adventure – Page 2 – The Woman Wednesday Blog

Woman Wednesday: Linda

November 13, 2024Posted in inspiration, Uncategorized, womenTagged achieving your dreams, adventure, advice, animals, art, beauty, blog, blogging, book-review, books, building a business, building something, business, business blog, business woman, businessowner, businesswoman, candles, Challenges we learn from, Challenging, cool, emotional blog, empowerment, equality, fashion, feminism, fiction, gender, gender-equality, hard work, healing, health, inspiration, inspirational blog, inspirational stories blog, inspire, life, life experiences, lifestyle, literature, meaningful business, mental health, mindset, motherhood, nature, overcoming negativity, photographer, photography, poetry, postpartum, reading, relationships, resilience, SEO, sharing stories, sharing stories blog, stories, stories blog, style, success, trauma, travel, travelling, wcw, wildlife, woman, woman wednesday, women, women empowered, women empowering, writingLeave a comment

Q and A with Linda from Vancouver, BC, Canada

“…what others say about you is their garbage, not you.”

Q: What are you passionate about?

A: [I am passionate about] respecting the humanity of children. As a marketing guru once said, “You should just delete everything from your website and write: ‘Treat them like human beings, treat them like human beings…on infinite repeat.'”

I am currently working on: a semi-autobiographical novel about a women who can communicate with water, a parenting book that is essentially a brain dump of all that I’ve learned over the past almost 50 years, and I am learning just how well I can paint (it turns out I’m a very talented beginner). [Additionally, I’m working on] healing me [because of] an abusive marriage that I was ‘groomed’ for by the parenting my folks did and from the world around me.

Q: What were your younger years like?

A: Have you read Down Girl? That. What has impacted me the most, it turns out (why I married the idiot in the first place, and why I’ve been standing on the neck of my business for 20 years), is ‘trying to win my dad’s approval,’ which is never going to happen and has nothing at all to do with being loveable or worthy of approval. A freeing discovery.

Q: What is something valuable you’d like others to know?

A: [I have learned] that what others say about you is their garbage, not you. And that critical voice in your head? That’s also them, not you.

You CAN reprogram your thinking, love yourself, and be your whole full potential (I’m working on that part…).

Q: What does feminism mean to you?

A: [Feminism, to me, means] seeing women as whole real people, in the same way I believe children need to be recognized as whole, real people.

[It also means] not “going to be people if or when…” or, as we see in our culture of patriarchy everywhere: not real people ever, at all.

MORE FROM LINDA: I live near Vancouver, BC, Canada, but I lived in Victoria, BC (the provincial capital) for 50 years (where I’m from…as well as getting my dad in the divorce, he also got the city.)

Thanks for reading!

Connect with me here:

Let’s meet online for a talk family session, click here.

www.facebook.com/linda.clement.733/

www.instagram.com/raising_parents_inc

www.linkedin.com/thriveparenting

Website

https://raisingparents.net/

https://www.raisingparents.net

https://raisingparents.net

Comment below!

Woman Wednesday: Angelmarie

November 6, 2024Posted in inspiration, Uncategorized, womenTagged achieving your dreams, adventure, advice, animals, art, beauty, blog, blogging, book-review, books, building a business, building something, business, business blog, business woman, businessowner, businesswoman, candles, Challenges we learn from, Challenging, cool, emotional blog, empowerment, equality, fashion, feminism, fiction, gender, gender-equality, hard work, healing, health, inspiration, inspirational blog, inspirational stories blog, inspire, life, life experiences, lifestyle, literature, meaningful business, mental health, mindset, motherhood, nature, overcoming negativity, photographer, photography, poetry, postpartum, reading, relationships, resilience, SEO, sharing stories, sharing stories blog, stories, stories blog, style, success, trauma, travel, travelling, wcw, wildlife, woman, woman wednesday, women, women empowered, women empowering, writingLeave a comment

Q and A with Angelmarie from Amityville, New York

“One of the most valuable things that I’ve learned is never take time for granted. When we are young, we don’t have a lot of foresight on this, but when we are older, it’s important to not sweat the small stuff.”

Q: What are you passionate about?

