happy – Page 3 – The Woman Wednesday Blog

Woman Wednesday: Alison

May 8, 2019May 8, 2019Posted in inspiration, Uncategorized, womenTagged advice, around the world, Australia, blog, blogger, blogging, blogs, books, business, cool, cool blog, cool women, cool women blog, entrepreneur, entrepreneur blog, environment, Faith, family, feminism, get ahead, happy, home, inspiration, inspirational blog, inspirational speech, inspirational story, inspirational woman, inspire, knowledge, learning, life, mother, mother blog, my lilianas, my lilianas blog, New Zealand, news, role models, rolemodels, share knowledge, share the wisdom, shared knowledge, travel, trends, truth, UK, wise, wise words, woman, woman author, woman crush, woman crush wednesday blog, woman entrepreneur, woman role model, woman wednesday, women authors, women entrepreneur, women role models, women to watch, words of advice, words of wisdom, world1 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 Alison, Queensland, Australia

“So, if you want to make it anywhere in this world with happiness and contentment, you need to be your own best friend and get to a level of self-awareness that supports your lifestyle and personal expectations.”

Q: What are you passionate about?

A: I am a clarity and success coach and mindfulness consultant. I am passionate about people finding their happiness, purpose, and fulfillment in this world by creating conscious businesses. Being an intuitive empath, it is natural for me to feel into what is required to support people while shining a light on the areas of growth and service required with ease and support to bring comfort and kindness.

I have a background in corporate and government strategic leadership and management in the UK and New Zealand and although it was fulfilling for a time, I was always outgrowing the projects and teams and organizations. My values and boundaries were always getting stretched and compromised, and I never felt comfortable in these environments for long. As you can imagine, it was in direct conflict with my empathic nature. Yet, my business brain loved the strategic improvement aspects.

The catalyst to quit the corporate world to launch my own coaching business came following the birth of my first child. When I announced that I was pregnant, I was met with negativity and views which contradicted how I envisioned my motherhood journey would be. Eventually, I chose to ignore these opinions and lived mindfully during my first year as a new mum. It was exactly how I envisioned it would be.

I wanted to take what I had learned about mindfulness during my maternity leave and turn it into a fulfilling business to help others. Combining all my coaching, business, and strategic experience, supporting other intuitive empaths not cut out for organizations that didn’t fit their ideals.

I am currently working on so much. I always have projects on the go. However, I am most excited about the recent launch of my newest group coaching program which follows on from my Conscious Creation Business Accelerator, a 12-week Business Building group program, which leads into The Accelerator MasterCircle, my 6-month advanced and exclusive program for my Accelerator graduates.

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

A: There is immense power in owning your story and being able to accept your pathway and being vulnerable to others. Through this process, you will regain all the control and personal power, respect, and admiration you seek. Although none of that matters if you do not first truly honor, respect, know, like and trust yourself.

So, if you want to make it anywhere in this world with happiness and contentment, you need to be your own best friend and get to a level of self-awareness that supports your lifestyle and personal expectations.

Quality of life is born from within initially, as success is a feeling, it does not come from outside in the initial instances.

Q: What were your younger years like?

A. I grew up in the UK in Hertfordshire, and in the main, I had a great life. However, my personal journey to success wasn’t straightforward, when I reflect upon it now. I had chosen to leave university before I received my degree as I didn’t really know who I was or what I wanted to do and I wasn’t invested enough in the formal education system at the time. I had a lot of life to experience and a lot of growing to do.
Soon after starting my chosen career, I fell quite ill and was, not long after, diagnosed with viral Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. A debilitating illness which meant that my immune system was so weak I was bed-ridden for months. This took its toll on my journey to finding my purpose; however, looking back this became a big part of who I am because even then, I refused to be limited by the limits of my physical form and I did as much work on my mindset and emotions as possible to manage my rehabilitation. As a result, I managed to make a full recovery—even though it took the best part of 5 years of my life.

