Author Archives: Amy Beilharz

Interviews with Influential Women: Mary Morrissey

There are many challenges as a woman growing a successful company and Mary Morrissey has great advice on how to handle them. In this installment of Interviews with Influential Women, we discuss the power of transformation.

Most people can barely imagine being on stage with the Dali Lama or working with people like Nelson Mandela—things you have done. Give us a description of what brought you to where you are today:

Early on, I didn’t know that every one of us has a choice to move from living an outside-in life to an inside-out life. I did not know we can actually become aware of our own thoughts, and we can shape those thoughts. We can notice whether our thoughts are expansive or contractive, in or out of harmony with what we really want, and by changing our inner world, our outer world will change. I had no idea this was possible. I just thought life happened to us, and I was, living a completely reactive-based life.

I got very sick and it actually opened a doorway. I remember thinking that until then, I had been living in a dark attic of myself, and I had finally found my way to the front door of self, and it was this Technicolor world of possibility that I was now able to open up to.

Stanley Adams once said, “Nothing sharpens a man’s senses like knowing he’s going to the gallows in the morning.” That was true for me.

My experience growing up was something people dream about. My mom and dad loved each other. I had one older sister. In high school I was class vice-president, on the drill team, had a lead in the junior play, and was homecoming princess. But in the spring of my junior year I got pregnant. When I told my mom and dad I was pregnant my mother wept for me—as if I had died.

We had a very hasty, 10-person wedding. A few weeks later, the high school principal called me to his office and asked me if the rumors he was hearing about me were true. I said, “Well, if the rumors are that I am pregnant, married and in that order, then yes, they’re true.” He put his head in his hands, and said, “Oh, my God, Mary. You have great academics. You have terrific honors, but you are not going to be able to fill out your term here for your senior year. It would be totally inappropriate for a pregnant girl to be with a normal girl. But we do have a place for people like you.”

The alternative school was not held during daylight hours, and it was across the river. I lived on the upper end of Portland and this was in an area I had not been allowed to drive after dark. It was where the pregnant girls and the delinquent boys go to high school. On top of being pregnant and kicked out of high school, the mothers of my three best friends got together and decided their daughters could no longer see me. I felt like I had a scarlet A on my chest.

In May I graduated from this alternative high school, and by July I was in an intensive care ward diagnosed with fatal kidney disease. One kidney was totally destroyed with nephritis, and the other kidney was 50% destroyed with active nephritis. In 1966, transplants and dialysis were not available. Kidney failure meant death.

The best scientists, MDs, and specialists all had the same prediction; if I could get the blood toxin levels, with their help, reduced enough to sustain a surgery to remove the right kidney, then maybe I would have six months to live. And that was my best shot.

I was terrified. My mother watched my 7-month-old son, while my husband worked during the day. The God of my upbringing was not a friendly place to go when you felt like you had really messed up so I thought I was being punished.

The night before the surgery to remove the right kidney, a woman walked in my room, identifying herself as a chaplain, offering prayer. She volunteered three nights a week always talking to and praying with people who were having the most serious surgeries the next day—I was at the top of her list.

This was long before we had a mind-body clinic at Harvard like we have today. She pulled her chair next to my bed, and she didn’t do anything like prayer. She talked to me, and she asked me if I would be willing to tell her what had been going on in my life for the last year or two.

I told her my story and at the end of it she looked at me compassionately and said, “Mary, everything is created twice.” I didn’t know what she was talking about. But she continued, “Everybody knows this. Almost no one knows the power of knowing it.” And then she said, “The bed you’re lying on, the nightgown you’re wearing, the sheet covering you, the wall, the ceiling, the floor, all the machinery you’re hooked up to, first it had to be a thought, before it could be a thing.” She said, “This is true about everything that you can see, taste, touch, smell, feel.

This woman I didn’t know affirmed my feelings saying, “I hear how much you love your little boy. I also hear how much you’ve hated yourself lately. You feel like you’ve shamed yourself, your school, and your family.”

Then she said, “Mary, you know that if you think embarrassing thoughts, your cheeks get red, and you know that if you think scary enough thoughts, your heart beats faster. So consider that if you think enough toxic thoughts about yourself, your body will get toxic. Your kidneys right now are dying under the weight of the toxicity that’s moving through your body.”

Then she asked me if I could imagine that in the infinite possibilities, there could be a possibility where, through prayer, I could have a complete healing and in the morning the doctors who come in to do the surgery would look at me and say, “You look better. We’re going to test you.” Then they would conclude, “You are completely cured, get up, go home. You’re fine.” She asked if I could believe that? And I told her the truth—no. I didn’t have one place in me that thought she was going to say words, and I was going to have a complete healing. I believed way more in my pain at that point than I believed in some woman who walked in my room.

So she said, “Okay. Well, if you can’t believe you could have a complete healing, could you believe it’s possible there is at least one possibility in the infinite possibilities, where, through prayer, at least we could scoop up everything toxic that’s in your body and put it in that one kidney. If thinking can make your cheeks red, thinking can pull all of that toxic dis-ease and put it in that kidney, and when they remove that right kidney, instead of getting worse, you get better. Could you believe it’s even possible?”

And, you know, at that moment I saw in her eyes that she believed it was possible, and I said, “I don’t know if it’s probable, but maybe it’s possible.” She said, “That’s all we need, one corner of your mind open as a possibility.” She told me to imagine right then pulling all of the toxins and putting them in the right kidney. She helped me visualize that kidney encapsulated and in the morning it was going to be removed. She reminded me my body knew how to be perfect before; it still knew how to be perfect.

Next she asked, me if I did live what would I do with my life? And my first thought was I wanted to raise my little boy. I wanted to see him go to school. I wanted to see him graduate from high school. I wanted to be there when he got married. “And what else she?” prodded. “What would you do with your own creative life?” I told her I would become a teacher. She had me imagine becoming a teacher, watching my son graduate, everything including them removing my kidney with all the toxins.

She went on to tell me, “Your mind is very much like a rubber band. Right after the surgery, your mind is going to be distracted with the pain that comes with having a surgery. But as soon as you start to feel a little better, your mind’s going to want to go back and think those same painful, self-loathing thoughts about yourself. So here’s what I want you to do. When you notice that you are thinking hateful thoughts about yourself, say, ‘No, that left with the kidney’, and then immediately turn your attention to three imaginings. Imagine that you’re walking into an elementary school, and you feel in your right hand a little boy’s hand. He’s five years old. It’s your little boy. And you’re walking into this elementary school, and there’s a teacher standing at the door waiting for your son to enter kindergarten, and your son is happy, and the teacher’s happy, and your son steps into a classroom, and you’re there, and he’s walking into kindergarten. And then hear the click, click, click of your heels as you walk down the hallway, and you turn left, and there is your classroom, and you are a teacher.

“Then fast forward in your mind to, you’re in a great big stadium, and you look down, seeing caps and gowns, and you hear your son’s name called over the microphone. You see him walk across the stage, shake the hand of the presenting, and you are feeling such pride, such joy, such happiness in your part in raising your son to this moment and this accomplishment in life. And your teaching career is growing.

“Then fast forward in your mind to the third image, and you’re sitting in the front row of a wedding. Your son – he and the love of his life are standing in front of you, and they’re speaking their vows one to another, and you are just full of happiness and joy for your son’s life and what he’s become as a man and your part in helping raise him, and your teaching career is flourishing.”

“And then repeat that over and over,” she said, “You may have to do it 10 times a day; however many times doesn’t matter. Keep yourself focused on the good that is to come.”

She did not say how I was going to get a babysitter for him, where I would get the money to go to college. We did not talk about the how. It was just three strong images that were emotionally charged with desire. It was a rinse and repeat—imaging this image—over and over and over again.

