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Inspirational Women

Celebrating Inspirational Women: Dr. Susan Blackmore

By: Odette Beris
06-07-2011
Dr. Susan Blackmore, Inspirational Women

Life is wonderfully random sometimes. I was in a coffee shop in the city a few weeks back and struck up a conversation with a woman sitting next to me. Somehow, we started talking about consciousness (don’t ask me how) and she recommended Susan Blackmore’s short book on consciousness ‘Consciousness: A Very Short Introduction‘ . I’m glad she did; it’s a very stimulating and interesting read which certainly challenged my assumptions on the topic.

Dr Susan Blackmore is a freelance writer, lecturer and broadcaster. She studied psychology and physiology at Oxford University and has a PhD in parapyschology. She is also a Visiting Professor at the University of Plymouth. Her research interests include work on memes, meditation and consciousness – she no longer works on the paranormal.

Dr. Blackmore has written many books including The Meme Machine (1999)and recently, Zen and the Art of Consciousness (2011). In addition to her writing, she has also presented at conferences and on radio and television. I recommend watching her ted talk on a new kind of meme which is very engaging.

Inspired by her work, I invited Dr Blackmore to be this week’s featured guest. As is the format for these blogs, I asked her one question:

What is the best piece of career/life advice you’ve ever received?

She responded as follows:

“You can’t do everything”. This was one of my Mum’s favourite sayings. As a child I found her terribly annoying and bossy and difficult, and I’m sure she thought the same of me. I was always in trouble. So I tended to ignore her advice in all its forms. Nonetheless, half a century later, and especially now that she is dead, I remember those words “You can’t do everything”. “Everything” is now so much more than she could ever have dreamed of: our world is just so much more complex and we all have opportunities way beyond anything she could have imagined, let alone aspired to. Even so the old advice applies just the same, or even more so.
When I get yet another invitation to give a lecture, write an article, attend a conference, contribute to a book or whatever it may be, and I can’t fit them all in or choose which to do; or when I think I could visit somewhere I’ve never been, or learn kayaking, or go sailing or walk on Dartmoor (all clamouring to be done from where I live in south Devon), or I worry how useless I am and imagine I should do more charitable work or help other people more …or…. I just say to myself “You can’t do everything” and it is strangely comforting. Whoever we are and whichever time we have lived in there is always far more that could be done than one person can ever do. So I get on with whatever seems most appropriate at the time and thank her for the reminder.

This advice serves as a useful reminder I think, to be selective about what we choose to pursue at any given moment. Since we can’t be everywhere at once, it’s strangely helpful to remember that we simply can’t do it all, however much we may want to pursue many different options at the same time. Going down one road may mean, necessarily, that you can’t walk another.

So choose well and remember ‘you can’t do everything‘.

Many thanks to Dr. Susan Blackmore for her participation in this blog.

*Photo used with kind permission

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Celebrating Inspirational Women: Professor Jo Shapcott, Poet

By: Odette Beris
13-06-2011
Inspirational Women, Jo Shapcott, Poetry

Continuing with the Celebrating Inspirational Women blog series, I am delighted to introduce poet Jo Shapcott as this month’s featured guest.

Jo Shapcott is Professor of Creative Writing at Royal Holloway, University of London and an award-winning poet. She was educated at University College Dublin, Oxford University and Harvard and is President of the Poetry Society.

Jo has published various collections of poetry including Her Book, Poems 1988-1998 which is a selection of poems taken from 3 earlier works; Electroplating the Baby, Phrase Book and My Life Asleep. She has also won many prizes including the Commonwealth Poetry Prize for Best First Collection and the Forward Poetry Prize. Most recently, she was awarded the prestigious Costa Book of the Year Award for her latest book of poems Of Mutability.

Of Mutability is a collection of finely crafted poems about the ephemeral nature of change, reflected in both the natural world as well as the human body itself. The title poem ‘Of Mutability’ is particularly beautiful, moving from reflections on the body through to meditations on the natural world. It concludes with the elegant line: ‘Don’t trouble, though, to head anywhere but the sky’. Wonderful stuff.

As is the format with these ‘Inspirational People’ blogs, I asked Jo:

“What is the one best piece of advice in your career/life you’ve ever received?”

