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I just love historical fiction. Particularly the stories that follow the adventures of a captivating leading lady. I especially love it when the tale begins in the heroine’s native country, and then through the unfolding of events, the heroine finds herself moving abroad and creating a life and following or discovering a passion in a brand-new country.
Sound familiar?
Exactly, it’s just like your story
I was recently immersed in a fabulous novel called “A Remarkable Woman” by Jules Van Mil. I was immediately drawn to the title (how could I not be, with a title like that!). And the book description on the back cover had me hooked. As the fictional heroine of the story, Avril, a 26-year-old Parisian, “sails from Paris to Australia with a suitcase and a dream”. She is described as determined, courageous and resourceful. The story itself is described as “A glorious nod to the strong migrant women who made their mark on the place they chose to call home.”
How could I not think of you all?!
I truly adore these storylines; I find them enormously inspiring. As I was progressing through the chapters, thoroughly immersed in the story, it occurred to me . . .
Oh my gosh, this is why I love helping women to create their own brand of confidence, style and joy in their adopted countries, because it’s like showing them that they’re the leading ladies of their own fascinating stories.
Just like the “remarkable women” in these novels, you each have your own individual personalities, adventures, challenges and desires, and you have all shown the same qualities of determination, courage and resourcefulness in your own way, as you create a path for yourself in your new countries.
Which is why I love to remind you, all the time, that your native language is your superpower. It's why I wrote my book by the same title.
So that each time you do something like trip up on some grammar in your new language, or become a little overwhelmed or dejected with trying to find your place in your new culture, you can repeat this phrase to yourself, “My native language is my superpower” to remind yourself that you, too, have been the determined, courageous and resourceful leading lady of your very own story.
It’s not the language itself (although it’s super cool to be able to speak more than one language), but what it represents. The fact that you even have “a native language” in addition to English, and that your native language charmingly sneaks into your English with the lilt of a gorgeous accent, represents a whole gamut of experiences through which you have grown and shown incredible qualities that absolutely deserve to be celebrated.
Your journey to make a place for yourself in your adopted country, to navigate the contrasting cultures and start fresh in a new world has caused you to evolve as a woman.
Exactly like in those fabulous novels of historical fiction that are based around the personal evolution of a captivating woman . . .
you’ve landed in your adopted country in a particular point in time in the history of life on Earth, and you’ve encountered all the challenges, joys, highs and lows that come with being surrounded by the immense contrast of a different culture and language.
You’ve learnt lessons and you’ve discovered and developed qualities that staying in your birth country would never have afforded you.
As I was reflecting on all this, I began to wonder . . .
What if you truly saw yourself as the heroine, the Leading Lady, in your real-life story?
A story filled with adventures as you discover an exciting new version of yourself in your adopted country.
You really ARE the leading lady of your story.
You’ve always been the leading lady.
You maybe just haven’t quite realised it.
You are daily writing new chapters in your own story.
An ongoing, adventure-filled ramble of dreams, opportunities, surprises, twists, reflections, new desires, inspired moments, lessons learnt, and a big life being lived.
Your story could easily grace the pages of the best historical novel.
How might your perspective change if you decide to truly embody the role of Leading Lady in your own life?
When you begin to see yourself as the Leading Lady, all the elements of inspired storytelling begin to fall into place.
You’ll start seeing all the events, experiences and moments of your life as chapters, with each situation connecting you with a new revelation, a new quality, a new desire, a new determination, a new focus.
And the whole story arc would follow your life-long progress as you become a more confident, self-aware, decision-making, inspired modern woman.
The overriding essence of your personal novel is Your Becoming.
The perspective of looking in on your life as an observer kind of gives you the power to change your own history, simply by observing it with wiser eyes.
Instead of seeing moments of sadness, overwhelm, confusion or uncertainty as negative times, you now get to see them as moments that triggered your evolution.
A heroine doesn’t allow herself to stay in negative emotions for too long. Her emotions certainly do wobble – she's human, after all. But as the heroine of the story, she ultimately uncovers hidden strength and clarity and allows herself to transform her life.
It’s the same for you, as the heroine of your life story. With the gift of hindsight and observation, you can now see your own history as moments of great learning. As opportunities to become more discerning about what you like and dislike, what you want and don’t want, and with that knowledge, even if you’re only realising it now, you can begin to make choices that bring you more joy as you gradually allow yourself to shine.
You get to write your own story, with you as the star.
As you gradually step further and further into the role of the fascinating woman you are, your growing confidence will attract more and more good-feeling experiences, opportunities, desires and emotions that will continue to guide your story in an uplifting way.
So how about it? Could you fully embody the role of Leading Lady in your life, a life that could grace the pages of an inspiring novel?
I say YES, of course you could! You absolutely could. And me, too. Let’s begin approaching the moments of our lives as chapters in our own personal evolution.
And from now on, because we’re doing it on purpose, our evolution will be all the more satisfying because it will be of our own deliberate creation.
This is going to be so fun!
Join me in my next post as I show you how you can add an Elegant Reframe to the chapters of your life and transform them into captivating moments of awareness and evolution.
In the meantime, remember that no matter which direction your life appears to be heading, you ARE the leading lady in your story, and as such, you have the power to decide where you want your story to take you.
And your native language, for all the personal transformation that it represents, is a superpower that's special to you.
See? You have all the makings of a captivating heroine.
Judith x
Would you like a sneak peek at my gorgeous book?(Yes, I'm soooo in love with my book!)
CLICK HERE for a free introductory chapter PLUS your beautiful Identity Manifesto.
The real-life book is coming out soon in print and e-book; soooo excited!
Here's what pre-release readers are saying . . .
"Unputdownable! The material really hit home for me in an entertaining and genuine way that made me want to make changes."
"A heart-warming, soul-searching, uplifting book with many laugh-out-loud moments. A clear 5/5 rating that presented itself right when I needed it."
"Thank you for writing this awesome book about our journey as an immigrant. Even just reading the intro, I feel important, as if it was written just for me."