I did what she told me to do. And within a couple of weeks the doctors told me, “Your numbers are stabilizing, we’re going to let you go home we don’t know if it’s a week or two or three, but you look like you might get a little bit more time.”

I went home in an ambulance. Slowly my numbers stabilized and my remaining kidney began to work better. Four months later, I was with the surgeon, GP, and the urologist, and they’re all scratching their heads. They say, “We have no medical explanation, no science, for why your one kidney that was 50% destroyed with active nephritis should be functioning perfectly. We’ve never seen this happen. All we can write on your medical report is ‘medical anomaly.’ But whatever you’re doing, keep doing it.”

This lesson that I had control over my thoughts through visualizing what I wanted was the start of everything I now do.

In addition to what you learned then, what are the most important things you do that contribute to your success now:

I reluctantly attended a lecture that my husband wanted to attend when I was 22. I was on my way to the life that I had been imagining, about to get my undergraduate degree and had a second son. During his lecture the man said, “Nothing is bad unless you think it’s bad.”   I thought, “This is just not true. There is bad stuff in this world. Car wrecks are bad. War is bad. Murder’s bad. Come on, there’s bad stuff in this world.”

Then he suggested we experiment with it so we actually have more power to change the things we do not like. He suggested, “The next time something happens that you are tempted immediately to label bad, hit your internal pause button and wait three days. During those three days, turn the volume up on your curiosity and cause yourself to think about any possible good that can come from that situation. If after three days, you cannot find any possible good, then go ahead and get upset about it. By waiting three days, you have not surrendered your right to get upset, you’ve just delayed it, and you’ve gone to a different level of your ability to be creative no matter what the situation is.”

I left that lecture feeling I did not know what that guy was talking about. I was not impressed. I was not impressed, until two days later, when my children’s father came home looking ashen. He was working full-time and I was going to school full-time. When I asked what happened he said, “There was a massive layoff at work today. A hundred of us lost our jobs. I have no job.” I immediately reacted with, “Oh, my gosh, what are we going to do? We won’t be able to pay our bills. I won’t be able to go school, and oh…”

Then I remembered, that guy on Sunday said nothing is bad unless we think it’s bad. But this seemed so bad. I tried to remember what he said to do. You hit your internal pause button. Where is that? How do I find it? I didn’t even know I had an internal pause button. What are we supposed to do? We’re supposed to wait three days. OK, it’s Tuesday at 5:00 pm—Wednesday, Thursday, Friday at 5:00. Wait three days. During this time, turn up the volume on our – what was it – curiosity, and see what possible good we could find in this, and if we can’t find any good, then get upset Friday at 5:00.

We immediately sat down and got out a piece of paper. I said, “I can’t…I don’t know. I don’t know if there’s any good in this.” But my husband said, “Well, I drive 90 minutes to work and back.” “What if I found a job closer to home?” And I thought, “Oh, well, that would be good.” So we wrote that down. “What if I made more money?” I thought out loud, “Could you do that?” He said, “What if I did?” “Well, write that down. Of course that would be good.” And pretty soon we had, six possible goods that could happen.

When we were thinking on the frequency that “This is so horrible, this is bad, we’re not going to be able to pay our bills, I’m going to have to quit school,” the only ideas that came to us are the ones of struggle.

But when we thought, “Well, what if I drove closer to home,” ideas of places he might apply to that were closer to home occurred to us. Possibilities became available… maybe more money, maybe a job he liked better, maybe…you know, maybe, maybe.

The next day, he went out to submit applications. I felt panicked, of course – I had so many strong patterns of just going immediately to that panic, it had me on the throat over and over again, but I’d just say, “Nope. Friday at 5:00, Friday at 5:00.” And I began to experience my own ability to have some command over my experience while in a circumstance that I didn’t like, instead of it having control over me.

On Thursday afternoon, he came home bright-eyed with his energy’s huge. I asked what happened and he had found a perfect job—shorter hours, more money, closer to home. He could ride his bike to work, which he loved doing. And I remember waking up the next morning thinking that was Friday, and I had a scheduled appointment with panic at 5 o’clock that night that I didn’t need. I could cancel that appointment. And I hadn’t suffered waiting for conditions to change until I could feel better.

We had hit the pause button on our panic, become curious about what good could come from it, and then he took action to open doors to the good ideas we had come up with. Taking action is a critical element of this working to your benefit.

At that point I had gone through a doorway of self, and thought, “Well, whatever this power is, I want to know more about it,” and I began to be like a thirsty sponge for everything I could find in this field. I read everything I could find about it, and ended up going to seminary school.

I wanted to teach people about transformation. I didn’t want to teach them the content of things they’d already learned that kept us enslaved to conditions. I wanted to teach transformation, and I’ve been studying this and teaching this ever since. My teaching career transformed and I have been on this path ever since.

What I teach is that the real game is to stay awake more often and fall asleep less often, and when you do fall asleep, instead of being a dead sleeper, you’ll be a light sleeper so that just a little feather on your cheek will wake you up. “Wait a minute. I’ve gotten on a train of thought that’s taking me to a destination I don’t want to end up at.”

Every one of us is a powerful manifestor. It’s not like, “Oh, I want to be a powerful manifestor”; we are powerful manifestors. We’re directing the infinite through the patterns of thinking that are driven with impact by the emotion. Andrew Carnegie said, “Any thought that is highly revered or highly feared begins immediately to clothe itself in the most convenient substance possible.” Anything you are highly afraid of or something you want deeply—like the idea of walking my little boy into school and going into a classroom—find their way into reality, if you think them often enough.

Have you had any challenges as a woman growing a successful company, and what you did to handle them.

Well, I founded a church. There were often powerful male figures, usually with money, who would come into the church, and would always look really great on the front end. I had one very wonderful guy on multiple levels, but as he got further and further in leadership in the church, he actually said to me one day when I asked a financial question, “Oh, don’t worry your pretty little head about finance. I’m going to take care of that for you.”

I had to learn compassion for these guys, stuck in that mode. But I had enough political power or and ownership power in the businesses to be able to not be dominated or controlled by it. But it’s very prevalent.

Today there is a big opportunity for women to forge their own businesses, to go after their own passions, like never before. It is one way to completely sidestep that issue and not to confront it.

Actually, you know, anything you push back on pushes back at you.

Who are your top three female role models, and what about them inspires you?

The woman who came to my bed is of course one.

Another is an author Genevieve Behrend who wrote Your Invisible Power. Her particular life story was very inspiring to me—she had circumstances that were difficult, but she came so alive with the truth. She said, “I declined to be discouraged,” and “I left no stone unturned”: These are my words of advise for women in business.

I have two good friends in Marianne Williamson and Jean Houston who have been by my side in times of need and been role models for me.

Lastly, I look to Eleanor Roosevelt: Here’s a woman who had a couple of very unacceptable things at the time when she’s the First Lady. One was she was very smart, and they didn’t want a smart woman. They wanted a cookie-baking, apron-wearing First Lady. And she wasn’t very pretty according to the time. Every single week there were political cartoons in the Washington Post depicting her horribly. They did caricatures of her. One of her dreams was to have a declaration of human rights for the world and she got that done, even though not since the Magna Carta had we had a declaration of human rights.

I was invited to speak at the 50th anniversary of the signing of that document. She never got the notoriety for it because of the prejudice towards her.

She had some wonderful quotes that I’ve lived by, one of which is, “All the water in the world cannot drown you unless it gets inside you.” There have been times when I just stood on that. I would think, “Okay, if she could do it, then I can do it.”

Is there anything that you see as important for women in the next, upcoming years, that women need to consider as they’re charting their next steps?