While working as a business manager in the UK, I experienced work-related stress after government restructures saw my entire team’s roles at risk, which in part, began my drive for authentic, conscious living after disagreeing with the fundamentals of the change. It was a really challenging time, trying to stand up for what I believed in, while consciously role modeling the behaviors that I believed would protect and support our people adequately. Looking back, I can see how this also shaped my pathway to my ‘Purpose’ and made me the person I am today, able to stand strong for what I believe in and actively guide others to find their same personal power within to build their own authentic lives, consciously create, and believe in what they want from life.
Without any of these experiences, and a whole heap of others, I would not be where I am today, so no matter how turbulent or challenging, I am grateful for those lessons and experiences because today I am living the life I only ever once dreamed of.

Q: What does feminism mean to you?

A: Honoring our unique abilities as women and appreciating what we bring to the table. I am not an anti-male or only pro-women. I believe we are equal and each has skill sets that are needed and required. Working as teams we will succeed in more ways.

The same with women working together in more ways—we will succeed more than when we compete. So, feminism is support, connection, and collaboration. Rising as one.

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

Alison Callan is a Global Clarity & Success Coach, a mindfulness consultant, speaker and Co-Author of the #1 best-selling book ‘You Are Meant For More.’

Website – www.alisoncallan.com

Facebook Group – Conscious Creation Community – https://m.facebook.com/groups/241746812875094

Facebook – www.facebook.com/alisoncallan3c/

LinkedIn – http://bit.ly/MeonLi

Book – www.alisoncallan.com/MFM/

Alison & My Lilianas would love to hear from you! Comment below!

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Woman Wednesday: Idoia

April 24, 2019May 7, 2019Posted in inspiration, Uncategorized, womenTagged advice, ballet, Basque, Basque Country, blog, blogger, blogging, blogs, books, connect, connect around the world, connections, cool, Dance, dancer, dancer blog, dancer post, dancing, empowerment, Espana, family, friends, happy, health, home, inspiration, inspirational blog, inspirational story, kindness, kindness blog, learning, life, life meaning, my lilianas, my lilianas blog, photography, photos, random acts of kindness, sister, sisters, spain, sports, stories from around the world, trends, truth, wcw, WCW Blog, woman, woman crush wednesday, woman crush wednesday blog, woman wednesday, woman wednesday blog, women, women crush wednesday, women wednesday, women wednesday blogLeave a comment

Q and A with Idoia, Barcelona, Spain

“Once you are on stage, there is this magic, that it makes you shine even though you are under pressure. If you miss a step, the key is to continue no one is expecting you to be perfect but you! It about forgiving yourself and continuing. A mistake is an opportunity to grow.”

Q: What are you passionate about?

A: The best approach to life is to be passionate in every second. It may sound cliché; however, there is no other way to live life meaningfully. In my point of view, during our lives, we have the chance to make positive impacts in our environment by understanding that life is full of good intent. I am passionate about people. Each of us has a story—something to tell the world. As human beings, we all deserve to be unique and to make mistakes in order to learn.

Having said that, I feel grateful to work for one of the biggest online travel agencies in the world. Why? Because we bring people together as well as the world itself. Traveling has helped me to awaken my mind, to be open-minded and to see how beautiful diversity is. My role at the company is to ensure that travelers find the best deals for accommodation. This allows me to have a close relationship with the hospitality industry while working for a highly innovative travel platform. I would say that unconsciously, since I was a child, I knew that my life would be linked to travel. I will always remember the family trips around Spain with the car or summer holidays somewhere in Europe.

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

A: I would highlight two lessons. The first one is to forgive yourself. Forgive yourself for not knowing everything. Forgive yourself for that time you did not say what you wanted. Forgive yourself for failing. This is something I learned not so long ago, as I realized how tough I was being to myself. Indeed, it is essential to forgive to overcome difficult situations where you think you have failed. If there is not forgiveness, it will be much more difficult to continue your journey. It will feel as if you had an issue that had not been resolved with yourself.

