Liberte Free to Be Podcast Archives

February 14, 2021

Stepping Liberte Free to Be with the ‘Queen of podcasting’ Anna Parker Naples

Liberte Free to Be with Anna Parker Naples

Anna is a global bestselling author of ‘Podcasting with Impact’ and ‘Get Visible’, both books of which I can highly recommend. She's also the host of an no.1 international podcast ‘Entrepreneurs Get Visible’. Anna has developed a real passion for helping ambitious entrepreneurs and coaches get seen and heard.

Who is Anna Parker Naples?

Good afternoon, Anna. Thank you so much for joining me. I feel slightly under pressure today because I do have you on the pedestal of podcast Queen.

So, no pressure. I didn't give myself the acronym, that title, but it definitely works to help kind of position yourself in a field. I didn't ever set out to help people with podcasting. It's just one of those wonderful things that's unfolded as I've uncovered the things that I'm really good at.

You have had quite a journey, which I'm really looking forward to sharing today for people that don't know you. How do you describe and Introduce yourself?

I help ambitious driven entrepreneurs who feel that they have an important message to share, work out how to be heard and get more visible.

The being heard part is about helping you to have a podcast that's a powerful front end for your business. The get visible part is about how you pull together all of the authority pieces so that someone might see you on social media. They might read your email. They might come across you because you've written a book.

How do you pull all of that together so that you can have greater impact and influence on people so that we can affect more change? So that's the kind of really long title, but I help people impact different people. Purpose driven people to reach more ears. I love that this is what someone wants to try to do with the podcast and encourage people to find their passion and purpose.

The Journey to Success

You’ve definitely found your passion and purpose, but it has been quite a journey hasn't it?

Let's take a few steps back to how this all started.

Right now, Rachel is looking at me and I'm sitting in what looks like a very posh, proper recording studio. I've got all of the padding on the walls. I've got a very posh microphone and what I'm actually sitting in is in the center of my house, in what used to be a long time ago my airing cupboard. This airing cupboard actually has a lot of meaning for me.

If I take you back about 11 or 12 years ago in my final pregnancy. When I was pregnant with my son, I suffered some complications and they told me to expect that I would never walk again.

That's pretty devastating, but I had three very young children, a newborn on the way. I had always expected that after I had this third child, I would return to acting and stage, which is what I’d been doing before my pre-children life. I felt that everything had been snatched away from me.

I was massively resentful, bitter, fairly twisted and in a really, really dark. I have a natural exuberance and a natural energy, so for me to go down for me to go down that far and hit that hard. It was quite shocking for people around me, but I always, even then, when I was really dark and depressed, I still felt a responsibility to put a bright face on it.

My bright face actually was full of bitterness. You know, the jokes we make about ourselves, the things we try to lighten with humour that actually are really just quite depressing and sad. I basically got to a point where I knew I had to do something about it.

Overcoming life changing hurdles

I went to see a hypnotherapist, who was also a neuro-linguistic programming professional NLP.

It was my first kind of experience into the whole world of mindset and personal development. That day, that decision to go there in my wheelchair at a point where I hardly ever left my bed helped me suddenly realize that there was way more to me, there was possibility, there was future.

It started a massive, massive journey for me.

I’ve heard you say that it was your positive mindset that really helped you change physically.

What I want to say. It's not just positive mindset, as in, I'm just going to pretend everything's happy.

That's not actually positive mindset for me. It was about undoing a lot of the damage that I was doing to myself over and over again with the things I was saying about myself. I came to realize that, and this didn't just happen in one session. This was a period of unraveling things I had been telling myself for a long time.

There were things I couldn't do because I was now a mum that I couldn't be an actor and be a good mum. I couldn't be a good mum and make money I could. And on and on and on these justifications for why I'd left my acting career behind five years earlier that were full of. I mean, to be honest, it was just rubbish, but where had those limiting beliefs come from?

The unthinkable

To then be in this situation where, well, what if I never walk again? I can't have that life that I thought I was going to go back to. But realizing its kind of more than that. So then starting to tap into, well, as an actor, what did I, what did I really want? What was that all about?

He said to me, well, what would happen if you could be globally recognized for your work and earn great money and be at home with the kids and be disabled, what would that look like? I just remember saying to him, well, that's not possible. He said, well, what if it was? What if over the next month you thought about how it was possible?

It was like something just shifted in my brain from this door being completely closed to all of a sudden there's all of these opportunities and the opportunities that came up for me, whether I could work from home as a voiceover artist, initially doing commercials, and then later specializing in radio drama and audio books and video games.

The Road to Recovery

I started on that path quite quickly from bed learning how to edit, I'm not a techno geek. I don't love all of that stuff, but I learnt it all because I had to, to get my voice out there. I ended up becoming one of the UKs leading British voice actors and going on to be a finalist in Hollywood, seven times with the best of the best.

I was fully recovered, and I really believe the reason I recovered was because I changed how I felt about myself.

Changed how I felt about myself and by throwing myself into something which was audio, where I could express myself. Alongside this I trained and became a master NLP practitioner, and I had this massive breakthrough, a kind of awakening moment as I was completing that training. It coincided with my final award in Hollywood, where I'm standing on the red carpet in Hollywood, in a pair of heels, the most glamorous I've ever been within six years. In that moment when I’d thought it was all over and I felt in that moment, Rachel, I have to get this out there. I don't know what it looks like, but I have to reach other people like me, who somewhere deep inside of them thinks and know on some level they're supposed to be doing something more and show them that it's possible.

Dealing with Limiting Beliefs

It's amazing. During that time, did you struggle with imposter syndrome because you were reaching these highs of getting all these accolades in quite short space of time?

I absolutely felt like I could own it.

It's such a huge thing and what we uncovered from going back into some quite traumatic things that happened in my early years when I was 16, I was brutally attacked by a gang of girls and it was arranged by my best friends. So that sense of not being able to speak up, I told my truth.

I told my version of the truth, and then this awful thing happened to me. I had to have surgery on my face and all sorts. At that point I had kind of limited myself.

It's understandable why I did that, but I'd been limiting myself. I think once you realize those limiting beliefs you've created; you can then do anything.

