Yesterday I gave a talk to a leading agency that helps people make the move from redundancy to new jobs /careers. As always I spoke about the importance of the simple things: being oneself and connecting to others.

Whatever your age, life stage and aspirations, you will only find the fulfilment that you seek by listening to your ’self’.

But do not be fooled. The mistake often made is to believe that you need to be somehow other than, greater than or different to who you are. So many people I meet - and I’ve been there - spend a years trying to cultivate themselves into something that is but a shadow of how magical one that they already are. It is like wallpapering over a stunning marble wall that you are overlooking.

Stress and unhappiness in careers and relationships are almost always symptoms of not listening to oneself. It requires courage but it is the only way to find fulfilment in all areas of your life.

“Seek out not those who want to improve or change you… but those who point you to you” Rasheed Ogunlaru

Rasheed is a leading life coach, motivational speaker and author of The Gift of Inner Success.