An HR professional turned coach, writer and entrepreneur, Yolanda Sing is the founder of Chloe Consultants, a South Africa based consultancy that aims to help people discover their purpose and take charge of their lives through people and leadership development workshops, using a unique approach that involves horses.
Prior to starting her consultancy firm, Yolanda had worked as a Senior Human Resource Executive in several multinational companies in different countries including Dubai and Singapore. She was living the glamorous corporate life, as some people would describe it, but the reality was she felt she was dying slowly on the inside every day, she didn’t feel that she was being true to herself.
“Many people feel the same, but they are very scared to step out, trust the universe and follow their purpose. I discovered my life purpose some time ago, but I was also too scared to follow it and leave my career behind, I was afraid people would think I was absolutely crazy for leaving my secure job behind”. Yolanda said
Yolanda was residing in Singapore when she learned she had a brain tumor. Although this wasn’t a pleasant news to hear, it was a wakeup call that brought her back to herself and closer to her true calling. Sing didn’t fear death, yet she was terrified of dying without fulfilling her purpose and honoring her inner voice, which gave her the motivation to leave her corporate job, move back to South Africa to start her own business and follow her true calling in life.
“When I learned I was ill, my life purpose became clear to me; I had to explore the world of horses and help individuals and corporations through the healing power of this animal. This gave me the guts and courage to move back to South Africa and start my own business”. Sing added
Yolanda now uses horses as a medium to help individuals of corporate teams become more authentic, and to create a cultural shift that positively affects businesses. She also has a self-published book ‘Power in The Paddock’ which tells her story during her sickness, through the eye of her polo pony Erika who played a major role in her healing journey. The purpose of this book is not only to share her story but also to give people hope and inspiration.
“Life is very short, and we should never put security ahead of life purpose” – Yolanda Sing
Name something that guides both your personal and professional development and helps you regain focus during challenging times.
My connection to soul spirit, to my purpose and vision. I think if we don’t focus on our vision, the world we live in today will just derail us and take a lot of our energy.
What do you believe is at the core of women’s hesitation to step out and pursue leadership roles where they are?
It’s never the stallion that is the leader of the herd, it’s always the dominant male that is. We women don’t believe in ourselves, we want to compete with the male energy instead of harnessing the fact that our female energy is special. I think the male energy has destroyed the world, if we look at all the politics and what’s happening today. I think what’s going to save us is adding more of the female spirit to balance the equation.
Tell us one of your greatest professional accomplishments, and why it meant so much to you?
When I started doing my work in the United Kingdom 7 years ago, the client I worked with won an award for excellent leadership. We brought horses into the board room as a metaphor and it served its purpose. Also, being featured in ‘Most influential Women in S.A magazine’ a few years ago.
The world is a scary place – how do you manage fear and anxiety in both your work and personal life?
We all live with a lot of fear, but I learned that fear means lack of faith. The more fear you put into your energy system, the more you attract it to you. So, I manage it through yoga and meditation.
I start my mornings collecting my thoughts and asking for guidance for the day. Doing work that uplifts me also helps. Also, the consciousness that our thoughts create our energy and that this energy is a precursor for future things we attract into our life makes me focus on the things I want from life.
The more fear we put out there, the less good things we are going to attract. I would advise people to stop watching the news as it creates so much fear and anxiety. Whenever you feel anxious or scared, take a deep breath and remember that our lives are always guided, we can’t really see it, and sometimes we feel that the universe moves a bit slow, but just have faith that there is a bigger hand that is going to protect us.
What do you believe will be the greatest benefit to having more women as leaders in the world?
We will have healthier cultures if we hang on to our female spirit and not try to become more man like.
Tell us what your greatest personal challenge is, and how you’ve achieved success in spite of it.
The brain tumor was the biggest challenge; it was a big and dramatic experience but when I look back now I think it was the greatest thing that ever happened to me. I was so into the corporate world which had no meaning, so I needed some sort of a wakeup call to realize that life is short and we will not live forever.
If we have a clear vision and compelling desire in our heart, we must follow it and trust blindly that we will reach our destination. Just like driving a car at night, we don’t see the whole road ahead, we only see the next couple of meters, and that’s how I live my life these days.
I believe I’m only responsible for the input in my life, while the outcome is the function of my karma; what I put out into this world. I am responsible to do the right thing everyday
What would you tell women who were recently diagnosed with a chronic disease?
It might be controversial, but I would say don’t believe everything the medical reports say because it creates a lot of fear. If you go through such a dramatic experience, you have to write your own story and not just accept the reality you found yourself in.
When my doctor told me I had brain tumor, I told him: “don’t project your fear of death on me, because I’m already cured, you are making me feel scared because you are fearing your own death.”
I would also advise them to follow a healthy lifestyle and reduce their stress level to a minimal. When we get sick, it’s a call from the universe telling us that something is not working, and that we have to reinvent ourselves. We have to take the responsibility of changing the circumstances around us and create the best environment for us to heal. Most importantly, no one should ever take their health for granted.
What are your dreams and hopes for the future?
I’ve got two big dreams: my book to become a bestseller and turned into a movie. I would also like to do more youth development workshops with the horses.
What advice would you give to young women out there?
Have a vision of what is it that you want and how you want your life to be, then take a step towards it every day. You have to be crystal clear on that!
You know it in your gut, you know it in your soul, what your purpose is. The universe will show you your purpose, you can’t push it, a lot of things need to happen before you are mature enough to accept the message that is going to come to you, so don’t rush things and be patient.
Spend time in meditation and the answers will be revealed to you, the universe talks to us all the time, but we don’t always want to listen.