Last week I participated in a topic close to my heart and the work I do with women.

The 'Feeling Fearless: How to Be Brave in Business' conference was organised and presented by a group of ten women collectively known as The Swagger Project.  It was an excellent day where new and experienced entrepreneurs were able to network with and learn from those who have been highly successful. 

I loved the bold, sassy, down-to-earth approach of the women involved, the inclusivity they modelled and their courageous and disarming openness when it came to sharing their challenges, successes and failures. As the old saying goes, "there was no lie in their fire".

The team's integrated approach meant that while their business areas, presentation topics and personal styles were different, their shared underlying message rapidly created a safe and powerful space for everyone to be honest, vulnerable - and step up in their own lives. Their essential take-home messages:

• No matter how apparently successful and 'together' we might seem, we all experience the same basic mobius loop of ridiculous moments, negative beliefs and fears running around in the background. 
• The crucial factor influencing our success is - yes, darn it - always ourselves. 
• We each have the power to deal with the fear and claim our magnificence and our vulnerability. 
• We need to be ready to deal with the fact that the more the more we step up, the more exposed and challenged we will be. In case you thought it'd get easier, it won't!!
• Supporting each other and having role models and a positive environment are vital elements. 
• The great news is that it's up to each of us.
  WE increase our likelihood of success by
  - committing to live our big life
  - by dealing with what's in the way
  - by connecting with a coach, mentor or similar
  - by having a community of women who'll recognise and   BE A STAND FOR YOUR GREATNESS. 

Thank you, Swagger team. Great work. I look forward to future events.

#swaggerproject, #unstoppability, #vulnerability, #couragecatalyst 

I buy a magazine maybe once every few years. Other than that, well, it's an occasional quick read in waiting rooms and 'The Renegade Collective' magazine hasn't been one I'd heard of or noticed lying around. 

Then last week I met the magazine's Editor-in-Chief, Lisa Messenger, and heard her keynote presentation at a Brisbane event , "Feeling Fearless: How to Be Brave in Business". The day was created for women entrepreneurs by Queensland group, The Swagger Project. 

At the end of the day I made a beeline for the nearest newsagent and stood in line to purchase my first glossy in a long time! 

Lisa shared about her own story, the phenomenal growth of The Collective and her suite of businesses known as the Messenger Group... and her messages for other women entrepreneurs.

In this post I'm going to focus primarily on Lisa's messages, epitomised by those on the right.  

If you'd to learn more about her own story, her path and her businesses (and I encourage you to do so)...

1. First, stop and look directly above you. I'm serious. Turn your eyes and your head skywards, and look upwards at a very steep angle. THAT is the trajectory we're talking about!! 

2. To read the why, how, what of her journey, visit:

• LinkedIn 
• an interview with Lisa on a NSW Government DPI website
• Australian Business Women's Network for a collection of Lisa's posts
• The Messenger Group and The Collective magazine websites
• and consult Google - there's a lot on the web.

I loved Lisa's combination of realism and indomitable enthusiasm, her extreme courage, her unflinching honesty and willingness to put herself under the spotlight and to be the change. And  her straight-down-the-line call to others to: 

• do the work we need to on ourselves
• be ourselves - completely, including being vulnerable
• get into action fast and fail lots fast (right) 
• learn to get yourself (and your idolising of others) out of the way - and then do it!

It can be SO easy to hear these words and think yes, I've ticked that box...yet not actually LISTEN to them, believe them, or take on what they would mean if we really - REALLY - took them seriously. I mean REALLY.

I practise and teach courage and unstoppability. I know what it takes.  

I was awed by the level of courage and self determination that Lisa operates at. 

The way she challenges her to new levels on a daily and by-the-minute basis. And she is clear that noone is better than anyone else. It's simply up to each of us to create our life.

This tweet from Lisa seems to sum i t up perfectly. She quotes Robin Sharma:

"Don't live the same year
75 times 
and call it 
a life. 

Lisa's own commentary on this: 

"Personally I'm going for at least 90 and every single one of them I'm shaking to a new level. Loving the journey!!"

...and you'd better believe it!

I mentioned on my Facebook page my pleasure and my uneasiness at posting the front cover image of The Renegade Collective's current Issue 13 (and below).

