Inspiring Women E-Book

Marie Fratoni

• Herausgeber: WS
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 145

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025

Beschreibung

Inspiring women make up the  integral threads in the tapestry of life.  Each thread has a purpose and is essential to creating a world that is filled with opportunity and garners opportunities for so many others.  These inspiring women have claimed their space in the world of business, overcoming life’s obstacles, hardships and curve balls, and they have stayed the course to fulfill on their vision and purpose.

Authors: Betty Emrey, Sherri Danzig, Alison Chandler, Felicia Morris, Gretchen Stein, Donna Davis Hill, Paige Nathan, Adele Wang, Sandy Rasch, Tashana Thompson, Susan Gall-Quettan, Karen Osbourne, Carolyn Ross, Debra Walters, Nadia Rahali, Stacey Ruth, and Biviana Franco.

Leseprobe

Published by Hybrid Global Publishing 333 E 14th Street #3C New York, NY 10003

Copyright © 2025 by Marie Fratoni

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law.

Manufactured in the United States of America, or in the United Kingdom when distributed elsewhere.

Fratoni, MarieInspiring Women: Living an Unstoppable Life with Purpose, Power, and Passion

ISBN: 978-1-961757-62-2 eBook: 978-1-961757-63-9 LCCN: 2024945706

Cover design by: Natasha Clawson Copyediting by: Claudia Volkman Interior design by: Suba Murugan Author photo by: Kris Janovitz

CONTENTS

Introduction

Living Your Life Purpose Leads to an Amazing Life! by Marie Fratoni

Resilience—The Catalyst That Makes Everything Else Possible by Alison Chandler

A Funny Thing Happened on My Journey to Self-Discovery by Sherri Danzig

The Messy Middle by Betty Emrey

What if I Fly? by Biviana Franco

The Difference a Job Makes by Susan Gall-Quettan

Navigating the Chasm of Clinical Depression by Donna D. Hill, FLMI

Don’t Let What You Can’t Do Keep You from What You Can! by Felicia Morris

A Journey of Connections by Paige Nathan

Don’t Underestimate Yourself by Karen Osborne

Listening for Beauty by Nadia Rahali

Roots of Passion by Sandy Rasch

Beyond the Storm: My Path to Embracing and Conquering Life’s Challenges by Carolyn Ross

From Imposter to Unstoppable by Stacey Ruth

Help from High Places by Gretchen M. Stein, PhD

The Power of Relationships: My Path to Rebuilding by Dr. Tashana Thompson

Pack Humor and Perseverance for a Pioneering Journey by Dr. Deb Walters

From Dissonance to Connection: A Journey of Self-Discovery by Adele Wang

INTRODUCTION

Marie Fratoni

Women are inspiring, and I am lucky enough to be surrounded by women who daily display courage, intelligence, compassion, and service to clients, family, and members of their community. And you are lucky, too, for they are vividly active in your lives as well. They are business owners, consultants, moms, and aunties—and they sometimes take on the heralded role of “fairy godmother” to those that are in need.

This book was called forth by readers of the first volume of Inspiring Women. In fact, several people enthusiastically encouraged me to produce a second book and basically invited themselves to be considered as one of the new book’s collaborative authors. The call was answered, and this latest edition of Inspiring Women is here. In this version, being unstoppable became a theme woven throughout many of the stories. These women don’t let obstacles stop them. Instead, they find creative solutions to handle tough situations.

Women are the gifts that keep on giving. Despite life’s twists and turns, women dig in their “high heels” and tough it out. They keep moving forward amid the myriads of circumstances that need to be dealt with each day. They have learned to push forward to reach goals, accomplish great achievements, and pull from all aspects of physical, emotional, spiritual, financial, and social constraints. Some have pivoted, changed careers, gotten new positions, and acted responsibly to take care of themselves and others. They didn’t give up. They simply changed course. In fact, I think you would agree that women have multiple interests and passions and are so very talented. Sometimes it is difficult to narrow down our skill sets into one satisfying business or profession. Some become serial entrepreneurs with multiple streams of income. Why not?

Women have made significant contributions to various fields such as business, science, art, politics, education, and social justice. Recognizing their achievements highlights their impact and the difference they make, and it encourages continued progress. Inspiring women serve as role models, especially for young girls and women. Spotlighting successful women can inspire others to pursue their dreams and overcome their challenges.

This book is designed to touch you so you can see yourself in the stories of these talented authors. You can be inspired, have a giggle, borrow a tip or two, and realize that there is always something around the corner in life and business. We want you to be ready with drive and the right resources to make your move.

Inspiring women serve as role models, especially for young girls, college students, and women who would like to venture into business or entrepreneurism. Seeing the stories of successful women can inspire other women to pursue their dreams and overcome life’s obstacles. Today, more than ever, we need women to lead. We need women who are willing to generously share their breakdowns and triumphs, their stories of courage, grit, and resilience.

