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- Week 6 Reflection - 28 July 2017 -

The fifth week of my internship was undoubtedly the most telling about my office habits
and preferences; as with all of these particular revelations, I find that they are deeper reflections
of my true self. My ideal lifestyle incorporates all five of my core values:
o Adventure Follow the path beyond your alternative, ordinary self.
o Prosperity Strive for recognition as a means to preserve your legacy.
o Knowledge Take advantage of all human senses to quench ones hunger for a fulfilling
understanding of the scenes around oneself and all objects of curiosity.
o Mindfulness Your body is your temple. Keep it pure and clean for its soul to reside in.
Courtesy of B.K.S. Iyengar
o Optimism Memory is a delicate medium to capture thoughts. Actively search for positivity
even in the darkest of times, so that its recollection provokes a smile.
As with the natural progression of daily life, all of these elements awaken in the early
morning. On alternate days of the week, I exercise in the gym to restore my faith in the health of
both my body and mind before proceeding to connect to my social network. If I do not happen to
have work that day, it is almost certain that I will have a rough schedule in hand before I even
have to consider how I will manage my time wisely. It is typical of me to designate at least 3
hours to a museum visit or art exhibition a venue that will provoke an earnest desire to acquire
a missing piece of knowledge.
Rather than elaborate further on my routine, it is safe to conclude that my ideal lifestyle is
one of careful balance, which introduces a series of inevitable challenges. Upon analysing my
core values, I think that a general theme is that my pursuit to follow this lifestyle is fixated on
myself as a focal point. It is selfish of me to not be as aware of others as I could be, but with this
acknowledgement, I now strongly believe that there are potential areas that can, and should,
include the dynamics of interpersonal relationships. For example, even the word adventure
provokes imagery of companionship when faced with uncertainty every novel teaches its
reader that it is to the credit of human nature that we seek friendship and these strong
connections keep the narrative from unravelling. One of my primary objectives before arriving in
London was to expand my professional network; it is a given that I will reach out to business
leaders based in London, but I would like to extend this to valuable connections in a personal
sense. When we had the company visit to London & Partners for example, it served as an ideal
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opportunity for me allow my curiosity regarding the British workforce to take hold and to secure
a promise with myself to follow up with a number of employees (for example, I recently set up a
date to chat with Tony Margiotta). Another foreseeable challenge with my lifestyle is that it does
not leave room for intrusions an unexpected acquaintance or personal failure that lingers for
instance. I am deeply aware of my natural gravitation towards order, so it is no surprise that this
feeling also applies to my lifestyle choices. I do have a love-hate relationship with spontaneity
after all.
Connecting what I have stated thus far to my career prospects, I believe that I would
thrive in a setting that involves consulting. I want to express my own insight in order to
contribute to the wellbeing of humanity on a more personal level while remaining independent to
a certain extent. The impersonal nature of business consulting is what I find intriguing. I
distinctly remember that I fell in love with reading classical texts, not just for their beautiful
language, but because I could critically analyse the emerging themes and character development.
By achieving some level of mindfulness in my own life, I think that consulting would be an
appropriate path to encourage others to do the same and ultimately share an intimate perspective
on the inner mechanisms of a company itself.
My internship at Brighter Group does involve applying my knowledge to a specific
market and catering to a clients needs. With my status as an intern, it is a bit difficult to
incorporate all of my core values, but I have been the most successful with prosperity,
knowledge, and optimism. By accepting my limited expertise in the luxury travel industry, I have
sought higher levels of understanding with each new assignment; when I was asked to research
about the artistic community in the Caribbean, for example, I dedicated however much time was
required to become a resource for my account directors. I included prosperity, which may not be
an obvious choice, simply because this internship is a major stepping-stone in my life. The best
way to describe it would be if I were crossing a pond and could only do so by placing my feet on
each consecutive stone until I reached the opposing shore. It may not be the quickest means, but
my practical self is not complaining because even if I take only one step forward, my reflection
shifts ever so slightly along the surface of the water. I also mentioned optimism earlier because
dedicating a majority of ones day to the workplace is no easy feat. Especially in recent weeks, I
have learned to appreciate the little moments in my day where I can identify not only my
physical progress, but also some meaning in my set tasks. Through observation in the office, I
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have noticed how diligent the account directors are, even when faced with a particularly irritating
journalist, and my admiration for their work ethic encourages me to do the same. I will admit
that I think I may have allowed myself to fall within the standard of an ordinary intern, but in
order to honour my core values, I will actively seek opportunities to prove myself. Rather than
make unnecessary demands, I will begin with scheduling in tasks ahead of time with each
account director, so that I can measure what my week will look like and develop deeper
relationships with my colleagues all the while. As simple as this solution may appear, it closely
aligns with my ideal lifestyle while introducing an alternative approach towards grasping all five
of my values.