& p u b l i c a t i o n
Sovereign
GLOBAL MAGAZINE We’ve coined a new industry to introduce Solutionary Thinkers, Executives and Leading Entrepreneurs who create unique solutions to certain challenges, influence prosperity globally and close the achievement gap.
SOCIAL EDIFICATION We live in a world consumed by challenges and solutions are the metrics of progress by which we measure success.
We only introduce accountable professionals with unique talents who are amongst the top holistic solution creators in the world, passionate trailblazers who are driven by their inner belief that delivering value is not about them but about the people they can help. Close the gap between those who can inspire and those who need inspiration.
www.sovereignmagazine.co.uk
Table of Contents EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: ART DIRECTOR:
10 LESLEY CALVÓ
Dr. Marina Nani Darie Nani
Elaine Pringle-Schwitter
Senior Correspondent, Switzerland
Christian Demetriad
Graphic Designer, United Kingdom
Lesley Calvó
Guest Contributors, Switzerland
26 Know Thyself
Marisa Tschopp
Guest Contributors, Switzerland
Patricia Anne Elwood
Guest Contributors, Switzerland
Gill Dady
Guest Contributors, Switzerland
Ekaterina Kolye & Goar Sanfilippo
Guest Contributors, Switzerland
76 Paying it Forward
Annette Ebbinghaus
Guest Contributor, Switzerland
Sara Aswegan
Guest Contributor, Switzerland
Bianca Kux
Guest Contributor, Switzerland
Grace Leupi
Guest Contributor, Switzerland
Muneera Khokhar
Guest Contributor, Switzerland
With thanks to:
Denise Nickerson & Michelle Guiliano Elaine Pringle-Schwitter - Photographer, Cover Shoot Zalina Wälchli - Makeup Artist, Cover Shoot Darie Nani - Cover Design
Let your story fly!
108 As you like it Sovereign Travel
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Women Rock!
Interview with Denise Nickerson and Michelle Guiliano, founders of Salt Consulting & Communications | by Darie Nani
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ore women than ever now create their own working life, through entrepreneurship, innovation, collaboration, creating charity projects and NGOs, community building, and the arts. Working around traditional employment models offers tremendous freedom and accelerated learning; however, the entrepreneurial path can be really lonely! Denise Nickerson and Michelle Guiliano, who are based near Geneva, Switzerland, talked with us about how they have designed their own working lives. They also lead a group of thousands of women who, like them, are creating new ways of working and seeking something more when it comes to achievement, career path, and possibilities for better working conditions and professional success. We hope you will enjoy getting to know them and encountering some of the women from their network in this issue of Sovereign. What is the driving force behind your consulting and coaching company, Salt? Denise: We wanted to live and work from the heart, outside constraints of traditional models of education and working that simply aren’t working. We decided that from the beginning of our collaboration, that part of our time, energy, and earnings would always be dedicated to helping others – we didn’t want to wait one minute to make a difference either! So many people say to themselves, “Someday I’ll help others, someday I’ll invent this or that, someday I’ll write my book”. For us, someday is today, every day! In our very first year in business together we ran a local-global fundraiser: providing coaching to 30 women-owned businesses and raising enough money to send 55 girls to school in developing countries through a girls’ scholarship program**. Our professional focus as coaches is to uncover human potential – by connecting people to their mission in life, we heal insecurities and support so much creativity and action. By the end of our third year in business, we created the Women Rock Network. In 2020 we’ll celebrate Salt’s 5th birthday! Michelle: Parents everywhere, like me, have had to make hard choices about when and where they work and how much childcare they can invest in to support their careers. Women often bear the brunt of professional compromises where childcare is concerned, due to the global persistence of unequal opportunities and unequal pay. I sacrificed years of professional life to raise children while my then husband travelled for work 5070% of the time! The pain and insecurity of unemployment and under-deployment of women is real, especially
for the talented, the inspired, the educated, and those with a mission to change the world. It is why true feminine leadership is needed – for men and for women. With our work, we want to equip people to succeed in ways that strengthen relationships and heal social inequalities.
How did you end up working together? Denise: We each had solopreneur companies before Salt. Michelle had an award-winning eco-ethical product and I was a writer and educational consultant. For me, besides my admiration for Michelle, there were two key factors: 1. I became an entrepreneur because I love people and I ended up alone at my computer most of the time – it didn’t suit my personality or my mission and 2. I kept encountering the same human concerns from clients and audiences wherever I went – concerns about emotional intelligence, character, and motivation that coaching can resolve. I felt an intense calling to have more of an impact on hearts and minds. Michelle’s energy and ability to activate absolutely everyone was the perfect complement to my skills. She gives me courage to stand up and lead in ways I wouldn’t on my own. I know she has my back – always! She’s one of the strongest people I have ever met – her resilience and endurance are legendary! Michelle: I have been a coach my whole life, and my previous, product-based business was a self-imposed learning challenge. I learned how to design and manufacture a product and ramp up distribution and sales. Meanwhile, I had been looking for a business partner for years. I wanted to change directions and to support inspiring leaders but I knew I
would need to find the right person to work with. It had to be someone with integrity and credibility. I started to attend some of Denise’s talks and was so impressed with her brilliance and ability to make everyone feel wonderful. She’s extremely intelligent and she simplifies the most complex and emotionally difficult topics with grace and poise. She never compromises her femininity and commands respect through her expertise. I’m so glad we decided to try working together years ago after we both took a Tony Robbins coaching course. We had so much fun studying and honestly, I’ve never enjoyed my work as much I do now!