The second one is to be kind to others. When you meet someone, you don’t really know their story and what they have been through. In my view, each person behaves in a certain way because of a reason. Don’t blame that person for not being what you expected; there is probably an explanation for their behavior. Let the other person open up and tell you their story. Read what they are not able to say with words. We are sometimes afraid of showing vulnerability to others, while that is the moment when you are more honest and truthful to others and to yourself.

Q: What were your younger years like?

A. I grew up in the northern region of Spain, in a beautiful region called Basque Country near the city of Bilbao. I used to live in a little town close to the beach, and I played in the street until I was a teenager. I have now been living in Barcelona for three years, as I moved there to study for a bachelor’s degree in tourism and hospitality management.

I remember my childhood full of curiosity—always wanting to try new things and ready for adventure. For instance, I used to dance urban style dances since I was nine years, then my older sister encouraged me to take up ballet lessons at the age of thirteen. I felt completely lost for the first year! I thought about giving up, but there was something that I found in ballet that completely changed my perspective of life. I understood how important is to accept myself in front of a mirror, both physically, but mainly, psychologically. Furthermore, to see how in life one should reflect, think, and then act. This is, I would say, how you find balance in life (but also in ballet 😉). As I continued practicing ballet, I felt that I wanted to improve and learn more and more. It helped me to be resilient and to apply it to school, goals, personal relationships. When it was time for the summer festival of the dance school, we used to feel pressured the last weeks before the show. That is when I learned to trust myself and not to be frightened about failing. Once you are on stage, there is this magic, that it makes you shine even though you are under pressure. If you miss a step, the key is to continue; no one is expecting you to be perfect but you! It’s about forgiving yourself and continuing. A mistake is an opportunity to grow.

Q: What do you want others to learn from your story?

A: I feel that I am constantly learning and figuring out who I want to be. I do not believe in the only truth or the only answer. However, I have recently understood the importance of putting life in perspective and not making comparisons with others. We sometimes tend not to appreciate all we have in life because of making comparisons with others. This is especially relevant nowadays—as we are connected to other people’s lives in social networks 24/7. It is easy to compare yourself with the person you see on Instagram. Is it even fair to compare yourself with someone you don’t really know? It is not; you need to put in perspective your own goals and to look for inspiration rather than an exact role model.

I have learned that if I try to follow a role model, I forget about who I am and where I am going. I believe that even if you are not completely sure of where you want to be in the future, you already know where you do not want to be. This means that by following other’s steps, you do not necessarily end up where you want to go. It is more likely to feel that you have lost a chance to find your own way.

Q: What does feminism mean to you?

A: Feminism is the change to a more open and free society. It is not about just women or men; it is about the role models that have historically been associated with women and men. Feminism fights for women to be able to break the existing roles and to be whatever we want to be. It is the way to eliminate the barriers to do or act in a certain way because of the fact of being a woman. For those who think that feminism is just about women, I would say that it is also about defending for men to be able to have different roles as well. For instance, many say that men shouldn’t cry, while feminism defends that men should be able to cry like any other human being.

Furthermore, feminism is also about creating a support bond with another woman. In other words, not to look at other women as competition, but creating a sisterhood relationship. Luckily, I feel that this change is happening within the women around me—at work and with my friends.

I believe that feminism is a small word for such a big meaning. There is a phrase of Simone de Beauvoir which states a deep message about feminism: “Feminism is a way of living individually but fighting collectively.”

