Woman Wednesday: 2021 Words of Wisdom

We’re starting 2022 the right way! We’ve selected some of the best words of wisdom from our past featured women from our 2021 Woman Wednesdays. Happy New Year, everyone! Let’s do our best to make it the best year yet! 

Annie A. from South Carolina

Don’t try to fit a mold that wasn’t made for you.”

Priya from Chicago, Illinois

“If you can just take a moment and tune into yourself, you’ll get the answers to the right next step.”

Jeanette A. from Wilmington, DE

“Never give up on your dreams and, more importantly, never give up on you. You are worthy of all things great!”

Charli B. from Sydney, Australia; born and raised in Brisbane, Australia

“We are growing in a world that is rapidly changing and open to change. It’s time, now more than ever, to start believing in yourself and creating a life you’re proud of.”

Shaliah from Dolton, Illinois

Never solely depend on one stream of income.”

Kathy from Katy, Texas

“The world is literally waiting for you to go out and be all you can.”

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Kris from Durango, Colorado

“If you don’t fail at some point, you don’t really appreciate how great the great is.”

Devin from NY, living in Austin, Texas

“Discomfort is an important part of growth. When you are pushed to your edge, you learn how much farther you have the capacity to expand.”

Leah from Duluth, Minnesota, living in Cape Coral, Florida

“One thing that I’ve learned the hard way is to pursue your passion, not just the easiest path in front of you.”

Rumaisa from Quad Cities, IA

“We can truly change the circumstances in our life by shifting the way we think and feel about ourselves.”

Nicole from Spokane, Wa

“There are going to be a lot of people who don’t like you, not because you’re a bad person, but because there is something you have that they want.”

Mariam from Montreal, Canada

I seek out to channel the lessons I’ve learned from Khadija every day.”

Mai from Tacloban City, Philippines

“Although not everyone will listen to you, or other people might think that you’re weird or different, I think that’s the beauty of it all–being unique and understanding who you are will really help you gauge who your people are and who you resonate with.”

Courtney R. from Vancouver, Washington

“We all need a great circle of empowering strong women to push us on all the hard days but also celebrate our wins.”

Stacy from Diego Martin, Trinidad, living in Morvant, Trinidad

“Life is not promised; we can be here today and gone the next. Cherish every moment. We, too, will get old.”

Elaine T. from Nassau, Bahamas

“I have learned to never ignore your passion. When you are walking in your purpose, your passion will indeed bring value to those you are meant to serve.”

Catriona from Scotland, living in Berlin, Germany

“When I gave up architecture after studying for seven years, people thought I was crazy, but I knew it wasn’t right for me. And I followed that feeling, and I have ended up in a place I would never have imagined, but it’s exactly where I’m meant to be!”

Tammi from the USA

“Start now!”

Claira from Helena, MT, living in Missoula, MT

“You deserve to thrive, simply because you are alive.”

Jemma from Essex, UK

“To fail simply means, to me, first attempt in learning.”

Rachel from Atlanta, Georgia

“When you learn to manage your mind, you can do anything!”

Brenna R. from Minneapolis, Minnesota

“…when you have a “why” that’s greater than yourself, you will do anything to see it succeed.”

Bruna from São Paulo, Brazil, living in Hungary

“There is no problem impossible to overcome if you have the will and faith in yourself to start.”

Holly R. from a small town outside of Philadelphia, PA

Be your own advocate.”

Lauren T. from Milford, CT

You deserve to have happiness. Sometimes, that may mean facing pain to make it to the other side of the rainbow.”

Valentine from Kenya, Africa

Be the driver, but let passion be the drive.”

Camille from Nueva Ecija, Philippines

“Just do what you love; it’ll take you somewhere far.”

Michelle from Tampa, Florida

“Get to know others, step out of the bubble, and really connect with people. This is how we grow.”

Lisa from Mackay, Queensland, Australia

“If you can dream it, you can do it.”

Jacquelynn from Hattiesburg, Mississippi

“Life is so short and so beautiful.”

Dr. Naieema from Charlotte, North Carolina

“Homelessness was one of the most impactful experiences of my life.”