Well, the Dalai Lama said, “The Western woman has the power to change the world.” I’ve spent quite a bit of time with him. I believe he meant that the way we raise our children, the way we do business and commerce, the way we are inclusive–that is what will save the world. We’ve had thousands of years of human programming, and with women it was our being part of cooking together or grinding up flour together and doing laundry together. It is community building that we have programmed into us, and at this juncture we bring that strength to the world. Women starting businesses, big or small, have an opportunity to bring community to all aspects of the world like never before.

Amy, I think that what you’re doing will be ground-breaking, not just for the country, but all over the world because you are helping women take that role.

—–

Mary Morrissey is an international inspirational speaker, executive coach, and corporate consultant. She has over 40 years of experience empowering individuals to achieve new heights of authentic aliveness, full-spectrum wealth, and spiritual success.

Mary has a Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology, an honorary doctorate in Humane Letters and is the author of two best-selling books, “No Less Than Greatness and Building Your Field of Dreams,” which also became a PBS special.

As a sought-after expert on the “Spiritual Side of Success,” Mary has spoken three times at the United Nations, facilitated 3 different week-long meetings with His Holiness The Dalai Lama and met with Nelson Mandela in Cape Town, South Africa to address the most significant issues our world is facing.

Among all of her achievements and degrees in higher learning, Mary’s favorites are the two black belts she has earned; one in Success and the other in Failure.

 

 

Interviews with Influential Women: Cynthia Kersey

“I get by with a little help from my friends.” That’s the motto Cynthia Kersey, Chief Humanitarian Officer of Unstoppable Foundation, takes to heart. In this installment of Interviews with Influential Women, we discuss how the company you keep can get you dreaming and ignite a fire from within you to never stop short of reaching the stars.

Tell my readers a little bit about your life that has brought you to this point in life.

I became inspired to give back in 1999 really in a round about way—my first book had been out a year and a half, and my husband of 20 years and I separated. It was a very challenging time. I talked to my mentor, Millard Fuller (founder of Habitat for Humanity), about the challenges I was having. He responded…

“When you have a great pain in your life, you need a greater purpose.”

Having just returned from Nepal, he suggested I help build a house for a family in need. I thought about what he said and wondered how many houses would I need to build to offset this pain in my life? I had never built or raised money ever in my life. I considered building 5, 10, 20 or 50 houses. When I got to the number of 100 houses, it felt bigger than my pain. I decided to raise $200,000 dollars but didn’t know where to start since I had never raised money before.

Hoping to retrieve advice, I called my friend, Bob Proctor, who told me it was easy. All I had to do was ask 10 people to contribute $20,000 dollars and I’d have it. The problem was that I didn’t know anybody that had $20,000 dollars at that point. So I looked at him and with all the courage I could muster said…

“Would you contribute the first $20,000?”

He kind of took a step back because he’d never donated that kind of money before. And, of course, he said yes. I ended up raising the $200,000 dollars, took a team of 18 people to Nepal the next year and worked on the first 3 of the 100 homes that were subsequently built as a result of that experience.

Being in Nepal and connecting with the families we were working with was a major turning point for me—it shifted me at a DNA level. I thought I was doing something great for them and what I realized was how much this project was doing for me. It gave me a purpose that was bigger than my pain and inspired me to keep going.

As a result of that trip, I began integrating giving into every area of my business. I began to always have a project that I was raising money for–it inspired me to make more money because of what the money would make possible for someone else.

 Who are your top 3 female role models?

I am very inspired by Melinda Gates. I love her commitment in the world with the Gates Foundation. She has inspired one of the richest men in the world to really use their collective creativity and resources to solve the greatest problems facing humanity.

Next on list would be Mother Theresa. I’m absolutely inspired by who she was and her commitment to make a difference in the lives of people who many consider unlovable and who lack support in their lives.

Lastly, Oprah! She has always used her voice to make a difference.

What challenges have you faced and overcome to get where you are?

When I wanted to write a book. I had never written anything more than a college term paper in my entire life. I had no reason to think I could write a book (much less a bestselling book).

When you’re an unknown author nobody takes you seriously. Agents rejected me. Publishers rejected me. I was even rejected by people that I wanted to interview for my book. Every single thing that I have ever done, including my first book, required an unstoppable mindset. To get the book finished and published and everything in between required me overcoming my own belief system of what I was and was not capable of.

Later, starting a foundation and having the courage to step into this full-time role required enormous courage. I used to think…

Who is going to pay me money so I can ask people to give money?”

It seemed impossible, yet, to this day, it is happening.

As I am pulled by a vision and purpose, I’m constantly challenged to get above my own paradigms about what’s possible. It’s the purpose that pulls me forward and beyond my little self to step into bigger and better things.

The gala that I do every year is another big challenge. Every year, I tell my team I’m never going to do another one. It’s just so much, and it’s so beyond what I feel like I know I can do—and yet, it’s always a success.

What are the 3 most important things you have done to create your success?

The most important is that I haven’t stopped. If you stay in action, things will happen. I’m still constantly moving forward.

I have also invested in myself. I’m on a lifelong journey of learning and expanding my own consciousness. My commitment to my own growth and myself is a big part of my being able to be successful.

Lastly and maybe the most important aspect to attribute my success is the quality of friends that I have and people in my life.

What are the top issues you see women face today, or the biggest opportunities available to women today?

The challenges and opportunities are one and the same. It’s always about expanding your own belief and paradigm about what’s possible and getting connected to other likeminded people or those who can inspire you to be more than who you are.

Bob Proctor and Millard Fuller were two role models for me of possibility thinking. I met them in the very beginning of writing my first book. I met Bob after my first book was written and Millard because I interviewed him for my book. They believed in me long before I believed in myself and that was a very important. It’s important to find people who see you and see what’s possible.

At some point, I actually started believing them and seeing what I was capable of. Having great mentors is critical.

Is there anything else you would like to share with my readers? 

The next big pivotal event in my life was after my second book came out, “Unstoppable Women.”

In 2006, I was invited to a rural African women’s conference. I only knew one other person who was going, and the only thing I knew about the conference was we were going there to hear about the women in Africa. We were going to be sharing their stories. That’s the ONLY thing I knew. Yet, I felt compelled to say, “yes.”

It was just that inner knowing that I should do this, so I rearranged my schedule. I booked my flight, flew there and was just blown away. There were 400 women from rural Africa. They spent days getting there to share important issues with us and look for solutions. They wanted solutions to things like getting access to clean water. Most spent 6-8 hours a day fetching filthy contaminated water that could make their family sick, but they had no other options. They wanted to know how to treat their children when they get sick. And the number one question was “How do we get our kids an education?”—because without an education, nothing will change.

I was so taken by the fact that just by the virtue of where you’re born determines your ability to really dream and create a life that’s impactful and the ability to live beyond survival. Because that’s really where they are—focused every day on surviving. I was so inspired by them and I fell in love with a couple of them, promising I would do something. When I came home I did research and very quickly concluded that education is the key. Education is the primary thing that can create the biggest global impact.

On my next birthday, I was turning 50 and decided to use my birthday as a fundraiser. Bob Proctor, Mary Morrissey, Mark Victor Hansen and many other people were there and we raised $80,000 dollars, which funded two schools in Uganda. That birthday seven years ago began the next major trajectory of my life. I thought, “Wow. If I can do that in one night, what if I actually put my mind to this?” I ended up starting a foundation called, “The Unstoppable Foundation.”

Five years ago, I came back from one of my trips visiting our projects in Kenya, and I could not do my business anymore. I couldn’t write another e-mail copy. I couldn’t sell another coaching program. It just wasn’t in me. That’s when I decided that I would leave my business and do this full-time. I followed Mary Morrissey’s advice to just start calling at least 3 people a day and asking for help—and miracles happened. They wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t had the courage to step fully into my calling.