A: My passions are definitely staying in the world of God. This has been really helpful in my journey with life. My interests are empowering women of all ages, educating them on healing from within and using holistic natural ingredients when it comes to skin care. [Promoting] the mindset of all women being created equally and that we are all beautiful. My current work has been my biggest platform: TikTok Skin Care Renewed LLC. This has become both a passion and a job. Currently, I’m working on content creation when it comes to skin care, gut health, and having a bit of fun at the same time.

Q: What were your younger years like?

A: Growing up on Long Island and in New York City, I had the best of both worlds. The Italians were on Long Island, while my Spanish side of the family lived in the South Bronx. I grew up attending Broadway shows, Barbizon modeling school in nyc, always taking train rides into New York City to get our hair done or to watch the Rockettes. It inspired me to watch women dress up and feel beautiful. I’ve attended Catholic schools and public schools growing up.

Q: What is something valuable you’d like others to know?

A: One of the most valuable things that I’ve learned is never take time for granted. When we are young, we don’t have a lot of foresight on this, but when we are older, it’s important to not sweat the small stuff. Every day is a new day and a new beginning, and it’s never too late…whether it is trying something new or becoming a better you!

Q: What does feminism mean to you?

A: Feminism, for me, can be best described as a movement advocating for the rights and equality of women, reproductive rights, and social justices for all women. It’s definitely something I feel very passionate about.

MORE FROM ANGELMARIE: I was born in Amityville, New York…yes, where the haunted house is located! [She laughs.] I typically have that reaction from people when asked. Yes, I have that “New York sass and spice;” however, that has made me who I am today, which I am very grateful for.

Thanks for reading!

Connect with me on TikTok; click here.

Comment below!

Woman Wednesday: Lauren

October 30, 2024Posted in inspiration, Uncategorized, womenTagged achieving your dreams, adventure, advice, animals, art, beauty, blog, blogging, book-review, books, building a business, building something, business, business blog, business woman, businessowner, businesswoman, candles, Challenges we learn from, Challenging, cool, emotional blog, empowerment, equality, fashion, feminism, fiction, gender, gender-equality, hard work, healing, health, inspiration, inspirational blog, inspirational stories blog, inspire, life, life experiences, lifestyle, literature, meaningful business, mental health, mindset, motherhood, nature, overcoming negativity, photographer, photography, poetry, postpartum, reading, relationships, resilience, SEO, sharing stories, sharing stories blog, stories, stories blog, style, success, trauma, travel, travelling, wcw, wildlife, woman, woman wednesday, women, women empowered, women empowering, writingLeave a comment

Q and A with Lauren from Edinburgh, Scotland

“You have got to tune into your strengths and make them your superpower. In the past 8 years of my career, I have turned my understanding of my sensory world, and dived into specialising in the sensory world of animals.“

Q: What are you passionate about?

A: Wildlife! Ever since I was a little girl, I have been obsessed with animals. I grew up on the east coast of Scotland outside of Edinburgh, and I spent every holiday and long weekend on the beach by the North Sea.

Rockpooling and body boarding were my favourite activities, and I used to spend hours upon hours looking at urchins, starfish, anemones, blennies, crabs and more. We used to see sharks and whales wash up on the shore, and I think that’s where my obsession with sharks began.

Whilst everyone else was playing with dolls or Barbie’s, I just wanted to be a mermaid, so I could play with sharks. Everything I did from that point on was in preparation for studying and working with sharks. I LOVED school and studied extremely hard to pursue my dream of studying marine biology. I went to Glasgow University and not only had the best years of my life, but I qualified with my bachelors of science degree in zoology with integrated marine biology. I took some time out by going to Fiji and worked on a marine conservation project and learned to dive. Nothing was stopping me. Then I went back to university at Newcastle to do my postgraduate degree in Tropical Coastal Management.

After my university career, I landed my dream job in the Maldives working as a resident marine biologist. Living and working in the Maldives was the best time of my life. It was really hard work but so rewarding. Our clientele was some of the biggest celebrities and famous faces in the world, but my role involved teaching everyone about the marine life.