This is what she said:

‘The best advice for poets I’ve ever heard of is from the Irish folk singer Liam Clancy to Bob Dylan: ‘Remember Bob, no fear, no envy, no meanness.’ If those particular chips are on your shoulder they will certainly creep into your art, not to mention what they’ll do to your soul. The best advice directly to me was from the teacher who told us this: ‘There is nothing that is not interesting.’ The startling implication was that even (or perhaps, especially) boring and difficult and painful experience is enlightening – right up to the end. It was an idea that was hard for us to ‘get’ as teenagers – ‘but what about dead people, Miss, and war?’ – but also hard to forget. It’s expanded in my imagination at every stage as I’ve grown older.’

I love the advice about no fear, envy or meanness. To feel unencumbered by negative emotions sounds like a freeing idea. Jo’s second piece of advice ‘there is nothing that is not interesting‘ is also valuable I think. To be open to new areas not only satisfies our inner curiosity but broadens our knowledge. As she suggests, experiences that seem boring or challenging can sometimes extend our sense of self and in doing so, transform our universe.

Thanks to Professor Jo Shapcott for her insightful words and her participation in this blog.

*Of Mutability (2010) by Jo Shapcott is published by Faber & Faber

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Celebrating Inspirational Women: Courtney E. Martin

By: Odette Beris
05-04-2011
Feminism, Inspirational Women

This week’s featured guest for the Celebrating Inspirational Women blog series is writer and speaker Courtney E. Martin.

Courtney is an editor and blogger at feministing.com and a senior correspondent for The American Prospect.  She has also written several books about feminism and activism which include ‘Click: When We Knew We Were Feminists’ and ‘Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters’. Her most recent book ‘Do it Anyway’ profiles 8 social activists and is an interesting and enlightening read.

I came across Courtney’s work after listening to her Ted Talk on ‘Reinventing Feminism‘.  It’s an inspiring talk, open and full of humour. She talked about how her parents introduced her to feminism, but having associated her mother’s women’s groups with ‘swishy skirts’ was initially reticent to take up the label of feminist. In her reinvention of feminism, Courtney argues that aesthetics, fun and beauty are to be embraced rather than rejected. She suggests the idea of intersectionality is also key; so class, race and gender are an integral of what it means to be a feminist. Everything is connected afterall.

For me, perhaps one of the most interesting ideas she explored in her talk was the paradox of aiming for success but still being fulfilled by failing well.  I think this is great, so positive. Thinking big, working towards success but  finding fulfillment irrespective of the outcome feels like a healthy mantra. A nod to ‘do it anyway’ perhaps.

As is usual in these Inspirational People blogs, I asked Courtney  one question:

‘What is the one best piece of advice in your career/life you’ve ever received?”

This is what she said:

‘I’m not sure my parents even gave me this advice explicitly, but I always say that they taught me three key things: 1) be kind to everyone, 2) be curious about everything, and 3) trust your own outrage’.

Sounds like good advice. Being kind not only benefits others but improves our own mood, since research in positive psychology suggests it can increase levels of positive emotion.  Moreover, curiosity is associated with intelligence and problem-solving ability. Our lives may become more meaningful as we search for new knowledge and make connections. And trusting your own outrage appeals to the inner activist. It reminds a person that we can challenge the status quo, that change for the better is always possible.

Thanks to Courtney E. Martin for kindly participating.

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Celebrating Inspirational Women: Martha Lane Fox

By: Odette Beris
12-03-2011
Inspirational Women


Last week it was International Women’s Day. It was incredibly encouraging and inspiring to read about so many positive female role-models. Women who have gone the extra mile, bent the rules, challenged the status quo, made something happen that has had an impact.  To honour this, I’ve decided for a time, to refocus my blogs on Inspirational People to Inspirational Women, as a way to mark the occasion and celebrate what women have accomplished.

I’m delighted to say that my first featured guest is the entrepreneur and philanthropist Martha Lane Fox.

It has to be said; Martha has an amazing CV. She was Head of Business Development for Carlton TV Digital Channels only a few years after
graduating from Oxford,  where, incidentally, she read Ancient and Modern History.  By the time she was 24 she was co-founder of the travel website Lastminute.com. This not only made her a multimillionaire but confirmed her place as one of the most successful entrepreneurs out of the dotcom era.  She later went on to join the boards of Channel 4, and Marks and Spencer.  The rest as they say is history.

Except it isn’t. Martha Lane Fox has continued to achieve extraordinary things.  After recuperating from a near-fatal car accident in 2004, she has shown her support for social issues. In 2007, she set up her foundation Antigone, which awards grants to charities working in health, education and criminal justice areas. Currently, Martha is championing the government campaign ‘Race Online 2012‘, encouraging the 9 million people in the UK who are not online to get online by the end of next year.  Highlighting the importance of digital inclusion and connectedness has clearly been a key mission for her.

