writer's blog – The Woman Wednesday Blog

Woman Wednesday: Sandra L.

December 14, 2022Posted in inspiration, Uncategorized, womenTagged achieving your dreams, advice, artists, blog, books, building a business, building something, business blog, business woman, businessowner, businesswoman, Challenges we learn from, Challenging, cool, emotional blog, empowerment, hard work, inspiration, inspirational blog, inspirational stories blog, inspire, life, life experiences, meaningful business, mindset, overcoming negativity, publish your book, publisher, publishing business, self-love, self-love group, self-love seminar, sharing stories, sharing stories blog, stories, stories blog, travel, travelling, wcw, woman, woman wednesday, women, women empowered, women empowering, women in business, women wednesday, writer, writer's blogLeave a comment

Q and A with Sandra L. from Gibbons, Alberta, Canada

“I can’t change the world, but if I could change one life or help one person, that would be fantastic for me. I know it sounds selfish when I say fantastic for me, but I truly do not want anybody to feel like I felt.”

Q: What are you passionate about?

A: I am truly blessed. I have realized life is much too short, so I have decided to live life to the fullest. There are so many new things that I have become passionate about in the last few years and, as you get older, you realize your passions change. The love for it might still be there, but the passion doesn’t draw you like it used to. I love horses. Always have and always will. They are one of those loves for me that the passion has died down a bit. I love playing sports, but again, I am slowing down. Right now, my real passion is writing and travel. I love to write, and I love teaching people how to write and not make the same mistakes I did when I first started publishing. I have still got my 9-5 job, but I am hoping that will change soon with my new business endeavors.

Q: What were your younger years like?

A: I am a total small-town girl with fantastic family and friends who were there and still are through thick and thin. My best friends are still my best friends today. My parents worked hard and instilled a good work ethic in me, and my siblings, and I was very involved in sports, but what else was there to do in a small town? I called Gladstone, Manitoba, Canada, my hometown and even today, years later, I call it my home. On cold winter nights, which were many, I would write my own little mysteries, but in the garbage, they would go. I believe I had a perfect life, but things change.

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

A: Growing up in a small-town means life moves at a slower pace. Families at that time were never divorced, and you could stay out till it got dark and hang out with your friends and not have to worry about anything bad happening. Times have changed even though I grew up with the whole idea of when you get married, you stay married forever and you stick it out and work it out. That didn’t happen to me. I was married for 26 years and that’s when my life fell apart. I went to many counselors, I had a nervous breakdown, I cut myself off from everything, and then I had a breakthrough and started to write. I started off just journaling to help myself through my breakup and that turned into an escape and an outlet for me. At that point, I realized that I felt so alone and embarrassed and ashamed of everything that had happened, but I didn’t want anybody else to feel that way period. I can’t change the world, but if I could change one life or help one person, that would be fantastic for me. I know it sounds selfish when I say fantastic for me, but I truly do not want anybody to feel like I felt. So again, the rating came into effect, and I wrote my first book about narcissism. I have to laugh now because my friends that I grew up with (and I’m sure my teachers) didn’t even think I could spell. [Sandra laughs.] I want you to know and take away from my little blurb here that you can do anything that you have set your mind to. You are never too old and the only thing stopping you from your greatest successes is yourself. You need to be the strongest person you know and truly believe in yourself and know you can do whatever you set your mind to. I always thought I was very confident and secure, but when my divorce happened, I realized I was a scared insecure woman but not anymore.

Q: What does feminism mean to you?

A: To me, feminism means courage. I believe that all women are just as capable as men, and we all have our strengths and our weaknesses. We need to play up to our strengths and know that we are all different. We have different thoughts, different cultures, and beliefs, but that does not define who we are. I believe we are all capable of being outstanding at whatever we do or try. We are women!

MORE ABOUT SANDRA: I now live in Gibbons, Alberta Canada, and have two amazing grown boys who see and treat women with respect, no matter their age. They know that no matter what circumstances arise, I will float to the top because the cream always rises to the top. Make every day your best day!

Thank you for reading!

Publishing With Sandra, click here.

Woman Wednesday: Denise J.

December 7, 2022Posted in inspiration, Uncategorized, womenTagged achieving your dreams, advice, artists, blog, books, building a business, building something, business blog, business woman, businessowner, businesswoman, Challenges we learn from, Challenging, cool, copy writer business, copy writing, copy writing business, emotional blog, empowerment, hard work, inspiration, inspirational blog, inspirational stories blog, inspire, life, life experiences, meaningful business, mindset, overcoming negativity, self-love, self-love group, self-love seminar, sharing stories, sharing stories blog, stories, stories blog, travel, travelling, wcw, woman, woman wednesday, women, women empowered, women empowering, women in business, women wednesday, writer, writer's blogLeave a comment

Q and A with Denise J. from Brampton, Ontario Canada

“I grew up in a not-so-nice area as a kid, but I know that it has made me who I am today because if I was raised anywhere else, I don’t think I would have as thick of skin today as a mom of three.”

Q: What are you passionate about?

A: My biggest passion has been and still is helping people. I have been a registered massage therapist for the past 13 years and this was my goal when I was in high school as I had taken a course on the body and fell in love with what I would be able to help with. I am loving what I do and, over the early part of the pandemic, I got my life license. I had no idea what I was going to get out of it, but WOW! I was shocked at all that I learned and now could educate others and help plan/protect their families. Then I started an online business in the essential services industry. This is where I have been able to provide my customers with better rates on services, they pay for in the home such as natural gas, electricity, internet, mobile, home phone, travel, and health care.

Q: What were your younger years like?