You both have made a commitment to be more visible, why is that? Michelle: Sadly, my dad passed away suddenly just over a year ago. He created and led a communications company in the USA for almost 40 years. The videos of his creations, presentations, workshops, seminars and the many speeches he wrote that were delivered by business leaders and politicians are not available to the public. He cared so much about his work and his employees and often worked to the point of burnout. We’re looking for ways, like getting on video and our new coaching column, to make a huge impact in a sustainable way. We want to leave a legacy; and, we want to enjoy life now in good health! Denise: We are also committed to “walk the talk!” We ask our clients to let go of perfectionism, to be vulnerable, and to be strong enough to welcome feedback and put it to good use. We challenge people to stand up for what they believe in, and to take ac-
The power of FEMININE LEADERSHIP is available to everyone. Face fear, risk vulnerability, share your gifts, connect from the HEART, own your WISDOM and create PASSION.
- Denise Nickerson
www.
Salt.consulting
Walk THROUGH the fire. With forged poise and PRESENCE, step into your POWER. Take a STAND for yourself and others.
- Michelle Guiliano
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L
esley Calvó has always been an entrepreneur, starting up and running her own company straight after she left university.
Whilst achieving great success on the outside, on the inside Lesley experienced high levels of anxiety, depression and workaholism. Through her own journey of self discovery and finding ways to align success and happiness, as well as to run a business and thrive internally, she became aware of her unique essence and joined the awakening wave of entrepreneurs who consciously unlock and reclaim the life they deserve. She went back to education, this time with a profound desire to learn who she is inside. Lesley became a Coach, Reiki Master, Hypnotherapist and NLP Master Practitioner and started a practice in London where she helped hundreds of people to change their lives for the better. Here she is sharing her story to help you start your journey of self-healing and self-awakening. This is her story... “In an ideal world, women who are thinking of starting their own business or women who have a business, want to see their business grow to the next level, while having more time and being able to enjoy the process. When I moved to Switzerland, I took a sabbatical to write my first novel and start a family. I finished the novel and my daughter is now older. I felt the need to help people to achieve their dreams again and be of service, helping people actualize this goal of creating balance. The sheer vastness and imaginative potential that life has in store all too often eludes us because of the limiting thoughts and rehearsed self-doubt, which we’ve accepted as our own realities. At least this was the case when I was in the darkest and lowest time of my life; dealing with depression, the dissolution of my parents’ marriage and losing my sense of self and will to live, silenced by suicidal thoughts. Despite this, I was able to complete University at the top of my class with distinction in Jewellery Design in London. Upon graduating, I started my own business, designing and producing high end jewellery; managing to bottle and bury the recurring dark feelings mentioned above, throwing myself into work. My first collection caught the eye of Harrods of London, leading to them buying the entire
Aligning your potential for greatness with your inner authentic voice collection. My business skyrocketed. My company grew to 6 figures very quickly, with my jewellery having a storefront presence around the globe. While trailing my way as an influencer in the fashion and jewellery industry, guest lecturing and judging international jewellery competitions, and consulting for top names such as Vivienne Westwood, Dior, Cartier and Swarovski, I realized that my drive and thirst for success was not fulfilling me the way I had hoped. As my success continued, I looked around at my fellow colleagues and visionaries, and wondered if their definition of success was providing them nourishment or if they felt the same emptiness and void as I did. It was this moment, on a day like any other day, when I decided to take a good look at myself. I realized that my drive towards success and recognition was simply me trying to outrun myself, the suffering self that I believed was long buried and the depression which I thought I rendered manageable. This realization, of a compartmentalized self, resulted in my feeling a deep sense of imposter syndrome. It became clear that functioning and chasing success was not the same as thriving and living a healthy honest life where success, ambition and my inner voice lived in harmony. This ownership of looking inward and letting the healing start from within led me to seek growth and a higher state of consciousness, which organically led to be a Life Coach
Photo credit Alexandra Roth.
and NLP Practitioner, as well as a Certified Hypnotherapist and Reiki Master. The journey of self-healing and self-awakening showed me the power and importance of aligning the inner and outer world, and that true success truly thrives when there is inner peace and self-acceptance. In being an agent of change in my own life, I’ve been able to be a beacon of guidance for other women, helping them break out of their self-imposed mental blockages and limiting mind-sets. Through my one-on-one online coaching I help women unlock their potential; whether they’re thinking of starting their own business, or they have a business and would like to grow it to the next levels, all while creating better time management, more self-awareness and achieving the income they deserve. My services will help you not only grow your business but also to grow the powerful engine from within. My services are online; therefore, you can be anywhere in the world. I currently service clients in Australia, USA, the UK and Switzerland. With my many hats as a writer, mother of a creative and curious 5 years old and loving wife—I am humbled that I have been able to continue to follow my passion and help women entrepreneurs awaken, unlock and claim the life they deserve. As a reader of Sovereign magazine, I am truly honoured to share my story and my mission to help women create the income, conscious life ownership and active impact over their lives that they deserve. Please visit my website and mention “Sovereign Magazine” in the subject heading to start our conversation, as I am offering a limited amount of complimentary 30 min Business Growth Sessions, and let’s uncover your greatness and success from the inside out, while helping you achieve the income and business growth you have always dreamed of.”
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The Magic Pot The art and science of feeling confident in your own skin. Interview with Lili Giglia , founder of ESSENTIALLY LILI | by Dr Marina Nani
After much persuasion from her husband that life in Switzerland was great and much safer for young families, Lili left her job in the UK, took their daughter out of British school and join her husband in Zurich in 2012. A very successful financial analyst who worked for major corporations for almost two decades, little did she know that a new life in Switzerland’s fresh air, mountains and natural beauty was the beginning of her new found freedom.
O
riginally from Australia, charismatic and compassionate, Lili had to find a solution to develop her creativity and entrepreneurial spirit while being the ‘Hausfrau’. This is her story, the story of the Magic Pot!