Topaz from Mount Pleasant, South Carolina

“When your cup starts to overflow, get a bigger cup.”

Courtney from Walla Walla, WA, living in Charlotte, NC

“Logic would have never told me to quit my stable job, sell everything, and move to a country where I had no job and didn’t know anyone, but it was the most life-changing experience of my entire life.”

Stephanie from Washington, U.S.

“I always find myself coaching and connecting with truly exceptional people–people who have challenged society’s expectations of them, have risen to the call they hear deep within, and are committed to creating their own story.”

Hanah H. from Indianapolis, Indiana

“We get to determine what our success looks like because we have control of our life.”

Terri from Korea, raised in Virginia, and living in Los Angeles, CA

“They’re just thoughts, yet we often let them define us, hold us back, shape our reality, etc.”

Megs from New South Wales, South of Sydney, Australia

“Your body is your gateway to your intuition and abundance. Let your body guide you.”


Cynthia from Malta, Europe, living in Ibiza, Spain

“Don’t let go of your vision.”


Maura from Venice, Italy, living in Raeford, North Carolina

It is pointless to regret the past as we cannot change it. All we can do is understand that it is a piece to the puzzle.”

Fabi from Caracas, Venezuela, living in Miami, Florida

“I believe that the most impactful thing a business can do is get massive clarity on their brand message.”

Kate B. from Myersville, Maryland

“There are always affordable places to move to in each country.”


Jaycel from Papua New Guinea, living in England, UK

“I remember one of my uncles discouraged me to take up law as he believed it was a male’s profession. I did not let that crush my spirit and dream of becoming a lawyer. I proved him wrong.”


Ivana from Croatia, Europe

“Your vision of your business is going to guide you to where you want to go, but your energy of excitement and joy is going to make it a success.”

Natalie from Melbourne, Australia

“When things become stressful, it’s your values that will drive you.”


Cassandra from Boston, MA, living in Tampa, FL

“Don’t be afraid to sacrifice who you are right now to become who you are meant to be.”


Anessa from USA, living in British Columbia, Canada

“You have far more influence than you think, even when you don’t speak.”


Normadelle from Jamaica

Know your worth, your skills, and your value.”

JoAnn from Sicily, Italy, living in Georgian Bay, Canada

“A theme that I include in my novel is that of the immigrant experience, the struggle, and prejudice experienced by many hardworking new immigrants.”


Stephanie from Western Australia

“Therapy and counseling and talking about our issues can be helpful when we just want to be heard and have someone to listen to us, and sometimes, it can be all we need.”


Christie from Utah, USA

“It took a lot of work and persistence.”


Katherine from Chile, living in New York, New York

“You will always be the problem and you will always be the solution.”

There you have it! Happy New Year! Take away all these words of wisdom to help you live your best life this 2022! Let’s make this the best year yet! 

To view more content, check out our main page at The Woman Wednesday Blog.

Woman Wednesday: Natalie


Q and A with Natalie, Melbourne, Australia

“When things become stressful, it’s your values that will drive you.”


Q: What are you passionate about? 

A: I’ve been fortunate to take my interests and passions into the work that I do through creating different businesses in which I get to share those passions with the world. My first business was a travel company, which I had for 15 years. My current businesses are all about sharing my love of wellness, bubbles (champagne and sparkling wine), and business through speaking, writing, and mentoring.

In my wellness business, I brought together my passion and understanding of how important wellness is for a happy life as well as my experience as a former fitness instructor to create Wellness on Time—an online wellness program to help people easily integrate wellness activities into their day. This was before the explosion of online wellness activities that has occurred since the COVID-19 pandemic. It was a niche that I knew would help and benefit people.

My bubbly business—The Bubbles Review. This one really is a passion project—it is a blog, website, and events and tours on champagne and sparkling wine. The idea came from a few different areas, including my love of champagne and sparkling wine.

One of my favorite things to do is to help others succeed through my mentoring, writing, and speaking work. A big shift for me in the past few months has been taking my consulting and mentoring business—Natalie Pickett Mentor—to global markets. By bringing more of what I do online, I get to share my insights to help even more people. It has opened up so many opportunities for me to work with business owners all around the world. Amazing things are happening, including being a coauthor in the international best-selling book ‘Becoming an Unstoppable Woman’ and being featured in great blogs like this one!