While the cover fits well enough among the world's top glossy fashion mags, the magazine itself challenges the status quo, creating the magazine as an outside-the-box publication that brings together edgy and creative thinkers and entrepreneurs making a difference in the world. Since launch in 2013 it's distributed in over 30 countries. This is evidence of a game changer at work. I suggest it's certainly worth a look. 

It's also worth taking Lisa's advice and her demonstrated practice seriously - for yourself. Ideas for getting started are included below.

4. It's incredibly enabling-creating to step up and be your greatest self when you know someone has your back. When you have a wing woman, a mentor, a tribe THERE FOR YOU and cheering you to be fully you. BUT it has to be a person/tribe who will be A 100% STAND FOR YOUR GREATNESS, and nothing less.  You'll know in your heart if you have that there for you. 

If you don't, CALL IT TO YOU. CREATE IT. You'll probably know the way that works best for you.
Among the options: hang out on my Facebook page for daily booster shots. And you're welcome to contact me for a short complimentary focused laser chat or to see what Unstoppability sessions or are available.

I look forward to your shares and feedback - on this blog and on the Facebook page.

Women Howling at the Moon (WHATM) is Brisbane's business & project networking initiative for passionate, outside-the-box, make-a-difference women who value learning and connecting.
For September, in addition to powerful networking and a community who'll be a stand for you, WHATM offers...

THIS BRILLIANT DOUBLE SPECIAL
This is a uniquely integrated training presented by respected Brisbane social media expert, trainer and practitioner Amanda Hoffman (MyOfficeBooks) (left). Find Amanda also on Pinterest, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.

(You can read more about Amanda in an earlier blog post.)

The evening offers: 

• The most effective principles and layout to use for establishing or improving your LinkedIn profile. 
  
• Clarity into how Pinterest fits in and, even better, how you can use Pinterest at a business level to really grow your following. 
• The exact steps to apply the LinkedIn approach to setting up Pinterest - resulting in more time, less mental clutter and greater productivity as you effectively link and manage both environments. 
• A plan for how you can use Picmonkey and Hootsuite as your social media assistants to keep yourself sane!

Watching the workshop participants gain a sense of Instagram's possibilities felt like...watching pure transformation in action!

Annie O'Moon-Browning (at right, holding the phone) runs My Health Sanctuary, a naturopathic clinic in leafy Bardon, Brisbane. 

Thanks to the dynamic Instagram+Annie combo, many more couples are now beginning to hear about the natural fertility and preconception healthcare services her clinic provides. To assist this to happen, Annie is posting images and messages 1-2 times per day and gaining a growing number of followers. Well done Annie! 

Find Annie on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram (@fertilityhelp)

Other participants included Lani Morris, world authority on the implementation of the Map of Meaning, skyped into the workshop from New Zealand where she is based. So far, Lani can be found on LinkedIn and Facebook. 

Workshop presenter Jasmine Birks (Media Me Marketing) did a superb job ensuring that every participant - no matter our level of competence on arrival - finished the workshop with confidence, a working understanding, some 'insider' wisdom AND ideas for incorporating Instagram into their marketing strategy. 

Jasmine, thank you so much for your generosity, your knowledge and your great facilitation! Jasmine can be found on LinkedIn, Pinterest,  Facebook and of course on Instagram under the name @mediame

Wendy Rogers (left), director of Pipic Films, is a seasoned filmmaker who has produced films for Queensland Health, the World Health Organisation and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Wendy's current project is a documentary about nature refuges and reserves under threat from coal and gas mining, starting with Bimblebox Nature Reserve in Central Qld.

Whereas social media activity until recently consisted of occasional facebook posts. Wendy is now using Instagram to share stills, short clips and related text to build a early and dynamic community of supporters and to set up for crowd funding the project. 

To connect with or support the project in other ways, visit Wendy on Facebook,  LinkedIn and/or Instagram  (@pipicfilms).  Note that Instagram requires you to register (free) to view images. 

The August monthly event focuses on Instagram; then in September there'll be a relook at LinkedIn. For details, check out the last blog post or visit the website Women Howling at the Moon.
Warmly
Chris (Chris Henderson courage catalyst)