How did you end up emigrating to Switzerland? In 1990, I graduated from university with a Bachelor of Business (Accounting) Degree. I spent my 20s and 30s working for an Oil company in various departments from Card Services, Aviation, Gas, Exploration to Finance and Shipping. My roles were mainly focused on the finance and performance analysis, as well as maintaining thorough Customer Service for my clients, team leaders and business partners. Whilst based in the UK, I met my husband, and together we began the relocation expedition for his employment. After marrying in 2004, we moved to Dubai where I joined a Logistics company. It was great being in Dubai when the ideas and plans for the Palms were merely drawings and model mockups. We eventually moved for a short time to Basel Switzerland before I was offered an analysis role for a Shipping business based in Sunbury-onThames (UK), where we stayed for almost 2 years. Afterwards, we returned to Melbourne with the intention of being based there after having our first child, as I wanted to have family and friends around to support us. However, my husband wanted to return to the UK, so we departed in 2007 with our 9-month old daughter some 3 days after my sister got married. Whilst based in the UK, I returned to full time work in Exploration and Shipping. We also began renovating our home and recreating our garden.
We had our son in 2010 and I lived in the UK with the kids for a total of 5 years. My husband had moved to Zurich for a 3-year IT project, returning every other weekend. It was hard working full time and raising 2 young children without any family support.
What was the original inspiration behind Essentially Lili? The inspiration for the commencement of my business was based on personal experience suffering with Eczema from 9 years of age. I spent every month being taken by my Dad to see the dermatologists in Melbourne, to find a varying strength of cortisone to help suppress the skin condition. After 10 years of attending specialist appointments, I frustratingly told my Dad I wasn’t going anymore! I felt like they were experimenting on me, taking photos of my hands and skin, guessing what was going to happen next. In my teens, I took my share of antibiotics and the drug Roaccutane to help my skin, only to have a worse outcome. After several months of using these, I had a severe reaction from within which left me swollen, itching, weeping, bleeding and covered from head to thighs in Eczema. My insides were inflamed from the antibiotics, causing other issues with my body and skin. I stopped going to university for 2 months due to the hideous state I was in. I cried so much from the pain I was in and began my quest to find another solution to this terrible condition. When I was well enough, I returned to complete my Bachelor of Business (Accounting) Degree in 1990. Someone suffering with skin conditions like Eczema can become self-conscious and often paranoid, that people are looking, criticising and judging their appearance. I know it happened to me as a child, and I was often isolated or left out, without friends. I believed those kids hadn’t seen it before, and thought I was contagious. Losing my self-confidence caused me to internalise and suppress my feelings, and I became quiet and shy around others, trying to hide behind loads of make-up and long hair. For me, it was horrible going through this during my youthful years, and I totally understand the emotional anguish when someone explains how Acne, Psoriasis, Rosacea and Eczema makes them feel.
What finally led you to start your business? There’s nothing wrong with being a housewife and taking care of your children, but what I missed the most was having my own income and being independent. I had been working and travelling for over 17 years before arriving in Switzerland. For me, who wasn’t used to being at home all the time, this was the hardest thing to get used to, especially with my employment history and experience. When I was looking for ‘what to do with myself whilst living in Zurich’ options, I considered becoming a Brand representative, selling another company’s skincare products. Unfortunately, there was the ‘conflict of interest’ clause which I fell into when looking at the small print of their contract. I didn’t want to be dishonest with myself or my customers, selling products that I would never personally use myself.
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As I had already found a combination of solutions for healthy looking skin, I wanted to share this with others. Perhaps many people can use the products purchased over the Beauty counter, or from the supermarket and chemists. However, there were lots of people like me who would react badly to the unnaturally sourced ingredients contained in these products, making us unable to use them without some sort of discomfort. At the end of March 2015, I attended the Women’s Expo in Zurich and spent my time being inspired, making enquiries, and collecting information. A week later I decided to ditch the idea of being a brand ambassador for someone else and make my own brand instead; with the promise it would only contain 100% natural ingredients. I had been making my own face balm for years, which had kept my skin not only nourished but Eczema free. I created a small sample batch of this product, I went to a Women’s breakfast group and distributed them with my little handmade information sheets and business cards. I awaited patiently for feedback to see what they thought of the sample. About a month later, a lady who had been suffering with Rosacea for years messaged and asked to meet me, saying ‘Where can I get more of that pot of magic?’. She told me her story, how much money she had spent buying varying kinds of cosmetics, commercial and pharmaceutical products to help resolve her skin issues. Frustratingly, nothing seemed to work for her until she tried my Nourishing Face Balm. She had used the sample and needed to get more, the first product in years which had calmed, soothed, and help restore that dry, itchy redness that was hiding underneath her make-up. Here was another woman like me, who had tried to hide under thick foundation, looking for the solution in products that only made the skin condition worse. She also told that all these years, she was getting up at 5am to start her makeup routine of hiding her face which was covered in Rosacea. Now with my product, she was applying much less to her skin. I decided to stop wearing foundation altogether as I could confidently apply my skincare products directly to my face and I haven't worn any again since 2015! I found all my commercial brand makeup, foundations, lipsticks, some of which hadn’t been opened but were expired and containing parabens, and I threw the whole lot out. It was worth a lot of money, but my skin felt wonderful without it. I believed this was my new path, a quest to help others feel confident about themselves within their own beauty, whilst being able to take care of themselves in a holistic way.
a ’ m s d W n a a r y G “There is no one-diet-fi ts-all”
Interview by Darie Nani
How pleasurable eating, real, wholesome, yummy food can defy stress levels, weight issues, lack of energy and low sex drive.
D
anna Levy Hoffmann, founder of Organilicious, is a leading health and lifestyle coach and an expert on living a nourishing lifestyle. Unlike her competitors, her solution doesn’t involve dieting or deprivation, instead she focuses on how to engage in pleasurable eating, real, wholesome, yummy food . Danna offers deliciously sustainable lifestyle-changes, providing women all over Europe with reinvigorated vitality, and smarter eating habits. Passionate about helping clients create sustainable changes in their diets and daily lifestyles, her program is providing women with sustainable nutrition solutions. Thanks to her soon to be a decade of study and leadership in personal nutrition, she’s helping people reduce the stress and exhaustion that comes with body health and weight issues. When not using a personal, tailored approach to help clients reach their goals, she can be found leading events and workshops for companies such as Google, UBS, IKEA and Siemens, on the topics of proper nutrition, vitality, healthy eating and living a renewed lifestyle. A Jamie Oliver Ambassador and self-proclaimed health freak, Danna is a mother of two amazing boys, and the wife of “the most amazing husband alive”.