In the tradition of these ‘Inspirational People’ blogs I asked Martha one key question which was:

“What is the one best piece of advice in your career/life you’ve ever received?“

This is what @marthalanefox tweeted back:

“from grandpa – “never become an accountant, if you absolutely have to then at least be a bookie and you get to do it outside“

Martha Lane Fox has clearly got a great sense of humour as well as incredible business sense.  Her career to date suggests she has embraced both fun and risk to achieve remarkable success. She has also had the grace and generosity to give it back to society through her foundation and other campaigns.

Many thanks to Martha Lane Fox for kindly agreeing to be included in the EnormousYes Inspirational Women blog.

*We are all connected.*

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Inspirational People: Margo Guryan – musician/composer/arranger

By: Odette Beris
21-12-2010
Creativity, Inspirational Women, Music

I am honoured to include Margo Guryan, the musician/composer/arranger as this month’s Inspirational Person. I came across Margo’s gorgeous music by chance; another musician I admired referenced her as a key influence, so of course I had to look her up. I’m glad my musical curiosity got the better of me. Margo’s songs are beautifully crafted and there is something understated and effortlessly stylish about her work.

Guryan studied classical and jazz piano at Boston University and focused predominately on jazz. However, apparently after hearing a Beach Boys song she was so inspired she sat down and wrote ‘Think of Rain’. This was a new way of writing for her and several songs later, culminated in the release of her album ‘Take a Picture’ .

‘Take a Picture’ was originally released in 1968 but reissued more recently in 2000 by Franklin Castle Records. It is a real gem of a record, with gorgeous melodies, arrangements and her signature vocals. Margo’s songwriting cleverly manages to blend classical and jazz influences to produce timeless pop.

So, as this month’s Inspirational Person, I asked Margo Guryan:

“What is the one best piece of advice in your career/life you’ve ever received?”

This is what she said:

Best (and most useful) piece of advice I ever received was from my mother: “Think before you speak.” Words can hurt…and even though you might apologize, once spoken they can never really be recalled. If you think about it, you can probably remember the most biting words said to you more easily than the kind things others have said.

I think this is a compassionate yet astute message. Negative comments can often loom larger than the positive, so to be mindful of the impact of our words is surely no bad thing. And perhaps it is particularly timely to reflect on during the festive season, with all the pleasures and challenges it brings.

Good will to all this Christmas and wishing everyone a happy and meaningful year ahead.

Special thanks to Margo Guryan for kindly contributing to the EnormousYes blog.

(*The featured photograph of Margo Guryan was taken at the Lenox School of Jazz)

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Inspirational People: Follow your interests says Barbara Fredrickson

By: Odette Beris
14-09-2010
Careers, Dr. Barbara Fredrickson, Inspirational People, Inspirational Women, Interests, Positivity

Each month I invite an individual whose work I’ve found inspirational, to share what they feel is the best piece of advice that they have ever received in their career or life. This month I approached Dr Barbara Fredrickson, who is Professor of Psychology at the University of North Carolina.

Some of you may be familiar with Dr. Fredrickson’s work on positive emotions, which is an interesting body of research with potentially important implications for psychological health and well-being.  In brief, her broaden-and-build theory suggests that experiencing positive emotions such as love, joy and interest may literally broaden our mindsets and build on our inner resources. Experiencing joy, for instance, may spark a sense of playfulness, whilst experiencing interest in something may trigger the desire for exploration. (For the interested reader, check out Dr. Fredrickson’s book called Positivity or in my previous blog on the positivity ratio.)

So, what did Dr. Fredrickson consider the best piece of advice she had ever received? She wrote:

‘…(the) best advice I ever got was “Follow your interests” which translates into, don’t follow the money or do popular or derivative work.  Develop your contribution by developing your passions.’

This resonates for me. By following our passions we are more likely to tap into positive emotions, which the theory suggests will trigger behaviours to extend and build our intellectual and psychological resources. By doing what we love, we may then go the extra mile to further develop our competence in areas that we enjoy. As well as developing our skills, we may feel more authentic when we play to our strengths, creating a sense of well-being.

Dr. Fredrickson has followed her interests in positive psychology which has enabled her to develop her contribution within society. Perhaps following our interests is key to creating meaning and fulfillment in whatever we choose to do.

References:

Fredrickson, B. L. (2004). The broaden-and-build Theory of Positive Emotions. The Royal Society

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