Meet our featured beauty with brains Lindsey Stilwell, an artist and activist based in Melbourne, Australia. She has overcome many setbacks in life including sexual assault, to be the inspirational person that she is today, awakening the embodiment of divinity in those she encounters and changing the lives of many through creative art therapy. Here is her story.

“I’m Lindsey Stillwell, an artist, activist and alchemist. I’m a chameleon of sorts – highly adaptive and a wearer of many hats. It has taken me many years to embrace the many facets and passions that make up who I am (and who I’m becoming). I used to think I was just indecisive, a people-pleaser, and trying to ‘fit in’, but I’ve come to realise, that my adaptability is actually one of my core strengths and a powerful tool to utilise. As an artist, I have always wanted to be ‘famous’, wanted to be in the spot light. I have come to see that underneath this, is my desire to SHINE and share myself with the world.

I have been a singer since before I could fully form words, and my feet have danced around the world. I have graced many stages in many ways, and have come alive in front of audiences. From singing in choirs to writing my own songs and merging the worlds of healing and music, I consider myself a ‘sound alchemist’, creating powerful transmissions through vocal tones, lyrics and songs.

My biggest creative project at the moment is creating a one-human show as ‘Lady Zee – dragtivist & queen’. Lady Zee is an androgynous drag queen, passionate about reclaiming empowered sexual expression, advocating for healthy boundaries, affirmative consent, and sexual assault prevention, while sharing her life experience of overcoming multiple accounts of sexual assault throughout her life. Activism has been at the core of my art and work for as long as I remember.

Growing up in a religious family, I was taught the value of service, compassion, and humility and my path has found me advocating for the voices of the voiceless, empowering those who feel unheard, and standing beside those who feel alone. From volunteering around the world in the slums of India, ‘red light’ districts of eastern Europe, hospitals in West Africa and rehabilitation homes for exploited girls and women in Nepal, to working as a social worker and mental health caseworker in Australia, my compassionate heart has been coupled with a passion for social change.

I first read Paulo Coelho’s book “The Alchemist” when I was 23. I had just moved across the world to follow a new romance, and was discovering mySelf as an adult in the world. I was deeply moved by his words, and this book became an instant favourite. Since then, much of my work and exploration has felt like alchemy – driven by my curious nature to explore what emerges when various elements are intentionally combined, merged or find a place of intersection. As a multi-modal Creative Arts Therapist, I infuse my therapeutic work with embodiment practices, emotional clearing, and mindfulness, offering a holistic path towards empowerment and wellbeing.

I am many things including artist, activist, alchemist; bringing transformation through exploration, creation and contemplation. My mission is to inspire and awaken the embodiment of divinity in those I encounter, to inspire others to live in connection with Life Force and as empowered creators of their own lives.

We asked her some questions.

1. Share an experience where you provided creative art therapy to a woman and it completely changed her life.

In my 8-week course ‘Untold Stories: a Therapeutic Arts Journey Uncovering Stories of Trauma and Shame’, I utilised various creative arts modalities including movement, music, visual art and embodiment processes to assist my clients in rehabilitating from previous traumatic or shameful experiences. The course was a progressive journey, culminating in a final ritual night, in which participants were invited to share their story through a creative art modality of their choosing. One of the participants shared her experience of returning to the love of drawing during the course (after not drawing for over 15 years), and how it impacted the way she perceived herself, her relationships, and the world. Additionally the embodiment exercises had a profound impact on her life, and she remarked that the course ‘changed her life’. As someone who previously felt very disconnected from her creative expression and her body, by the end of the course, she expressed feeling more connected to her body than ever, being able to notice the connection between her body, emotions, and relating with her partner, and the profound impact of being given permission to show up in her full expression, even if it felt ‘wrong’, ‘ugly’ or ‘uncomfortable’. I’m honoured to have witnessed her journey, and intend on continuing to see her thrive in the world!

2. What would you do differently if you knew nobody would judge you?

There’s not much I would do differently, although perhaps one area I feel held back in is publicly expressing the fact that I’m in a relationship with a woman. I feel my family would greatly judge me, and therefore keep this on a more personal level, and only subtly share about my relationship on social media. For the most part in life, I am pretty unrestrained and don’t really free being judged, as long as I’m in my own integrity.

3. What are some misconceptions about drag queens and identifying as ‘queer’?

When I tell people I’m a drag queen, many people often respond by saying “how?”, “you mean a king?” or “you can’t be a queen, you’re a woman”. It’s not common knowledge that there is a whole sector of drag artists that are female queens (often called ‘faux queens’ or ‘bio queens’). This can lead to feelings of marginalisation even in a marginalised community. As someone who identifies as ‘queer’, I also often get asked to clarify or people assume I mean I’m gay. For me, ‘bi-sexual’ is actually too limiting a term to represent my gender and sexuality, and the term ‘queer’ is much broader, basically meaning that I don’t subscribe to societal gender norms and am not a cis, heterosexual female.

4. Have you ever been a victim of sexual assault. If so, how did you overcome it?

I’ve been sexually assaulted four times throughout my life, at various ages from early childhood to adulthood. For many years, I didn’t talk about it or acknowledge what happened to me, and at 19 years old when I started to seek help, I was told that what I experienced ‘wasn’t abuse’. This led to feeling invalidated and shut down for a few years, and it wasn’t until I was assaulted a third time in my early 20s that I sought professional therapy. I saw a traditional psychologist as well as a psychotherapist who incorporated creative arts, visualisation, and Jungian theories into her practice. Eventually I went on to study Creative Arts Therapy, and while the academic environment was not a therapy setting, this helped my own process consequently. Alongside various therapies, I’d say some of the most profound healing came through my own self practices, particularly ecstatic dance, yoga and meditation. As I furthered my studies in Trauma Recovery, I applied the processes to myself, and found the more embodiment I did, the more whole I became in my healing journey.

