I
trust you’ve all enjoyed a fabulous
holiday season
. I’ve said it here before, but it’s
always true: I just love that the festive season in our home starts with American Thanksgiving
in late-November and continues all the way through
Chinese New Year
.
As we settle back into post-holiday life, it’s the perfect time to be talking about work-life
balance – the theme of this issue. While there doesn’t seem to be any one correct answer for
achieving it, there are certainly strategies each one of us can employ to ensure we’re getting the
most
enjoyment
and
fulfilment
out of our days. For me, that means writing this letter to
you from sunny Southern California, just down the road from my parents. We have loved living in
Asia for more than a decade, but that doesn’t mean it’s without struggle. As I’m sure is the case
for many of you, I’m conflicted between maximising every amazing and unusual opportunity the
expat life
affords us with spending time with my family in the US. So, for us, we’ve found a
balance by renting a home near them for a month, where we work remotely while “playing house”.
So far, so good.
One woman who has managed the
work-life balance
gracefully is the new
CEO of ESF, Belinda Greer.
Belinda, who moved here from Scotland six months ago for
this huge and important role, has five grown sons and a recently retired husband. I had the pleasure
of sitting down with her to learn all about her vision for ESF and how she managed to move up the
career ladder while raising well-adjusted children. I hope you’ll enjoy meeting her as much as I did.
We’ve got lots of other stories inside, too. Have you been kicking around the idea of
starting a business
? Read on for tips from others who have gone before you. Have you ever
thought about going back to school? Inside, meet several parents who are doing just that. I do hope
that the folks you’ll meet inside inspire you to kick-start your goals. Perhaps this will be the year we
all find some balance between our obligations and our aspirations.
Thanks for reading,
Tracey Starr, Editor-in-Chief
welcome
Tracey and ESF
’
s CEO Belinda Greer
6
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