But after 8 wonderful years underwater, I got the chance to move to dry land and work in Africa. Going back to my zoological roots, I became a wildlife TV presenter for WildEarth [the broadcasting company] and worked across Africa. I have now set up my own wildlife production company called Too Wild, which is based in the Timbavati Game Reserve, which is now offering the first-of-its-kind, immersive wildlife filmmaking course to help build the next generation of wildlife filmmakers.

We offer a wildlife filmmaking course from the heart of South Africa’s Greater Kruger National Park where students will learn to capture the wild as never before. The main drive of this project is my belief that, united, we have the power to inspire change and uplift the youth in South Africa. To nurture local talent and produce the next generation of South African wildlife filmmakers, we fully sponsor a student from one of the local communities on the periphery of the game reserve through this course. This is truly where my passion lies.

Q: What were your younger years like?

A: I was such a tom boy and adventurous kid who loved the ocean and animals. Other than growing into my feminine self, not much else has changed.

I am hard of hearing and have been very ashamed of this my whole life. Only recently in my 30s, have I taken this perceived “weakness” and turned it into a strength that I am proud of. Not hearing well has meant that I have a super human sense of smell and really keen eyesight, I am VERY observant. Everyone has their strengths and “weaknesses.” You have got to tune into your strengths and make them your superpower. In the past 8 years of my career, I have turned my understanding of my sensory world, and dived into specialising in the sensory world of animals. It has opened so many doors for me in terms of broadening my knowledge base and adding and extra layer to my teachings about the natural world.

Q: What is something valuable you’d like others to know?

A: I wish I had been told this earlier in life, but a real golden nugget for me is that, in order to start your journey into thinking this way, you must remember “Compete only against yourself, not against others.” Treat everything as an opportunity for YOU, not anyone else. Stop comparing yourself to other people because you will always find someone who is better at something that you do or who is more successful at whatever career you’ve chosen. Instead, compare yourself to the person you were yesterday. Make that your only expectation…and everything is an opportunity to do that.

Thanks for reading!

Comment below!

Woman Wednesday: Lisa

September 4, 2019Posted in UncategorizedTagged adventure, blog, blogger, business woman, don't underestimate her, entrepreneur, explore, film, inspiration, inspiration to women, inspire, model, mother, music, opera, singer, travel, travel the world, tv, wcw, woman crush wednesday, woman wednesday, women wednesday, womens storiesLeave a comment

*Note: Woman Wednesday is a part of our blog. Each Woman Wednesday post will feature a woman who would like to share information in the hopes of inspiring and motivating other women. Comments are welcome below.

Q and A with Lisa, Saskatchewan, Canada

“Take care and love yourself. You are worth loving! You have everything you need inside of yourself. You have the cognitive power to improve your life through your thoughts and emotions.”

Q: What are you passionate about?

A: There are many things that I’m passionate about…#1 is family–my two kids, Elle and Jude, and my husband, Elvis. Plus, our parents, siblings, and extended family too!

Next, I’m passionate about music (Arcadia), modeling, travel, language, and pretty much anything to do with marketing, film, and ecommerce.

I used to study and perform opera. To me, opera is like traveling through language, time and space. You get to glimpse into an old world, different languages and almost forgotten culture through your whole body. I eventually crossed over into Americana and French-English Electro (Mine Tonite). My music has been featured at the Cannes Music Festival, aired on radio and TV stations in France (Come 2 Me). I’m a HUGE Beatles nerd/fan on top of it – they’ve been a major influence on my music and life.

For travel, I’ve lived on and explored 4 continents/about 23 countries so far. I’ve done school exchanges in Quebec, France, Croatia, and China. Traveling is like a hunger that can never be satisfied–once I do a trip, multiple others show up on my travel list.

For marketing, from a young age, I learned sales techniques from my parents, who at the time, were selling Amway. I graduated high school with a chemical technology scholarship but quickly decided that was not the route for me (even though I adore chemical bonding!). I got a job as a sales rep for The Source (formerly Radio Shack). I was the only female employee at the time, but within 3 weeks, I soaked up so much information and performed so well that I was promoted to Assistant Manager. Within a few months, I became the top sales person in the province and the first female to hit that position. I knew I had found my calling (well, one of them).