I have endured many difficulties in life, and have a high level of resilience, so when I was raped in January 2017, I knew that even as devastating, confusing and painful as it was, I would get through. I moved into a rural environment, and set about self-healing once again, in conjunction with sessions with a psychologist at the Sexual Assault Centre, and a private alternative therapist. I’m proud to say that one year after being raped, I launched my 8-week course ‘Untold Stories’, and am in a powerful position to facilitate transformation and healing for others.

Meet our featured beauty with brains Misha Akbar, an entrepreneur based in California, USA. She is a wife and a mother to two wonderful boys aged 9 and 5. She grew up in Dubai and did her Masters in HR (Human Resources) from Curtin University in Perth. She currently lives in California and works as a HR business partner for a startup. She is also an entrepreneur and manages a skincare business – Rodan and Fields. She feels that the business has changed her life in ways she never thought was possible – helping her to overcome depression, to empower other women by free life coaching and to earn some residual income that has helped pay for many things which she used to hesitate spending on, in the past. Her goal is to continue to empower and mentor other women. Here is an interview with her.

1. Do you think women feel intimidated in business? If so, what would be your advice to them?

I think women used to feel intimidated in business and that was mostly due to self doubt and societal norms being pushed on to them. These days there are several opportunities for women to be supported, empowered and move forward.

2. Did you face any gender-related roadblocks in your career? If so, how did you overcome them?

Fortunately I did not suffer any gender related road blocks. I come from a background in HR and I have seen more women in HR than men. Maybe it has something to do with women being natural multi-taskers. However as more and more companies are being more vested in diversity and inclusion and preventing unconscious bias – I believe such road blocks will be a thing of the past.

3. How do you stay motivated?

I do a lot of affirmations, positive visualizations and above all I take action.

4. Any secret tips for women who want to succeed in business?

Take support, ask for help and LEAP! Do not let self doubt stop you. The most important thing you can do is to take action and move forward. Read books on positive and personal power and stay away from negativity!

Meet our featured beauty with brains Katja Kempe, an entrepreneur based in Sydney, Australia. She is the CEO and Founder of Viveka (https://www.viveka.world) which is an online marketplace for coaches, mentors and speakers.

Viveka is a combination of Katja’s professional experience and personal passion. As a Strategy Manager and then COO of internationally leading law firms, Katja followed strategic, innovative and global industry trends whilst implementing new strategies to continuously up level efficiencies and processes. In addition, Katja always had a passion for personal growth and professional development and has been a coach and mentor for several years, parallel to her career in the legal industry.

Katja is internationally experienced, multilingual, inspired by innovation and a strong believer in creating positive and sustainable change.

Here is her story.

“The Catalyst.

‘The only constant in life is change.’- Heraclitus

Everything in life is in motion; we constantly evolve collectively and individually to form a new realm of consciousness. The notion to ‘arrive somewhere’ is an inaccurate belief and yet pursued by many in the hope of finding true fulfilment or happiness, once a particular milestone is achieved in life. Be it a promotion in your career, finding your life partner and getting married, reaching optimal fitness levels and participating in a competition or having a certain amount of money in your bank account, to name a few.

Yes, all these things satisfy us, give us a sense of accomplishment and a feeling of being ‘on track’, they may even ensure many thumbs up on your social media post. Reality is, these triumphs bring you happiness, but do these emotions last long-term?

How many times have you heard or even said to yourself ‘As soon as I DO X, I will HAVE Y and then I will BE happy, relaxed, able to enjoy life and be content with myself.’ We live in a ‘Do-Have-Be’ paradigm and have it all back to front.

You see, there is no single ‘summit’ when it comes to life. Life is an on-going personal growth voyage, so it’s best to experience this journey dancing to its rhythm or being ‘in flow’. Flow – the new buzzword featured in every modern development blog, magazine or professional development guide. But what exactly is ‘flow’ and how do we access it?

Generally speaking, there are three phases to personal change: the catalyst phase, the realization phase and the implementation phase. You are, consciously or not, in either one or multiple of these phases in every aspect of your life and every period of your lifespan. I would like to share a personal story with you. A story that had me question every aspect of my life. This story was my biggest catalyst in life and brought me on my path of purpose.

The difference between where you are and where you need to be is simple, yet it can be incredibly confronting. You need to fully surrender to your purpose, your passion, your magic in this world and step away from the status quo that sucks us into a place of complacency.

Just like you, I needed to surrender to something greater. You see, life was what I thought it was supposed to be. It was what the world had told me I was supposed to do and even though I wasn’t completely happy; I was ‘okay’.

My parents blessed me with an international upbringing and good education. In my mid-twenties, I graduated from a double master’s degree in business and then worked in the management of a big law firm. My career progressed quickly and after 8 years, I found myself in the C-Suite of one of the world’s largest legal firms.

I had a good salary, an amazing luxurious life, a beautiful view from my office over the Sydney harbour and the approval of all my family and friends. I thought I had ‘arrived’ and ‘made it’, yet I was living in a situation where intimidation, politics of the workplace and constant backstabbing was a day-to-day normality.

Some days, I could be oblivious to it and pretend to be completely happy and ‘in my element’, but even on those days when I told myself that it was alright, I knew deep down inside of my spirit, that something was profoundly misaligned within my being. More than anything, I wanted to get out. I bet you’ve been in that place.

