Despite the obstacles faced by women in business around the Globe, these same courageous souls continue to rewrite the rules and play big with or without them.
The founder of Bumble, Whitney Wolfe Herd was a rule-breaker and disruptor from the inception of the dating-turned-networking app. At the time, Herd was told her app was ‘too niche’ and that it was sure to fail. It was a crushing blow that prompted her to devise her own set of rules. From those challenging, humble beginnings to a ‘Forbes 30 Under 30’, Herd’s story affirms the validity of finding new ways to reach the top as a woman.
As Herd was to discover, the truth is that we all possess the wisdom within us to accomplish greatness, if we only stopped listening to those who tell us otherwise. It’s a lesson shared by Dana Kay, Board-Certified Holistic Health and Nutrition Practitioner, founder, and CEO of the ADHD Thrive Institute, and the creator of the ADHD Thrive Method 4 Kids program.
“The primary obstacle I faced was having the confidence to do something others might not agree with. It was hard to break the mold and challenge the status quo. I had to learn to be okay with people not agreeing with me.”
Resilience is forged in the fire of adversity, and if we are to attain it, there is no other way than to follow our intuition, even at the cost of attracting discord, criticism, or ridicule.
Kay found her life and business mission as a direct result of challenging what she knew to be wrong. “I was told that the only way to help my son with ADHD was to put him on medication. I followed my gut instead and worked to reduce his symptoms naturally.”
It marked the beginning of a prospering business that continues to help families reduce ADHD symptoms naturally, allowing children with ADHD to thrive at home, at school, and in life.
“Listen to your gut. I spent way too many years listening to others and ignoring my own instincts.” – Dana Kay.
Photographer Credits: Beata Mazur.
If we are to follow our gut instinct, we will at times be swimming against the current. To others, that may seem irrational, irresponsible, or even deliberately inflammatory. According to Genevieve Searle, `The Optimisation Queen’, Wellness Reclamation Mentor, TEDx Speaker, and bestselling Co-Author, we should not only learn to be ok with it, but we should also embrace it.
“I’ve been a disrupter my whole life – but now I call myself a Transformation Catalyst. Shifting this wording has allowed me to embrace my disrupter instead of apologizing for her. I say ‘you’re welcome’ now when people are ‘disrupted’ by me.”
Searle’s work uses Epigenetic HealthType Profiling to provide clear guidance on who we are and what we need in order to thrive. Everything from food, movement to relationships and mindset are clarified with this powerful profiling technology. We are all different, needing different things but when we try to squash ourselves into the same boxes like everyone else we suffer and so does our impact. As she explains; “with this information, we can make changes to our lives that support us to be healthier, happier and more inflow, whilst having the ‘legitimacy’ of science to back up our individual needs, practice next level self-love and start radiating our personal brand of brilliance out into the world” If the world was full of people who are clear, healthy, powerfully connected to the hearts mission and unafraid of disrupting the status quo, we would have a very different world to what we live in today.
Self-love, while not a new concept, is sadly still widely neglected by many women. Putting our own needs, desires, and opinions before those of others can seem impossible to do, especially if it’s been handed down to us through our lineage. In this instance, is it possible to make a change in one single leap?
Ania Halama is a Millennial Manifester, Spiritual Life and Business Mentor, and Intuitive Digital Artist. From corporate beginnings to entrepreneurial World Traveler, Halama attributes her success to her willingness to take a “leap of faith”! She quit her job and embarked on a journey of self-discovery, which allowed her to build the business of her dreams.
“My health and my family trauma were some of my biggest obstacles. I knew it was going to require me to do something courageous to overcome them. This took me on my travels, and by seeking out adventure, I was able to create a life and business that I’ve always dreamed of. And it all happened because I took that leap of faith.”
In life, as in business, monumental decisions are rarely made easily. They do in fact require a leap, a degree of trust that you will land on your feet. “I was told that I needed a business plan before I started my business. The truth is, your business grows, evolves, and transforms. What your business originally looked like isn’t what it’s going to look like. Just get started and the rest will get figured out as you learn and grow as well.”
The power to rewrite the rules for business success is grounded not in planning, strategy, or skill. It resides within all of us – in our intuition, our strength, our resilience. The challenge that we all face, is daring to uncover our own magic, mustering the courage to charge forward into the unknown, while unapologetically revealing our truest selves, and as Genevieve Searle would have us do; “bring our own personal brand of brilliance to the world.”
Words Shannon Rose