There is a quote I will paraphrase that goes…

“When you finally commit, when you make that decision to commit, unforeseen circumstances, people and events happen that are really conspiring to support you.”

Since then, I’ve really been living my purpose. My life is committed to ensuring every child gets access to an education and eradicate poverty around the world through education.

The model that we support is called, “Sponsor a Village,” and it’s based on the concept that if communities in developing countries have the tools and the resources, they are able to lift themselves out of poverty.

That’s what we do. Just building a school in a developing country isn’t enough. If you just build a school, in five years that school can be closed because children are spending their days fetching water that’s contaminated, and they’re sick. If you’re not handling their health issues, they’re not able to be in school to begin with. If you’re not giving them nutritious meals, they’re hungry. They can’t focus. If you don’t teach the parents how to generate an income, the parents are using the children as a way of making money. It has to be a holistic model in which the communities are very vested. It’s not a handout, it’s a hand-up and it a true partnership.

We create relationships with communities who are committed to uplifting themselves and their families out of poverty and keeping their children in school. We are now in 12 communities in Africa, and we’re educating over 7,000 children a day and impacting well over 25,000 community members.

People often say, “How do you do it?” Basically, I have the courage to show up and ask for support. I think I’m a gracious receiver of people’s suggestions and support. I’m growing every day. By no means, do I have this all figured out, but I just keep showing up and willing to get better, just to play a bigger game and the bigger game for me is to get more kids educated.

And thank you, Amy. I want to acknowledge you for the work that you’re doing and your desire to bring this kind of information to women and let them realize anything is possible. It’s important more and more women know that if somebody’s done it, they can do it too.

—–

Cynthia Kersey is the Chief Humanitarian Officer of the Unstoppable Foundation whose mission is to ensure that every child on the planet receives access to the life-long gift of education.

Cynthia is a leader in the transformational industry. She’s the bestselling author of two books, “Unstoppable” and “Unstoppable Women”, a collection of powerful stories and strategies from people who through perseverance and consistent action turned obstacles into personal triumph. These books have motivated countless readers with over 500,000 copies sold worldwide in 17 languages.

Cynthia is also an inspiring speaker, entrepreneur, national columnist and contributing editor to Success Magazine, and was a featured guest on the Oprah Winfrey Show when Oprah launched the Angel Network.

Interviews with Influential Women: Jules Pieri

Hard starts do not have to equate to rough endings and Jules Pieri is an amazing example of the success you can create in your own life with enough determination! In this installment of Interviews with Influential Women, we discuss how learning to be comfortable—outside of your comfort zone, can be your key to success.

In 200 words or less, please give my readers a short background on your personal journey that brought you to today.

The Grommet is my third startup. I grew up on the wrong side of the tracks in Detroit and left home when I was 14 to become a scholarship student at a beautiful boarding school. I did not know it at the time, but that bold act was the beginning of my entrepreneurial career.

I studied industrial design at Univeristy of Michigan and was the first designer to graduate from HBS, where I was the only person in my class to join a startup upon graduation. I also had leadership roles at Continuum (product innovation consultancy) and Ziggs (sold to Reputation.com).

Along the way, I did gigs at three large consumer products companies, worked in France as a designer right out of undergrad, and moved my family (three sons, husband) to Ireland from 2001-2005.

Who are your top 3 female role models, and what about each inspires you?

Meg Whitman — She was my mentor and boss in three companies: Keds, Stride Rite and Playskool. She communicates clearly and is always working to advance the company mission, rather than a personal agenda.

Eleanor Roosevelt — She was so ahead of her time in advancing social and economic agendas.

Sheila Marcelo, CEO of Care.com — Because she took her company public.

One more can’t hurt, right? 🙂

Patt Morency — My junior high English and Latin teacher. She let me come in early every day and sit in her classroom while she graded papers and occasionally doled out life lessons. We remained lifelong friends until her recent death. She was the first person in my life to paint out higher expectations than what I could see directly.

What challenge (s) did you face & overcome to get to where you are?

Throughout my career, I have been initially underestimated in new roles or situations. I am soft-spoken, blond, and somewhat introverted. I like to come on slowly and not throw myself out all at once. I have learned to use that chronic underestimating as a superpower.

You can learn a lot from someone when they don’t take you seriously. And by the time they do, it is too late. I have seen my middle son do that as a child: he could always sniff out people who were the “real deal” because he realized that how they behave with children often reveals their character and motivations.

What are the 3 most important things you do (or did) that contribute to your success?

  • I learned at an early age to put myself in uncomfortable positions and now associate that with growth and success. I am most uncomfortable when comfortable, if that makes any sense.
  • I’ve always been a bit of an activist and like to design everything: products, systems, business models, cultural beliefs. It started with rabble rousing in elementary school: I was the first girl in the Detroit public schools to wear pants to school. I was the first safety boy (girl) in my school. I have always questioned things as they are.
  • I built confidence by trying hard things and surviving. The first step was getting a scholarship to boarding school. It made me sick to my stomach every day to go to class—I was woefully underprepared. But I did it and eventually excelled through sheer willpower. I still have that perseverance and belief in myself.

What do you consider the top issues women face today?

First, not enough of us are founding companies.

Second, when we do, only 2.7% of venture capital gets to women.

This is not just an issue for women: it is holding back our society and economy. VC backed companies create 21% of our GDP, 11% of private sector jobs, and are the shining stars of business. If they start with founding teams that are only half the population, we are setting them up for underperforming. This is because diverse leadership teams have a 31% higher return on capital.

It is also criminal for our society because it means that even if you don’t want to found a company, your chances of getting a great job in one of those high growth companies is greatly impinged if you are not a lookalike to the founding team.

This is where the DNA and networks and hiring practices of any company begin and then tend to endure. This is entirely why we need affirmative action programs: companies have historically gotten off on the wrong foot, talent wise, from the very start.

—–

Jules Pieri spent her childhood days reading every single biography her Detroit elementary school offered, filling her head with gigantic ideas about how each and every person can impact the world. This inspires Jules as she leads the Grommet. She’s building a Citizen Commerce-powered platform to help people support the kind of products that align with their interests and values. Jules’ confidence in attacking seemingly impossible challenges was formed at a young age. Her first trip to Europe was not a mere visit…she moved herself to Paris right out of college. Similarly, she relocated her family of five to Ireland for the first half of this decade. Why? Why not?

The Grommet is Jules’ third startup. Jules started her professional life as an industrial designer working for computer enterprises. She soon realized consumer products companies shape the majority of our economy, so she followed the action over to consumer brands as an executive at Keds and Hasbro. Jules is told she is the first industrial designer to get a Harvard MBA, where she is now an Entrepreneur in Residence. Jules was named one of Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Entrepreneurs in 2013 and in June 2014, she was invited to launch The Grommet Wholesale Platform at the first-ever White House Maker Faire.

Interviews with Influential Women: Donna Berber

Adversity and sorrow can often put things in perspectives and reveal a clear path. For A Glimmer of Hope President Donna Berber, that’s exactly what led her to advocate for Ethiopia’s impoverished women. In this installment of Interviews with Influential Women, we discuss how she discovered her passion and what women can do to find their way too.

In 200 words or less, please give my readers a short background on your personal journey that brought you to today.

When images of the great famine in Ethiopia emerged in the mid-1980s, I was shaken to my core. I was in my 20s, sitting in my comfortable home in London as I witnessed the suffering of people a world away. This planted a seed for what would become my life’s work and passion.

Years later, after life took my family and I to Texas, the voice inside became too loud to ignore. It was then that I was moved to found A Glimmer of Hope in 2000 to empower women and girls living in the rural, impoverished villages of Ethiopia.