The contributions of many women have been overlooked or underrepresented in history. Recognizing inspiring women helps to correct historical narratives and ensures a more accurate and inclusive representation of history, or “herstory” Women don’t need to be on the Forbes Billionaire List to be powerful and successful. Some live simply, do their work quietly, and serve their clients and community with excellence. Books like this one showcase everyday women pursuing a passion, sharing their expertise with others, and plowing through some very tough times. Acknowledging their unique perspectives, approaches, and contributions to various fields enriches our understanding and fosters innovation and creativity. The authors of this book represent many diverse businesses and professional tracks. Each one has taken on this book project to look inside themselves, consider their readers, and write a chapter that is juicy to read, highlighting something they overcame, sharing what they created, and leaving the reader with a simple lesson of hope and a “you can do it, too” message.

Women in business serve as role models and mentors for other women, inspiring them to pursue leadership positions and career advancement. This helps close the gender gap in leadership and create a more equitable workplace and business environment. I hope that the messages in this book inspire you to take a course, go back to school, hire a coach, secure a mentor, and take positive action toward living your best life. All we have is NOW.

Let’s celebrate these inspiring women who are living a life of unstoppable purpose and passion. I invite you to hitch yourself to their stories and see yourself soar.

LIVING YOUR LIFE PURPOSE LEADS TO AN AMAZING LIFE!

Marie Fratoni

In 1987 I trusted my strong intuition and hired my first life coach.

I thought that working with her would make my life, business, and relationships better; therefore, I would be happier. It worked! It was a genius move on my part and an investment that continues to pay off to this day.

So many “pooh-pooh” the idea of creating a life purpose statement. But I wonder how many of those who have this opinion and bias simply made up something that sounded good in the moment, resonated with them quickly, and then thought they would easily have a life that worked and was fulfilling, simply because they said, “My purpose is to teach,” or “My purpose is to honor animals,” or something similar. Or maybe they thought that a life purpose was something they merely liked to do and would make for a great business. I beg to differ! However, I acknowledge that this is a good place to start when creating a life that works, a life you love.

I would love to share my life purpose statement with you. I created this overall life-affirming statement in 1987, and I continue to use it today as a guiding force—my true north—when choosing what will bring me joy, ease, and fulfillment. Here it is:

My purpose is to dynamically express myself through adventuresome social camaraderie in ways that make a difference to myself and others.

These are not merely words that when strung together sound good. Rather, they are specifically crafted and selected from stories, situations, events, jobs, and occasions throughout my life, beginning with my very first year. Designing this statement was a process, led by a certified coach, and recorded, and it covers the span of my life up until the present moment.

After a time of discussion, wordsmithing, and creatively crafting and speaking it aloud, a dynamic sentence begins to emerge. Joy is present when it is spoken. The heart smiles as it is whispered. And then a practice of mirrorwork begins, where speaking this statement over and over begins to land inside of our body, soul, and spirit. A feeling of well-being arises. When I worked with my coach, she listened intently to see if it matched the intended hallmarks and then helped to ground it inside of me using a simple neuro-linguistic anchoring exercise. It seemed like magic, yet some work and attention were required to achieve this outcome.

This is an eye-opening process and gives us a glimpse of how our personalities have developed over the course of our lifetime. Once these synergistic events have been documented, we then begin to notice similar themes. We note our feelings and body sensations as we uncover what it’s like when life seems easy, we are happy, and things seem to flow effortlessly. We become aware of how that positively impacts and imprints into our bodies, our tissues, and our emotional selves.

When we are not living on purpose, it seems like the adage “pushing a square peg into a round hole.” It’s not fun—it’s exhausting. In the 1980s, I was invited to be a corporate training instructor for an international consulting firm. On the surface it sounded like it would be a fantastic opportunity. I was invited because of my outgoing personality, experience with corporate training, and of course, all my professional connections. I would be traveling three weeks out of each month, but I would be compensated well, my travel expenses would be covered, and I would forge ahead in my career. It seemed to be a good fit.

Unfortunately, this gig was short-lived. I had to mold myself into someone I truly wasn’t. For someone who excelled in interpersonal training skills, I struggled with this opportunity being information-based, didactic, and heavy on delivering very specific, very technical content during the four-day trainings. I had to dig deep, memorize the material—in short, it was one of the hardest jobs I’ve ever had. It also was political, and I was the new kid. I was not able to freely and dynamically express myself. We all were monitored tightly, and I felt like I couldn’t breathe. The travel was fun, the clients were delightful, but my full self-expression was constrained. And yet I still lasted for two years. I was happy outside of the office, but even now, just remembering those days makes me feel majorly icky.

Creating and living your life purpose profoundly impacts your life in numerous positive ways. Defining and pursuing your life purpose will lead to an amazing life, especially when used as a vector that has direction and force. Before big life endeavors, considering work ventures, joining programs, or pursuing a passion, I always run things by my life purpose.