I'm not waiting for anyone else to give me permission. If I give myself permission to be the best, I can be not the best in the world because that's not even achievable, but the best I can be and achieve whatever I want to do to the 9th degree.

What happened next?

I remember flying home and my dad saying to me, well, what next? People around me could see I'd just been on this massive trajectory.

It started with a couple of clients at home in my office, but the light bulb moment came in the February. I remember having this moment of, I have to create an online business that could have global reach and I want to inspire people. There was a real need for me help others understand some of the stuff I've learnt. What am I going to do?

Female Leaders Rising

I actually think Rachel that there's more and more female leaders rising, and I think it's a really powerful time to be a woman. We have all the things that used to be barriers that, how do you run a business when you were at home? Well, we now have social media. We now have podcasts. We can reach anyone.

It's exciting to see so many more powerful women realize their own potential and start to achieve it and then reach down and help other people up that mountain. The podcast became a way of doing that.

I actually started my first podcast when I launched that Inspiring Mummy Club business, because somebody said to me, you should do a podcast, so I went okay.

I’d never listened to a podcast, but I knew I could recreate one, I had no understanding of the mechanics and even three and a half years ago, podcasting isn't like, it is now. Now it's a major vehicle. Over 50% of the world's population, regularly tune into podcasts.

What makes me tick is the idea that someone somewhere could listen to your podcast or one of my client's podcasts and you don't know what life that's going to touch. You don't know what difference that's going to make.

Celebrating the Wins

How good are you at celebrating your wins, acknowledging them and allowing yourself space to celebrate your wins?

That’s been slightly more challenging during lockdown. Two or three weeks after I launched my second book Podcast with impact, which gained 37 number ones globally was just insane.

That week I was high as a flipping kite all week, even now, I'm still just getting back in touch with people to say, thank you for supporting me. I couldn't do a thing that week, but then comes the crash. That's normal as well to acknowledge that if you're going to have highs and you're going to celebrate that hard, there’s going to be a lull as well. I had at a bit of an energy crash rest, I can't be bothered. What am I doing? But that's part of it too.

It's not always going to be easy and it's not always going to be plain sailing. There's going to be days where you cannot be bothered and there's going to be days where you think, how could I do anything other than this? It's the ebbs and the flows.

If you could pay yourself one compliment, what would it be?

“Anna you are doing more than enough. That's probably as far as I'm going to go. “

It was great to hear Anna’s, honesty, sharing how she's got to where she is now. It’s not always plain sailing, but we can all learn from that. Hopefully Anna’s own story can give you some inspiration because if you are struggling. It doesn't mean to say that's a fixed state. You can't get past this and work towards your goals.

A timely reminder that we mustn't let our fear of failure stop us from trying, because that fear of failure can often stop us from just getting started.

You can listen to the full interview here-

To find out more about Anna please visit here website www.annaparkernaples.co.uk

You can also follow Anna. on social media- Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Keeping being fabulous x

Published by Rachel Peru in Blog, Inspiring Women, Liberte Free to Be Podcast

February 12, 2021

Midlife Inspirathon- Spreading midlife positivity

A 13 hour live marathon day, interviewing inspiring women, spreading some midlife positivity.

Wow what a day to remember!

Where the idea came from

When I first had the idea to celebrate the launch of the new Liberte Free to Be podcast series I never imagined it would grow into such a big event. During the last 14 months my modelling work had obviously dwindled due to the pandemic, so having the podcast to keep working provided me with a sense of purpose.

I knew I wanted to create an event where I could give something back, as women supporting other women, is at the heart of my personal brand, so creating a fundraising event seemed like the perfect fit.

What is a Midlife Inspirathon?

The Midlife Inspirathon is a full day of live interviews. over on my Instagram page , interviewing 22 women all with inspiring stories to tell, whilst raising money for two women's charities to support.

Women Supporting Women

The Motherwell Cheshire charity, CEO Kate Blakemore has become a familiar face on the podcast. I am constantly blown away by Kate and her teams dedication to help girls and women from all ages and backgrounds offering a wide range of services.

Last year I started to build a relationship with the Smart Works Leeds charity after joining them as a guest on body confidence panel so I was delighted to have the chair Helen Oldham join me for an interview.

Who joined me?

What a pleasure to interview 22 women all with inspiring stories, live on Instagram starting at 8.30am and finishing at 9.30pm. From midlife body confidence activists, authors, midlife mavericks and every day women all with amazing stories to tell. The message that age is not a barrier to following our dreams, reinventing ourselves and finding new passion and purpose was loud and clear. I was left feeling inspired for the next decade and motivated to keep stepping up and removing my self made barriers to make sure I achieve so much more.

A celebrity line up-

When women support one another incredible things can happen.

I was so grateful to have everyone join me and for celebrities , including BAFTA winning television and radio presenter Katy Hill who is now stepping in to a new arena after training as a personal development and empowerment coach supporting the event.

Well known Atomic Kitten Natasha Hamilton who has also had a successful solo career, along with actress, singer, presenter, podcaster and founder of the lifestyle community The Capsule Natalie Anderson.

Sally Carman interrupted her busy Coronation Street schedule to talk to me about her role as an ambassador for the Motherwell Cheshire's Believe project. A project that supports women who find themselves in a vulnerable position, often homeless, with children whom are taking way from them into care or placed for adoption. Sally took up the ambassador role after her character Abi Franklin had a very similar story line.

All the interviews are now available to watch on IGTV here

Thank You!

The event has raised £1380 so far and I have say a huge thank you to all the sponsors as without them it wouldn't have been possible.

In no particular order-

Bridge models, Clair Mackenzie, The Business Revolution, Clockface Beauty, Copper & White, Susan Esco, Dye2befree, Mandy Taylor- founder of Charity Angels, Cloud9, Nima marketing, ChocolatePR, Jacynth Bassett, Jo Cusden, Audrey, Annie Stirk, Wear My Freedom, Yourbody.love

Final Thoughts

We can not allow our fear of failure stop us from pursuing our dreams in this next chapter of life.