You’re probably even there right now. But like you, I didn’t want to give up the luxurious life I had created for myself and take the bold step of surrender. And so, as Life, God, the Universe—or whatever you want to call it—often does, it stepped in and it forced me to make a choice. Was I going to choose to be the fullness of who I was?

Life offered me an opportunity. Most of the time, life’s gifts don’t always come as pretty bouquets, but blows. They come ‘wrapped in sandpaper’. I like to say, “life handed me a rose”. Sometimes you can see the rose for what it is, a beautifully created symbol of love and other times you are completely numbed by the pain of the thorns. And so, it was in my case.

I went into work one day and was retrenched. Sure, I knew there were expense issues and that politics had been at play and all the reasons why, but however you look at it, I was fired. My luxurious life had been yanked out from underneath me and all the blood, sweat and tears that I put in to my job didn’t matter at all. As if someone tore the carpet from underneath my feet. I fell, and I fell hard.

I was forced into that position and I chose to breathe through those endless moments of uncertainty and give myself the chance to unfold. I’m so blessed to say that I took time to travel, because it was in those travels, that I came to life.

When I did, I found my passion and my purpose. This was my realisation phase, my personal metamorphosis. Since then, I watched as one miracle unfolded after the next. The lessons I learned through my travels and of my new life journey, allowed me to see the tools which were placed into my life, to do that thing, that I was always called to do.

The intention of sharing this story with you, is to highlight the importance of a catalyst.

Now, let me share some of the best tools that my surrender taught me with you, so that you too, can take that leap of faith. Step out of the golden cage of safety and luxury and into the truly luxurious life that you’re really meant to live. I invite you to come with me as we both live a life of surrender. I did it, you can live through it, and I promise you, the other side is the place that you want to live.

Do you know someone, who suffered from a terrible illness and then once cured, completely reinvented their life? Or got retrenched from their job and then chose a completely different avenue, perhaps to contribute to the greater good and quite possibly even taking a pay cut into account.

Maybe you know someone who lost a loved one and as a result started to question their doing and value their time more. Perchance you can even recognise yourself in one of these people.

All these examples, whilst extreme, are catalysts. And if you give yourself the opportunity, you will start to see the blessings and collateral beauty of these perceived tragic, unfair and terrible challenges, that life throws at us. Catalysts are designed to shake you up, or better: wake you up!

All you need to do is persevere, open your heart and trust that the universe has your back.

Disrupt Yourself.

The beauty about a catalyst is that you needn’t wait until life seemingly conspires against you to put you on a different path. You can disrupt yourself to avoid the tragedy of severe events in your life, by being proactive. Believe it or not, the universe responds to change, it is a symbol of its abundance and ever flowing creativity. Change is the only language the universe understands.

The universal language of change is how the divine expresses its creative powers, its love for creation, its love for growth in possibilities and how It expands its own consciousness.

Ultimately, everything that happens to you in your life, happens for a reason.

Think Kodak, Borders, MSN Messenger, Pan American Airlines and General Motors, just to name a few. These once fortune powerhouses are no longer with us, with one common denominator cited by business experts as the reason: They did not change. They did not self-disrupt, and as a result, did not disrupt their respective markets with new innovations.

Yes, they relied on workmanship, competitive prices, PR, marketing and all the conventional ways associated with Big Business. Yet what was missing was self-disruption, to let go of the old and bring in the new, innovate existing trends, break the moulds and do things differently.

They stayed the same, and as a result, they were way-sided by inevitable progress.

So how do we self-disrupt? How do we merge with the universal language of ‘change’ to manifest greater success, greater love, greater wealth, greater health and happiness?

There are three key areas that need to be addressed, in order to shift the gears of their influence in your life.

Self-limiting patterns: This is perhaps the most important. Without this being shifted, nothing changes.

The human brain: This incredible organ is the determinant of our destiny, because we cannot coach ourselves based on what we want, but what we are.

Taking inspired action: Not all action-taking is created equal. Even some of what we think to be ‘inspired action’ can be counter-productive.

Undo self-limiting patterns and your destiny changes. Here’s how.

‘What are self-limiting patterns and why do they impact me in unforeseen ways?’

This is a question we get regularly at Viveka and rather than building self-trust through coaching or self-development and removing the weed of self-limiting patterns, an inordinate amount of trust is invested in forces outside ourselves, beyond our control. We blame and shame others or circumstances in our lives and even interpret life events as ‘a sign’ or karmic debt.

Right up until the consequences of these self-limiting patterns, from chronic procrastination to fear of starting new projects, rear their head and inevitably, ‘life happens’.

And some of the times when ‘life happens’, the universe itself feels like a hostile place, as though existence conspires to make one’s ability to move ahead in key life areas difficult. Yes, life can be a hard teacher. A lot of the hardest lessons we had to learn manifest not just once, but several times over an entire life-time.

Without eliminating limiting believes, you set yourself up for eroded courage. You set yourself up for diminishing hope, pave the way for self-doubt, self-sabotage and uncertainty in life. A pattern of ‘stumbling blocks’ that get in the way of obtaining your deepest wishes.

What’s tricky about these patterns is that, although they can often manifest externally in the form of ‘events’ that dishearten you or stall your progress, they actually start within us! Limiting beliefs manifest in your energetic frequency, as who you are; your buried traumas, your fears, your unsupportive behavioural patterns. They become the red lights along the road to your deepest fulfillments in life and some of these red lights feel like they take forever to change.

So how do you shift your Karma?

The human brain. Coach yourself out.

Fundamental to coaching is the ability to get deeply in touch with your emotions by creating a ‘structure’ that you are held accountable to, such as a time-table, a monthly ‘personal statement’ and so on. This then allows the negative behavioural patterns to be teased out from within the depths of your consciousness, brought up to the surface for examination and then let go of.

