Tag Archives: Inspiration

My Foremothers, The Role Models

by Helga Kristin Fridjonsdottir

When I was growing up in Iceland, I was surrounded by powerful women. My mother came from the “West fjords” in northwest Iceland where life was harsh, nature was brutal and women often had to lead the fight for their families survival.

My grandmother on my father’s side came from the relatively isolated Snaefellsnes peninsula. In most coastal areas in Iceland, the main livelihood at the beginning of the 20th century came from fishing the treacherous North Atlantic. My great-grandfather, Adalsteinn, had bought his own fishing boat to provide for his family: my great grandmother Helga, for whom I am named, and my grandmother Kristin for whom I also named. Adalsteinn’s ship tragically went down on the coast, visible to the village where he had been born and in front of his wife and two-year-old daughter. Continue reading

Lindsay’s In Business: The Big Professor

by Lindsay Uittenbogaard

OK –  so now just two business concepts await examination under the microscope. Having started with seven concepts a few weeks back, one by one they had fallen down. Each time I had been grateful: who wants to spend months and thousands in pursuit of a business idea only to discover a fatal flaw later on.  Letting each idea go was tough – especially if it was a hot favourite.

This week, the hot favourite definitely wasn’t idea 1: a one-stop home repair and improvement service.  Interesting but not INNOVATIVE. It was idea 2: a solution to address that repeated Middle Manager engagement issue. Now there’s a market. Continue reading

What I learned from the First US Presidential Debate 2016

by River Ho Rathore

In less than two months, American voters will go to the polls and choose their next Chief Executive. As can be imagined, Twitter feeds and news channels are all abuzz with arguments for and against the primary bets of the country: Hillary Clinton, a tenured politician and former FLOTUS who would be the first woman president if elected, and Donald Trump, a political newbie of dynamite character known for his businesses worth tens of billions.

I was 14,000 kilometers away from where the US Presidential Debate transpired on Tuesday morning (Asia Pacific time). I am not an American, nor am I in politics, but I was glued to CNN, waiting to see how the first of three debates would pan out. This is, after all, one of the most intense presidential campaigns ever run.

For obvious reasons, I listened to the debate intently as the United States is one of – if not THE – most powerful countries in the world and which almost has an iron-clad influence on international organizations. This influence is very important for emerging economies that depend heavily on foreign trade and lending. But more than this, I was intrigued at an individual level. Continue reading

About Us

by Anja Uitdehaag and Mine Batiyel

“It takes courage to become who you really are” – E.E. Cummings

Living your dreams mean “knowing who you are, then, do what you need to do in order to have what you want.”

This might sound easier said than done.

Sometimes you may lose your way toward your dreams or even feel like you never had a path in the first place.

Did you ever feel like you were unsure about who you are? What you want? Not brave enough to be who you are or make your dreams happen?

Finding joy in Being You and Belief in Yourself determine how you will make your life journey.

The more often you are brave enough to express who you are, the easier it gets…

We believe that every woman can be successful in what she does if she can generate the courage to give it a go.

We are excited to announce the launch of FEMFLECTION.COM, a creative and inspirational personal development website for professional and dynamic women in business and arts of all ages and cultures. We combine motivational leadership with the inspirational creativity of art.

We believe that Art is a language and like any other language it is a vehicle of communication, i.e. self-expression of ideas and most inner/deep feelings. Art provides ample opportunity for imagination and creativity; as such it also turns out to be a wonderful way to tackle important work/life issues and share (self)-leadership lessons, thoughts & experiences.

It is our goal to help professional women to build their courage and put it to good use through reflection, overcoming self-limiting beliefs, gaining self-insight, identifying potential areas for development and pointing out critical success factors. We encourage you to dream big and take practical action to live a life that matters to you!

When you have a few minutes, take a look around at our web address Femflection.com and let us know what you think.

Believe In The Power Of The Reality You Want

by Anja Uitdehaag

“Everything is energy and that is all there is to it. Match the frequency of the reality you want and you cannot help but get that reality. It cannot be no other way. This is not philosophy, this is physics.” – Albert Einstein

We are what we tell ourselves we are. When we are talking to ourselves, we are talking to our subconscious mind. If I continuously tell myself I am stupid, unworthy, and ugly, then I am placing these ideas into my subconscious and making it believe these ideas are true. They become a confirmation. Imagine what happens if I focus my subconscious mind on positive outcomes? I can shape my own destiny and achieve marvelous success and happiness… This is called “autosuggestion”. Continue reading

Deborah A. Bailey, “Think Like an Entrepreneur: Transforming Your Career and Taking Charge of Your Life”

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Reviewed by Femflection

Deborah A. Bailey is a sought after expert to discuss entrepreneurial and workplace issues. After over twenty years in the corporate world, Deborah graduated from Coach U and transitioned into entrepreneurship. She’s the author of of several novels and non-fiction books, in addition to a short story collection, a speaker and the host of “Women Entrepreneurs – The Secrets of Success,” an internet radio talk show where she provides candid discussions with today’s top entrepreneurs, authors and industry experts. Continue reading

Situation 21: OVERCOMING MISTAKES

Lately some (small) things went wrong at work. It upsets Femsy and she has difficulty overcoming these mistakes.

 (Click on the pictures to see them in full size) Continue reading

Lindsay’s In Business: Running

by Lindsay Uittenbogaard

I’d run my own business before.  In fact, it was the first thing I did when I finished University. I started the UK’s first city-to-city car pool agency for students in 1992.  Crazy actually.  No concept awareness, no funding, no experience, no internet (but we did get a fax machine – woo!) I loved the novelty and the challenge of it. But after 4 years, 17,000 members, EU funding, 7 voluntary staff and sponsorship from Vauxhall Motors – at 10 pounds membership a year, it just wasn’t viable. I was exhausted and oh so disappointed.

After that, I went from small-business marketing in Australia, to a general management position in Scotland, and then someone said, “Hey, I need someone for a communications consultancy job in the Netherlands and you could be that person!” So off I went to start work at Shell in 2001. As I set out on what was to be a fascinating whole new life, I started discovering what large organizations were really about. Continue reading

Lindsay’s In Business: The Starting Point

by Lindsay Uittenbogaard

So I’m finally sitting in a meeting room with my boss. I hadn’t been able to talk with her for a few weeks now (which was getting pretty frustrating), so what I wanted to get out of the discussion had been changing quite a bit. She waits for me to take the lead. I decide to take a meta-level approach.

“I’m glad we have chance to talk. It feels like we’ve been… kind of … at odds with each other,” I confessed. “Maybe it’s me – I’m so keen to see progress and push forward in a ‘dynamic’ way that when the brakes go on, it’s difficult to understand. Then, at the same time, it seems you’re holding things back to prioritise ‘excellence’ in our work. Should we be rethinking those values together?” Continue reading

Malcolm Gladwell, “The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference”

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Reviewed by Femflection

Malcolm Timothy Gladwell, (born September 3, 1963) is an English-born Canadian journalist, bestselling author, and speaker. He has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1996. He has written five books and all of them were on The New York Times Best Seller list. Gladwell’s books and articles often deal with the unexpected implications of research in the social sciences and make frequent and extended use of academic work, particularly in the areas of sociology, psychology, and social psychology. Gladwell was appointed to the Order of Canada on June 30, 2011. Continue reading