Q: What were your younger years like?

A: I’ve always loved business. Even as a young girl, I used to convince my friends at elementary school to play ‘business’ with me. I’d be the head of some corporation or I’d convince my siblings to play ‘shops’ with me and I would work out each item’s profit margin. People think that a business mind is different to a creative mind, but when you can create something where there was nothing, that’s creative. Turning an idea into something bigger, such as a business that benefits everyone who buys from you, is undeniably creative.

I am a child of divorced parents, and my ability to not take things personally, while also realizing that some things are outside of my control, was honed during those early years. My mother was a bit of a ‘hippie’ and my dad was quite conservative, so it was about navigating both worlds. I think that has helped me to be open to listen to new ideas and be able to adapt to changing situations quickly in order to find the best solutions to move forward.

I’m from Melbourne, Australia, but have spent time living in other parts of the world. In my 20s, I worked and travelled the east coast of Australia, then the USA, the UK, and Europe. I returned to Melbourne after seven years, and at age 28, I established an inbound travel company, bringing visitors from all over the world to visit Australia. Almost 30 years on, I have a few different businesses. I still live in Melbourne with my daughter, who is now 19 years old. I think travel is one of life’s best educators; you learn a lot about yourself as well as have a better understanding of others. Experiencing other cultures, language, foods and customs opens up the world to you. Travel (when not in restrictions) remains a big part of my life.

I am a serial entrepreneur, and I have founded multiple businesses with 6- and 7-figure success stories. I’ve certainly had my share of triumphs and so-called ‘failures.’ After closing my travel company during the GFC, I founded a successful consulting business. You learn a lot in starting and growing a business, and you learn so much more when you need to close one. There is a procedural aspect to this understanding, as well as personal growth through that adversity. It gives you the perspective to assess what you really want in life. It is actually an opportunity to restart everything in a new way and make the life you truly want. Utilizing my networks created from my travel company, almost overnight my consulting business became a 6-figure success, and I achieved this by only working part-time hours. This business includes successful speaking and mentoring work where I share my knowledge and real-life experiences to help people take their business and daily lives from surviving to thriving.


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

A: Our businesses should work for us, not the other way around. The keys to success with each of my businesses is that they all come from my passion, my core values, and my desire to contribute and share my knowledge with others. When things become stressful, it’s your values that will drive you.

Life (and business) is supposed to be fun! My movement is ‘Living the Dream.’ People think they need to wait until they ‘achieve’ to start enjoying life. I’ve discovered that Living the Dream is less about working hard and more about following your joy. When you operate from a place of joy, that is what you share with others and lots of joyous people makes for a better world.

It is possible to define your own version of success and easily take the steps you need to achieve your goals. It is possible for you to not just Dream the Dream, but Live the Dream. I’m passionate about sharing this with the world, and share that in my writing, my courses, and speaking engagements.


Q: What does feminism mean to you? 

A: I think everyone should be a feminist! When women do well, so does everyone else. Families thrive, relationships are mutually supportive. We are very fortunate in this current day to have had strong women come before us; the Suffragettes fought in a decades-long fight to win the right to vote for women in the early part of the 20th century. And the strong women of the feminist movement of the 1960s and 1970s did as well. We get to enjoy the freedoms of those advances that were won for women worldwide. Some may still feel like they are battling inequality, while some may feel they have everything they need and no longer need to fight for it. I don’t see feminism as a battle of the sexes. To me, it is simply about everyone thriving and being supported to do so. It really is something we can all support.

MORE FROM NATALIE:

I’ve recently been featured in some major US media publications, and I share a lot of free advice through my articles and on my social media. I have a free course, which includes me sharing business stories as well as paid opportunities to work with me. You can find the links you need to follow me on the Linktree here: https://linktr.ee/natalie_pickett_mentor

Connect with me.

Insta

Facebook


Thank you for reading!

I’d love to connect with you! 🙂

Comment below!