All the women I interviewed are grabbing hold of midlife and making sure that they are certainly not invisible.

There's a real sense of midlife community, women who are supporting one another and reaching down to others who may need a hand up. I only hope we can build on this and hope that the media , fashion and advertising companies start to truly reflect the real power of women over 40 who are shining brightly later in life.

Don't forget you can also find lots more inspiration over on the Liberte Free to Be podcast.

I'm just getting started!

Keep being fabulous x

Published by Rachel Peru in Blog, Inspiring Women, Liberte Free to Be Podcast

Tags: midlife, midlife inspiration, midlifewomen, out of the bubble podcast

January 20, 2021

Midlife Inspirathon- 12 hours of midlife positivity

Sending out a positive midlife message with 12 hours of live interviews, raising money for two women's charities.

Join me on Monday 8th February over on Instagram where I will be hosting a live Midlife Inspirathon of interviews. Twelve hours of sharing a diverse collection of women, all with inspiring stories to tell.

I have been busy preparing for the launch of the 2021 Liberte Free to Be podcast and I can't tell you how much I have appreciated all the women that I've interviewed over the last year. Like everyone else I have been missing that human connection and I gain my energy from being around people so zoom interviews have been a huge boost to my daily routine.

Why?

With this in mind I knew I wanted to give something back as I'm hugely grateful to the women that I get to talk with, who share their stories with such honesty. To all the women that listen and support the show. Women supporting women is at the heart of my Liberte Free to Be brand so what better way to show this than to organise a fundraiser, doing what I love and raising money to support two women's charities.

Who?

We have seen a huge increase in women finding themselves out of work during this pandemic and Smart Works is a national charity which supports women from all backgrounds get back in to employment. Providing coaching to give them confidence and self belief to succeed in the workplace. As well providing high quality interview appropriate clothing which can be a real financial barrier for some women. I am raising money for the Smart Work Leeds branch.

Please visit their website to find out more-https://smartworks.org.uk/leeds-smart-works/

After interviewing the CEO Kate Blakemore on the podcast I was blown away by her and the whole teams dedication to helping women of all ages and backgrounds through a wide range of services. Offering a safe place , free from judgement to often vulnerable women. Supporting them to re-find their confidence, improve life skills and access the services they need.

Please visit their website to find out more-https://motherwellcheshirecio.com

You can listen to Kate's interview here.

Stepping out of my comfort zone!

To be honest I'm half excited and half daunted at the thought of being on Instagram live from 8.30am until 9.30pm and it's definitely taking me out of my comfort zone. I've committed to going on Instagram Live every morning just for 5 minutes so I can become more comfortable using it and get used to the set up so if you see my name pop up please come and say hello! As Liberte Free to Be is all about encouraging others to step out of their comfort zones I am determined to practice what I preach!

I don't know why the whole IG live thing feels uncomfortable , especially as I more than happy joining others and interviewing women from all walks of life that I've never met before. From listening to other women it seems we are good at hiding behind others and keeping ourselves out of the spotlight and I think I have been guilty of that with the podcast. It's much easier to shine the light on my guests each week than place myself their when the time is needed. Perhaps it's something we've been taught from an early age, not to be show too much confidence for fear of being called a show off or seen as seeking attention. I've come to the conclusion at 50 that if we don't blow our own trumpets no one is going to do it for us!

What are you working towards that takes you out of your comfort zone? I'd really love to know.

You can always email me at rachel@outofthebubblepodcast.com or leave a message on the Facebook page @stepoutofthebubble

Who will be joining me?

Luckily I have some amazing women joining on the day that will keep me company and my energy levels high. Here's a little taster of some of the guests who will be joining me-

Natalie Anderson- Actress, presenter, podcaster and founder of the lifestyle brand The Capsule.

Natasha Hamilton- Singer, podcaster and founder of Live Better with Natasha

Jo Gardiner- Contestant in Series 2 of Race Across the World

Misba Khan- Adventure walker and explorer who was part of the 2018 12 woman expedition to ski the last part of the North Pole http://www.euroarabianexpedition.com/

Stephanie Hirst- Award winning and one of the UK'S biggest radio stars and BBC Radio Leeds presenter

Katy Hill- Well loved television presenter , Personal Development Coach, Speaker, Podcaster, Broadcaster and Writer.

and so many more surprises! #watchthisspace

How you can donate?

I have set up a Just giving page so if anyone feels they can donate, no matter how small, every penny matters to these charities right now.

(Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.)

I hope you can come and take a listen and watch the show, please drop by @rachelperu1 and say hello. You're support on the day will be hugely appreciated!

Published by Rachel Peru in Blog, Inspiring Women, Liberte Free to Be Podcast

Tags: confidence in midlife, Fundraising event, inspiring women, midlife, Motherwell Cheshire CIO, out of the bubble podcast, personal journals, podcast, Rachel Peru, Smart Works Leeds

September 2, 2020

Liberte Free to Be with Susan Burrell.

I'm delighted to be joined by the inspiring American Author Susan Burrell. Susan is also a podcast host ‘Empowering Lives’, a presenter and guest speaker and is really helping people who are at a crossroads in life through her own intuitive healing.

After digging a bit deeper and reading more about Susan’s story, her journey really resonated with me and I'm sure lots of women will be able to gain some inspiration and relate to this one.

How do you describe yourself when you wear so many different hats?

I see myself as one of those carnival people of the last century with the poles and they're spinning plates and they're juggling. It's about creative freedom for me now in my later years. In my earlier years, I didn't think I was good enough or believe in myself. I was taught very carefully to not believe in myself in a very subterfuge clandestine way. As I got older, especially in the third chapter of my life, I really want to get out of that measurement of feeling less than and devalued and I did some very deep inner work.

Rachel I'm in the divine flow of life for the first time in my life and I had to work really hard to get into that flow of life. There’s days where I get sidetracked or I feel less than again, I mean, even though you do the work, it's an ongoing thing, right?

People think that once you get to this state of finding your way, of really finding the true self, that it's a done deal and you don't have to do any more work, but it's an ongoing journey.

Isn't it? Ongoing journey in this lifetime and probably many lifetimes, it's just an ongoing journey.