What inspired you to start Organilicious? My past life was very diverse, including working in gastronomy and catering, being a graphic designer and photographer, and running Miso Cute Cooking - healthy cooking courses for kids (and their parents). I also studied psychology and I’m happy to say that what I do today brings all of my past experiences together in a beautiful way. Organilicious was born out of demand. The parents who came to Miso Cute Cooking courses repeatedly asked me to run courses for adults, and come to their homes to guide them to a healthier eating and living. Although I loved working with kids, I realized that the parents needed the guidance and were ready to receive the help I offered. Many things lead me to where I am today. Most of the credit I always give to my grandmother, whose life revolved around health and food in combination. From a very young age, I knew that entrepreneurship would be in my future. However, discovering that path was a lot more detailed and complex than I expected. At around the same time that I lost my grandmother to cancer, I was pregnant with my firstborn. At the time I didn’t get a chance to make any major changes in my life. Soon after I gave birth, I was pregnant yet again. About two years after my second child was born, I was overweight, depressed, and miserable. It was then that I received the news that my own mother was diagnosed with, not one, but two types of cancer. That was the moment that started me off on a wild journey of self discovery. I was determined to get my health back on track, help my loved ones get healthier, and hopefully protect my little family unit as well. Fast forward a few years later and lots of water under the bridge: I’ve managed to find my health and the passion I need to help other women identify a path that’s right for them also (and help them discover their own bodies and needs).
What would you say is the main benefit to your clients? Typically my clients suffer from high stress levels, weight issues, lack of energy, and/or low sex drive. I tailor a program for each individual, in order to discover sustainable lifestyle changes that increase their vitality, health and self-satisfaction. My goal is to help each individual find the way that is right for them and their own bodies. I truly believe in bio-individuality. There is no “one-diet-fitsall” and not one way of leading your life. Each person ticks differently and I’m there to help each of them discover the path that’s right for them. To truly be healthy and feel amazing in our bodies, we must give it the nutrients it needs, in a sustainable way that doesn’t make us feel deprived. Unfortunately, we are vulnerable to living out the unhealthy habits and conditioning from our parents- this includes what we eat, how we shop, snacking habits, food pre techniques and emotional eating tendencies.
So how does it work? My 6 month program begins with a health history consultation. This is where I get to know my clients, their struggles, and their needs. Following that, every 2 weeks we have a virtual one-on-one meeting, in order to set goals that help them sustainably overcome their struggles. As their accountability partner, I make sure that these goals are not hard to achieve, and are actually being met.
What’s the biggest challenge you have faced thus far? I could name a few challenges, but I think the biggest one alongside finances, would be to believe in myself despite what those around might tell me. Our friends and loved ones often worry about our future, and with that, try to convince us to stick to the conventional way of living - get a job, pay the bills, and stop dreaming. I was determined to follow my dream, and was lucky enough to have a supportive husband who helped me pursue it.
Where do you turn for inspiration and why? Looking at my boys grow, and imagining their future is all the inspiration I need. Guiding them to a well-balanced life and helping them grow to be sensitive and passionate young men, is the reason I wake up each morning and push through. There are many people in my life whom I admire, and it’s hard to choose just one. But first and foremost, must be my mother followed by Greta Thunberg, Michelle Obama and Ellen DeGeneres. All four ladies believe in a noble cause, and don’t let anything get in their way.
www. organilicious.ch /organilicious.ch organilicious.ch
Danna Levy Hoffmann @MisoCuteCooking
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Helping Patients Around the W rld Own Their Health By Sara Aswegan, Chief Commercial Officer & Managing Director Backpack Health SĂ rl
A
dvancing research, support and treatment for chronic health conditions has always been my passion. Helping others with their health began when I started with Bayer in the field as a representative in the chronic and serious conditions of infectious disease, cardiology and endocrinology therapeutic areas. I continued my career in industry in various positions, most recently I dedicated the last 12 years with a focal point in the global rare disease space. A native of Iowa, I studied Business and Communications at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln and began my career as a pharmaceutical sales representative. Through my years in industry – both in the field as well as in headquarters - I learned invaluable leadership, business and communication skills which enabled me to build a career leading teams focused on developing comprehensive strategies, with a particular focus in rare diseases. While serving as part of the HGT leadership team for Shire, I arrived in Switzerland nine years ago for what was intended to be just a short assignment. During this period, I fell in love with the people, the beautiful surroundings of the Swiss mountains and countryside and decided to make Geneva my home. I took up positions in LSD-MPS II and GI Franchises, serving as Vice President Product Strategy Team Lead. I then went on to work for Ultragenyx Pharmaceuticals as Senior Vice President of Commercial, Global Strategy. In the last few years I began consulting for patient foundations, biotech/ pharma companies entering the rare disease space and also for Backpack Health, assisting the company in shaping its business strategy. When I first learned about the company and their work in the rare disease field, my interest
was immediately piqued. I took them on as a client, and I was impressed by both the high calibre and passionate team and their product, recognizing its immense potential to empower patients to own and control their own health information. My deep understanding of rare disease and expansive relationships across industry, academia and patient foundations especially suited the mission of Backpack Health. After about a year of consulting with Backpack Health, I joined the company as Chief Commercial Officer and Managing Director, with my home base in Geneva. Together, our team offers patients around the world (with a focus on rare disease communities) a centralized platform where users can securely store, manage and share their health data. With the ability to translate their health information into six different languages, the platform allows users to engage with their complex medical teams, family as well as travel more easily, without the burden of lugging around heavy binders filled with their health documentation. The mobile tool not only empowers patients by placing them at the center of their health with full access to their own information, but it also connects users to patientspecific registries and provides critical resources specific to their own needs. By way of these patient registries, users – with consent – are also able to contribute their de-identified data to advance medical research, helping pharmaceutical companies better develop treatments and cures. What first struck me about Backpack Health was how it brings together the pharmaceutical industry and rare disease foundations to truly empower their patients and families affected with rare and chronic conditions. Had Backpack existed when I was leading the teams at my former companies, it would have made a huge difference. The ability to augment personal and non-personal outreach to educate, engage and empower patient communities is powerful, and in so many languages. The multi modal, complete and compliant solution allows pharmaceutical companies to interface with individuals and families while contributing to the breakdown of the inherent data silos which exist, allowing more robust data to support advancing research efforts. The contribution of patient reported data offers these companies a clear view into the daily lives of patients, such as symptoms of disease and current treatment, providing key insights. Together with our Product, User Journey, Project and Patient Advocacy teams, we have users in over 80 countries worldwide, all of them empowered to be their own health historians, whether they are individual users or part of a larger care team. We reach patient communities worldwide – some as small as 25 members, and others with well over 15,000 members. Our users love Backpack Health, as evidenced by their consistent use of our platform with over 77% using Backpack Health at least twice per month.
