WOW Woman of Worth: Moms In Business 15 Success Stories with Soul

By Christine Awram

Motherhood is messy, brilliant, overwhelming ... and full of so much love it can stop your heart in its tracks. When you add in a career or business, the juggling act stretches you to new heights. Sometimes it brings you to your knees, but you keep your heart open and you keep going - because you believein you, and your tribe has your back.

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Inspire Higher Consulting Inc.
• Release date: Feb 17, 2019
• ISBN: 9781775094975

Book preview

Published by Inspire Higher Consulting Inc. February 2019

ISBN: 9781775094968

ISBN: 9781775094975 (e-book)

Copyright © 2019 by Christine Awram

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher. This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

Editor: Danielle Anderson

Typeset: Greg Salisbury

Book Cover Design: Judith Mazari - www.judithmazari.net

DISCLAIMER: Readers of this publication agree that neither Christine Awram, nor her publisher will be held responsible or liable for damages that may be alleged as resulting directly or indirectly from the use of this publication. Neither the publisher nor the author can be held accountable for the information provided by, or actions, resulting from, accessing these resources.

This book is dedicated to Every Mom, because in reality all moms are working moms. Thank you for shaping the next generation, and we honour you with love and respect.

The WOW Credo

I am a Woman Of Worth

My worthiness is inherent and infinite –

it is my natural state

My value is a reflection of who I AM –

and I am magnificent

Who I am always makes a difference –

because I MATTER

I am successful –

coming from my true power which lies within

I am empowered –

making choices from the clarity of my heart, mind and spirit

I am an empowered leader –

impacting others from quiet acts of kindness to leading a nation

I am abundant –

manifesting success from my core values

I cherish my relationships –

they are part of what makes me strong

I am a Human BEing –

as my BEing is of far more significance than my DOing

I play, laugh, and bring beauty and light into the world –

I am RADIANT

At times I despair and I weep –

when I feel the pain of a world that has momentarily gone mad

Yet even when I tremble through a dark night of the soul,

I renew my faith and my courage in a single heartbeat because my spirit is indomitable

I feel, and I care, and I am passionately alive –

with a heart as open as the universe

I AM A WOMAN OF WORTH, AND I AM GLORIOUS

Acknowledgements

This entire book could be filled with the names of all the people I want to thank, for the many ways you’ve all helped inspire this book to become a reality. Heartfelt gratitude to the tremendous community I call my WOW Tribe. You rock.

To the fabulous females who are this book’s contributing authors, you have staggered me with your willingness to show up 100%. Each and every one of you share my burning desire to make our world a more joyful and empowered place, and you’ve been the most courageous and extraordinary women to collaborate with. It has been an honour.

To my publisher Julie Salisbury, for taking my hand every step of the way while sharing your brilliance and making this adventure fun. You shine a very bright light my friend.

To my family and closest friends, you are the inner circle of my Tribe. I have no words to express how grateful I am for your love, and that you always have my back.

And especially to David Samuelson, my beloved Manly Man. You always believe in me, and see the best in me. I couldn’t have done this without your love, faith and support. You are my heart.

Contents

Foreword: Luisa Marshall

WOW is Mom Upside-Down: Christine Awram

Six Degrees of Personal and Professional Learning: Tawyna Ritco

You Are Amazing: Kristy Powers

Side by Side: A Work-Life Balance Success Story: Lorna Boyle

Past and Present: Shelly Lynn Hughes

Finding Your Inner Strength: Christine Mack

Freedom to Succeed: Allison J. Bran

Getting to What Matters Most: Lucie Honey-Ray

Daughters Become Mothers:

DeeAnn Lensen, Nicole Slenning, and Kirsten Slenning

An Ode to the Empty Nest: Melanie ter Borg

The Balanced Mom: Michelle Bernier

Happiness is the Only Real Success: Christina Weizmann

A New Perspective on Priorities: Jennifer Nagel

Truth Be Told: Paula Blamey

Defining Mom Success: Sandy Gerber

Foreword

By Luisa Marshall

The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.

Mark Twain

My birthday falls during the stressful holiday season, and for the last sixty-plus years I have spent this time feeling overwhelmed as I try to picture what’s next for me. However, I stop worrying as soon as my attention turns to my daughters, who are still living with my husband and I. While other parents want their kids out of their sight soon after high school graduation, my husband Steve and I have very different views – well, at least I know I do. I have always wanted our children to live with us until we get old, really old. We try to bribe them to stay with free internet, cable, sushi, supplements, skin care products, a car, and most of all, Wi-Fi. But truthfully, what makes our family dynamic work is the never-ending bonding that we encourage. We have always ensured that we are all equal in expressing our views and sentiments, which allows us to truly know and love each other as the individuals that we are.

We are a very musical family. Personally, I am a performer, singer, Tina Turner tribute artist, TV host, and producer. What a blessing it has been to be in a band where my husband Steve is the drummer, my rock goddess Kimi, my eldest at thirty-one years old, is the lead guitarist, and my sweet baby actor/songwriter/singer Zenia, my youngest at nineteen years old, does the back-up vocals. People often ask me how I could work so closely with my family. Truth be told, it’s not easy, but the feeling of making loud, captivating, and infectious music together is a real high for me and outweighs any potential negatives. We have our crazy moments of laughter, arguments, brainstorming, makeovers, pigging out, and shopping aside from making beautiful music performances together, but I am so lucky to have my daughters working and supporting me on stage with their enormous talent. Every performance with my family is a special gift from God.