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

Instagram:

www.instagram.com/idoiahn

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Woman Wednesday: Julianne

April 17, 2019April 17, 2019Posted in inspiration, Uncategorized, womenTagged advice, blog, blogger, bloggers, blogging, blogs, business, cool, entrepreneur, entrepreneur blog, environment, family, happy, health, health blog, healthy, home, inspiration, Inspirational, inspire, inspire blog, learning, life, mental health, motivation, motivational monday, motivational speaker, motivational words, news, photos, physical health, speaker, spiritual health, support women, support women entrepreneurs, support women in business, today, trends, true stories, truth, wcw, WCW Blog, wellness, wellness business, woman, woman crush wednesday, woman entrepreneur, woman wednesday, woman wednesday b, woman wednesday blog, women, women bloggers, women entrepreneur, women leaders, women stories, women today, women wednesday, womens clothingLeave a comment

Q and A with Julianne, Hartford County, Connecticut

“It’s all up to us whether we decide to use our broken pieces as a weapon or as a crutch.”

Q: What are you passionate about?

A: Teaching others to fish. I saw a picture in a National Geographic when I was 13. This imprinted on my heart how I wanted to serve during my lifetime. The picture was actress Drew Barrymore in another country feeding a very long line of children. The kids did not have anything to eat, so their hands were out waiting for the “slop.” Their expressions seemed to be so grateful, yet they were so malnourished. It’s been 28+ years since I stumbled upon this photograph, but I see and feel like it was yesterday. I long to work full time with the youth in underprivileged areas to have an impact on the rest of their lives.

Currently, I speak in front a few hundred at a time. I just launched my 3rd stream of income in a wellness project. The C word is everywhere. (Cancer). It stole my big sister when she was 27. This was also a huge variable that has shaped me and my grit. I train folks on “tapping into their own human potential” and the importance of multiple streams of income. I’m excited to see it laid out. And I am always happy to inspire others.

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

A: We all bleed the same. Everyone has a story. Those of us with the toughest experiences make the toughest humans. It’s all up to us whether we decide to use our broken pieces as a weapon or as a crutch.

Q: What were your younger years like?

A. I grew up with my mom, who is a genius, literally. She has worked for the government for 35 years. And my dad is 100% American Indian, the Lumbee tribe. My younger years were, um, toxic and LOUD to describe it lightly. I found soccer to escape. Soccer offered me friendship, peace, confidence, and family. I clung to the soccer ball for so long. I was awarded almost a full scholarship to play Division 1 at a local state university. Soccer had a lot to do with who I am today.

Pictured: Julianne and her parents.

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Pictured: Julianne and her daughters.

Q: What does feminism mean to you?

A: Feminism means strength. Women are absolute warriors. So often, I’ve found, women have fallen into a trap behind a man. Or behind our children. Being a mother of 3, I’ve found out how capable and strong I really am. We get even more dangerous (in a good way) when women unite…Watch out world!

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

Instagram:

http://www.instagram.com/Julianne.j

Phone number:

860-866-6365

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Woman Wednesday: Carly

April 10, 2019April 11, 2019Posted in inspiration, Uncategorized, womenTagged advice, art, authors, blog, blogger, blogs, books, business, comfort, cool, design, dreams, education, energy, entrepreneur, entrepreneur blog, environment, experiences, Faith, family, feminism, food, happy, health, home, inspiration, inspire, intrapreneur, job, learning, life, motivate, news, people, reading, search engine optimization, shopping, shorts, stories, tech, trends, true, true story, truth, woman, woman author, woman blog, woman entrepreneur, woman's story, women, womens stories, wowLeave a comment

Q and A with Carly, Melbourne, Australia

“I used to give up on projects too early without enough feedback to see it through, and I attribute my giving up too early mostly to self-limiting beliefs. You can have the best business model and the best-looking website and great marketing strategy, but if you don’t believe in yourself first, you will fail every time. So for me, first and foremost is get your mindset right in the beginning, and set the foundations to build an amazing life for yourself and stick at it! The only way you will stick at anything is self-reliance, discipline, and self-belief.”

Q: What are you passionate about?