When you are no longer burdened by the negative emotions, something remarkable happens. The layers that obscured your authentic self; the real you that is naturally happy, carefree, heart-based and curious, will begin to replace any ‘pleasure’ you felt in the escapist activities and self-sabotage patterns of the outside world.

And this mode of being will feel so pleasurable –the changes that can manifest in your outside world, from more money to healed relationships, better networking gigs, more effortless learning and acquiring of hobbies and skills – so remarkable, that merely the very passing thought of even returning to your old patterns will bring about pain.

Before long, self-coaching will no longer be something you just do as a check-list. It will be something you will do as who you are.

Think of your brain’s cognitive capacity as you would of your laptop’s memory bank: It is a finite resource. When the laptop processes dozens upon dozens of operations at the same time, little processing power is left to tackle the important things, such as running programs smoothly.

In the same way, when the brain’s cognitive capacity is largely devoted to tackling the many stresses of everyday living, there is very little cognitive ‘bandwidth’ left to tackle the important, potentially life changing decision-making processes, such as those associated with setting and achieving new goals.

That is why, those who experience financial troubles instinctively resort to ‘comfort zone activities’ to stay ‘centred’ and grounded, to recoup and to survive. The only problem is, those ‘comfort zone’ activities often stifle one’s abilities to manifest a better life, as they keep one stuck in the old negative thought and behavioural patterns that manifested these financial problems to begin with and they enforce the brain’s old neural pathways and limit one’s potential.

You will notice that as you support yourself, no matter how great your problems, life will support you. Have faith, own your changes and recognize that staying the course of your new life literally changes your frequency from the inside-out.

Taking Inspired Action

Action-taking serves as an indicator, a self-diagnostic tool, that you accept the new limitation-eliminating, possibility-attracting frequencies inside you.

Your actions help anchor you in your new frequency and ground you. And by actions, I don’t mean actions on a checklist, but rather actions with self-awareness, where you embark on exactly why you are taking that action. Actions taken as a checklist can still have beneficial effects, but far less than when done ‘as who you are’.

Actions taken in combination with a structure such as a time-table, an ‘evidence board’ and introspective examinations of emotions that arise from within you, essentially communicate to the divine, to the universe, that you are sincere in your quest for fulfilment.

Taking action is crucial to self-disruption and is very powerful. With it, through the magic of neuroplasticity, the brain forms new neural pathways and with that, your self-identity changes. Your frequency changes.

What exactly is ‘inspired action’?

It is action that is based on an intuitive nudge.

But this leads to a new question: How do we know, that what we call an ‘intuitive nudge’ is not actually our ego trying to self-sabotage the whole operation of manifesting a new reality for yourself, so as not to get vulnerable to its own destruction through ‘positive change’?

Note: The ego will do whatever it can to thwart change, even if it is change for the better. This is because the ego can anticipate old patterns, but not new ones. To the ego-mind, change is tantamount to its own death!

Action taken with self-awareness, taken as though change is inevitable and taken with full vulnerability to the unknown, is heart-guided or inspired action. That is the hallmark of the sort of action you must take for your life to change: Action that leads to new growth, opposed to enforcing old comfort zones.

In other words, action taken from the heart is the action that leads you to new discoveries about yourself, knowing yourself and your capabilities in ways you never knew or anticipated before.

This mode of action-taking is always ‘the harder way’. Essentially, you kick your own butt and propel yourself to positive new directions in your life. Now, understandably, because this way essentially ventures into the ‘unknown’ of life, there is one emotion that daunts most on this path.

The Emotion of Worry.

Replace worry with curiosity and witness your life change. Worrying is easily one of the most self-sabotaging habits and one of the most malicious stumbling blocks to manifesting the life of your dreams.

Worry literally behaves like an internal parasite. It feeds on the psychic cord between us and our higher self until the cord atrophies and we feel a profound disconnect with who we really are. What’s more, it steeps one deep into a behavioural pattern of shut-down and into confusion, victimhood and resistance to the natural flow of the divine.

Our faith erodes, both in the divine and in ourselves and that in turn affects our neural pathways and our frequency. As a result, we attract even more of the experiences which stem from our limiting behavioural and thought patterns and on goes the vicious cycle.

The good news: Worry is a very malleable pattern that can be unlearned. Statistics show that about 99% of our worries never manifest and that only 1% of them do. Worry is a learned behaviour that can be unlearned.

The bad news: When it does become a behavioural pattern, it becomes a very powerful one, as it is highly pervasive and even addictive. Worry does affect neural pathways when it becomes a behavioural pattern and due to its low vibrational frequency, we attract harsh lessons that aren’t specifically based on our initial ‘worry’, but that nonetheless make life very challenging and unsupportive.

Worry erodes faith and disconnects us from the divine. This can have consequences.

Therefore, so much emphasis was made on taking heart-based action. Worry naturally atrophies when you take action with the full self-awareness, that you are doing this to internally change. The awareness that you’re growing into the best version of yourself, irrespective of external ‘success’ or ‘failure’, becomes its own reward.

The next time you worry, make a conscious effort to catch yourself and immediately replace your worry with ‘curiosity’ and the question: ‘How good can this get?’

Worry is based on limited thinking; a natural result of abiding by ‘neocortex thinking’. It is an effect of not trusting our spiritual connection to the universe, based on the assumption that we are powerless, alone and bereft of the divine spark that is unquestionable and that exists within each and every one of us.

The diametrical opposite to worry is curiosity. Curiosity in life’s infinite possibilities, in the divine will, in a conscious search for the answer: ‘How good can it get?’