Over the course of this amazing journey, I have traveled throughout Ethiopia and met a forgotten people burdened by extreme poverty. The need to affect change in the world often starts from the broken places in our hearts. I realized through this work that my path here began at a very young age after losing my father in a plane accident. I find that the tragedies in our life can often become our inspiration, and this was certainly true for me.

Who are your top 3 female role models, and what about each inspires you?

Mother Teresa immediately comes to mind. Her outreach to the poorest of the poor is the most absolute reflection of selflessness I have ever witnessed or experienced. She fulfilled her mission to do God’s work—giving love and a place to die with dignity to so many. I am so humbled by her life’s work and how it lives on in others today.

Marianne Williamson, an author and advocate for women and the world’s poor and hungry, is also a true inspiration. She encourages women to step into their own power, enrich their lives, and honor their gifts—ultimately, fulfilling one’s own potential in the world. In her recent efforts to seek public office, she brings a level of consciousness never before seen in our political system.

Pema Chodron, as the first American woman to be ordained as a Buddhist monk, has broken a centuries-old tradition. She carries with her a message of the deepest compassion and self-love, as well as awareness for deep reflection of this human experience. Her teachings offer great insights and a wonderful roadmap for personal journeying, with Pema herself as a perfect example.

What challenge (s) did you face & overcome to get to where you are?

My greatest challenges stem from my childhood memories of losing my father and personal belief systems about not feeling worthy (both of which held me back in many ways). It curtailed my growth and contained me so that I shrank rather than expanded. Through many years of searching from within, I began to identify these belief systems as simply untrue. From that place, I have been able to extend and expand myself to fulfill the potential of being a woman in the world with a dream.

What are the 3 most important things you do (or did) that contribute to your success?

I followed my heart from a place where I was deeply moved. I witnessed an abhorrent sense of imbalance and injustice in the world, and I followed this thread as it pulled me along a journey into a completely unknown space. I trusted the thread not knowing where it would end, but knowing I was compelled to do so.

I listened to the inner and outer voices. I listened to the voice inside of me that became louder and louder as my vision became stronger—refusing to accept “no.” I also learned when to take outside counsel. I allowed myself to be mentored by those who had walked the path before me. Tapping into the shared experiences of others, during both challenges and successes, has been invaluable.

Finally, I tune into those around me. I listen to what is being said, and unsaid—allowing me to fully comprehend the underlying dynamics. The personal growth that has come through listening and honest communication has had a profound impact on the work we do at A Glimmer of Hope. Before we ever break ground on a project, we listen to community to fully understand their needs. Hearing directly from the people allows us to establish partnership and trust from the outset and create an environment that changes the lives of women and girls for years to come.

What are the 3 most important things women need to do or consider when charting their next chapter of life, whenever that may be for them?

I believe women need to connect with their passion. Incredible wisdom comes from the intersection of your passion, your gifts and what the world needs.

It’s important for women to respect and follow their instincts. Women are highly intuitive beings. We often have the answers we need and tapping into that wisdom is something women do exceptionally well.

I find as I move through this phase in my life, I get the best input from other women. Women can amplify and elevate their vision by garnering the support of those with like minds, like hearts and shared passions. Sharing knowledge, struggle and joy can be immensely inspiring and energizing.

—–

Donna Berber is deeply passionate about the issues of injustices relating to poverty and women in Africa. Born in London, England, Donna’s world was shaken as a young woman when she saw horrific images of starvation camps during the Ethiopian famine in the mid 1980s.

After Donna and her family moved to Texas in 1991, the call within became too loud to ignore, and she was compelled to take action. From that, A Glimmer of Hope was born in 2000. Glimmer works in four vital areas—water, health care, education and microfinance—to create a powerful force to lift villages out of extreme poverty in rural Ethiopia. Since its founding, Glimmer has invested more than $85 million and built more than 9,000 projects in Ethiopia.

In 2014, Donna stepped into the role of president of A Glimmer of Hope, building on her significant contributions and passion as founder. Donna lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband, Philip, and their three incredibly handsome sons.

Interviews with Influential Women: Diane Craig

Resilient. Powerful. Inspiring. Those are just a few words that I’d use to describe President and Founder of Corporate Class Inc. Diane Craig.

Featured in this installment of Interviews with Influential Women, Diane and I discuss just how she achieved monumental success for herself and her company amid constant personal tragedy.

In 200 words or less, please give my readers a short background on your personal journey that brought you to today.

One day, I was driving, and I saw a sign that read: “It took 20 years for this man to become an overnight success.”

I wish it had read 10 years, because I guess I took it literally. For the next 20 years, I was compelled to relentlessly pursue my dream and goal of growing my business.

I always had a passion for meeting people with great presence. After graduating from my fashion design program and teaching Haute Couture, I became an image consultant in our nation’s capital, Ottawa. In the 90’s, my claim to fame was working with Canadian political leaders. Not long after, I realized that appearance was only a part of what presence is all about. Content is still King/Queen.

I began studying what it meant to bring presence to each speech, conversation or room. In 2007, I launched my Executive Presence System, and it is now internationally recognized—including a licensing program launched internationally 2 years ago.

Who are your top 3 female role models, and what about each inspires you?

Christine Lagarde: As one of Europe’s most influential ambassadors in the world of international finance, she exudes Executive Presence. She is intelligent, well spoken, worldly, sophisticated and an inspiration to many women who believe reaching the top in a male dominated industry is nearly impossible.

Carolyn Wilkins: According to The Wall Street Journal, she is today’s most influential woman in Canada’s banking industry, not to mention the first woman to grace our currency. When I met Carolyn in 2010, she shared her aspirations with me, and we both agree that she exceeded them! She was able to reach this success, while remaining humble and kind.

Peggy McColl: She is a long-time friend and fearless entrepreneur. Over the years, she has overcome so many obstacles. The drive and passion put into what she believes in has always been an inspiration to me.

What challenge (s) did you face & overcome to get to where you are?

There were professional challenges but none as difficult as the personal ones. A year after I started my business, my husband was diagnosed with cancer and died 3 months later. We had been married 17 years. I was now a grieving single parent of two wonderful children, Kenny 12 and Sandrine 7. Four years later, my beautiful little girl Sandrine, at the age of 11, was killed in a school bus accident.

Overcoming those tragedies and finding the motivation to continue facing the challenges of owning my own business seemed insurmountable at times. My husband and daughter became my inspiration for forging ahead, and my son became my motivation. I wanted to provide financially and be a role model for him.

What are the 3 most important things you do (or did) that contribute to your success?

  1. Seeing the glass half full
  2. Taking risks
  3. Believing in myself

What are the 3 most important things women need to do or consider when charting their next chapter of life, whenever that may be for them?

  1. Make time for yourself (yes, be selfish – go to the gym, frequent the spa, visit your friends)
  2. Continue learning (keep growing your professional and personal development activities)
  3. Remain current and relevant

Diane Craig is the corporate world’s choice for Executive Presence Training.

As President and Founder of Corporate Class Inc., Diane’s ongoing 30-year career mentoring North America’s business professionals spans Fortune 500 companies, multinationals and numerous educational institutions.

She maintains an intensive schedule of presentations and is a frequent speaker at national business meetings and conferences. The media seek out Diane’s perspectives on social, political and business etiquette — from conduct issues and appropriate attire to body language interpretation. She is frequently quoted in The Globe and Mail and National Post and appears regularly on CBC and CTV.

Diane is dedicated to community service. She serves as a Board Member for the Trillium Gift of Life Network, the provincial organization responsible for organ and tissue donation and transplantation. Diane is on the Board of Directors at Intriciti, an organization committed to the integration of faith and business.

Frequently heralded for her inspirational role in leadership, Diane is the recipient of many awards including the Governor General of Canada Meritorious Service Medal; Canadian Living Magazine and Avon Canada’s Women of Inspiration Award; Toastmaster International’s Communication and Leadership Award.

