The 12 Secrets of Highly Successful Women. Gail McMeekin
internationally, but not every woman wants to make some of the sacrifices I have made.
Gillian Drake, serial entrepreneur, editor, writer, and publisher of many books and the Cape Arts Review, real estate designer and developer, and now a medical intuitive:
To me, success is living on your own terms, being who you truly are, being your authentic self. I know that the standard definition of success means a high paying, prestigious job, the perfect marriage, a beautiful home—the American Dream, I guess. But that's not for me. I need freedom, independence, and a series of creative projects to work on in order to be happy.
(You should see her villa in Italy that she redesigned and built.)
Lisa Sasevich, known as “The Queen of Sales Conversion,” author of The Invisible Close, and leader of large workshops like Speak to Sell Bootcamp:
. . . The reason I feel successful the most is really that I feel blessed to have healthy children, a loving husband, and work that is meaningful that makes a difference. As I discovered a few years ago, my blessing is to help experts who are making a difference to get their message out—people who love what they do but hate the sales part—and last year my business took a quantum leap from $130K in sales to 2.2 million in sales. I also feel successful because I can be an inspiration to other women who also have a busy life, to be able to really create the lifestyle of their dreams and make a huge contribution at the same time.
Victoria Moran, author of ten books, including Living a Charmed Life, spiritual-life and holistic health coach:
I see my success as moving forward each day as a spiritual being having an earthly experience. I believe that this life is extremely important. I don't have the idea of “Oh well, you know, work and the body and things like that are physical so they don't matter.” They matter tremendously. But when I think of success it has to be both—the here and now and the forever after.
Sheri McConnell, CEO of Smart Women's Institute of Entrepreneurial Learning and author of several books, including Smart Women Know Their Why:
Western entrepreneurial women will save the world and our mission is to create positive change in the world—making the world a better place.
Caroll Michels, career coach, artist advocate, author of the classic book, How to Survive and Prosper as an Artist, and creator of the ArtistHelpNetwork website:
I'm happy. I mean it is just as simple as that. I'm happier than I have ever been in my whole life and I just wake up happy.
Chellie Campbell, creator of the Financial Stress Reduction® Workshop and author of The Wealthy Spirit and Zero to Zillionaire:
The number one thing I want is a business that I run, not one that runs me. I want work to get me to a life, not be my life. I want my life to be beautiful. I want to have a lot of time off for fun, to enjoy the ride of it.
Brenda Michaels, co-host of Conscious Talk Radio, emotional and spiritual coach, and author of an upcoming book called The Gift of Cancer: Awakening the Healer Within:
First and foremost, I define success through relationship with myself, and how well I take care of myself. How well I nurture myself and how well I allow myself to honor my feelings and my needs, and my willingness to bring balance and harmony into my life. I believe this is important because we can't truly give to others what we withhold from ourselves. Living this way allows me to give love in such a way that there is peace and integrity in my personal relationships, as well as in my professional relationships.
Jeanne Carbonetti, watercolor painter and teacher, owner of Crow Hill Gallery, and author of many books, including The Heart of Creativity:
Yes, I do feel successful and for me, success is doing what I love and being able to make a living at it and I am able to do that. It also means feeling like I am fulfilling my purpose in life. I have a strong sense that everything in my life was guiding me to be devoted to teaching the power of beauty and that's what I spend my time doing.
Dr. Elizabeth Stewart, MD, physician in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota and researcher on fibroid treatments:
I do feel successful. For me it means being able to do work that is interesting and challenging and to have some element of creative fulfillment as well, and also being able to balance that with life outside of work.
Deborah George Tsakoumakis, founder/owner of Wire a Cake/HB Bakery Connections®, a company that sends cakes all over the world, including to many of our troops overseas:
Yes, I feel successful. And as far as success, we have to define success as not exactly measured in dollars, but rather success in knowing that I have accomplished something that has had a positive effect these past twenty-three years when I started the cake business. I see the effects that my cakes have had with respect to the families that receive them, especially my military families. I send families a picture of the cakes I ship and I'll get emails back from an army wife, for example, and she will say, “I'm in tears right now, looking at this cake, and knowing that I can send a cake to my husband who is deployed, has made all the difference in the world.
FALLING IN LOVE WITH YOUR WORK
A few years ago, I planned a wonderful Mediterranean cruise for my husband and me. It had been a lifelong dream and it was time for us to have the experience. I was charmed by the cliffs on the island of Capri, the beauty of the French Riviera, and the periwinkle blue and white buildings on Santorini. It was an amazing adventure to places of staggering beauty. It was an investment in the joy of travel.
On the cruise ship, I met an incredible pianist, Pearl Kaufman. Since the publication of The 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women, a number of people have said that they wish I had interviewed more musicians, so I took the opportunity to interview Pearl. Pearl performed on the ship three times, and each performance sparked a standing ovation with cheering. People fell all over each other in the line to buy her CDs. She was adored, and she plays on cruises all over the world to enthusiastic audiences (talk about a great job!). As Pearl said to me, “everyone should experience the joy of being cheered——there's nothing like it.” Pearl decided to become a pianist while watching a movie at age eight, and thankfully, no one tried to talk her out of it.
She received a music and scholastic scholarship to college, played for Igor Stravinsky, and is known for her famous movie performances with Henry Mancini and John Williams, among others. She loves all kinds of music, and believes strongly in its inspirational qualities. I asked her if she had any special favorites and she had an intriguing answer: “I'm like Elizabeth Taylor—I fall in love with everything I play.” Pearl says she does not get blocked or bored and never plans to retire—just slow down a bit to enjoy her grandchildren. Her advice for aspiring creatives: “Go where the action is. You can't stay home and expect your work to be seen or heard. You have to make the effort.”
Love is an essential success strategy for any endeavor. Doing work you love captivates your life force and enthusiasm. If you are settling for doing work you hate, you are missing this joy of full engagement. Falling in love with our work, over and over again, fulfills us like a great marriage. Our work is a potent relationship, and love is an essential lubricant. Pearl's love affair with her piano and its possibilities reminds us all that expressing love through our creative work is a peak experience of life.
CHALLENGE
Spend some time this month “remembering” what captivates you about your work and renew your vows.
MANAGING HIGH CREATIVITY
Highly creative women often have special aptitudes that give rise to creative intelligence, a superior ability for innovative thinking and application. In today's marketplace, our ability to think differently about problems and solve them with original and novel solutions is a key to success. Highly creative women can have problems if they don't see themselves or their abilities clearly. In my experience, some of the strengths and