This shift in thinking is fuelled by one thing: gratitude. The presence of gratitude is the demarcation between worry and curiosity.

With worry, we are victims to life. With curiosity, we recognize life’s events, real and imagined, as gifts here to teach us things about ourselves that we would not face otherwise. Vehicles for knowing our truth and our capabilities. And for that, we become grateful and we embrace life with full trust and faith in the divine. We know that the universe has our best interest at heart.

At Viveka, we introduce ways to let go of internal blockages. Let go of precisely those behavioural patterns, that stem from limiting beliefs and get in the way of you embracing your life at the magnitude, that you were destined to. Ultimately, you know that you were always meant to live in this greatness. Let us lift you up and guide you there. Visit Viveka http://www.viveka.world and find a coach, mentor or speaker tailored to your specific needs. We update human thoughtware.

‘Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow know what you truly want to become.’ – Steve Jobs.”

Meet our featured beauty with brains Anu Bedi, a businesswoman based in Sydney, Australia. She holds a Bachelors in IT Management and Consulting from Western Sydney University and a MBA in International Consulting and Management from UTS (University of Technology Sydney).

She worked in Directorship roles within the Federal Government for many years before deciding to start her own business in 2016. She opened a Swim School – Jump! Swim Schools at Guildford. The business has been successful and it won the local Small Business Award last year and has been named finalist for this year’s State Based Championship Awards. She is also a mum to 2 kids (9 year old boy & 6 year old girl) and she and her husband are also keen property investors. She has taken on a few Public Speaking and motivational projects out of interest.

Here is an interview with her.

1. As a woman entrepreneur, what are some of the challenges you faced and how did you overcome them?

Achieving balance is possibly the biggest challenge! Finding time for your family, kids’ activities, friends, business, partner and most importantly yourself, can be hard. A passion for anything can consume you and for me, the first year of starting the business from scratch absolutely consumed me. I was fortunate to have an incredibly supportive partner who took over where I dropped off and kept us/our family going.

The balance will always be a challenge but it’s important to recognise it as such and ensure you are ‘present’ in the moment – whatever moment that might be. For example, when with kids, put the phone away and be ‘present’ and engaged with them; when with your partner, be ‘present’, enjoy each moment and when working ‘be present’. Be one person at a time and not everything to everyone as I see a lot of that going on. You spread yourself out too much and no one gets any good out of you – least of all – You!

2. Can you give some time management tips to mums who are working/ running a business, looking after kids as well as taking care of the house?

Each of us has our own skill sets – don’t try and be ‘Super Woman’. Identify your own skill sets, strengths and weaknesses and narrow down what’s important to you. Then, outsource what you’re not great at or do not have time for. Keep things to yourself that are most important to you. Any extra time you then have, spend on what and/or who you love. The extra ‘relaxation’ or down time you may have is where you are likely to get your best ideas. New thoughts and ideas are hardly ever generated if your mind is in the midst of chaos. Great ideas need space to germinate.

Simple little trick – keep a daily ‘To Do’ list. Make yourself accountable and celebrate small victories. Define the list on the basis of ‘Important’, ‘Urgent’ and ‘Other’. There’s a difference! Then prioritise and get them ticking over.

3. You run a successful business which has won a small business award. Tell us what you do differently and how is your business different and better than others?

My point of difference in anything I do would have to be my passion, energy and presence. If you are doing something simply for the money, its likely to be hard to be successful as people see through this. My energy, despite any adversity, is what keeps my staff motivated and interested. No matter what adversity occurs, I always think about things by way of, “What’s the worst that can happen?”. Once I rationalise and answer this question, I realise how insignificant our issues can be in the bigger scheme of things. The biggest thing is my ‘Presence’ in the business. By that I mean that it doesn’t necessarily matter if I am physically around or not, I have my finger on the pulse. I am in touch with my clients, my staff and very aware and respectful of the environmental factors around.

4. Can you share some tips on how women can reach their fullest potential?

I think as women, in any culture, we have grown up with a bit of a self fulfilling prophecy of not having enough faith or belief in ourselves, we don’t feel ‘qualified enough’ to help, assist, inspire, support others. We’ve been conditioned to believe it from a young age.

Fact: Our culture (Indian and Aussie) propels boys to sometimes a ‘holier than thou’ attitude, while the girls suffer. While more obvious in our Sub Continental culture, it remains true in Australia too – there is still a wage disparity between men and women – that glass ceiling still exists! So its not you or me – its inherently in all of us.

Therefore, my tip would be to stop worrying about breaking external glass ceilings. First focus on yourselves and break away from those mental shackles yourself. Believe in yourself and realise that just like we are responsible towards others (family, kids, jobs); be responsible towards yourself. Believe in yourself and trust your own gut feelings.

Lastly, I’d suggest, don’t let your jobs and careers define you. You’re much more as a person than those things. Don’t box yourselves into your jobs/positions. Grow beyond your job role and dream beyond it!

Meet our featured beauty with brains Shipra Shah, an artist based in Sydney, Australia. She is a very creative soul whose extraordinary work is inspired by nature. Here is her story.

“I am Shipra. I believe that life surprises you if you follow your dreams and leads you to your true calling.

I am an ardent and passionate watercolour and botanical artist. I am fascinated by the tremendous variety on display of the exhilarating flora and fauna in this beautiful country. My eye for detail and my perseverance to translate that into my work has been consistent. My motto is ‘Simplicity breeds extraordinary work.’

I have followed this passion for over 20 years, starting with a 5 year degree in fine arts from a premier art institute. My strengths are watercolour, pencil sketching/shading and detailing in both the mediums. Over the years my works include illustration jobs for clothing brands, art workshops in corporate firms and detailed watercolour paintings.