Interviews with Influential Women – Liz Edlich

Authenticity and kindness are essential to long-term success. Equipped with these attributes, Radical Skincare Co-founder Liz Edlich ranks them high in what has propelled her success. In this latest Interview with Influential Women, Liz highlights the people that have helped her along her journey and discusses the steps you need to take to ensure your next chapter of life is one you desire.

Please give my readers a short background on your personal journey that brought you to today.

We approach skincare and life the same way, radically. As daughters of Dr. Richard F. Edlich MD-PhD (world renowned Professor of Plastic Surgery), we worked in his lab and burn unit at the University of Virginia. Before the age of ten, we were exposed to the science of skin rejuvenation at extreme levels. Since then, we have been inspired by our dad to be radical and go above and beyond, as he changed the landscape of medicine from his wheelchair with multiple sclerosis.

It was part of our DNA that we ended up in the skin care industry in Los Angeles. For 15 years, we created over 100 products for celebrities and others. But when it became personal, we had to get radical. With Rachel developing Rosacea after her second child and gravity taking its toll on our skin, we decided to do something about it.

We challenged our chemists and after perfecting it and trialing it, we found it.

After scooping the product out of lab in sample bottles and labeling them with magic markers, we gave this youth elixir to our friends as party favors. This experiment transformed our skin and the skin of our friends. Given our family heritage and life-long mission to make a radical difference, we were compelled to share radical skincare with others.

Just like there is a technology for creating the strongest skincare that can soothe sensitive skin, there is a technology for creating a life you love. It is with that commitment that we have been traveling around the world sharing our life- changing skincare and coaching woman on creating a life that they love. Delivering radical results and nothing less in life is our mission.

Who are your top 3 female role models, and what about each inspires you?

My Mother: I am inspired by her ultimate kindness… her quiet strength to have stayed by my father’s side and watch his degeneration with MS for 40 years, selfless dedication to her kids, and love of music and people. She always supported the underdog and those that cannot take care of themselves.

Yvette Mimeux: As an all-time beauty, actress and force to be reckoned with, Yvette, “Tinkerbell” as I call her, is an activist for joy, travel, animals, food and life experiencing every moment and making it beautiful. Her artistic eye casts a poetic hue of vibrant color, exotic tastes and laughter that make every moment a celebration. I carry this nature with me and work to breathe the same spirit into each one of my moments.

My Sister: There are no words. It just is.

I am lucky. I collect people. I have many mentors and friends that I learn from, and I take the best of them with me.

Dyan Cannon: for teaching me unconditional love and faith.

Cynthia Kersey: for her loving energy and giving.

Maria Price: for mentoring and molding me from 19 to 31 in the business world to help me operate within structure, although I still can be a bull in a china shop. 🙂

Melanie Griffith: for her loving generosity.

Goldie Hawn: for her grace and laughter.

Shawn Taddey: for her generosity, magical expression and embracing passion.

Eva Vapori: for her joy and laughter.

Baroness Scotland: for her humility with purpose and driven spirit.

Really, the list is much longer. Each person left his or her imprint and special footprint. And on life’s journey, it is wonderful to draw from them to become a better me.

P.S. there is a very long list of men as well.

What are the 3 most important things women need to do or consider when charting their next chapter of life, whenever that may be for them?

First, it is important to identify your passion and what lights you up. It may be different at different times in your life. Passion and purpose are great indicators of a direction that you should explore to achieve success and happiness in whatever stage that you are in.

Second, set clear goals and have a vision of what lights you up. Being able to see the image of what you want is important to get emotionally involved, providing you with the energy to create it.

Third, have a radical dream team around you that see your possibility and support your journey. Don’t be afraid of failing; be terrified of not trying, says Baroness Patricia Scotland (Attorney General of England).

As we progress through life, we get the gift of perspective and realize that every moment counts. No excuses; no regrets.

Experiencing life, people, places and things is the spice that guarantees a rich life well lived.

What are the 3 most important things you do (or did) that contribute to your success?

One: I am incredibly tenacious. I will persevere in the extreme, if I am on a purposeful mission that matters. This has served me and hurt me at times, as I have achieved regardless of the adversity before me and hung on too long when I should have let go.

Two: I am an optimist. I see what is possible, not what isn’t. I always think of how to go over, under and around to get where I need to go. I see a better, brighter day and believe that people are basically good. As my mom would say, “We are all doing our best at any given time” (as long as my hormones are in line 🙂 if they are off – no telling)

Three: I am a risk taker and willing to make mistakes. That has been a real gift.

Four (if I may add one more): I am authentic and kind. I think that these are two very important factors in creating success, happiness and fulfillment. People feel it, and it moves them. You feel good when you practice both, and it moves you.

Who is the most influential women in your life?

 

Liz Edlich brings an extensive career in financial management, capital sourcing, product development, production and market strategy to her position at Radical Skincare.

Edlich’s cultivation of relationships with top investment managers and funds led her to become Managing Director of Heritage Asset Management, where she took the firm from $68 million to $500 million in assets under management during a three-year period before advising and brokering the sale of Heritage Asset Management to a third party. As a private investment banker and strategic business consultant, she was involved in numerous public and private business transactions. She has spent the last 15 years of her career in the Direct Marketing and skincare business at her company One World Live, developing over 100 products for celebrities and influencers. While at One World, Edlich focused on corporate strategy while managing product and company acquisitions, celebrity relations, commercial production and closely collaborating on product development and packaging.

Edlich’s career has also been defined by her commitment to giving back. Throughout her life, Edlich has volunteered her time and resources to advance important causes. From working with burn victims and developmentally disabled youths to children with facial deformities with Operation Smile in LA and in Africa; seeing her father through Multiple Sclerosis Rehab to working with the American Heart Association, Edlich has always been dedicated to making a difference in peoples’ lives.

Interviews with Influential Women – Monica Dodi

Success requires knowing who you are and what you want, being willing to take risks, and adapting. At least, that’s what I deduced after chatting with Women’s Venture Capital Fund Co-founder Monica Dodi. In this Interviews with Influential Women, we discuss the key components leading to Monica’s success that are critical for other female entrepreneurs. We also discuss the much-needed focus for successful women to play a bigger role investing in their counterparts.

Please give my readers a short background on your personal journey that brought you to today.

I was born and raised in New York City by immigrant parents. I always helped my mom in her beauty salon and dad in his restaurant. It was this entrepreneurial spirit that influenced just about every job I’ve had (even my first one at eleven years old). After attending Georgetown University, I joined a start-up, providing a service similar to Lexus Nexus (only for engineering). I was fortunate enough to be involved with one that was a big hit, and it enabled me to ride the wave. In five years, we sold out to a German conglomerate, which was when I went back for my MBA at Harvard. Soon after that, I worked for MTV, as their number two person in Europe. From MTV, I ran Disney’s Consumer Products in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. I left Disney to start my own private company as a Disney licensee. When I finally came back to the states, I moved on to Warner Brothers and American Online (AOL)—working within start-up divisions. Now, I’m on the other side of the start-up world—the funding side as a venture capitalist, helping entrepreneurs. 

What are the most important things you do (or did) that contribute to your success?

While launching MTV Music Television in Europe across 16 countries, I learned some big lessons. I ran the business side of things dealing with revenue and distribution. Every country in Europe had different ways of doing things. Cable television was just starting there. We broke even after a year, but only by breaking through a lot of barriers.

Advertisers were accustomed to budgeting on a country-by-country basis. Even though many Fortune 500 companies (such as Coca-Cola) were natural advertisers for the MTV market of young adults 18 to 34, we could not get advertising deals because they would not commit on a pan-European level. We almost packed up and left. However, I ended up going to the headquarters of companies like these, bypassing the advertising agencies—which were none-to-pleased. This fearlessness to break the rules has been my number one key to success.

