This past weekend, I thought a lot about authenticity.

How authentic am I?

I'd like to think that I'm a lot more authentic now than I used to be when I worked in the City in banking. But I know that I still put on a persona for much of the time. We all do!

Authenticity is being who you really are. However, I am often worried about being liked, worried about what others think, worried about fitting in, worried about projecting a certain image.

Would you like to get ahead in your career or work your way up the corporate ladder?

We used to talk about the "Glass Ceiling" that kept women from advancing in a male dominated business world. That is much less the case today, thank goodness! But there is another "Glass Ceiling" that can affect us all, male or female, and it is our thoughts.

It’s the stories we tell ourselves about what we can and can't do. Those nagging doubts we have that we are not worthy of a promotion or that we wouldn't be able to handle more responsibility.

Every year, Fortune magazine comes out with "The Top 100 Employers To Work For".

When I was in the corporate world, quite often hating my job, I used to look at this list and envy those who were lucky enough to work for these organisations. But what exactly secures these companies the top votes and does it necessarily have to cost a lot of money to keep your employees happy?

The software firm SAS has taken pole position 2 years running and has been in the list for 14 years. It has some fantastic employee perks such as: on-site healthcare, high quality subsidised childcare, a summer camp for kids, car cleaning, a beauty salon, a library, and even a huge state-of-the-art gym.

One-Point is one of four Aikido (a martial art) principles, but it is not an invention of Aikido. If you concentrate your mind on a point approximately 2 inches below your navel, you will be able to coordinate your mind and body and find your strongest state. It is a state that you have been in many times in your life without even realising it, in particular when you were doing something that you felt particularly happy and comfortable doing.

This particular point is your body's center of balance where the most powerful motions of the body originate. The calmest minds are also concentrated here. By concentrating your mind here, you become more stable both physically and mentally.