In Queensland I lived in a splendid town-home surrounded with flora and fauna where I started enjoying gardening and collecting leaves and intriguing remains of plants. My inspiration and creativity is at its peak in the wee hours of the mornings when I’m out and about admiring nature. It is there that I developed a special affinity towards native Australian botanicals. This, combined with my passion for watercolour painting, gave me the fuel to start formal training in Watercolour and Botanical Art after which I never looked back. The journey wasn’t an easy one but I was resilient and kept moving forward without looking back.

I now reside in New South Wales. Being an animal lover, I own a lovely dog, who plays an important role in keeping up my interest in nature. Whenever I go for strolls with him, I love observing and admiring various leaves and flowers around.

Dry leaves and twigs or any plant remains around, always intrigue me and I collect them during my long walks as raw material for my artworks. Fresh vegetables and fruits from various farmers’ markets around the city is my latest passion. I am often awestruck by the colourful patterns and beautiful natural hues sprayed all across seasonal fresh produce pumpkins, various varieties of squash and pears and I plan to develop a detailed artwork with these subjects as an inspiration in this new year. I also like portraying various stages of fruits and vegetables ripening over time by rendering and water colour.

Showing and selling my artwork in various events and exhibitions have given me a lot of positive feedback and encouragement from art connoisseurs to motivate me in continuing to create art pieces inspired by nature. Also, teaching in various art institutes across Brisbane and Sydney has further enriched my experience and I’m now a well-recognized watercolour and botanical artist, tutor and illustrator.

Botanical art is my spirit’s true passion.”

We asked her some questions.

1. Do you think art can be therapeutic? If so, how can it be used as therapy?

Art has been used as a therapy for decades. It has a meditative effect and reduces stress to a great extent. Our watercolour workshops are always compared to meditation by our students since it completely involves the student in the techniques and beauty of watercolours and they always leave baggage-free, wanting more.

Shippi’s Art also conducts corporate workshops as a stress buster for busy companies.

2. What is your advice to women who want to explore art but feel they have no skill or time to do so?

Art does not need skill but I always tell my students that the first step in learning is the intention. You don’t need to give a lot of time to get refreshed by art. Just join a weekend workshop conducted by Shippi’s Art at Sydney Community College or Ku-ring-Gai Art Centre and get the taste of Art in a weekend!

3. Can you share some tips for budding artists.

As I mentioned before art needs an intention and so I would surely like to emphasise for all budding artists to do art regularly. Paint anything around you, a cup and saucer or a basket of fruits or sketch or paint the cityscape next time you stroll around the QVB (Queen Victoria Building) in Sydney city. It’s that simple and you’ll realise you are developing greatly as an artist. Being an artist is a long lonely road but perseverance always pays. Join art societies and enjoy discussions on art and develop new skills.

Feel free to check out her website http://shippisart.com.au

Meet our featured beauty with brains Sonia Kaur, a trainer and team leader based in Sydney, Australia. She is a strong, financially and emotionally independent woman, who has achieved a great work-life balance. Here is her story.

“My name is Sonia. I am a qualified trainer and assessor for ‘Early Childhood Education and Care’ and I also work as a team leader for a reputed RTO (Registered Training Organisation). I believe that life does not require us to be the best, but to only try our best. This lesson has been followed by me, both personally and professionally, throughout my life and I have achieved my goals through hard work. I am an ordinary working woman who has to maintain a good balance between work and family daily and I get my strength from my positive outlook towards life as well as from my family, who has always been with me, through thick and thin. People often ask how I balance between being a management team leader at work and doing household chores on a daily basis. The answer to this is that difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations and I try to be a positive role model to my two beautiful daughters. I want them to be educated, independent and to be able to keep the love in their family alive.

Being a team leader and trainer assessor in a RTO teaches me to be a mentor as well as to be patient in various aspects and situations at my work. I apply this to my family life as well. I started my life as a new migrant just like many others. Being highly qualified overseas, I had to start from the base in Australia, but I strongly believe that no one can change my life, and no one can do it for me, so I did it for myself. To achieve this, I had to study continuously, and I must say that my husband was the one who had full faith in me and I cannot thank God enough for giving me what I have today.

I am very positive and optimistic and believe that whatever happens, happens for the best. You just have to face whatever comes your way and keep smiling. My parents always taught me to give my best and that being positive is the key to success.

I am very independent, not only financially but also emotionally.

‘A lot of people are afraid to say what they want, that’s why they don’t get what they want.’ – Madonna

I think I am very clear in this perspective as I know my goals and I will work hard to achieve my goals.

People often praise me for being elegantly dressed on a regular basis with a happy and smiling face. In reply to this, I would like to say that you need to learn to love yourself before loving others which I started by achieving my weight goal. It makes me emotional realising that I inspire students and friends unknowingly and they message me to continue spreading motivation around. If I can bring a smile on someone’s face it means that I’ve achieved something big.

I am generally the type of person who forgives people easily. I believe in quality not quantity, when it comes to how people interact with me, and support me through every phase. I am enthusiastic on going outside and being socially active, but I also balance the challenges at work and home, taking pride in everything I do, at all times.

There is no force more powerful than women who are determined to rise and I have proven that by achieving my weight goal and my ultimate work goal.

My message to all women is that a beautiful face and a perfect body will change with age but a beautiful and pure soul will always remain beautiful. By doing good for others you will have a positive outcome for yourself.”

Meet our featured beauty with brains Roxanne Wilkins Gately, an entrepreneur based in Sydney, Australia. She is a truly inspirational woman who refused to let adversity defeat her. Here is her story.