Afterwards, I traveled for about a year in Australia and Asia then I moved to Kelowna, BC ,to start my bachelor’s degree in business administration majoring in marketing. After my first year of business, I did a summer French exchange to La Pocatiere, Quebec, where I learned French (in 5 weeks!), guitar, dance, and fell madly in love with opera. In my third year of business, I did exchanges in Caen, Normandy, France, and Zagreb, Croatia. I traveled to about 14 European countries while modelling, acting, and recording music–it was so incredible!

In 2013, I completed my BBA in marketing and started working in media and film in Kelowna, BC. I dabbled in ecommerce a bit but I didn’t catch on…yet. I was on the board of an independent film nonprofit called OSIF. I moved to Vancouver in 2015 to pursue film, music, and marketing, but I got side-tracked with a relationship…I ended up moving around feeling lost and started a business with my ex.

I became pregnant with my 1st child and things started to go sideways. Pressure started to build and my ex could not handle it and turned to drugs and alcohol to cope with all the stress. He started cheating on me and became abusive to my daughter and I–mainly verbally, but it started to build and build with more physical, mental, sexual, and emotional controlling abuse. It was not a surprise that I became pregnant with baby #2.

The abuse got to a very intense and scary place. Luckily, my sister came to save me and brought my family into the discussion as I had been hiding it for a long time. That’s something I learned later on that’s a typical reaction to controlling abuse is becoming a “battered woman”. This is where the woman (or man) being abused ends up so controlled they feel they have to hide and protect their abuser. My abuser controlled me in many ways, but one thing he would do was threaten to commit suicide if I didn’t forgive him. He even cheated on me when I was 7 months pregnant with my daughter, he blamed me for it, then said he was going to kill himself over and over again until I said I forgave him.

At age 30, I was a pregnant single mom moving into my parent’s basement. I was completely broke, anemic, depressed, could not find work, I was not eligible for maternity leave (I ended up going on social assistance/ welfare) and was on the road to bankruptcy. My ex was using our business cash flow for drugs, which was a very expensive habit. It felt like I was living in a nightmare.

Thankfully, I went to counselling, I meditated every day, and after applying for 100s of jobs, I said “screw this!” and started my own business back up again–Unbound Market. I took every free e-course, downloaded every free e-book, and watched tons of YouTube videos to learn as much as I could about ecommerce and online business. Out of my darkest time, I was able to rebuilt my life and find myself again. It was extremely hard to go through it, but now I’m grateful for everything because I am pretty much indestructible now–I focus on what I love, and I leave behind the old negativity behind.

I was born and raised in Saskatoon, SK. We have extreme weather here. +30c in summer and -40c in winter, sometimes -50c to -60c with the wind chill (86f summer, -22f to -76f winter). I enjoy finding the silver lining in most situations–the cold is excellent for reducing inflammation and has anti-aging effects. I spent many winters tobogganing under the northern lights soaking in the light vibrations. And, many summers camping at nearby lakes (Saskatchewan has over 100,000 lakes). I have 2 siblings–a sister and brother, I’m the youngest and pretty much got away with everything and still do!

Typically, I’m a girly girl but with camping and lots of outdoor activities, it’s helped me to not be afraid of getting my hands dirty. Also, being able to appreciate things on a deeper level. I know what it’s like to have nothing but family. I’m so grateful and appreciative of my life every second of every day.

When I was younger, I felt like there was so much more out there that I needed to experience. That feeling helped me to get out of my comfort zone and I sought out those experiences traveling to 23 countries, studying 6 languages, creating 3 bilingual music videos, being a board member of a nonprofit film group, working on commercials and TV movies in Kelowna and Vancouver, BC, modeling all over Canada and Europe, being signed with multiple agencies, completing my bachelor’s degree in business administration specializing in marketing, international business, and linguistics, plus giving birth twice with no epidurals.

Q: What is something valuable you’ve learned that you’d like others to know?

A: First, ladies (and gentlemen), if a person uses suicide as a way of getting out of guilt from bad things they’ve done, give them a self-help pamphlet and please run away as fast as you can. I know that’s harsh but even if you think you can help them, you can’t they can only make that decision themselves. Here’s a video I recently posted about overcoming an abusive relationship that gives a bit more insight to my story.

