.  So far, so good – I’m starting to feel amazing and look better than I have done for years….my Mum and Dad even noticed, which gave me a massive boost :0)

The one thing I’d really like to leave you with is the biggest lesson I’ve learnt….when you hear your inner voice calling you and you feel a yearning deep down in your soul, trust your feelings, believe in yourself and the universe might just open up a doorway to a new beginning that is right for you, as it’s done for me.  Don’t live with the frustration, follow your dreams and life can become amazingly wonderful!

Thank you for reading my story and I’m really looking forward to getting to know you all.

Take care
Katie x

Comments

[Amy Webster]

Welcome Katie! T'was so nice to meet you in London, I know you and Karen make a wonderful team, enjoy every minute of your new journey, you will be inspiring all of us.
Best wishes
Amy

[Katie Foster]

Hi, thank you all so much for your lovely comments and for welcoming me 'into the fold'. I'm so pleased to be here and working with Karen....so far it's been great - the future's looking very exciting :0)

Thanks again
Katie x

[Isle Dance]

Katie - Congratulations and welcome!!! :o)

[Christine Tomlinson]

Welcome Katie, it is wonderful to hear how you listened to your inner voice and took the plunge and are now blessed to be part of the Raw Food Coach team (you were definitely co-creating with the Universe there)!! I am sure you and Karen will be a wonderful match, and I can't wait to see all the great things you and Karen have in store for us all in the future. Maybe you can organise a trip for the Raw Food Coach to New Zealand and Australia!!

[Naomi]

Welcome, Katie! You sound so full of life ... capable, confident and joyful ... just who Karen needs. I am blessed for you and Karen both, and I look forward to one day perhaps meeting you in Merrie Ole ... quite possibly in the Fall.

Naomi in NY :-)

[Penni]

Hi Katie! I know Karen is delighted to have you on her staff and I can tell by your writing that you are at the right place at the right time for both of you! I loved what you shared...."when you hear your inner voice calling you and you feel a yearning deep down in your soul, trust your feelings, believe in yourself and the universe might just open up a doorway to a new beginning that is right for you." That really spoke to me, so I thank you for sharing from your heart.

Again, Welcome!
Penni

[Alina]

Congratulations, Katie!

Even though I already met you during the Raw Food Coaching training, this is "official". Thank you for helping us all to settle down, showing us around and making us feel welcomed!

Best of luck on your new journey and I wish you a wonderful time working with Karen.

Warmest wishes,
Alina V.