I also learned that opportunities are not always in the place you first look, so your willingness to stay open and jump when you see an opportunity is critical. When I joined Disney, they were looking to break up into various parts. Usually, that’s when people often leave, but I joined anyway. It was at that time Roy Disney brought in Michael Eisner and Frank Wells to turn it around, which began the era of The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast and so forth. It was fun to be part of it. We restructured and reorganized the whole business in Europe.

Being part of Disney during that time, I witnessed licensees making a lot of money, so I jumped from Disney and started a paper products company mainly in greeting cards. I sold my products to major retailers and later cashed out to American Greetings. This is another component of entrepreneurial success—figure out what your exit is because that’s how you really make your money. Selling to American Greetings was an opportunity to get the return on my investment.

What are the most important things women need to do or consider when charting their next chapter of life, whenever that may be for them?

The most important thing to remember is the only sure thing is change. You have to be flexible if you are going to be successful.

I had a job at Warner Brothers when I first returned to the States. A merger with Turner stopped their entry in the market I had been hired for, which looked bad but led me to becoming CEO of brands at AOL—a much better job. While at AOL, they merged with Time Warner and moved their entire operations to the east coast. I did not want to uproot my kids again, so I stayed in California, which got me involved in the venture capital arena.

None of these changes were in my plans, and sometimes they didn’t look good at first sight. However, each one has led to amazing opportunities.

When I first entered the venture capital world with Software Technology Ventures, I found out that less than 7% of venture capital goes to teams that have women as part of the founding team. This is despite all the research showing gender diversity results in higher productivity, profitability and return on investment. These studies and more are linked on our website, Women’s Venture Capital Fund. Any woman looking to raise money should become familiar with these statistics, so she can sell herself better.

Wanting to change the amount of capital available to women entrepreneurs, I started my own venture capital firm with Edith Dorsen, who brought fiduciary rigor. and discipline to balance my entrepreneurial spirit. This is something all entrepreneurs must recognize—know your strengths and weaknesses and surround yourself with good people who do well the things you don’t.

We raised our first stage money from our close network of friends and family—a step many female entrepreneurs see as a detriment—then we started fundraising. This was during the depth of the recession, so it was challenging. Really challenging. There were many times that we thought that we should just pack up our bags, but we stuck to it. Many are not prepared to stick it out during tough times, but that’s what being an entrepreneur is all about.

As of now, we have invested in five companies and plan to invest in two to three more in the coming year. Our goal is to raise another fund that’s bigger, better and faster, but in this stratified environment of venture capital, we will have to prove our investment track record as a team especially because of our focus on women-led companies. 

Who are your top 3 female role models, and what about each inspires you?

Ironically, one of my favorite role models is Lauren Bacall. Sadly, she passed away last year. When she first started, she did not experience much success. However, she got advice from some big shot (I believe, Samuel Goldwin) and became a woman that men respected. She gave them as much grief as she took—whether it was Humphrey Bogart or Jason Robards, Gary Cooper or Clark Gable. She had a robust sense of humor. She was a person of her own mind. She said what she thought. More importantly, she just didn’t take anything they said seriously.

Not taking things seriously has been my guiding principle. It’s not that I shrug off work, but I don’t let it consume me. You’re in control of your own work. You can’t let work control you. With my kids or work, I want to do it with pleasure and joy.

My second role model is Lucille Ball. You have to know your own mind. You really do. And Lucille Ball knew her own mind. She knew what she wanted to do and was the driving force of the I Love Lucy show.

Barbara Standwick would be my third. She was also a woman of her own mind. I love that. She set her mind on something and just got it done.

Don’t go for the “hat in hand / please help me” kind of attitude. In a business scenario, people won’t touch you (or your idea) with a 10-foot pole. If you exude more than just confidence (perhaps determination), you are likely to achieve whatever your goal is.

What challenge (s) did you face & overcome to get to where you are?

Every day has challenges. It’s often not the big stuff but the little things that trip us up. 

Probably my biggest challenges have had to do with my children. That is where I have put my priority. My first boss always used to say, “The most fragile thing are people.” Money and resources can be manipulated, but people are fragile. If your child is having a difficult time, you have to take time to be there for them. Those challenges are the ones that keep me up late at night worrying, not the ones in business.

At work, the toughest feat is finding opportunities to find happiness in. I was really fortunate, and part of that happened by merely putting myself out there. I believe that if you make a move, the universe fills in the rest. I’ve really enjoyed myself. And when you’re having fun, you just perform better.

What do you consider the top issues women face today?

The problem is that on the other side of the table from women entrepreneurs—there are only men that invest. So I ask women, “Do you invest in startups?” There are many high net-worth women out there. Why not get in on it and start investing in them? It’s not just the fault of the men. Women need to step up and start writing checks.

If women with money set aside 10% for riskier assets as angel investors (like big portfolios do), it would help ENORMOUSLY in setting up a pool of money to invest in women and make a huge difference in the paradigm that we’re talking about. There are a lot of female entrepreneurs out there. There is no lack of that. There’s a lack of female investors.

We need to look for ways to change the way we look at where women are today and create solutions outside the box like the Women’s Venture Fund. We started this new fund by targeting women, rather than force change in the current private equity arena.

What are the biggest opportunities available to women today?

Women need to wake up to just how much power and influence we actually wield. Women control billions of dollars of assets. Women direct billions of dollars of consumer spending. Companies are starting to wake up to the market women represent, and if we step up, women could be influencing a great wave of innovation on the horizon.

Is there anything else you would like to share? 

People will bend over backwards for you, as long as you make it fun and interesting (or if there’s a lot of money to be had). Yet, even if there’s a lot of money and you have an excellent business plan, things change. Investors, employees and suppliers entrust those with the ability to adapt. They want to know you’re not only going to survive but shine. That’s a characteristic that has no gender. Then again, in times of war throughout human history, it was women that kept civilization going.

—–

Monica Dodi is an international, entrepreneur. A visionary on the cutting edge of the high-tech landscape, she has founded four highly successful companies, spearheaded rapid turnarounds and negotiated numerous licensing deals with Fortune 500 companies. 

As co-founder of MTV Europe and head of Business Development, Monica’s marketing expertise, operations and negotiating skills led to MTV becoming the fastest growing channel on the continent. She then joined Walt Disney where, as head of European Licensing, she was responsible for the successful turnaround of their Consumer Products business.

Returning to the U.S. to help Warner Bros. roll out television channels worldwide, Monica was recruited by Brandon Tartikoff to be CEO in charge of launching AOL’s Entertainment Asylum which soon became the fastest growing entertainment destination on the web.

At Softbank Technology Ventures, Monica focused on new media investments and served as the Fund’s Entrepreneur in Residence. She continues to be a sought-after advisor to and angel investor in new ventures spanning internet innovations, content creation and data technologies, mobile applications, and social media.

As Managing Director and Co-founder of the Women’s Venture Capital Fund, she spearheaded the formation of this fund focused on investments in new companies with gender diversity, an overlooked, yet high potential for growth, sector in venture capital.

Interviews with Influential Women – Sandy Gallagher

The new year brings a wealth of opportunities, but without the proper perspective, you’ll continue to overlook the chances at achieving the new life you inherently desire. Co-Founder and CEO of the Proctor Gallagher Institute, Sandy Gallagher substantiates this point by reiterating that our lives are only limited by our imagination. In the second interview for my Interviews with Influential Women Series, she sat down with me to discuss her journey to finding her passion and outlines the steps on how you can get there by asking yourself just one question.