Woman Wednesday: Stephanie

Q and A with Stephanie, Washington, U.S.

“I always find myself coaching and connecting with truly exceptional people–people who have challenged society’s expectations of them, have risen to the call they hear deep within, and are committed to creating their own story.”


Q: What are you passionate about? 

A: I’m passionate about self confidence and self trust…that each woman can have a safe and supportive space inside her own head. A big part of my work is helping my clients discover and release the expectations that were placed on them by society that no longer serves their dreams and goals. I believe very strongly that this foundation must be laid first, before goal setting and accountability come into play. That’s why my coaching offer starts with self talk before going on to clarity, accountability, and self-coaching, which are the other pillars of my program. By the end of my 12-week program, my clients get to experience that supportive space in their heads, know what they actually want out of life, and are moving toward that next big goal, and finally have the self-coaching skills to independently get themselves through the places that they get stuck mentally or emotionally. It all has to start with changing the inner dialogue to create the internal confidence and framework for success. To find out more about my coaching offer, or to connect with a community on your growth journey join my Facebook group here: facebook.com/groups/createyourpower. This is the only way to to experience a coaching call for free as well.


Q: What were your younger years like?

A: I had a very interesting childhood to say the least. Until I was nine, I grew up on a farm, homeschooled. I spent my days frolicking in the fields with the goats and making mud pies. Suddenly, our family moved to Tbilisi, Georgia, half way across the world, to a city of 2 million people. That was hard, but reentry to the United States was equally hard, as we didn’t move back “home,” but instead moved to a small village in Alaska. This left me with the experience of being an ‘outsider’ in multiple different life circumstances. It was messy, but I became an observer of the cultural framework that many people see as ‘the only way,’ and I stood apart from it, noticing the beauty as well as the pain that the particular framework brings with it. At the same time, I had to learn to see my own biases for what they were and continually grow to a more expansive understanding of the world around me. These experiences laid the foundation for the coaching work I do today–standing outside a person’s experience, observing it, but also empathizing with it.


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

A: If there was one thing I’d love for people to learn from my story, it would be to notice that the assumptions you have that might sound like fact may actually be just one way of seeing the world. For example, maybe you learned that if a person is late, it’s because they don’t respect your time. Ask yourself, “What if I actually had something really beautiful to learn about time from someone who is perpetually late? What if they are honoring me in a way I never even considered?” Before I began my career in life coaching, I was a Salvation Army Officer, which gave me the opportunity to manage a local service for social services and spiritual development. This included leading the teams that provided weekly community meals, funding assistance, youth and women’s programs, day camps, and assistance for the unhoused. What I loved about being in leadership was the one-on-one connections and the opportunity to hear people’s stories and walk with them in their journeys. In the same day, I might find myself walking alongside an unhoused single mother, as well as the CEO of a company or a representative of local government. Every person’s story is sacred, and I always find myself coaching and connecting with truly exceptional people–people who have challenged society’s expectations of them, have risen to the call they hear deep within, and are committed to creating their own story. If this is you, I’d LOVE to hear your story. Email me at stephanigalindocoaching@gmail.com.


Q: What does feminism mean to you? 

A: For me, pragmatic feminism can be seen in how I raise my boys–to recognize injustice, to embrace the nurturing side of themselves, and to understand consent. As they get older, I will continue to learn new ways to teach equity, so that they can be part of the solution, rather than part of the problem.

Also, I’m a boy mama, and my boys are currently seven and four years old. I have raised them with a deep acceptance of emotions and a value for gentleness.


Thank you for reading! Connect with me here:

Facebook group here: facebook.com/groups/createyourpower

Email me at stephanigalindocoaching@gmail.com

I’d love to connect with you! 🙂

Thoughts, questions, or comments?

Woman Wednesday: Jacquelynn

Q and A with Jacquelynn, Hattiesburg, Mississippi

“Life is so short and so beautiful.”


Q: What are you passionate about? 