A: My younger years were amazing because I was always out and about playing, or we were at the Boys and Girls Club after school and evenings program where we went on many fun outings and once took a Tim Hortons camp trip to Alberta. We often traveled back to Jamaica and the US for a few weeks and see family. I played many if all the sports I could in school up until high school as I then became focused on my studies.

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

A: I grew up in a not-so-nice area as a kid, but I know that it has made me who I am today because if I was raised anywhere else, I don’t think I would have as thick of skin today as a mom of three. I don’t look at where I came from as a bad thing because I know it gave me humble beginnings and some to look back and see how far I’ve come. Even though many kids didn’t end up in a good place as an adult, I can safely say my siblings and I all went on the great things in life.

Q: What does feminism mean to you?

A: Feminism to means….to be honest, I don’t give it much thought because I teach all three of my kids to not think they can or can’t do anything because of their size and sex. Yes, the world doesn’t see a woman as equal to a man in some cases but knowing that we can do anything they can do if not do it better.

Denisejohnson.acnibo.com

Thank you for reading!

Woman Wednesday: Elaine T.

April 21, 2021June 13, 2022Posted in inspiration, Uncategorized, womenTagged inspiration, inspire, the women wednesday blog, woman inspire, woman wednesday, woman wednesday blog, WOMAN WHO INSPIRES, women inspiring women, women wednesday, women wednesday blog, writer, writer's blogLeave a comment

Q and A with Elaine T., 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.”

Q: What are you passionate about?

A: I am passionate about the art of writing. My father took the television away from my siblings and I when we were very young. We were only allowed to read books! Because of this, I am familiar with what a good book is comprised of! This love for reading sparked my imagination and also generated a love for writing. I like to think of my writing as a divine energy that travels from the spiritual realm and into the physical through the portal of my fingers. This is why I started Authors in Action. Through courses, coaching, and ghostwriting, we help our clients to achieve their author potential through the power of self-publishing. I absolutely love the look of pure excitement on my clients’ faces when they hold their book in their hands for the first time. Watching them experience that “I can’t believe I did this!” moment is special and beyond uplifting. I was motivated to start Authors in Action due to the many who wanted to become published authors. I’m currently working on separating my coaching and ghostwriting into two separate entities. I have decided to do this because my ghostwriting packages are the most popular. Lots of executives, pastors, founders, etc. have amazing skills and knowledge that need to be shared with the world; however, they don’t have time to write! It brings me joy to help them be able to add another stream of income to their dynasty, share their knowledge, and achieve their goal of becoming a published author.

Q: What were your younger years like?

A: I grew up on books. I did not experience television until about four years ago. My school years consisted of my classmates laughing hysterically whenever I admitted that my family and I didn’t have a television. Yes, it was embarrassing, but now I am grateful. I didn’t experience being on the computer unsupervised until my senior high school days back in 2003. These were days when my mom allowed us to sneak in an hour or two whenever my dad was at work. Thanks Mummy! I loved shows like Desperate Housewives, Downton Abbey, and later on a series called Revenge. I still loved books. I will always embrace a good book. My favorite childhood authors were Enid Blyton, Ronald Dahl, Anne Martin, and Carolyn Keene. These authors took me on many memorable journeys through my imagination. This creativity translated across into my writing and gave me a newfound love and a unique way to express myself. In addition to reading, I did professional ballet classes. My father says this was one of the hobbies I took extremely seriously. Many may not know that I have completed the American Academy of Ballet Examinations with mostly gold medals straight up to level twelve which is pointe work. I was trained through Virtue Dance Academy in The Bahamas and was judged once a year by The American Academy of Ballet. This was the perfect school for me as they did acting and Christian stage performance also. Dance and writing are similar for me as I consider them both to be a presentation of energy flowing from another world into reality.

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

A: I have learned to never ignore your passion. My passion has always been writing; however, I was encouraged by a guidance counselor to pick a more “realistic” career. I was told that I would not be able to make a living if I chose the path of writing. My income so far for the month of March 2021 is 9k. May I add that the month isn’t over yet (as I’m writing this). I would like to encourage you to trust your passion. Money should never be the driving force behind what it is you choose to do; however, when you are walking in your purpose, your passion will indeed bring value to those you are meant to serve. As long as you bring about an outstanding result, wealth will follow. Why? Because people will indeed pay you for the results you are able to give them. You will absolutely give excellent results if you are passionate about what you do. No matter how small your dream seems, still pursue it. You may not see the full vision at first, but eventually, you will come to discover that your passion is connected to your purpose. Trust the passion God gave you. It is He who will use it to achieve His purpose for your life.

Q: What does feminism mean to you?

A: I believe a woman can be independent; however, having a partner is valuable. I have always found the concept of teamwork beautiful—one team working towards one goal. I feel a husband and wife who are two whole people walking in their purpose and impacting the world together is a force to be reckoned with. Respect, love, empowerment and bravery of both parties is crucial. At the end of the day, we are all human beings—none better than the other. If a husband and wife are stuck on a deserted island, they both need to operate as a team to survive. His strength is needed to build a shelter. Her endurance is valuable when hunting food. Each has brought something unique to the table. Each has something different yet valuable to offer. Both are equally great because both have something exceptional to offer. Yes, some may say you can do it alone, but I am a huge fan of teamwork and so, this is where I stand on the subject. It is possible alone, but it is even better using teamwork. This is just my opinion and how I feel although many may disagree.

MORE ABOUT ELAINE:

I was born and raised in Nassau, Bahamas. I absolutely love island hopping and visiting our local resorts. I have two sons—ages seven and four. They both adore cars, Amazon, and taking long drives. The eldest hates reading while the youngest began reading at the age of two and loves it. Like all kids, they are both different but equally special.