Second, YOU are amazing!! Take care and love yourself. You are worth loving!! You have everything you need inside of yourself. You have the cognitive power to improve your life through your thoughts and emotions. If you’re stuck in a bad relationship or situation, know you have the power to change that. I highly recommend EFT (tapping- it’s like a full body reset), cognitive thought therapy (to reverse negative thought patterns and even disease–Louise Hay is amazing!), forest bathing and grounding (get outside for at least 10 minutes per day), and take your vitamins (B12, Magnesium, Zinc, Vitamin C & D and Iron are my go-tos along with Cardioflex). And lastly, meditation (or calm breathing if you prefer)…it is by far the most powerful technique to manifesting your true desires. Solfeggio frequencies are usually my go-tos–they can help repair your DNA!

I posted about my recent marriage and how my life has turned around significantly in 2 years through manifestation and energy healing. I hope by sharing my story, I can encourage others to overcome trauma and create the life they truly desire and ultimately deserve.

I met my now husband, Elvis, when I was 6 months pregnant! At certain points, I never thought it would be possible to meet and trust a man. But I had this overwhelming feeling of love and I heard a voice that said, “Go for it!”. Something just clicked, we met and fell in love. He was so understanding of my situation and was like the perfect puzzle piece to the kids and I.

Elvis came to the hospital a couple hours after my son Jude was born on January 20th, 2018. Just under a year later, we got engaged on my birthday January 10th, 2019, and started wedding planning asap. There’s been many other ups and downs (I had 3 surgeries within a year–check my YouTube, as I’ll be posting videos about those soon). Elvis has stuck with me through so much! I’m so grateful for him and the kids! And, grateful for staying strong with loving myself and manifesting my true desires.

Q: What does feminism mean to you?

A: Feminism, to me, is a very loaded subject. I’ve tended to work in male-dominated fields (such as selling electronics, film and ecommerce). Being the only female gave me huge advantages. One of my favorite (dis)advantages was being underestimated. I constantly surprised people with my knowledge, ideas, and expertise. I’ve had older males literally push past me asking “I wanna talk to a man”. Once they realized I was in a management position and knew so much, they’d be shaking my hand while leaving the store or after signing a business contract.

I personally prefer female empowerment over feminism. I feel women are rising up greater than we have been able to in many lifetimes. We’re taking over and the world will be a better place from it.

Connect with me! I’d love to chat with you!

Links: Unbound Market is business and Unbound Heart is personal.

Website Unbound Market

Facebook Unbound Market

Facebook Unbound Heart

YouTube Unbound Market

Youtube Unbound Heart

Twitter Unbound Market

Twitter Unbound Heart

Instagram Unbound Market

Thoughts, questions, or comments?

Comment below! 🙂

Woman Wednesday: Jess

January 30, 2019January 30, 2019Posted in Uncategorized, womenTagged adventure, adventure blog, advice, blogger, blogs, books, career, challenge yourself, comfort, cool, education, environment, family, feminism, happy, home, inspiration, inspire, job, learning, life, motivate, motivation, motivational blog, motivational post, news, novel, people, photos, reading, role models, role models for girls, role models for women, skydiving, spread happiness, stories, story blog, teacher, teacher blog, teachers, teaching, teaching blog, technology, travel, travel blog, trends, woman, woman story, women, women inspiring women, women post, women supporting women, womens storiesLeave a comment

Q and A with Jess, Howard County, Maryland

“If you have a setback in the process of achieving your goals, and you feel as though you’ve failed, take a moment to reflect on why you weren’t successful and what you can do to ensure that you won’t make the same mistake(s) again. Then forgive yourself and get ready for another try. Self-improvement is not an endgame; it is a constant process.”

Q: What are you passionate about?

A: I’m passionate about self-improvement in all areas of my life. I am constantly reflecting on how I can become the best possible version of myself, the person that I visualize when I think “this is who I want to be.”

As a third-grade teacher, I am always looking for better ways to engage and instruct my students, whether it’s something small like using a magnifying glass to be “Story Problem Detectives,” or something big, like transforming my classroom into a tropical rainforest, complete with a humidifier and real plants. Every lesson that I teach, I ask myself, “What went well?” and “What could I do differently to make this lesson better?” The book that I’m reading now, “The Wild Card: 7 Steps to an Educator’s Creative Breakthrough,” is a great source of inspiration, and it also provides concrete steps to help me improve my teaching.