www.backpackhealth.com
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The information, education and resources that partnering foundations provide to patient communities using Backpack Health has proven invaluable on many occasions. The stories shared by users exemplify how Backpack affects their lives. In one instance, a user was unresponsive in a foreign airport and emergency responders were able to access her secure Backpack Emergency Share Card, providing responders with her health information in their local language, Portuguese. Her emergency card gave a high-level overview of her rare condition, providing the responders with the correct approach for managing this episode and allowing them to treat her properly. Each day since I decided to take the plunge and join Backpack Health’s team last June, I am invigorated by Backpack Health’s mission to help patients with rare and chronic conditions around the world and its commitment to fill patients’ unmet needs. The spirit of the people on our team together with the progressive approach we are taking to become the leading innovator in digital health makes my work at Backpack Health meaningful and thrilling on a daily basis. My days are filled with attending medical conferences and patient advocacy events, meeting with clients, or video conferencing with colleagues and clients from my office in Geneva. Since joining Backpack Health, I have reconnected with many former colleagues, clinicians and patient advocates to spread the word about Backpack Health as a solution. As a non-native living in Switzerland, I am also a Backpack user and find it very useful to have my health information instantly translated to French and other languages as we explore the country and the whole of Europe. It gives me extra comfort and confidence as an expat abroad. I am proud to lead the Backpack Health SARL and bring our platform to individuals, families and clients in the region and beyond.
Sara is a seasoned healthcare executive with over 20 years global experience in empowering patients, creating connections, and enabling advancement in research for rare and chronic conditions. She is also an advisor to startup biotech companies and patient organizations, volunteering and consulting to continue her mission to make a difference in rare diseases. Sara serves the team at Backpack Health from its Geneva, Switzerland, office where she resides with her partner, Brian, a diplomat dedicated to humanitarian work. Together, they are committed to making a difference in global health.
Performing and Approaching Life Calm and Confident by Annette Ebbinghaus
I
am a high energy person and have always lived my life at full tilt! I was a competitive track, middle distance and long distance runner in Canada up until the age of 28. It required great discipline as throughout this time I studied and worked as a Civil Engineer, building bridges and tunnels, and also completed a Masters of Engineering while working full time. I moved to Switzerland in 1993 and have since moved continents 3 more times, twice with two young children. When I returned to Switzerland in 2005 it was a challenging time for me. I had some underlying health issues and being uprooted from my support network at this point in my life sort of unravelled me. I knew it was time that I learn a form of contemplation or meditation outside of my prayer life and my long contemplative runs. Thus I began my Sophrology journey.
What is Sophrology
Watch the video >> Truly Balance was started in 2008 and it began when I combined my bodywork expertise with my newly acquired certification as a Sophrologist. Take advantage of our offers by visiting out website!
Sophrology is about discovering one’s consciousness in a state of peace. It is actually referred to as “Happiness Training�. The technique is a from of dynamic relaxation. It involves various movements with phases of standing and various seated positions, tuning into body sensations and awareness, and uses visualizations of positive experiences. Advance levels include sounds and deep contemplation of the origins of life and our human essence. I mastered Sophrology quickly as I am a visual person and am a person of motion and as a an athlete have a high level of body awareness. While studying Sophrology I instantly felt my mindset shift to a level of acceptance and joy at where I was in life, in that moment. I wanted to bring this to the other people around me that I could see were also struggling with the upheavals of life.
beChill: Happiness training for the next generation My true passion is working with young people as I have been mentoring adolescents most of my professional life. In 2008 I began working in schools in the Lac Leman region of Switzerland teaching adolescents how to manage both life and exam stress. Collège du Léman was where I began and I developed my own program with Sophrology as the foundation. Over 10+ years of work has cumulated in my beChill Courses and Workshops that I teach in schools and publicly. As time has progressed I have worked with hundreds of adolescents in the region in group settings, one to one and in camp settings. In 2014 I was asked to teach at the only English speaking Sophrology school in the world, the Sophrology Academy, located in the UK. Here I teach future sophrologists the ins and outs of working with adolescents and am an active mentor to students.
“Sophrology helped me concentrate on what is important. I argue less and feel more confident about school” 14 yr. male
beChill Trainers Several of the Sophrologist that I have taught have asked me to teach them my complete system and this has culminated in the BeChill Training program for sophrologists, coaches, counsellors, teachers and therapists that work with Adolescents. This Training program is being launched in the Fall of 2019 in the UK. beChill Trainers will be trained and supported through the beChill HUB to teach beChill Exams and beChill Life courses which have their foundations in Sophrology and also utilize aspects of the other modalities that I practice. I believe my work is critically important as I am working in the mental health industry. 50% of people with a mental illness developed it before the age of 14, 75% by the age of 24* which is around the time the brain completes it development and is considered to be mature. Often there are no real signs that this may happen, however when the adolescent brain is exposed to prolonged periods of stress, the very structures of the brain are affected. We are all well aware of the 24/7 communication and information overload that has taken over most of society and the pressures to be accepted into top universities. This has not done the adolescent brain any favours.