A: My first love, outside of being a mother, is music. Ever since I was a little girl, I vividly remember singing my little heart out. My first performance was with my grandmother, Peggy Sue, singing gospel at my baptism, and I’ve been hooked ever since. Which is super interesting to me because I’m an introvert at heart. I’m not passionate about just one thing though. As I mentioned, I love being a mama. But when it comes to work outside of motherhood, I genuinely enjoy helping and pouring into other women. It lights me up! I’m into breastfeeding awareness, embracing your weirdness, helping mamas figure out how to turn their passions into income, creating courses, cooking, writing and singing my own songs, big fan of naps, and all the little things in life. But above all, being a mama and wife is my favorite, and they’re the very reason for all the creating I do. They motivate me. I want to make them proud. I want to set a good example and show them how something can be made from absolutely nothing. Like my children’s book, I Think I Need Glasses. It started with one little idea and evolved once it hit paper. The eBook is my most recently finished project. It’s about a little girl who has an imagination out of this world. She tells of her adventures and life experiences from her point of view, but her older brother pokes fun with her and tells her throughout the story that he thinks she needs glasses. It’s a playful and magical transitional story for children who wear glasses. It’s available for download on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/I-Think-Need-Glasses-ebook/dp/B099V1WH56/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=i+think+i+need+glasses&qid=1627277487&sprefix=i+think+i+need+glass&sr=8-3

My next upcoming appearance/teaching is a super powerful onetime workshop called “Monetize Your Passion” on Thursday, August 5 @ 6pm CST / 7pm EST. The workshop is for creative and passionate aspiring or “stuck” female entrepreneurs. I’ll go over getting clearer with what your passion is and how to turn it into not one, but multiple offers. All the details are on the registration page. It’s going to be pretty epic. I’m so excited! You can also catch my podcast “Just Women Talking Sh!t” just about anywhere you get your podcast. I’m always looking for women to interview, so if you give it a listen and send your story in for an interview, you so should! And last, but certainly not least, I have a free online community for growing and unapologetic women. It’s called Female, Fearless, & Bad-Ass. That’s about all I have going on at the moment!


Q: What were your younger years like?

A: This is a tough one to talk about. Because I truly believe that my childhood and younger years, as an adult, have everything to do with the woman I am today. Fun fact about me: I am the oldest of my mother’s six children. Yes, six. How badass is that? She’s such a fierce and strong woman! Shoutout to my Ma in case she reads this. [She laughs.] Anyway, she did the whole single mom thing up until I was about 13 years old. I vividly remember having a baby on each hip, making lunches, doing dishes, playing house at a young age. Everyone called me a little mama, but it’s all I knew. I remember wanting to buy something but always knew how hard my mama worked to take care of us, so I set up my own lemonade stand. Okay, I’ll be honest. It was a Kool-Aid stand. (Southerners know what I’m talking about.) [She laughs.]

In one day’s work, I made $40. I remember dividing the money up among my sister, cousin, and me. We walked down the road to a florist and I bought my mama some silver dangly ball earrings. She wore those suckers out. I was so proud. I’ve had the entrepreneur bug ever since. I am one of the few in my family to graduate from high school. I did attend college but found myself stuck in this viscous cycle of changing my mind on what I wanted to do with my life over and over again. It became tiring, frustrating, and a total waste of money. I’ve honestly done it all trying to find my place in this big and crazy world. I cleaned houses and babysat as a young teenager, got my first big girl job at a Joyce Leslie women’s retail store, went on to have multiple jobs throughout high school, bartended at 18, cashiered at Goodburger on Chestnut in Center City Philly, became a nanny when I was let go abruptly, continued nanny work for the next several years up until my first child was born, wrote for a local newspaper, freelanced at marketing events, was a personal assistant, cleaned houses yet again as a young mom, waited tables as a single mom, made my way into a daycare where I taught and later worked in the office, was introduced to network marketing and multi-level business models, tried those out and did okay, found myself obsessed with finding the next big thing, failed over and over again, finally went back to corporate America after my first marriage went to crap, worked my tail off, never saw my daughter, ran myself and health into the ground, was scouted by one company, hired just to be fired a week before Thanksgiving of 2019. I told myself I would never allow someone to have such a hold over me. My health was crap, my mood fluctuated, I was so burnt out I couldn’t enjoy the money I did make. Even though it was scary as hell being let go that day and I had no idea what I was going to do, I knew it was all going to be okay because, well, it just had to be. This was yet another test. Fast forward to now—I’m a mother for a second time. I’m creating like I’ve never created before. I’m living authentically and really smelling the roses like I’ve never smelled them before. Because life is so beautiful. I don’t think people stop and think about that enough. We are all here as a result of millions of tiny things that all had to go right for us to even be here. Think about that and don’t take one second for granted. Life is so short and so beautiful.