“I have never believed that having brains is always about being academic, as I was never academic, but I knew I could succeed in a way that was more creative and heart-felt.

Though my journey was one that I had not planned, it certainly took me on a path of learning, and educating my heart.

Being young (24), naïve and with little confidence, I met a man who adored me – with no idea he could be an alcoholic, not until we had our first child, did this come to light. I thought I could change him, support him and it would be ok, but it was hell. He slowly sucked away my energy, my confidence and my joy.

I had my beautiful baby girl (Holly) who filled my heart, and I nurtured her and protected her through it. There was no physical violence, it was anger, control and just words – but there is no ‘just words’. Words are powerful and bruise you on the inside.

Of course there were good times too, I would often see the man I fell in love with, and also see the broken man, that I wanted to help heal. We separated a few times, and I was on my own. It was peaceful and I gained strength and more confidence, but I always fell for the ‘I have changed’ line, and we were back together.

He tried to stop drinking, and I believed he had when we decided to have a second child, and our big girl, Holly, was now 4. I was two months pregnant when he walked in drunk with vodka, and told me he hadn’t stopped, he was just hiding it, and he couldn’t hide it anymore. He was crying and asking for help but the next day he forgot it all.

There came an afternoon, when I was 3 months pregnant, and took longer than he expected to pick up Holly from a friend’s house. He flew into a rage and told me to leave! I pulled all of what courage and dignity I had, together, to go to my parents’ house again.

This time, I stayed there. And yes, when you stand up, and leave, it makes them angrier. It was a horrible time between me and him. There were relentless phone calls, threats of him taking his own life, or mine, or our daughter’s, not much fun when you are going through the last part of your pregnancy, alone.

I soldiered on, supporting my daughter and her heart. I was looking at all the ways to help my child through this, and I did. She is so sweet and kind and emotionally intelligent. She saved money to buy things to make gift bags to hand out personally to the homeless!

When the time came, he wanted to be there for the birth, he was kind and gentle and supportive, as he can be, but it didn’t last, he didn’t visit often when I was in hospital. And I went back to my parents’ house with my new baby on my own, something I had never dreamt of.

The battles of being a single parent, both physical and psychological, are constant, and so hard. You can feel alone and isolated at times. But I honestly did an amazing job, I knew that my children needed and deserved a safe and happy place to grow and enjoy their childhood. I had so much love to give, and the girls lapped it up.

This is where I found myself, and my calling. I became a business woman, an entrepreneur!

I began designing my own unique product for children. Nurture Cards ~ Positive Thought Cards. I came up with 40 supportive and loving and positive quotes, drew the pictures to match the quotes, found a printer, and ordered 1000 boxes! I created a website and registered my business! The cards were designed to help children create an inner self-belief, self-worth and a positive way of thinking from a young age. Just what I needed when I was a child, and what I felt would help children going through a divorce, or bullying or any negative life situation.

I then put a lot of energy into somehow getting my new product ‘out there’, with little finance, working a job during the day, and working on my business after the girls were in bed. Finding avenues to advertise and sell my newly created product was hard work and I often second guessed myself, that if this was something that people would like or even understand. But I could see their value and it was my passion, I knew that they could really help young children in an important way, so I kept on going. If only I knew how exhausted my body was.

I crashed into depression, with anxiety, when my youngest daughter was about 5. My partner, who I had left, had gone into re-hab and was now 2 years sober, and going to AA (Alcoholics Anonymous). He was changing into a better man. He was now in a place to support me, and he did.

I was so unwell, my whole body was physically exhausted, and I just cried for no reason. It took a hundred doctors and lots of medical tests to find the answer. It is an awful feeling when you don’t know why you are falling apart.

With medication, I did get better and found my feet again. The support of my loving family was amazing, and relentless. I was unwell for so long. What my husband would say, that really helped, was ‘It is not going to be forever, I know it feels like it, but it’s not forever.’ With this I could look forward to the future, I felt I had hope.

Ten years later, I was still struggling with my health, it turned to Chronic Fatigue so bad, that I slept most of the day and was too tired to think or feel. I would hug my girls and feel nothing. It was hell, a living coma.

I struggled to keep on top of my business, but somehow I did what I could to keep it going.

I have moved through that now, and doing better. My partner is now eleven years sober, such a fantastic effort and we married 4 years ago. Just to forgive and work through the past was something else! This ‘Happily Ever After’ is hard work!

My girls are so kind, loving, thoughtful, strong, independent, wise, fun and funny. I am so proud of them and myself.

My business is finally successful, I have sold 5,000 boxes of Nurture Cards, including international sales. The feedback I get is just so heart warming,so wonderful and means so much to me. My cards are being used by counsellors, teachers, refugee supporters and disability services.

I had a strong belief in myself, and what I had created. From a naïve young girl, I have come so far. It has certainly not been an easy journey, but I can see it has taught me so much, strengthened me, and helped me to find confidence in who I am and what I can achieve.”

Feel free to check out her website http://www.nurturecards.com.au

Meet our featured beauty with brains Simita Kapoor Sehgal, a dentist and business owner based in Sydney, Australia. She is truly inspirational as she has overcome many challenges to reach where she is today. She is the owner of a dental practice (https://www.winstonhillsdental.com.au) as well as the founder of a Ladies club (Dancing Moms Club). Here is her story.

“I moved to Australia from India eight years ago, after marriage. I left my nice job and chance to do postgraduation when I moved here. What lay ahead was a life of struggle.

I worked as a Dental assistant and did night shifts in Coles (supermarket) while I prepared for my exams. The exams are very expensive and also tough to clear. I worked day and night. I practiced on a mannequin for the practical exam.