Life After Divorce

You’ve turned some really negative situations, emotions , feelings and gone through a similar experience to me with your divorce that really is life changing. How difficult did it get and how did you find your way out of it?

I've been on a spiritual quest since I was 17, 18 so I already had accumulated tons of skill sets. Working as a counsellor for 20 years with skill sets that I would use with my clients, I just used all of them on me.

I thought I had almost escaped the divorce debacle, you know, Oh, we've made 28 years and aren't we great. No!

All of a sudden, these women who had been divorced, came flooding into my life, you know, because if I'm not married, where's my tribe?

My girlfriends who were still married couldn't understand what I was going through. I started hanging out with other divorced women and I noticed after a bottle and a half of wine later, they were still embittered after having been divorced 15 years ago. I'm like, I don't I want to be like that because I knew I had a second path in life.

I knew I wanted to live fully since it felt like my first half, I wasn't living my life as me. I was living my life in conjunction with someone, in partnership with someone. It was time to give Susan her turn and I think that happens a lot with women.

We give ourselves permission all of a sudden to really think about ourselves and what we want to achieve in life.

Divorce kind of kicks you out of the nest, right? It throws you out of that comfort zone, so for me I didn't realize it was happening until I actually chose to file.

What I mean by that is I kept trying to make it right and it wasn't ever going to be right. It probably wasn't right from the beginning of the marriage and I stayed 28 years, I was shattered. My understanding of who I was, was completely shattered, like shattered glass.

Different colours all over the floor. I felt like during the divorce, it was so contentious. I felt like I was crawling on my belly through that glass almost every day. After a while of feeling sorry for myself and running my story to friends and crying and sobbing and going through several box of Kleenex, I thought how do I want to come out of this?

I want to come out better than I've ever been in my life.

I am so surprised I'm saying this, Rachel, but the gift for me was to really dig deep into my spiritual practice again. Opening up that toolbox that I had and then applying it to myself. The gift really was the divorce because I came out loving and respecting myself more than I ever had. I came out respecting the work that I do, which I had always just kind of fluffed off. I gained the insight.

That’s the heart of what self-love is about, about accepting and loving yourself.

So many people don't know how to do that. We haven't been taught that at university or kindergarten, or we haven't necessarily even been taught that in our family of origin. I know I wasn't taught that. The good news is you get to make your life up however you want and if you want it to be a good, healthy, empowered, fun, creative life, you get to have that.

Facing Fear

How did you stop the fear from eating away at you and step into your new life? I think so many women that I talk to have dreams and aspirations and they want to try and take those next steps forward but then the fear blocks and stops them from doing that.

That's a really good question. I think that was the gift of my divorce. I had been affirmed over and over that this is the work I'm supposed to do, not go be a sales clerk somewhere, or a waitress again. The fear showed up , Oh my gosh, where's my income, you know, but I began to learn that in order to come out whole loving myself more, I had to face the fear.

I attempt to do that now, when it comes up, I have to face it. Often times when you face that fear you can see that it's really just a small part of you that's trying to keep you safe. It's not a big bugaboo guy. It's a small little thing within you that's saying I'm scared. When you can recognize that, or when I do, then I can comfort it or say, well we're still going to do this anyway, but you're going to be okay. I do a lot of that kind of work in meditation or journaling.

I've just started doing that. I started writing a gratitude journal at the end of every day and I think it’s really made a difference. It has kept me grounded with in reality and given me a better understanding of what’s truly important to me in life.

A good journaling prompt you might ask yourself in the morning is what do I need to know today? I just do stream of consciousness writing. What do I need to know about my day to day and see what happens?

Live Your Empowered Life

You’ve now used all your experiences, your spiritual practice and your intuitive gift that brought you into the forefront to be able to help other people that are at the same crossroads in life. How has your work evolved into an inspiring book?

I had several clients and colleagues say, Oh, 'I can't wait to get your book. I'm going to read it'. I'm like, Oh, it's not a self-help read, you might get a gem but it's a let's go on this journey together and hunker down and do the inner work.

There's lots of affirmations in the book to work, I crafted it so you're going to begin on a gentle ride and then you're going to dive deep and then you're going to come up for air and then you're going to dive deep again.

Until you can get to a place where towards the end of the book, you get to rewrite your purpose in life and come out of the book with a real conscious purpose, which is a spiritual purpose.

I mostly work with women who have gone through divorce or are going through divorce and they really want to heal.

Most of my clients re reflect what I went through, they don't know themselves. I have a stellar client who said, I never knew that I had a choice about loving myself.

Feeling Lost in Midlife and Finding your Way Back

Why do you think we do lose ourselves in society? It does seem to be a common theme that women get to the forties and fifties and come to this point where they need to find themselves.

I'm praying and knowing that the current generation of women will not go through that, that they're going to know themselves sooner. I think what we're witnessing now in our generation is a closure of an old story, an old paradigm. The patriarchal that women should be seen and not heard, women stand behind their man, women stay at home, Or if you go out in the workplace, you come back and you do the laundry and cook the meals and clean up and put the kids to bed.

Inspiring women are the ones that are going to lead us into the light in and are the ones that are going to lead us into how the new way of living. I'm not saying men aren't going to be a part of it, but it's going to be awakened men, not men that continue to do the good old boy club thing, because it's dead and they're still beating it with a stick.

Women would hit midlife with society's description of how women are supposed to be in the world was complete. Get married. raise kids, maybe go to university, find a job, but now halfway through it's like, NO! and that's why women wake up and go holy moly, who am I? I'm tired of doing what everybody else tells me to do.

I had a yearning; I had a divine urge within me to be more than I was. I got battered mentally, emotionally, and energetically to wake up and stop with the old. I think a lot of women go through that.

That really resonates with me and that yearning for knowing that actually deep down inside you, there's something that was trying to get out, someone to be who you could be. It’s about finding your way through that.

Finding your way through is different for everyone, but I believe a consistent focus if you allow it. That focus is what we were talking about earlier, focusing on that divine urge, not what your head's telling you, but what your heart's telling you.