I strive for self-improvement in other areas of my life as well. I want to be physically stronger, I want to be more organized, I want to be more financially secure, and I want to be more fearless in pursuit of things that excite me. I’m always working on some part of myself.

It can be hard not to beat myself up when I make mistakes that put me further away from reaching my goals. But it’s something that I’ve been working on a lot lately.

Pictured: Jess in her classroom. She does whatever she can to make learning fun for her students.

Q: What is something valuable you’ve learned that you’d like others to know?

A: Striving for perfection doesn’t work. It’s an absurd amount of pressure to place on yourself, and it’s setting yourself up for failure. You are a human being. You’re not perfect, and you never will be. Perfection is an unattainable goal, and it’s unreasonable to expect it of yourself.

You can, however, always strive for improvement. I personally have started changing my mindset to think “progress, not perfection,” and that has done wonders for my stress level.

I wrote a lot about this in a post about my New Year’s resolutions on my blog, which you can find here if you would like to read it: https://averageadventuress.blogspot.com/2019/01/new-year-new-words.html

Pictured: Jess rock climbing.

Q: What were your younger years like?

A: One of the stories I’ve heard the most about my childhood is the one that my dad likes to tell: When I was about three years old, my family was getting ready to leave the house (we may have been going out to dinner or to the park, that’s the part that no one really remembers). I was sent upstairs to get my shoes. After several minutes, my dad hollered up the stairs that if I didn’t come back down with my shoes soon, I would be left behind. No response from three-year-old me. He came up the stairs to investigate, and there I was, on the floor of my room, silent tears streaming down my face as I fiercely struggled to tie my own shoelaces.

I like to say that this story sums up two of my three main personality traits: stubbornly independent (to the point of pigheadedness at times) and a perfectionist, holding myself to high standards (sometimes impossibly high). This simultaneously drives my desire for self-improvement and makes me very anxious.

Pictured: Jess at the Colosseum in Rome, Italy.

My third main personality trait: I’ve always been an introvert. As a kid, I remember feeling tortured every time my parents made me order my own food at a restaurant or introduce myself to someone new. Speaking to strangers was the absolute bane of my childhood existence.

I started playing the violin in 3^rd grade, but I was hands-down the quietest in the entire orchestra until high school when the director decided he was going to bring me out of my shell. Throughout my four years of high school, he pushed me to take on leadership roles within the orchestra, and he even tutored me during the summer (to the point that I became concertmaster of the orchestra and played a solo in the spring concert my senior year). This was something beyond unthinkable to my ninth-grade self.

That one teacher had such a profound impact on my life. The confidence I found in orchestra spilled over into other areas of my life. It also cemented my desire to become a teacher. I want to do for students what my high school orchestra director did for me.

I’m still an introvert. I’m still stubbornly independent. And I’m still a perfectionist. I think these things are the anchors of who I am. But I’ve found ways to make these traits work for me, rather than allowing them to be obstacles between me and my goals; I’m turning them into strengths.

Pictured: Jess playing kronum (a hybrid sport of soccer, handball, and basketball, played on a circular field with 4 goals).

Q: What would you like others to learn from your story?

A: To become the person who you want to be, you must make a plan; it’s not just going to happen on its own. I start with the big goals I want to achieve, and I look for small steps to get me closer to achieving that goal, one step at a time.

For example, reducing the amount of trash I send to the landfills is one of the big goals that I’m working on. Small steps toward this goal include using reusable grocery bags and produce bags, using reusable water bottles and coffee cups, and saying “no” to freebies that I don’t need. As I master each “baby step,” I move on to another small goal. Big changes don’t happen all at once; the small changes add up to big change.

If you have a setback in the process of achieving your goals, and you feel as though you’ve failed, take a moment to reflect on why you weren’t successful and what you can do to ensure that you won’t make the same mistake again. Then forgive yourself and get ready for another try. Self-improvement is not an endgame; it is a constant process.