• Does it resonate?

• Does it have the component of “adventuresome social camaraderie ?

• Will I be able to dynamically express myself?

• Will it make a difference, not just for me, but for others, too?

If the answers to these questions are “yes,” then there is a high likelihood that it will work out. If not, then, tempting as it is, I will move away. In some instances, I will see what I can do to make it fit and work. Yes, I still do this today, and I trust the process. It works.

Having a defined life purpose gives a clear direction that helps you set meaningful goals—and achieve them. You’ll be able to prioritize actions and decisions that are aligned with your purpose. Armed with a focused sense of purpose, you are more likely to invest your time and energy in the right types of activities and communities that are productive and fulfilling. In fact, you will know quickly whether the opportunity will work for you or not. When you are not “on purpose,” stress, pain, upset, delays, problems, and seemingly unworkable situations start to rear their head. These are clues that something is off and needs to be readjusted.

Discovering and knowing your life purpose can trickle down to your lifetime vision, your mission, your values, and your intended results. There is an easy flow, and when explored and planned, higher levels of well-being are present, because you did the big, important work in the beginning.

Purpose-driven individuals often report higher levels of happiness and life satisfaction, as they are engaged in pursuits that resonate with their core values and passions. They feel that their efforts are meaningful, consciously intended, and impactful. A strong sense of purpose acts as a powerful motivator. Maybe it’s too much to suggest that when your future endeavors are filtered through your life purpose statement, they will work out without a hitch. We still need to do the planning, conducting the activities to get the work done, often while adjusting course. But we start out with a high probability of success.

Living with purpose attracts like-minded people who share similar values and goals. This can lead to deeper, more meaningful connections and a supportive community and staff. A sense of purpose can foster empathy and compassion toward others, which in turn will create a positive impact on you and those around you. A purposeful life encourages continuous personal growth, so you are likely to seek out new experiences, learn new skills, and develop new talents. This results in a boost of self-esteem and confidence and reinforces your beliefs in your judgment and abilities. I firmly believe that living your life’s purpose will result in better mental health, too, reducing the risk of depression, anxiety, and negative stressors. You may even gain better physical health. The icing on the cake is that living your life with purpose allows you to contribute something greater than yourself, thus leaving a positive legacy and contribution that will affect your life, the lives of those you touch, and those whose lives they touch.

It is well worth doing the work to get to your own divine life purpose statement. Allow me to share a few examples of what I have created from being aligned with my life purpose:

• Becoming a transformational business coach and creating group programs that include fun, camaraderie, making a difference, and developing new clients

• Offering retreats for business development, transformation, relaxation, and fun, led in the United States and Italy

• Serving women business owners for the past fifteen years through a professional development network I created

• Leading masterminds

• Being a compilation book author and host

Doing the work of creating my life purpose statement was so beneficial to me that I became certified in conducting and leading this process for more than one hundred of my clients. This tool is invaluable, and I am forever grateful for its guiding presence in my life. I now live a life that is true to my authentic self, where every bold action and any big decisions are chosen with purpose, presence, and power.

Marie Fratoni is a sought-after business coach, professional speaker, and transformational retreat leader. She is a champion of women! Marie’s programs provide professionals with relevant content, revenue-generating strategies, and uplifting events that boost confidence and business savvy. She loves helping her clients double or triple their income. Marie is the CEO of Get Clients Everywhere and the founder and leader of the Women’s Professional Development Network (WPDN), a thirteen-year-old international community of women entrepreneurs. She also leads popular annual retreats in Italy for busy professionals who want a magical getaway to rest, relax, and rejuvenate. Marie lives in the Atlanta area and works globally helping women entrepreneurs connect and prosper.

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RESILIENCE—THE CATALYST THAT MAKES EVERYTHING ELSE POSSIBLE

Alison Chandler

I pulled a card and asked my family members seated around the table, “What’s my favorite thing about me?”

Without hesitation, my daughter, Lucy, proudly chimed in, “Me.” Wow—what an insightful little girl. She is my miracle after years of struggling with infertility. Having her is a dream come true!

My husband, Jonathan, said, “Creativity.” Looks like he knows me pretty well, too. We’re playing the card game Betcha Don’t Know, taking turns asking questions to see how well we know each another.

Creativity has always been present in my life. I enjoy getting lost in it, and it helps me see possibilities and solve problems, which is crucial in my personal and professional life.

My mom adds, “It’s your positive attitude.” Spot on! Positivity is a big part of who I am. Have you ever had something so natural you didn’t even realize it was a defining part of you until someone else pointed it out? For me, it’s optimism. I tend to find the bright side in most situations, and looking back, it’s helped me bounce back more times than I realize.

But then I surprised myself by blurting out, “Resilience.”

At first I thought, What a boring word