Allowing that to begin to inform you your wisdom within, because all the answers we are asking for reside right within us.

If you align with your higher self, if you align with the infinite then all your answers are right inside you. That's why journaling and meditating, silent meditation is so important because that's how you can hear.

Finding Inner Peace Through Meditation

Let’s talk about meditation. I know how good it could be for me, but I do struggle to switch my brain off. What tips can you recommend helping beginners learn to let go and meditate.

Meditation insight is a great ap. If you've never meditated, you can set it for five minutes. You don't have to worry about what else is happening and build up the amount of time you feel comfortable. What I encourage people is to start a meditation practice and start a journaling practice.

The journaling practice can happen right after your meditation, because then you're more open and you can write down insights. But what you also said, Rachel, starting a gratitude journal. That works a lot for people, especially if you're feeling a little down and out. Writing down the things you're grateful for is a very simple process to move you from despair or fear into love and light.

I have a guided meditation that I'd love to give them. It's called out of the box thinking and they can download it @susanburrell.com/free-gift-meditation

Self Love

My last question is if you could give yourself a compliment, what would it be? Women are notoriously bad at accepting compliments we always try to pass it off and push it aside or make a joke of it.

Wow, that's going to make me cry. I think I would. I, Oh, I can't even get the words out.

I would tell myself that I'm very proud of who I am now proud of the courage and the strength that I am and proud of the love and the value I bring. I'm very proud.

I'm sure you will agree Susan Burrell has really been inspiring and giving us all a lot to think about.

If you'd like to find out more, please go visit www.susanburrell.com.

You can listen to full audio interview here

#podcast #outofthebubble #inspiringwomen #divorce #sharingstories #conversations #confidence

Published by Rachel Peru in Inspiring Women, Liberte Free to Be Podcast

Tags: divorce, facing fear, inspiringwomen, lifeafter40, nevertoolate, outofthebubble, selflove, timeforchange

March 19, 2020

How to find your confidence

The missing link by Lou Kirby @WomanReadyblog

Confidence is a funny thing, don’t you find? Sometimes you can feel positive, happy, fulfilled, unstoppable, calm, attractive. Other days, the total opposite; unworthy, self-critical, anxious, ugly, not good-enough.

Lack of confidence is something that affects many women. It’s estimated that 60% suffer from imposter syndrome at some point in their life. Imposter syndrome, if you’ve not heard of it, is that feeling that someone will find you out to be a ‘fraud’, that you don’t deserve the success you’ve achieved.

My own confidence has been up and down. It took a particular ‘beating’ after I had my children and returned to work. I remember thinking, who am I and what am I doing? It was totally unsettling and made me doubt who I was. This feeling stayed with me for a long time and I really battled with it.

Quietly Confident

My kids are older now; my eldest is a teenager and I’ve found myself to be, what I would call, quietly confident. I’m comfy in my skin. I like who I am. I know what I like and don’t like, who I’m happy to give my precious time to and I don’t feel that I need to ‘impress’ people like I did in my earlier years. And that’s a nice place to be.

So, between the ‘who am I’ and the ‘comfy in my skin’ stage, a few things happened. I got to the point though where I thought there had to be a better way of being, of living. I decided I wanted to do something about it. If I was privileged enough to be here in another 20/30/40 years, then I wanted to make sure that I wasn’t my biggest critic!

So, I started talking to lots of other women. It became clear, that many of us were suffering from lack of confidence in some part of our lives – be it work, relationships, social life or how we felt about our bodies. There was that general belief that we weren’t quite good-enough!

What Would You Have Done In Your Life, With More Confidence?

One of my favourite questions to ask them was, ‘what would you have done in your life, with more confidence?’ The answers I heard weren’t around achieving really big goals – the climbing Mount Everest type goals – for example – but examples of everyday events.

Here’s what they said.

Applied for jobs that I thought were beyond my reach.
Stopped worrying so much about events, circumstance, people’s opinions of me.
Done more public speaking.
The amount of time spent in advance preparing for a confrontation or situation would have been minimised.
Learnt to drive earlier.
Asked for a pay rise and asked more often.
Enjoyed meeting people.
Less influenced by others.
Ended relationships sooner.
Worn different clothes and be more comfortable with my body.

This is a really interesting question to ask yourself. Have a think about what your answer would be.

As a result of the above, I wanted to help other women feel more positive about who they were and I set up womanready.com & re-trained as a coach – more in the Bio.

The Inner Critic

Whatever our age, it seems that our inner critic, is forever present, holding us back and chastising us. One of my biggest fears was regret; regret that I’ll would reach a certain age and realise that I hadn’t lived a full life because of this inner voice. Not because of someone else but because of ME!

It’s Time To Stop! Confidence is something that you have to work on. I know you probably don’t want to hear that though! There is no magic pill that will transform you into an assertive, confident woman. You need to be willing to put some work in to fan those flames of self-confidence again.

At various stages of our lives, we can easily slip into the comfort zone trap. I’ve seen it happen so many times and it’s so easy to do. When we get comfortable with our life (which can be lovely, right!), we tend to not push ourselves; we tend to stick with what we know. And then our desire to try something new (something that we may have done without hesitation a few years ago) dwindles. And then this cycle repeats itself.

Take Action

Action = confidence. You have to start doing things; things that you are a little nervous of. And if you’re a little scared, so what? Recognise the emotion and then do it (feel the fear and do it scared). You are so much more than you think you are.

Start taking those little steps forward. And you’ll find that those little, positive steps, all mount up to something bigger.

I read this somewhere (sorry I can’t remember the source) – “One day you’ll wake up and there won’t be any more time to do the things you’ve always wanted to do. Do it now.”

Bio

Lou is founder of Woman Ready (womanready.com) which is an online platform helping women to recognise their potential, embrace who they are (as they are) and believe in themselves more. She is also a qualified professional coach helping women to live happier, more content lives.

If you'd like the opportunity to win an online place on the

WomanReady "30 Days to Happier You" worth £39, pop over to my Instagram to enter. Make sure you're following Lou and I on instagram and tag a friend who you think would like this too.