Reaching 1 million adolescents by 2030 My goal is to be able to reach and positively impact 1 million adolescents by 2030 through a network of beChill trainers around the world. Help me to reach my goal by becoming a certified beChill trainer! If you have an adolescent child that is a high performer in school or sports? Sitting exams or finding life a little overwhelming? Then beChill is for them!
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Learn to Move Mountains Compassionate problem solvers experience flow in action through social innovation, resilience, hope and entrepreneurial skills
Interview with Elaine France, Founder, Flow In Action | By Darie Nani
“We are at climate tipping points that are calling on us to do things differently; to embrace being fully human, to reconnect with ourselves, others and the planet that supports us, to understand what it is to flourish.” - Elaine France
Tell me about you, what did you do before? I am a coach and consultant specialising in resilience and entrepreneurship for sustainability. I live in the Swiss Alps, in Valais. This is my base and I travel for work within Switzerland and overseas. I’m from the UK and spent my career in London, working on social change in government advisory, NGOs, public sector and social enterprise. I came to Switzerland to visit some friends in 2011 for a two-week ski break and have been here ever since. My passion is connecting people to their wellbeing, so that they are happier and healthier and have the tools to create solutions which sustain people and planet. My first professional qualification as a librarian, taught me to show people how to find answers. This has been the foundation stone of my work in strategic business development for social change.
What inspired you to set it up? What lead to you starting this business? Connect:
Having spent 17 years living in London, I needed to be in nature. I wanted to stay in the mountains because that is where I experienced wellbeing, flow, joy and resilience. So, I took a leap of faith, started to explore these concepts and how they linked to taking action for the planet,
changing how we consume and do business…and that is how it all started.
Tell me about Flow In Action. What problems are you solving? Who benefits? How does it work? Flow In Action helps youth, educators, leaders and entrepreneurs as global citizens, to take action for the planet. We give you the tools to experience ‘flow’ - the pure joy of creating solutions - to become compassionate problem-solvers in your communities. First, we connect you to your wellbeing to increase your creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship skills; and then show you how to imagine and build projects and businesses, designing them around what we know increases flourishing of people and planet. It brings together my 25 years of social innovation expertise with Positive Psychology tools, to place flourishing at the centre of making positive impact for people and planet. We all want a happier and healthier planet, so designing lives and businesses around flourishing, is better economics for everyone. This does not come from consuming more but from learning how to love yourself first, so that you become
open-hearted, connected to others, spend time in nature and recognise your interdependence with it. You have to practice wellbeing, in order to know how to create really authentic, powerful solutions around it. This comes from being deeply connected to your unique blend of imagination and creativity - as your life purpose, empowering you to be that problem-solver.
You also do a lot of youth work, what can you tell us about it? Globally, children and youth are stating their anxieties about the climate catastrophe. I work with them to increase their wellbeing and mental health, through Learn to Move Mountains® activities which connect them to their unique blend of creativity. Empowering them as problem-solvers for the planet, regardless of academic ability. It is breath-taking to see them play with ideas when I set them innovation challenges around the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The approach embeds resilience, hope and practical entrepreneurial skills for taking action as global citizens. The positive impact is immediate, there is such contagious joy as they generate solutions in these ‘change-maker spaces.’ I work with schools, partner with UNCTAD in Geneva to deliver workshops to inspire youth entrepreneurship, design curricula and innovation challenges, and train educators as changemakers, to facilitate activities for healthy campuses. And I go into innovation and entrepreneurship educational settings, incubator and accelerator programmes and businesses, to run ‘resilience for the innovator and entrepreneur’s journey’ workshops and 1-1 coaching. Turning an idea into a self-sustaining business is full of challenges. Having the technical solution is essential but it is the human element – ditching your ego, being open to learning, knowing how to overcome failure and set-backs, practicing flourishing – which keeps you moving forward to succeed. It is a groundswell of more love as a social mission, the start of change, the seed of incredible ideas.
What is the main source of inspiration for you? Being in Nature is my inspiration and where I get my best ideas. I go ‘mountain energy bathing’ by taking a walk every day and most evenings. And being connected to friends and family. Relationships are the lynch pin in our wellbeing, so talking, having fun, sharing our lives is fundamental to our wellbeing. I am inspired by so many people who dare to be authentic, who create the space for others to have ideas and be open-hearted.
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Talent takes time to mature, just like a good wine! Sometimes you have to unlearn everything you thought you knew about yourself, if you want to Master Your Life by Bianca-Janina Kux
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was 39 years old and it struck me that I was in a job and career I did not enjoy. It had always been my dream to have my own business but I literally never knew the best time was to start. When you are comfortably snuggled up in the corporate world, the push to step into the unknown is rather small.. and this is how most people think. Especially in Switzerland, where we have only 16% engagement rates according to the Gallup Global Workplace studies. Which means most people prefer to do a well-paid job even though they do not enjoy it. It’s all part of a wider culture which encourages people to focus on their weaknesses vs. focussing on their strengths and as a result, people work jobs that do not fulfil them. Understanding that it’s not you who needs to change when the environment around you is not working but instead it is that very environment that needs changing is an important first step.