A: I am most passionate about creating personal and financial freedom for not only myself and my family, but also empowering women to create the same for themselves. For me, it’s always been about being able to live my best life on my own terms with the flexibility and freedom to be able to help and inspire others in my own unique way. I have always been passionate about the online business space, and I started my own affiliate marketing site back in 2002 and never looked back since. From there, I went into web development and search engine marketing and helped businesses grow their online presence. I also studied personal and business coaching and assisted a mentor of mine to build an online course that helps people to change self-limiting beliefs and mindset coaching. I now own and operate one of Australia’s largest Christian dating websites and have just started compiling all my knowledge to build a platform for women to grow personally through an online business called InspireHer Online. InspireHer Online will help positively change the lives of millions of women around the world giving them the most effective path to their personal and financial freedom on their own terms.

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

A: I love to share my skills, failures, and successes with others in an effort to help them avoid the pitfalls and misdirection that is rampant in the online business world.
One of the most valuable lessons I have learned that you can apply to both personal and business is consistency and self-belief! Never give up on your dreams! Realize that lots of failures lead you closer to success. I used to give up on projects too early without enough feedback to see it through, and I attribute my giving up too early mostly to self-limiting beliefs. You can have the best business model and the best-looking website and great marketing strategy, but if you don’t believe in yourself first, you will fail every time. So for me, first and foremost is get your mindset right in the beginning, and set the foundations to build an amazing life for yourself and stick at it! The only way you will stick at anything is self-reliance, discipline, and self-belief.

This was a big one for me, and it is what lead me to learn how to remove and change the old belief patterns I had and replace them with ones that align with my values. Developing a set of values for yourself is so important; they are your foundations and backbone that guide you through your life. Having no/a poor set of values or compromising your values to suit your needs at that moment will always create self-doubt, lack of direction, lack of purpose, and anxiety for you. Not correcting your old beliefs that don’t serve you will have you chasing your own tail and repeating the same old behavior and ultimately, lead to self-sabotage. So, I would say this is the most valuable lesson I can pass on and teach with my passion to help others finally achieve the long-term success they deserve.

Q: What were your younger years like?

A: I grew up in a small town near Melbourne, Australia, as an only child, and my mother was a hard-working single mum. During my younger years, I was always painting and drawing and ran art classes for other younger kids to raise money to go on a 12-month student exchange trip to Sweden which had a huge impact on my life—showing me that life experience and experiencing different cultures and people are things you can never learn in a classroom. I backpacked all around Europe afterward and have now traveled to 21 countries and counting! I started online marketing back in 1999 and developed a long-standing background in I.T. and digital design and marketing.

I combined both talents and first began designing websites in 2001 as a web designer for a Melbourne-based company, then started my own business developing online businesses for clients, and then later studied and taught coaching and consulting. Since then, I have been married and divorced, I have a wonderful 12-year-old son, and I have started many businesses (some that failed, some that succeeded). I have been flat broke, I have had wealth, and I have come through it all into total prosperity now, and I feel so privileged to be able to help other women achieve the same and more.

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Pictured: Carly and her son.

Q: What does feminism mean to you?

A: I have never been a fan of labels, so to me, feminism means being a good human and treating each other as equals. I don’t believe women should have to be a certain way due to societal beliefs, and I also think men should be able to show emotion and cry without being perceived as weak. We are all human in the end—no matter what kind of body parts we have, I hope in time we can love and respect each other for the individuals we are and celebrate that.