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

A: You have all of the tools to do something great in your lifetime all within you. It all starts with you. I don’t think this is talked about enough. You are so powerful. Your life experiences, wisdom, story, downfalls, triumphs, testimony, all of it. It’s so powerful. I just want to see everyone around me happy, healthy, successful, and wealthy—whatever that may look like for them. And I think that happiness starts at the core. It starts with you. So, take good care of yourself so that you can excel in all the things. Self-love takes priority so that everything else runs like a well-oiled machine. I think several women with past traumas and insecurities tend to seek validation from others. Sometimes, it comes in the form of a romantic partner because maybe she grew up without a father present in her life. (That was me.) Sometimes, it comes in the form of being stuck in a career that makes her unhappy to the core because she was taught that the only way to make it in life is to work her tail off and put her time in like everyone else until retirement, but what she really wants is to somehow find a way to monetize her passion. (That was also me.) All in all, I just want women to realize that they don’t have to settle for someone else’s idea of what life should be like is all. I’ve been there and done that, so if me sharing my story helps others navigate through life and/or business journeys easier, well I’m all in. Just know you can literally do anything you set your mind to!


Q: What does feminism mean to you? 

A: When I think of feminism, I think of how far women’s rights have come in general. It goes to show just how powerful women are. I mean really think about how far we have come in such a little amount of time. And now? I bet if I was to ask any of your readers to name an inspiring woman who makes multiple six figures or more a year…someone would instantly come to mind, no? It isn’t about proving I’m better than or equal to a man. It’s about celebrating the power that’s within us all and shows in the growth and impact we each have in this world. It’s about the growth and impact the women before us had in this world and then the ones before them and so on. The world is so big and so vast, yet we can create such impact that is on a level so deep it changes lives. Like how cool is that? That’s the ultimate girl power if I’ve ever seen it.


MORE FROM JACQUELYNN: I was born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. I primarily lived in a small town called Dixie, but I moved away to New York when I was 16. I graduated high school in the Poconos, attended college in Philadelphia, PA, for a year, and moved back down south when I was 22 or so. My roots are firmly planted back in Mississippi with my beautiful family.

Thank you for reading! Connect with me here:

“Monetize Your Passion”

“I Think I Need Glasses”

Podcast

Facebook Group

I’d love to connect with you! 🙂

Thoughts, questions, or comments?

Woman Wednesday: Lisa

Q and A with Lisa, Mackay, Queensland, Australia

“If you can dream it, you can do it.”


Q: What are you passionate about? 

A: My interests are sailing, writing, and drawing. I get my inspiration from my two beautiful children, Bridgette and Nicholas, who encourage me to follow my dream and passion to become a famous author. My inspiration also comes from the ocean and sea creatures in the wild. It also comes with being at one with nature and the sea, when I go sailing all my cares and worries go away. I’m currently working on a [story about a] walrus called Wally who is supposed to live in Antarctica. He somehow has managed to hitch a ride on an iceberg 2,500 miles away causing havoc along the way.


Q: What were your younger years like?

A: My younger years were lived in the south island of New Zealand in Picton. My father was a boat builder and chief editor at the local newspaper. As a child, our family would go sailing in the Marlborough sounds every weekend. This was where my passion for the sea started.


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

A: If you can dream it, you can do it. Follow your passion, never give up. Follow your dreams and your heart, and listen to your gut.


Q: What does feminism mean to you? 

A: Feminism to me is equality in both sexes—social, economic, and political.


MORE FROM LISA:

I’m a “Kiwi” living in Australia.





Thank you for reading!

I’d love to connect with you! 🙂

Thoughts, questions, or comments?