Now, I am a Strengths Based Leadership Expert and I support leaders to understand their uniqueness and create a successful and happy life from there. Most of us have been taught all our lives that we are not enough, that we
Photo credit: Christina Pörsch
That’s not to say the corporate world doesn’t provide an opportunity for personal growth. Being a Dale Carnegie Trainer I had already discovered one of my natural talents to inspire people through my positivity speaking. Leading the Rich Women Cashflow Club, in cooperation with the Institute of Financial Education, for 2 years I helped women to get a better Money Mindset and this helped me develop my own confidence to launch my business. I wanted to bring positivity into this world and help people become aware of the 'diamond' they have inside of themselves, giving them a way out of becoming someone they never wanted to be.
need to improve in areas where we do not excel in. We have never been taught what it feels like to focus on areas where we naturally excel in, to improve those skills and talents and to follow a career based on them. For some individuals it is therefore like a process to remember who they really are (or forget who they thought they are). It’s a lot like rediscovering themselves and stripping off the competencies that we have learned by being observant of ourselves and acknowledging what it is that makes our heartbeat go faster, discovering the things that put a smile on our face. In essence, most people have no idea what it is they are really good at because we are taught to focus on the gaps, on what is missing and what needs improving. All this leads to is frustration, unengagement, a sense of unfulfillment and often-times burn-out. People quit bosses, not jobs, as we know. Therefore, it’s is key that leaders start their Leadership Journey with themselves and then inspire their team to do the same. This is my contribution to building thriving workplaces and happier people who can shine. Self-Leadership is a vital part of being a great leader because we all lead by example. Now don’t be fooled, founding your own company is a challenge. No one ever checks in with you, there are no deadlines unless you make them and you are wholly responsible to stick to them. Being able to think for yourself and ask yourself what is it that makes you happy is a pleasure and a challenge at the same time. You have total freedom to create the life of your dreams but when you never learned to dream to begin with, it can feel like you are learning to walk for the first time. Learning how to trust yourself is not easy and this can be a real hurdle to overcome. Speaking from my own experience, this has been a huge thing for me (as I like to turn around fast results) and sometimes this is not possible when you are out there alone. However, good things take time ( just like a good wine) and learning how to trust in the process is all part of the journey, but I promise you, it is worth it!
Bianca Kux, originally from Germany, lives in Switzerland since 2004. Holding a Business Administration degree from Bamberg University, Germany, she has worked for the Migros Corporation for 4 years and afterwards changed sides from the Big Label industry to the Personal Brand side of the economy. At Johnson & Johnson she worked in International Sales & Business Development and trained International Sales teams for almost a decade. It was then when she faced her biggest challenge in her working career and started training as a Dale Carnegie Trainer to become a Gallup Strengths Coach. Bianca helps people monetise their unique talent and master their life.
info@biancakux.com Find me on
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Jung, Spontaneity and Creative Instinct by Patricia Anne Elwood, Jungian analyst, Lausanne, Switzerland.
In our age of compulsive attention to technology there is a risk of loosing access to spontaneity and creative instinctive sources.
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ome teachers say that young children don’t draw or paint spontaneously anymore. Recently collaborating with a group of teachers who complained of this specific lack in children’s interest, spontaneity was encouraged and alternatives presented. Consequently all the children engaged in an amazing and dynamic process. This can happen because spontaneity is natural and instinctive and can be retrieved at any age or stage of development. Carl Jung, the famous Swiss psychiatrist, devoted his life to exploring the psyche. Delving into the depths of his own unconscious his main access, apart from dreams, was through spontaneity. Jung himself drew, painted and sculpted all his life. Every stage of his self-exploration was accompanied by the taking up of pen, pencil, brush or chisel, and plunging again and again into this zone of unknowing so as to allow the unconscious to have its way through spontaneity. Jung admits he didn’t always know where this would lead him, but he distinctly felt that despite a lack of rational understanding, he could follow the intuition that his drawings were highly significant. During the period in his life when he lost all outer orientation he turned inwards and began drawing mandalas daily. Jung, in his own process of maturation evolved from a rational thinker to an open-minded intuitive who became capable of apprehending deeper feelings, without a need for understanding. He even welcomed the place of not knowing with curious enthusiasm. As regards the mandalas he had not fully realized the effect and what they eventually led to but he assiduously persisted in his drawings. Jung professed; “we must let things happen in the psyche... there are things in the psyche which I do not produce, but which produce themselves and have their own life.” Eventually through dreams, drawings, active imagination, his mandalas and his spontaneous activities, Jung came to the centre in himself.
Carl Gustav Jung, 1875 - 1961 For information on courses contact: patelw@bluewin.ch
Jung’s methods produced a template for patients, friends and collaborators in his time. He encouraged those around him to follow a similar path towards “the Self” through all forms of spontaneous drawings and paintings. Many of his friends and contemporaries became passionate followers involved in what was at the beginning of the 20th century an exciting avant-garde movement. His work and research provided a paradigm shift into an innova-
tive approach where new ground was broken and hitherto mysterious dimensions were brought to light. Jung attributed the greatest importance to the image itself, believing that once emotions take form in images the conscious mind can actively participate in recycling the energies attached to the images and subsequently return to a state of equilibrium. He says “To the extent that I managed to translate the emotions into images- that is to say, find the images which were concealed in the emotions- I was inwardly calmed and reassured.” In Liber Novus, his famous Red Book, he declares: “The wealth of the soul exists in images.” This was Jung’s personal credo. Jung describes different levels in the unconscious; the personal level, which refers to personal experience, and a deeper impersonal level, belonging to the mind bank of humanity which he called the collective unconscious. For Jung the collective unconscious is the realm of instincts and archetypes. What do we understand by instincts and archetypes? What is their relationship to each other, and their function in the psyche? Instinct and archetype influence each other intimately. Instinct is responsible for the activation or triggering of a mode of functioning; the archetype is the pattern or underlying structure that the mode of functioning falls into. Jung explained instinct as being a set of accumulated, inherited patterns which no longer require learning in order to be activated. We have only to observe young children who, at the sight of certain gadgets, have an automatic ability when it comes to technical skills, even where no learning has taken place. The gadget provides an image, which activates a process, which is triggered into action. Jung defines instincts as “motive forces”. Instinctive perception activates, patterns in the psyche unfold, leading to a release of psychic energy and a feeling of flow, advancement and especially leading to renewed ideas and inspirations. Spontaneous drawing gives access to this instinctive level in the psyche which allows for creative progression. The knowledge that spontaneous drawing provides access to the psyche and can even produce processes that are unexpected for the conscious mind remains mostly unrecognised. And yet many great artists, inventors or inspired writers sought access to spontaneity. Jung says; “If there is a high degree of conscious cramp, often only the hands are ca-