I gained knowledge from another dentist who I used to work for. With God’s grace and my family’s support I cleared my exams. It was one of my biggest accomplishments and I was in seventh heaven.

But my struggle wasn’t over yet. As difficult as the exam was, it was even harder to get a job. I applied for many jobs but didn’t get any reply. I did not even get a chance to give an interview but I wasn’t disheartened.

I just told myself to try harder. I called up different surgeries and just walked into some, asking for any position they could offer me. I got lucky and two surgeries hired me. I also got a job at Westmead hospital. I gained a lot of experience while working at the hospital. Then I had my daughter. That was the best time of my life.

But the struggle to get a job started again and this time there was the added struggle of finding good childcare for my daughter. I got a few part time positions. My daughter was just six months old when I got a job in Goulburn (Regional city in New South Wales, Australia). My husband used to drive me half way and then I used to take the train but couldn’t do that for long. So I finally decided to move out of Sydney and started working in Nowra (Town in New South Wales, Australia). Every weekend I would drive back to Sydney as my husband was still here. Monday morning at 6 AM I would go back to Nowra to drop my daughter off at childcare and then go to work.

For two years we lived in two different houses and I traveled six hours up and down the highway and I enjoyed it. But finally I told myself I had enough and I am going to open my own practice and move back to Sydney.

So here I opened my practice in Winston Hills (a suburb of Sydney). I still have a lot of challenges to go through and still have a lot to learn but I am proud of my achievements. I also run a ladies club called ‘Dancing Mom’s Club’ where I help ladies who enjoy dancing to come together and form groups and we organise a party every year.

Life is a struggle for everyone but you should never give up. Every woman should have her own identity. She should fulfil her dreams and aspirations. She should convert every stone in her path to a stepping stone, and build a pathway to success using those stones. That’s my advice to all women.”

Meet our featured beauty with brains Ruchita Maheshwari, a dietitian based in Mumbai, India. She is the founder of Healthy Mantra (www.healthymantra.co) which is an online healthcare centre. She helps people lose weight in an easy, healthy and balanced way with the help of delicious diet plans. She doesn’t believe in starving, gadgets, weight loss pills or powders or a crash diet. She helps her clients lose weight naturally without any compulsory physical activity. Here is an interview with her.

1. Tell us a bit about yourself and what did it take to reach where you are today?

I was born in a very simple family. I always wanted to do something innovative which would make me happy from inside. I always loved experimenting with food and make innovative and healthy dishes. So I decided to help people lose weight with healthy yummy diet plans which are unique. My journey has been bumpy from the beginning but good things never come to you easily anyway and you have to work hard to achieve them. I kept working hard and never gave up, even in tough situations, which made me stronger day by day. Hence I am where I am today.

2. How do you define healthy diet? What exactly is a healthy diet, according to you?

A healthy diet is a diet which will not only help you to lose/ maintain weight but it will also help in the improvement of your medical conditions and make you feel good from the inside. It should take into account your current lifestyle, ethics, medical conditions and nutritional needs. Most importantly it should be sustainable. It should include carbohydrates, fats and proteins. At Healthy Mantra, we teach you the art of an easy, healthy lifestyle. We also teach you how to eat the right way as well as how to control your portions.

3. What’s one piece of health advice you would give to our readers?

Don’t just sit and think about achieving a healthier lifestyle. Make up your mind and bring your thoughts to action!

4. How do we conquer unhealthy food cravings?

Well we at Healthy Mantra have a solution for that. We have designed more than a thousand healthy recipes including pasta, pizza, burgers etc, so that you can give in to your cravings and still stay healthy. Also one of the keys of our programs is that clients lose weight even when they eat out at restaurants, have alcohol, travel as well as if they have to attend parties, weddings etc as we have unique detailed guides to help everyone. We also have maintenance and cheat guides.

Meet our featured beauty with brains Palak Farah Gupta, a 20 year old model and accountant based in Sydney, Australia. She is also the reigning Miss India Global 2018 and Miss Talented 2018. Here is her story.

“I am not the prettiest girl out there, or the tallest, or the most talented, but I have learnt to be more confident in myself and trust that people have my back. Whether it be high school, family, work or university, I have built and found my support system that helps me get up every morning and achieve my best every day. I wasn’t always like this, but it only took one day to turn my life around from all the negativity I was attracting, the bullying, the crying, the fear and anger. The Art Of Living Foundation has been one of the best things to happen to my life, around ten years ago. Doing yoga and meditation every day keeps me sane and fit to conquer my professional and personal world. All it takes is for you to push things yourself, to give yourself a wake up call and say ‘This does not mean it’s the end of the world. Life goes on, people move on, rumours get forgotten. You change for the better as the world evolves.’

I am thankful to a number of people throughout my life for making me the young woman I am today (especially my parents). I could not have achieved being a law and accountancy student, an accountant by profession, a model, Miss India Global 2018 and Miss Talented 2018 if I didn’t have a positive outlook every time I faced a challenge. I really hope I can be a role model to young adults like myself and to motivate them to always keep trying, because if you don’t believe in yourself, no one else will.”

We asked her why does she think pageants are important in today’s society. Here is her answer.

“I believe pageants are not just about the beauty, height or weight of a woman but rather gives women of all ages a chance to showcase their talents, capabilities and confidence to the world. Thanks to the whole team of Miss/ Mrs. India Global 2018, we are all able to embrace womanhood starting from a young age. Pageants like these make us believe in ourselves. They give us the confidence of achieving more if we try. We don’t have to be just stuck in our duties as mothers, sisters, daughters etc, but we can also do something that we are passionate about.”