*Carly’s collage to remind herself of her path to success.*

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

Business Links:

www.inspireheronline.com

www.instagram.com/inspireheronline

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Woman Wednesday: Kelly

April 3, 2019Posted in inspiration, Uncategorized, womenTagged advice, art, blog, blogger, blogs, box business, business, business idea, business ideas, by woman, by women, bywomenforwomen, cool, design, encourage, entrepreneur, entrepreneur blog, every girl, every girl matters, family, fashion, for girls, for women, girl blog, giving back, happy, happy ideas, happy life, home, inspiration, Inspirational, inspirational story, inspirational woman, inspire, leaders, learning, life, motivational blog, news, petite princess, petite princess box, petite princesses, petite princesses box, petiteprincessbox, princess, princesses, smart, spreading happiness, strength, subscription, subscription box, subscription box business, support small business, support women, support women entrepreneurs, trends, true stories, true story, truth, wisdom, wise, wise words, woman, women, women empowerment, women entrepreneur, women leadersLeave a comment

Q and A with Kelly, Toronto, Canada

“One thing I’ve learned is this: You cannot control what happens in your life, but you can control how you react to it. I think if I continued to sulk and think negatively, nothing significantly positive would’ve happened in my life. Changing my perspective and immersing myself in hope and positive thinking only resulted in positive changes in my life.”

Q: What are you passionate about?

A: It would be exceptionally hard to pinpoint one thing I am passionate about because I am passionate about everything I do. I currently work as a communications coordinator for a company that promotes financial stability in underdeveloped countries. Luckily, I found this position by accident, and I am proud to say that I am a part of a project that helps those in need in someway somehow. One of my passions is definitely helping others. Aside from my full-time job, I am the founder of the subscription box business “Petite Princess Box,” and I have to say building, creating, and executing my own ideas and seeing it all come to life is one thing I will always be passionate about. I think I have always been an entrepreneur at heart.

Pictured: One of Kelly’s customers enjoying her Petite Princess Box!

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

A: A year ago, I lost my dad suddenly from a heart attack. I had such a stable life and everything was going great for me. I just got into my master’s program, had a growing business, and my family was happy and healthy, and then my world just changed dramatically with his death. You can say I had to grow up quick. I had my hands fully immersed in everything after his death. I guess you can say I became the “new man” in the house. After his death, I lost a lot of motivation. He passed away two weeks before my master’s program would begin, and I could barely focus. I felt like the quality in my work was slowly diminishing. I also stopped focusing on my subscription box business, and I could see it literally sinking. I ended up picking myself up and telling myself that I have to really immerse myself in positive thinking and to focus on finishing the goals my father wanted me to complete. And so I did that, and a year later, my whole life has changed (for the better). I graduated with my degree, found a close and loyal tribe of friends and loved ones, got my very first “big girl” job, and rebranded my entire subscription box business, and it is growing very quickly.

One thing I’ve learned is this: You cannot control what happens in your life, but you can control how you react to it. I think if I continued to sulk and think negatively, nothing significantly positive would’ve happened in my life. Changing my perspective and immersing myself in hope and positive thinking only resulted in positive changes in my life.

Q: What were your younger years like?

A: My childhood was nothing but great! We lived a pretty modest life in the suburbs. I grew up with my parents who immigrated from Palestine and my younger sister. My parents have always been supportive and always pushed us to be our best. Growing up, I struggled in school—all the way up to my high school years. I was never able to maintain exceptionally good grades and as many tutors as I had to assist me in my studies, there was still this struggle I had in obtaining a single “A” on my report card. Before starting my last year of high school, I told my guidance counselor that I wanted to get into university after I graduate. She told me that based on my grades from my previous years, attending a university would not be a realistic goal unless I managed to maintain an 80% average in my final year. I remember going home to tell my parents how angry I was at the lack of encouragement my guidance counselor had for me, and I promised myself and my parents that I would work hard enough to get accepted into a university program. In my last year of high school, I ended up maintaining an 87% average and got accepted into the highest ranked university in Canada. Fast forward to my last year of university—I had maintained a substantial GPA and ended up getting accepted into a very competitive program for a master’s degree in communications. You can say that these experiences in school really impacted my life to where I am today. If you were to ask me if I’m still upset that my guidance counsellor for discouraging me, I would say no. If she didn’t discourage me, I wouldn’t have pushed myself as hard as I did to prove her wrong and prove myself right.