pable of fantasy; they model or draw figures that are sometimes quite foreign to the conscious mind. These exercises must be continued until the cramp in the conscious mind is relaxed, in other words, until one can let things happen, which is the next goal of the exercise. In this way a new attitude is created, an attitude that accepts the irrational and the incomprehensible simply because it is happening.” What is important in this approach is the dialogue that one may establish with the unconscious. Spontaneous drawing from a Jungian perspective is not confined to any age group; it is universal and can be addressed to any person, of any age, sex, cultural background, or religion, and goes far beyond childish expression. The interpretation is however a science and an art. As a science one needs a basic understanding of the structure and dynamics of the psyche as well as experience with symbolism and unconscious processes. As an art it requires experience and encompasses all the functions of the psyche, feeling, thinking, sensation and intuition. Jung says in his famous Red Book, which I prefer to call “Liber Novus” as he himself entitled it: “scholarliness is not enough, there is knowledge of the heart that gives deeper insight.” It is this knowledge of the heart that one must open to so as to be able to grasp the mind in the background that is expressing itself through the drawing. This is an acquired art that goes with self-development and empirical experience. Letting go of the thinking mind to reach the level of the irrational pre-logical mind is what Jung had to do and which he advocates. In the autumn Routledge & CO.UK are publishing; A Jungian approach to spontaneous drawing, A Window on the Soul. This book follows a Jungian approach and includes an introduction to the psychology of Jung. The aim is to encourage others to access their unconscious through this simple method. It is also meant to provide a tool for those working in the helping professions who need to refresh their therapeutic proposals, and as an alternative to a purely rational approach. The fact that spontaneous drawing is accessible to all beyond age, culture, religion, and often even beyond pathology means that it may be applicable in many domains. One specific aim is to provide an authentic direction for self-development or diagnostic insight in certain pathological cases. It may be explored and tested in an endless variety of fields.
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How to bring back your life’s Sparkles Interview with Victoria Sparkes | By Dr Marina Nani
A Senior lecturer and Research Fellow at two UK Universities, with a Masters in neurological rehabilitation, a PCGE and a Doctorate in Education, mother of three teenage girls, Victoria Sparkes has lived in Switzerland on and off since 2001.However, teaching in a non- English speaking University wasn’t an option and when relocating to Switzerland the language barrier imposed severe restrictions on her employment options.
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decade ago when she moved back to Switzerland, she decided to give her new home a vintage look. Victoria loved revamping furniture, but the process of painting was time consuming and often messy – sanding, priming then painting usually with an oil-based paint - and she also found the paint fumes uncomfortable. Looking for an easy solution to painting these pieces of furniture, she came across Annie Sloan’s paint which can be applied directly onto most surfaces, from metal, to painted wood. This allowed Victoria to take her creativity to a total new level, but little did she know that paint is her new found passion and freedom! At the time it was difficult to find Annie Sloan’ paint in Switzerland and she approached Annie to bring the brand to Switzerland. Since then, Victoria started to import and sell Annie Sloan products to interior boutiques and shops in Switzerland, in addition to representing the brand locally. Inspired by Annie Sloan’s vision, Victoria is sharing her new found passion for decorative painting. In this exclusive interview Victoria is sharing her remarkable story with a selfless desire to inspire us to be creative and adventurous with our own colours, to help us bridge the distance between pain and paint, just as she did.
What led you to the decision to start this new business? My French and German were not of a high enough level to be able to teach or supervise research students in a non-English speaking University. Also, I had three children and my husband travelled a lot with his job. I needed something that would fit in with the family as settling my girls back into Switzerland was my priority, although I missed the cerebral part of my work life. Discovering this brand afforded me an opportunity for a new experience. I’d never started a business before and neither was I an experienced interior designer or logistics expert. These points made it a challenge for me, but one I could enjoy Search Annie Sloan Switzerland
without being over-run by juggling childcare and family life too strenuously. It was essentially like taking a hobby and turning it into my business.
What’s the biggest challenge you have faced thus far? It must be language. As part of my role I train new stockists in the techniques we use with the brand, so they can improve their business by running their own workshops and being knowledgeable about the paint. In addition, dealing with customs, logistics companies and traversing the three Swiss languages has been challenging. Finally, the cost of marketing, advertising and generally brand promotion in Switzerland is limiting. I had to engage in these gradually when I was able to afford to do so. Being patient was quite a challenge.
What was your solution? I think in starting a new business there are always problems which you didn’t anticipate initially. The process involves working as clearly through them as possible. In my case I find dividing a bigger problem into component parts which I can influence individually is enormously helpful. I am happy to say that for most problems we encounter we have tried and tested solutions. Currently the retail market and high street is a difficult environment for retailers, since many shops are now purely online and are able to cut prices due to their lower overheads. The competition is now unevenly weighted.
Who are the people who benefit from your solution? The people who benefit mostly from this business are small independent shops. The ethics of the brand I import is to support small independent businesses rather than large retail franchises or chains, or purely online shops. This means that women like myself, who have a dream of having a business which can be organised around homelife, can create this without the worry that there will be a chain next door undercutting their prices. The brand offers support and good communication for the shops that we sell to. Social media, updates of products and techniques are all available to foster the feeling of a community. All our stockists respect each other greatly and support each other’s business success.
Where do you turn for inspiration and why? There are many sources for inspiration: my husband for his experience in logistics and business in general, social media for creative ideas. Annie Sloan herself is the ultimate inspiration as the person who invented Chalk Paint almost three decades ago. The success of her brand has grown exponentially and her reinvention of ideas of how to use the product keeps the creativity of the brand alive, flexible and unique. Considering she heads up a huge enterprise, she is always available to contact directly, and she knows and hand picks all of her worldwide stockists herself- personal touch goes a long way.
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