One of the biggest challenges we faced as a family is when my family and I encountered some online bullying. There were people in the local Filipino Canadian community that we didn’t support because of what we believed to be bad behaviour on their part, which came about through several allegations from multiple victims. To make a long story short, we helped the victims expose these wrongdoings, and soon we faced some backlash through online communities. This was one of the darkest times of my life, mostly because of what it did to my girls. Zenia was crying when she read the bullying comments while Kimi was enraged and ready to fight. I hugged them tightly and assured them that none of this would kill my spirit to keep helping others. I helped them understand that no matter how successful you are, and even if you do the right thing, you are bound to be ridiculed, criticized, and bullied by others on social media. I told them that it is our job to rise above and stand for what is right, and I encouraged my girls to express their views and beliefs, to have a moral responsibility to help others, and to never compromise their integrity over money or material things.

A few years later, we decided to make another positive impact on the world through our Hope Beyond Thunderdome tour, which travelled all over Canada to raise awareness about veterans who are suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. At that time there were very few people standing up for our veterans, so this felt like a very good thing to do. Once we started on this journey, the pain and stress of dealing with all the bullying just seemed to fade away.

In 2016, my daughters helped us make noise about how PTSD affects veterans and their families, and at the same time raised funds benefitting any veteran with PTSD. This was truthfully one of the best times of my life, as I got to see my children becoming a part of a cause we all believed in. We are proud of what we accomplished as a family, and we are overjoyed with the special bonding time that we had during our travel across Canada.

The best that mothers can do for their children is teach the right attitude whenever possible. If your children get a little snarly, it’s okay to shake them up a bit. The worst a parent can do is to patronize their kids and encourage their negativity, self-pity, whining, bad behaviour, defensiveness, and bad manners.

Personally, I always remind my children not to worry about what they don’t have, but to instead develop what they do have and work effectively to reach their goals. I try to teach them that it’s okay to fail, and it’s okay to revive goals and make new plans after a failure. If my daughters get a bit anxious about the future of their dreams and goals, I smile and share the many lessons that I’ve learned over the past sixty-plus years. I tell them, and every one of you, to never give up on your dreams. To work hard and smart, but to also be realistic. To always keep God or the universe close to your heart and soul, because this will open up a healthy relationship with yourself. If your plans fail, focus on moving forward by making other plans. Leave no room for feeling sorry for yourself. Try to make yourself better and better each day. Embrace all the challenges and punch away the fears. Eat well, sleep well, live well, and laugh out loud. Love the people who love and support you. Make sure that you have purpose in life to help and inspire others in making this world a better place.

I often get asked how we do it; how our family manages to get along when we are working together. Truth be told, I don’t have a specific answer. All I know is that we always rise to the challenge, make compromises on what is best for the show, open our minds to suggestions and criticisms, mindfully study our decisions, and exercise the steps we need to take to further our professional growth.

It’s been thirty-one years since I gave birth to my eldest daughter Kimi, my little bundle of love who loves me so much yet puts me in my place if I’m not getting enough exercise, not resting enough, or not eating well. Sometimes I have been so exhausted that I had to take a much-needed rest in order to effectively take care of more important things. But really, the most important thing in my life is taking care of my daughters and being their light in times of sadness and uncertainty. What a pleasure it has been that my youngest, Zenia, also welcomed my assistance in her work as an actor, singer, songwriter. No matter how busy I am, I try my best to engage in their lives, career, hobbies, and boy troubles to the best of my abilities.

I feel so honoured to share some of my life as a mother in this book, but the little bit of information I’m sharing here is such a small part of my family’s lives together. Simple moments like recognizing the efforts and love of my daughters make me feel like Supermom. I wished I had more super powers to have super energy to make my super purpose better this new year.

As I sit here pondering, wondering, thinking how my life has been inspired over the years, I think about how everyday is a love story with my family, my career, and the life-changing advocacies I take part in. I’m blessed to have a loving, understanding, generous husband, as well as the two most lovely, caring and talented daughters that rock my life. My world, both personal and business, is better for having my children in it, and this book will prove that I am not alone in this sentiment.

I hope the stories in this book inspire both moms and dads in business. That these parents realize how important it is to engage in our children’s lives, no matter how busy it gets. That our children will also us give the same degree of love as we have given to them. And I am certain that all of these will become true, because the universe celebrates WOW moms!

To all the moms out there, there’s a quote from Vince Lombardi that we should all remember: Some of us will do our jobs well and some will not, but we will be judged by only one thing – the result. So, let’s get it right. Love being a mom. Be a role model to your children. Be generous. Be spectacular. Be extraordinary. Be the amazing mom that we all know you can be.

About Luisa Marshall

Born and raised in Manila, Philippines, Luisa fell in love with theatre after landing the role of Mary Magdalene in her high school’s production of Jesus Christ Superstar. She graduated university with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communications before pursuing her true passion: singing. This paved the way to performances with the popular group Ambivalent Crowd and her own band Hall of Fame in Manila, Japan and Malaysia.

In 1989, Luisa and her band came to Canada touring North America. Her uncanny resemblance to Tina Turner paved the way for her world class tribute act, receiving rave reviews and standing ovations all over the world. Luisa was invited on Oprah twice and made a much-talked about special appearance on the ELLEN Show.

Believing in the importance of giving back, Luisa performed in various fundraising events, including a gruelling show tour for the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Bosnia and Sarajevo, performing for the Multinational Force and Observers in Israel and Egypt, and raising awareness for veterans with PTSD. In 2013, she was voted as one of the Top Canadian Immigrants.

Luisa is a mother of two, Kimi and Zenia, married to Steve Marshall, a singer, advocate, producer, tv host of SMC Channel 4’s Simply The Best, The Luisa Marshall Show and writer/publisher for MetroVan Independent News Online.

www.luisamarshall.com

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WOW is MOM Upside Down

by Christine Awram, Founder

Woman Of Worth WOW Worldwide

"I don’t understand any