The winner will be randomly chosen on Friday 27th March 9am. Good luck!

(Per instagram rules, this promotion is in no way sponsored, administered or associated with Instagram inc.)

Keep being fabulous!
Rachel x

Published by Rachel Peru in Liberte Free to Be Podcast

Tags: confidence, confidence in midlife, finding confidence, inner crtitc, Lou Kirby, Woman Ready blog

March 1, 2020

When does self improvement become a problem?

Self- improvement - Where does it stop?

''I’m all for self-improvement being the best you can be is so commendable and it's what so many of us strive for on a daily basis, Eat healthy, exercise, dress well, use beauty products and enhancements. However, when does self-improvement become a problem?

I've been pondering that question for quite a while now and recently I've begun to realise just how much advertisers depend and procure our insecurities for financial gain.

I sat down with my 84-year-old father last week and had a really long chat, although I'm close to my parents it's not something I think we do anywhere near enough.

My father has had two new hips, two new knees extensive heart surgery with a combined defibrillator and a pacemaker fitted within his chest and he's permanently in contact via these devices to a specialist heart unit. However, my father remains a generally happy and above anything else a contented man.

He's captain of the local bowls team, yes how can he bowl with all those artificial joints ?? but he does.

He's happily married to my mother and has been for 56 years and he's head of our family which includes 10 women and no men apart from my husband but none biologically related and we all adore him.

He's not however been overly concerned with money mothers always done that and he's never been on a diet in his life or watched his alcohol units. And wouldn’t dream of having a mobile phone “ Why do I want people bothering me 24/7.

He said to me he's happy when he's with his family and friends at the local pub having a pint after bowling and sport!

Either partaking not so much now obviously or watching sport makes him very happy.

Keeping connected is his key. He told me about all the amazingly wealthy good looking and ambitious people he had known over his lifetime, dad is more of a plodder turned around to me and said but they're all dead now there's not many of us left, but I'm still here.

It got me thinking about whats really important about aging well and self-improvement, sometimes it can be so over consuming and hard work keeping up with all the latest trends and beauty tweakments that we quite forget to enjoy the moment. We're so busy striving for better and better that we often don't realise this may be as good as it gets.

Looking back in 10 years from now we may just kick ourselves especially when we look at photographs and think why didn’t I appreciate how good I looked, why was I worried about what people thought about me or why did I think I looked fat in that!

Self improvement is fine as long as you don’t get sucked into that never-ending barrage of false promises false claims of wonder creams, potion's and lotions.

Dad recommends fun and love as the two most important things that are important to him and a positive outlook.

Enjoy every day as if it were your last, as one day it definitely will be!!''

Best wishes

Lesley Greenwood

Link to my professional profile !

https://www.psychologytoday.com/profile/412570

You can contact :-

Lesley Greenwood BSc (hons) MSc Clinical Science Psychotherapist/Counsellor

Twitter @Lesley Ann Green

Psychology Today https://www.psychologytoday.com/profile/412570

Email LuluGreen64@hotmail.com

Keep being fabulous
Rachel x

Published by Rachel Peru in Liberte Free to Be Podcast

Tags: happiness, inspiringwomen, liveinthemoment, mondymotivation, outofthebubble, selflove

February 20, 2020

There’s a new gang in town and they can skate! Meet the Roller Girl Gang, Leeds.

What did you love doing as a child or young adult that you’d love to revisit but think you’re too old? For me it was roller skating. Up until 16 I lived on my skates; they came everywhere with me. Over the years I have come across women still rollerblading in later life and some even starting Roller Derby, but I'd convinced myself I was too old and would probably be a bit like Bambi on ice. I am still regretting that I didn't take the opportunity to try it whilst in L.A. last year as Venice Beach is the place to do it. I still had the little voice in my head holding me back in case I made a complete fool of myself, I guess old habits really are hard to break. Well, as promised at the beginning of this year on my blog I wanted to try new activities and step out of my own comfort zone, so I’ve started with roller skating. I came across the Roller Girl Gang, based in Leeds through social media and just knew I had to get in touch. The Roller Girl Gang was created in 2015 by two friends Len & Mel, both primary school teachers and mums and what I love is their mission to make skating as a sport, accessible to everyone, whatever the level or age. The Roller Girl Gang has people of all ages regularly attending , even a couple in their seventies.

I had a private 1hour lesson booked with Mel and entered the large empty sports hall with a mixture of real excitement and worry. My main concern was falling over and injuring myself, especially after breaking my wrist in 2018 and that was without wheels on my feet! The last time I wore roller skates, they were the ones you had to strap to your shoes , by the time the roller boots became popular I'd moved on.

Mel made sure I was kitted up with all the right protective gear, elbow, knees and wrist pads which helped put me at ease and off we went. I was really hoping it would be like riding a bike and that it would just come back to me quickly and although I was very tentative at first, I’m happy to report it did. Whilst I enjoy swimming and have tried hard to get on with couch to 5K I'm still on the search for a sport that I really enjoy and roller skating might well be it.

It reminded me of that sense of freedom I used to get when I was younger, it’s exhilarating and great exercise too. It wasn’t long before I was skating around the hall without feeling like I was about to lose it. At times I felt like I was moving really quickly but when I’ve watched the video, I really wasn’t at all. Work in progress! In an hour I did manage to skate backwards, stop which is always helpful and do the Lemon! I watched in awe as Mel showed me some of the more technical skills which right now I can't imagine mastering, but I enjoy a challenge.

Roller skating has so many benefits to both your health and mental well being. It's classed as an aerobic exercise and is good for improving your balance and co-ordination. The Girl Gang hold weekly sessions and beginners classes so I can see it becoming a real part of your social calendar. It's definitely a mood booster. I came home smiling and already thinking about when I can go again.

So what's stopping you? It's never too late to try new things and you never know, you might find something new that brings new pleasure in your life. Jo Moseley @healthyhappy50 is a classic example of this. Jo started paddle boarding in her 50's and has now found a new passion in her life, you can find her most weekends out on the canal or the sea. Last year she became the first women to stand up paddle board the North, coast to coast from Liverpool to Goole along the Leeds Liverpool Canal and Aire & Calder Navigation. 162 miles through Merseyside, Lancashire and Yorkshire. So you never know where taking those first steps to trying something new might lead to!

