Late last year, I attended an excellent TED event on International Women’s Day – it was called Ted x Little Lonsdale Street Women. Whilst I’ve yet to blog about the many wonderful speakers I heard at that event, I did meet today’s Ruby Assembly Business Ninja interviewee – Louise Greenstock of Mind and Motive. Not only an exceptional facilitator/coach and ‘bringer of positive change’ in women’s lives – she’s also Victoria’s Crusader for the popular League of Extraordinary Women. Find out more about Louise in today’s interview, and see if one of the array of exciting programmes she runs – including the Well Women Seminars – might be your turning point of inspiration.
- What makes Mind & Motive magical, setting you apart from other women’s development/coaching strategists?
The breakthrough came last year when I had the insight to draw on the many perspectives I have been influenced by and to synthesise these as a unique system to support women who are working through periods of self-discovery. I call this the Mindset Makeover and it centers on 4 pillars which run through everything I do: 1) Become aware, 2) Take control of your thoughts, 3) Reconnect with your own wisdom, 4) Lightness and compassion. As a practitioner, being prepared to invest in training and self-reflection on an ongoing basis is essential. For me, this has been a continual evolution in my skills as a coach and has led me to be able to create an environment for clients which is safe, loving, bright, inspiring and extremely caring and gentle. I knew I was never going to be a hard-arse coach. My style – and what I offer through Mind & Motive – is very feminine, authentic and human. Mind & Motive events are my attempt to bring a range of perspectives to the table for women to choose for themselves what appeals and work with whatever resonates.
2. What are your maddest ‘ninja skillz’ when it comes to fostering greatness?
Know the difference between creativity, passion, energy, versus, hyper-discipline, force and striving. The former will bring you all you need in your business. You’ll work hard but you’ll be open to receiving cool ideas and you’ll be fulfilled in your work and have time to enjoy it. The latter will lead to burnout – simple. We can often get these confused, but I can honestly say that the best business ideas come from having a good self-care routine and from giving yourself rest and a break when you need it. Let the ideas flow, don’t over-reach and fall flat.
3. How did your lightbulb moment in creating your business come about?
It was a series of lightbulb moments really. I had discovered that life coaching existed as a profession about eight years ago but didn’t consider it a viable option until 2010. When I moved to Australia in January 2010 I had a complete blank slate because I was in a new country. So, the idea came to me that this was a perfect place and a perfect time to invest in getting some solid coaching and mentoring skills, learning the power of the mind, and getting out there in a big way. I guess the lightbulb moment for how it might all take shape was meeting my mentor, Jewells Black (Be Brilliant Now), and seeing with my own eyes that you really can create a business doing what you love. For me this was supporting women who are seeking change or going through a transition and helping them rediscover inner wisdom and those instinctual self-care mechanisms that we often forget.
4. What is your earliest memory?
I can remember being at school when I was about four or five. I remember sitting on a chair and children sitting around me. I think they were asking me questions and I was pretending to be Teacher, which is kind of funny because I am a teacher in many ways in my work now.
5. What would your last meal be?
Tough one! How many courses can I have? 😉 I think I’d like to have something really earthy, organic and natural to really savour the natural tastes and sensations of what the earth gives us. It would have to be washed down with French champagne of course, served in a beautiful champagne flute. If I was allowed dessert, I think hot chocolate fudge cake would be a good last mouthful.
6. What is your best tip for choosing working partners?
Open your eyes and look close to home. Chances are you are already in some way linked to people or a community of individuals who are up to some great stuff. There are so many people out there starting a new initiative or innovating in some way. My experience has been that by being authentic and genuine when I network and socialise, I have met so many potential collaborators who were already in my social network. Sometimes they are right under your nose but it might be that you just need to consider collaboration as an option before you can see them.
7. What is your favourite sound?
I love music of all types. My favourite song is by Eva Cassidy so her music would be one of my favourite sounds, so chilled, sensuous and beautiful.
8. Who would you like to invite to dinner?
I’d love to meet the American author Thomas Moore. He wrote Care of the Soul and a few other similar titles. These books really came to me at an important turning point in my work as a practitioner and have set me on a different trajectory. Thomas Moore’s work is so beautifully accepting of human nature that it has allowed me to help clients open up to simply being human and find compassion for themselves which often leads to massive breakthroughs. I’d love to sit with him over a meal and ask more about how his work came about and learn as much as I could about deep care and compassion so that I could embody this more and more in my work.
10. How can we next participate in a Mind & Motive event or adventure?
2013 is all about collaboration and, with this in mind, we kick off the year with a seminar series with 6 professional women sharing their perspectives on holistic well-being. It gives me the chance to offer a platform to other practitioners and means that the women who attend get to hear from 6 amazing and inspiring experts on mind, body and spirit wellness. In addition to that, the biggest breakthrough success of last year was the Mindset Makeover suite of ‘one to one’ programs for career chicks who are seeking change or going through a transition. I think the appeal of these programs is that there is something for every starting point and every budget. This year is sure to outdo last year if the breakthroughs of the first clients of the year are anything to go by!
The Women’s Well-being seminar series runs every Tuesday from January 29 until March 5 at the Centre for Emotion Focused Practice in South Yarra. http://wellwomenseminars.eventbrite.com/
[…] League of Extraordinary Women Crusader for Victoria Louise Greenstock – we interviewed her as a Business Ninja here. […]