Business Fit Magazine July 2019 Issue 3 | Page 8

Interview What is the process of independence? It is not possible to suddenly break from being dependent and become a great A-player in a team. The process of gaining your own independence is about knowing who you are, what your mission is, which abilities and skills you want to develop. It is about the quality of your decision- making, your actions and as a result, your quality of life. The tools I mentioned before, like financial education, coaching, entrepreneurship, networking, etc. can only make this quality better. And that’s what the Independent Women community and Summit as an event is all about. It is open to people from all over the world, and travels from country to country to raise the awareness of women, despite cultural, traditional and mental differences. And yes, this year we are in the Middle East. It’s a Women summit, but what about men? These days there are lots of men who support the women-empowerment industry and we have some men as speakers and participants. Of course it is also important for men to grow and learn as well, it’s all about collaboration and mutual support. However, wouldn’t you agree that women are more vulnerable and face more challenges, especially in the modern world? We are born full of knowledge, wisdom, intuition and understanding of our role on this planet. But somewhere between childhood and adulthood, we lose that. We become empty, stressed, self-critical, and, as a result hate other women, constantly comparing ourselves, becoming greedy and lose our way. People call it ‘a play of hormones’. But in reality, it is the result of years of suppression, misunderstanding, discrimination and playing a secondary role in society. If we come from the same Source and are really universally connected to each other, all the hardships our ancestors went through, all the unfair attitudes our great, great grandmothers endured, imprints on our consciousness, behaviour and life, usually without us even being aware of it. 8 What do you see as the difficulties for women to achieve independence? I was born into an Asian family, and my parents were the most loving and caring, but still as a woman I had a specific life-model to live by and that contained limitations. As a result, I was not always allowed to self- actualise and discover all my talents. I had to get a profession and build a career which sounded good to others. not for myself; have my own family, based on specific assumptions and expectations. There was always an element of suppression and unrealised dreams. A more extreme example, which is still relevant today, in many Asian families, women are forced to have an abortion if they find out they are expecting a girl. We, as women, not yet born, are already ‘unwelcome’ in this world, unwanted and not even allowed to live. Yet who gives life in this world? Who has such strong inner power they can heal, nurture and ease pain? Who is the source of beauty and grace? Who turns a collection of stones into a warm and cosy place called home? Who, without saying a word, can inspire, motivate, but also destroy? And this is only a short list. This phenomenon is called WOMAN. In order to point all her abilities, gifts and creativity in a positive direction; to shift the collective consciousness and mindset of the future generations into greatness and in general make this world a better place to be, we need to allow ourselves to discover our independence as a woman. We need to constantly grow through knowledge, acceptance and forgiveness, and learn how to genuinely support each other, respect each other and build a healthy environment around us. What will women learn from the summit? Our amazing speakers will help attendees learn about new business opportunities, how to add additional income streams or increase their current income; find new strategies to build their way to financial freedom. We will teach them how to get the mindset of a champion to succeed in any area of life, as well as show them ways to unleash their inner power and We need to constantly grow through knowledge, acceptance and forgiveness take control of emotions to achieve greatness, a way to achieve more happiness, wealth and health in life and achieve more awareness of their mission and purpose, by tuning into their true self. It is also an opportunity to spend a great day networking with like-minded people How can people join the summit? If people want to become part of more than just a community, and be involved in a movement of independent, fulfilled and supportive women who lead, work and build relationships with grace, they are very welcome to join us the Independent Women Summit, which takes place on 9 November, 2019 at the Hilton Dubai Jumeirah, tickets are available from http:// independentwomensummit.com/#tickets www.valerieprasetyo.com www.independentwomensummit.com Facebook: @IWSWorldwide IG: Independent Women 9