To find out more about the Roller Girl Gang please visit https://www.rollergirlgang.co.uk/

Instagram @roller_girl_gang

What should I try next?

Keep being fabulous

Rachel x

Published by Rachel Peru in Liberte Free to Be Podcast

January 29, 2020

Liberte Free to Be Book Reading List, Series 2

I'm excited to start recording Series 3 of Liberte Free to Be but there's still plenty of time to catch up with series two's guests https://anchor.fm/outofthebubble

I love interviewing all these inspiring women and always leave feeling more motivated and with a spring in my step. I am a huge book lover and still get excited going in to a book shop and holding it whilst I read, I'm still struggling to get along with a kindle if I'm honest. It's a time to just get lost in someone else's world and totally switch off for a while so I hope this series book recommendations gives you some inspiration to try a new book and why not leave me a message and let me know what you're reading too?

We are starting Series 2 book list with a triple dose of inspiration. Frances Davies, Helen Butters and Niki Doeg are 3 of the 4 women who alongside Janette Benaddi formed The Yorkshire Rowers. These incredible ladies hold the title for being the first women to row any ocean when they rowed across the North Sea and that was just a warm up. They went on to complete the Talisker Whiskey Atlantic Challenge becoming the oldest all female crew to complete the 3000 nautical mile challenge in 2016, aged between 45 and 51 at the time. So when you get inspiring book recommendations from these three women you definitely take note.

Debra Searle- The Journey The life changing book that set the seed for their epic challenge.

Elizabeth Day- How to Fail Seeing failure in a positive light not as a negative.

Michelle Obama - Becoming No explanation needed, a truly inspiring woman.

Tricia Stewart, the driving force behind the alternative WI calendar back in 1999, which went on to become a global phenomenon and to date has raised over £5 million for the Bloodwise charity absolutely loves the The Wrong Boy. by Willy Russell I have to confess I've not read this book so It's been added to this years list.

The list of publications that guest Marina Gask has worked on during her extensive media career as a top journalist is extensive and is now co-founder of the online magazine Audrey. Marina is drawn to Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin and is fascinated by the forming of friendships that then become your family.

Talented fashion designer Debbie Wilkinson started her fashion brand Fruitbats & Screwballs from scratch in her late forties without having any formal fashion background. Debbie first read Watership Down by Richard Adams as a young child and although it traumatised her she still says this is an all time favourite. I have to admit just listening to the films music does it for me.

Louise Proddow is another 50 year old who has a very positive approach to her age and life with her social media platforms @rejuvage full of daily inspiration and she has definitely motivated me to get fitter in my midlife. Louise, like many of us always thought that the 12 steps was always just for alcoholics but reading Russell Brands Recovery re-educated her. She believes everyone has some kind of addiction in their life after reading this.

The go to television expert on consumer and retail, Kate Hardcastle MBE, otherwise known as the customer whisperer suggests anything by Michael Gladwell (Blink The Power of Thinking, Talking to Strangers, David & Goliath). If you have an inquisitive mind and like reading business style books these are delivered in a very practical, informative manner. Kate's also a big fan of audio books which I have only just started to getting to but they're great for people that travel a lot and want to fit a book in with a busy lifestyle.

Sam Sweets passion for nails and her business Sweet Squared is not only infectious but also really inspiring on how her hard work and 100% dedication has paid off. Sam absolutely loved Alexander McQueen so any of his coffee books are a perfect way for her to relax and lose some hours. Savage beauty by Andrew Bolton, Genuis of a Generation, Kristen Knox, anything creative like that.

Rachel Lankester's positive attitude to midlife is wonderful and her attitude to this next chapter in life is inspiring so many other women through her Magnificent Midlife. We talked about her experience of the early menopause, her attitude to midlife, the importance of exercise and finding space to move forwards. So I wasn't surprised with her current recommendation of The Wisdom Of Menopause by Christiane Northrup. Rachel loves it because it aligns with her positive slant on midlife and the menopause.

Sam Bunch, author of Collecting Conversations (100 women sharing there every day thoughts) and newly published Menopause- A Hot Topic, both of which I'm also giving away on my Instagram competition this month @rachelperu.

Sam's a huge reader, usually with 3 or 4 books on the go at one time, describes herself like a sponge wanting to take it all in. Sam was once on train when a man slightly under the influence of alcohol said he was going to give her one bit of information, that was to read this book Anam Cara by John O'Donohue. Sam read it and says it the most fabulous spiritual book and highly recommends it.

Jo-Anne Jewett has a long list of credentials including celebrity make-up artist, author, founder of the Make-Up Training Company, trainer and educator.

Jo recommends everyone should read 'Feel The Fear and Do It Anyway'' by Susan Jeffers and I have to say I totally agree. Its a fantastic book to keep revisiting. Jo told me she was never a big fan of affirmations but after reading this book she is now, she went on to buy a copy for her daughter. (I am excited to giving a free copy of this book away over on my Instagram @rachelperu1 as part of this blog promotion)

Kate Blakemore is the founder of Motherwell Cheshire womens charity which we found out all about, a qualified counsellor, trainer, speaker and radio presenter and at every step of the way works tirelessly to support and encourage women in the community. Although Kate doesn't describe herself as a business women she's certainly had to have a strong mindset to set the charity up and keep it growing from strength to strength so

Reading all of Richard Bransons books has been a huge inspiration.

Kate's also recommends Frank Skinners Autobiography.

If you'd like to enter my instagram book give away to win signed copies of Series 1 guest, Author Imogen Clarks best selling books, Sam Bunch's Collecting Conversations and Menopause - A Hot Topic along with one of my favourites Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway by Susan Jeffries please visit Instagram @rachelperu1

(*UK ENTRANTS ONLY)

Happy Reading x

To catch up on the Out of the bubble podcast- https://anchor.fm/outofthebubble

Published by Rachel Peru in Liberte Free to Be Podcast

Tags: bookrecommendations, inspiringbooks, inspiringwomen, outofthebubbleblog

January 24, 2020

Welcome to Liberte Free to Be blog

When I first started blogging I wasn't exactly sure which direction it was going to take so I think it's taken time for my ideas and aspirations to take shape. I knew I wanted to create a space full of inspiration and positive posts to help other women that may have lost their confidence along the way. When I was younger I struggled with a lack of confidence and it wasn't until I hit my forties that I finally managed to change that. Never in a million years could I have imagined being confident enough to start a modelling career at 46.