In 200 words or less, please give my readers a short background on your personal journey that brought you to today.

In 2006, I was in the midst of a very successful legal career and an equity partner in a major Seattle law firm—a career I’d worked my whole life to achieve. One day, a friend invited me to what she described as a “leadership seminar” being conducted by a man I’d never met, named Bob Proctor. It sounded interesting, so I accepted the invite, but I didn’t go into it with any particular expectations. I certainly didn’t expect the entire course of my life to change.

Yet, early on in his presentation, Bob posed a question that did exactly that: “what do you really want?” Amazing as it may sound, it wasn’t a question I’d ever been asked or had asked myself. Once I did, I found myself facing some very surprising answers.

As I sat there in Bob’s audience, taking in the ideas he was sharing, I realized that I was in the presence of a truly extraordinary human being. That day, in response to that question, I wrote down a new goal for myself: to become a part of Bob Proctor’s inner circle of advisors. Soon thereafter, I was. And today, Bob and I are full business partners and co-founders of the Proctor Gallagher Institute.

Who are your top 3 female role models, and what about each inspires you?

I’ve been fortunate to know many amazing and inspiring women throughout my life. My stepmother, Margel Gallagher, is definitely up at the top of the list. Margel inspires me because she is a woman of velvet and steel and balances both perfectly.

I’ve always looked to Sandra Day O’Connor as a great female role model and found her life story to be a source of inspiration and encouragement. She moved into an area of power and prestige that had never been extended to women before. She did what had to be done to get where she wanted to go.

I am also so inspired by my dear friend Cynthia Kersey. Cynthia has dedicated herself to educating people who otherwise have no hope of being educated. She found and followed her passion, and she is truly changing the world as a result. I admire tremendously the good work she is doing through her Unstoppable Foundation. We support it in a big way through the Proctor Gallagher Institute.

What are the 3 most important things you do (or did) that contribute to your success?

I’ve had two very different careers now, and there are definitely some common denominators that have contributed to my success in both. One thing I do (and have always done) is go into every situation consciously expecting success—whether it’s a speech or a meeting or simply the day ahead of me. Interestingly enough, our outcomes almost always conform to our advance expectations. When you expect things to go well, they tend to go well, even if you’re thrown a curve ball. And of course, the opposite is also true: if you expect a bad day, meeting, or trip, that’s probably what you’ll experience.

Another thing I try to do is respond to problems by immediately stepping back and looking for a solution or opportunity rather than reacting emotionally or allowing them to overwhelm me. Unforeseen challenges and glitches are an inevitable part of life, but they only get in the way of you achieving your goal if you allow them to. There is always, always a way forward. Things are rarely as bad as they can seem at first, and very few things are unfixable. I can’t tell you how many times a so-called “problem” wound up being the best thing that could have happened. It’s really a matter of trusting your vision and keeping your mind focused on that ultimate destination, then staying calm and recalibrating your route as needed when roadblocks show up.

Finally, years ago, I began setting aside time at the beginning and end of each day to focus on the specific things I am grateful for. The impact it has made on my life is immeasurable. Gratitude is such an enormously powerful force. It has the most amazing way of multiplying the good things, and makes it almost impossible to get stuck in the bad. In fact, if I could give someone only one piece of “life-changing” advice, it would be to start a dedicated, daily gratitude practice. The effect on your mindset and outlook is instantaneous, and it’s a gateway to so many other epiphanies and long-term transformations.

What do you consider the top issues women face today?

On a global level, there are still so many places in our world where women and girls face unimaginable obstacles to education. Every day they quite literally risk their lives to receive what we enjoy as a fundamental right. This past year, we saw some particularly horrifying examples of the lengths certain groups will go to, to prevent female education. And this is something that impacts all of us. Educated citizens—men AND women—are what will bring stability and peace to their nations, and ultimately to the world. This is why I am so committed to our work with the Unstoppable Foundation. As I said before, this organization is doing such amazing work, and I am extremely proud to be a part of it.

What are the biggest opportunities available to women today?

First of all, I absolutely believe that (in the time and place we are fortunate enough to be living) any woman’s opportunity is only limited by her imagination. But what I see that is different today (versus say 20 or even 10 years ago) is women having a much greater ability to follow their passions, share their gifts, earn a healthy income doing it—and really do it all on their own terms. Technology has made it so much easier to find and connect with people who share our interests and who need what we (as individuals) have to offer, and people are increasingly comfortable using these technologies in every aspect of their lives. And as a result, many of the old constraints are no longer relevant. You don’t need to subordinate your personality or interests to fit into a traditional corporate mold. You don’t need to uproot yourself or your family, or stay in a certain place in order to have that “dream” career. You don’t even need to leave your home. We have female bloggers who are making a living simply by putting their personal stories and perspectives out there. We have female entrepreneurs who have a product or service they believe in, build a website to market it and attract customers from all over the world. We have women like you, who have taken your skills, experience, and passion and forged something completely new out of them, and created this incredible online resource and attracted a huge community. This is real; this is the new economy! It’s just a fantastic thing, and I do think that women in particular are benefitting from it.

What are the 3 most important things women need to do or consider when charting their next chapter of life, whenever that may be for them?

Start with the question that started it for me: “what do you really want?” Get quiet, let your thoughts follow your heart’s lead and give yourself permission to step outside of your current parameters and think big and boldly. Don’t let your mind get hung up on doubts, such as “people will think I’m crazy.” You’re right. Maybe they will. But who cares? And don’t get sidetracked by practicalities—things like “where would I get the money?” Remember that your job is to take care of the “what,” do that and the universe will take care of the “how.” Take the time and space you need to get to the right answer. When you land on it, you’ll know. It feels a lot like falling in love!

Once you’ve figured out what you really want to do, create a specific goal that will manifest that vision, and make it a good one. We always say a goal should be big enough to excite and scare you at the same time. So if you get that little clench in your chest when you think of it, that little impulse to pull back, you know you’re on to something! Picture your goal as clearly and in as much detail as you can. Get yourself emotionally involved with it— see and feel yourself doing this thing. That’s what is going to bring your subconscious on board and start automatically moving you toward this new reality.

Finally, ACT. Take some action, every single day, that brings you closer to achieving that goal. And remember that not every action needs to be monumental. Some days, you’ll take big leaps. But even the smallest, most mundane step is progress, and the universe will reward it. In The Science of Getting Rich, Wallace Wattles says that thought is what moves your goal towards you, and action is what moves you towards it. So get dreaming, get goal setting, and get things moving!

Is there anything else you would like to share?

I’d like to thank you for the opportunity to share my story with your readers, Amy. I love the work you’re doing here. You’re providing such a valuable resource to women out there looking to find their path and realize their dream. You are living YOUR dream, and elevating others’ lives in the process. That’s what it’s all about, isn’t it? I wish you wonderful things as you move forward on your journey!

Sandy Gallagher has traversed the business world of high finance. As an esteemed attorney in banking law, Sandy regularly handled billions of dollars in mergers and acquisitions, IPOs, and other big-ticket transactions, and was an advisor to boards and top executives of Fortune 500 firms.

Yet, an encounter with Bob Proctor set Sandy on an extraordinary new path — one that would ultimately change not only her life, but countless others. Through Bob’s teachings, Sandy finally understood the “why” behind her lifelong success. Now she has left her high profile law practice to teach others how to do what she had done joining forces with Bob . After their first collaboration, Thinking Into Results — Sandy’s brainchild, which is widely acknowledged as the most powerful corporate transformational program of its kind — she quickly became CEO and President of Bob’s organization, Proctor Gallagher Institute.

Today, Sandy shares international speaking stages with Bob and works closely with him and their team of professionals to provide coaching, training and consulting on the most profound, powerful, and transformative concepts and strategies humankind has ever known.