Liberte Free to Be blog is full of inspiring women that have reinvented themselves; body confidence inspiration; fashion; beauty and a glimpse of my life as a model. I'm a firm believer in taking yourself out of your comfort zone to help improve your confidence and mental well being, so I intend to lead by example and have some fun along the way! I started the Out of the bubble podcast because I'd made connections through social media with so many inspirational women over 40 that have stepped out of their comfort zone and started something new which really helped motivate me too.

Since turning 40 I have faced some of my own fears, including my fear of heights by throwing myself out of an aeroplane in a tandem skydive for charity. I have to say it didn't cure my vertigo but what it did do was help provide a memory bank of my own courage so when I have wobbles I can go back and remind myself what I can do which helps me take the brakes off again. Since then I have said YES to so many more things that I would never have done before - I swam the Great North Swim in Lake Windermere twice; cycled the127 mile Leeds to Liverpool Canal and also from London to Brighton. It has opened up so much more self belief that I don't want to stop experiencing new adventures.

Join me on my adventures whilst I continue to step out of my own bubble to enjoy new experiences, from roller skating lessons at 50 to trying new activities and sports.

Would you love to rekindle an old hobby or passion? Have you a burning desire to try something new? I'd love to hear from you.

I know it's a cliche, but the saying "you're never too old" is so true!

Maybe you can come and join me along the way.

Rachel x

Published by Rachel Peru in Liberte Free to Be Podcast

Tags: followyourdreams, inspiration, justdoit, motivation, nevertoolate, outofthebubble, trysomethingnew

September 17, 2019

Sharing is caring, a fabulous York Insta Meet with Sara Tasker @meandorla

After attending my first York Insta Meet I felt so much more confident and actually excited to attend my second event, especially as I have listened to every single one of the guest Sara Tasker #hashtagauthentic podcasts.

It's the first time I've visited Newburgh Priory and it really is a beautiful place, surrounded by so rich much history

I live about an hour and half away from Newburgh Priory and have never been there before so wasn't quite sure what to expect. I have to confess, seeing as thought this post is all about sharing that since being peri-menopausal driving has suddenly caused me to feel very anxious, especially new places. My approach to this reflects my personality, I am trying to face it head on and keep pushing myself to do it instead of avoiding it. I also find Kalm tablets are a god send. but who would have thought this could be a possible side effect of the menopause, apparently I am not alone, it's quite common. Anyway off I went and it was well worth the drive as the entrance to Newburgh Priory is beautiful, like driving up to a film set.

It's full of places where you could just sit and read a b book, a little piece of solitude and calm.

You can't help but feel inspired when you are surrounded by rich history and beautiful surroundings. As so as I arrived I saw the goody bag table surrounded by women placing their own business cards inside and I love this idea. Not only is it a great way of getting your creative business known to more people, build possible connections for work and collaborations but it's that sense of ownership of what you are doing that sends a really strong message to me. It's something that I have struggled with in the past, it's that imposter syndrome feeling. However there has definitely been a shift in my mind and I am now owning my model/podcaster/blogger titles and attending events like this definitely helps too.

Goody bags full of business cards and women sharing their talents

Exploring the house just made me want to create a fashion shoot here, some of the rooms and furniture are quite magnificent. The turquoise blue room was a favourite amongst the photographers and a bloggers dream room.

A photographers and bloggers dream house to shoot. , Newburgh Priory, Blue room.

Social media has led me to collaborate with so many different people that I otherwise would never have come across. I discovered Rhona Langan on Instagram and have been following her new business Colours By Rhona with admiration. I am a huge champion of women in midlife who take on new challenges and don't let midlife pigeon hole them into thinking they can't follow their dreams. I recently made a short film called What's Stopping You and Rhona kindly agreed to take part in it so I was delighted that we finally got to meet in person. We are now planning to collaborate on a project together and I'm looking forward to interviewing her for my podcast too.

Finally got to meet Rhona Langan & photographer Lottie Brown

I loved the fact that Louise and Caroline were equally excited to be interviewing Sara Tasker as the audience was to hear from her. If you haven't heard of Sara Tasker @meandorla, where have you been? Sara is one of the first instagram sensations and her writing , creativity and story telling is honest, beautiful and inspiring. Sara's podcast #hashtagauthentic was the very first podcast I listened to and I have walked many miles dog walking listening to her and gaining inspiration and knowledge.

So much to ask Sara Tasker @meandorla

It would have been such a shame not to grab that photo opportunity. what struck me was how patient she was with everyone asking questions after the event and also how genuinely helpful her answers were. We live in a very competitive world which seems to have been made worse by the Instagram like button and followers obsession. I have to be honest and say as a model there has been times on my social media when I have got down through comparing myself and my instagram numbers to my peers which just creates self doubt and insecurities. I have got over that now, I unfollow those that make me feel negative and have made the conscious decision to just stay in my lane, be as authentic as I can be and share and support those that leave a positive effect on me. Thats why I left this event feeling inspired and reminded that sharing our stories and knowledge with each other really is the best way forward. It's about helping each other up the ladder instead of only being interested in climbing to the top. Sharing is caring.

Fabulous to finally meet Sara Tasker after listening to all of her #hashtagauthentic podcasts

I have already started reading Hashtag Authentic, I think it will take me awhile to work through each part but it's already got me thinking. What do I really love, homing back to those simple pleasures in life and how can I translate that in my work, work in progress!

A huge thank you to Louise and Caroline, for organising another great inspiring event. As someone with a creative mind its hard to keep a clear head sometimes but I left feeling inspired with some space to reflect and look forward to what's next.

Watch this space!