StarWomanPlus interviews Daniella Blechner who does not have time for fear and doubt.
StarWomanPlus- What Inspires you?
Daniella Blechner- I am inspired by the ups and downs we experience in life as individuals and as a collective. I am inspired by the history and resilience of my ancestors and this plays a huge part in my faith and belief that we can overcome any adversity. My father is Jewish and my mother is Jamaican. All four of my great uncles survived the Holocaust (one surviving many concentration camps.) Sadly, my Great grandparents were murdered in Lithuania. My ancestors on my grandmother’s (mother’s side) were Maroons, or better known as ‘the runaway slaves’ and my grandfather’s side were slaves. I am inspired by their struggle; I am inspired by their resilience and I am indebted to them that I have my freedom today.I am inspired by nature; we can learn a lot from it!
SWP-Are you on journey with destiny? What is that journey? What is your destiny?
DB-I believe we all come into this world with a clear purpose and life is about remembering what that is and fulfilling it. I've always had a strong sense of purpose and believe that I wanted to make a difference in this world. 'Destiny' is a huge word. I believe that some things are pre-ordained so no matter what path we take, we are destined to end up with the pre-ordained result. Some people misconstrue the idea of "purpose"; people often think it means fulfilling a mammoth task or achieving world domination but 'purpose' could be something as simple as helping another through a hard time through our words or actions- sometimes we may not even know the impact we have but the beauty in this, is that by being a tiny cog in the chain, our impact can amount to much more than being an International Best Seller. Purpose, for me, is about the positive impact you have on others and the world at large. Am I on a journey with destiny? I feel as though I am in alignment with my purpose yes. Nobody knows truly what their destiny is and I'm quite happy not knowing. I am concerned with today.
SWP-Have doubt and faith affected your core/vision/mission/purpose? How?
DB-I actually wrote about doubt and faith just before I published my book Mr Wrong. I had just resigned from my job without a job to go to, but I absolutely knew that this was the right thing to do. When I let go of all my fear and doubt, everything fell into place and what I received was so much more than I ever imagined. A job fell into place that suited my hours and flexibility perfectly. Doubt and fear are what kill dreams before they are even born. Whilst it's important to be discerning, (as not every opportunity presented is for our highest good) I have no time for doubt and fear- I acknowledge them get to the root and unplug. When you are clear in your vision and purpose and passionate about your mission whether it's helping others, getting a message across, empowering or inspiring, your passion and belief flows through whatever you do. It's also great to have a supportive network of genuine people behind you who can support you in your vision, be honest with you in terms of what is not working and what is and encourage you to unplug when doubt and fear creep in. Who you have around you is paramount.
http://dingdongitsmrwrong.com/2014/05/16/let-dreams-win-over-doubt-and-fear/
SWP-Is whatever you are involved in an effective tool for change?
DB-I would say yes. I have had many great reviews and testimonies for both my book Mr Wrong and the workshop I run called 7 Steps to Creating the Greatest Version of You! Mr Wrong is a collection of both witty and poignant stories written by women who have encountered the infamous Mr Wrong. The book encourages women to not blame others for what they attract or even the men themselves but to start an inner journey and look within. It contains exercises, reflection points and meditations that allow women to examine, question and challenge negative belief systems they may have about; Love, relationships, and most importantly, themselves. It's about rediscovering our self-worth and through sharing our stories, we can claim them and start paving a positive way to the future. The book also contains success stories and stories from men too. I have many people inbox me telling me that the book is a great healing tool.
My workshop is again about inspiring and empowering women. It guides women through the 7 Steps to Creating the Greatest Version of themselves. It's about facilitating them in tapping into their own Inner Power, their own Strength and their own pool of resources. In the workshop, participants are given a work book where they work on individual and group exercises that allow them to; establish their values, identify their needs, wants and desires, success stories, use Positive EFT to raise energy and clear negativity, learn the Power of Forgiveness and Gratitude as well as set intentions and their own create vision board. The workshop is designed to give women the tools to establish a clearer vision and path and the work book allows them to continue this practice.
SWP-When did you begin to embrace and become aware of your purpose/vision? What was your reaction?
DB-I have always been aware of my vision and purpose. As a young child I always said, "I'm going to write books." It just wasn't a question; it was statement of fact. I love children as they just have a confidence and understanding of who they are from a young age and as we grow and become 'conditioned' we lose that. We become slaves to "doubt" and "fear" and settle for mediocrity (or more so jobs or professions that we are not happy or aligned with.) My purpose and vision has been shaped through every experience I've had; there was never an epiphany just a sense of growth and expansion in my vision. I knew I wanted to help people in some way; I have streams of writing written by my 10 year old self saying I wanted to end the wars, save the planet, stop vivisection, start world peace and above all "help people." As a child I didn't know how. When I was 17, I was thrown out of college and I sunk into a deep depression and began a rollercoaster ride of rebellion for the next two years. I was depressed because I felt I had become lost and even now I find writings about "not knowing what my purpose was." I felt like a lost ship that had lost my radar. In 2000 I worked as a voluntary teacher in Tanzania and that journey really was the beginning of discovering who I was and what I was truly capable of.
SWP-Are a woman's mind and soul important?
DB-Without question!
SWP-How should our educational systems be involved in helping girls discover their purpose?
DB-The education system should be set up to encourage and empower BOTH boys and girls to tap into their inner power and discover their purpose. Too often the emphasis is on “achieving good grades” to get a “good job” but not enough on how to utilise their own power and inner guidance system. Regardless of faith, I think spirituality plays a huge part in discovering our purpose. I am a believer that meditation should be taught in schools. It is a great way to quieten the mind, to become aware of our thoughts and really find out who we really are through silencing the chatter of our mind. We are taught too often to seek outside ourselves for answers and quick fixes but never taught the true power of journeying within.
7 Steps to Creating the Greatest Version of You workshop allows participants to examine their values, learn about the power of our words and how what we speak into the world and what we say form our reality. These are important tools to teach our young people, especially girls who already think that they are not pretty enough, not smart enough or xyz enough to fit into society’s ridiculous notion of “perfect.” We should teach our young people the power of prayer, mantras and affirmation (again regardless of faith.) We should teach our young people to visualise; expand their consciousness and get them to dream the world they want to see, from there they can see how THEY fit into that dream and discover what they can truly contribute. Teachers work relentlessly and as a teacher, I know the tremendous pressure schools are under and the sheer blood, sweat and tears teachers put in. What I do know is that there should be less onus on stats, data and school league tables and more on developing each child to think critically and actively rather than learning by numbers or by spoon feeding to please examiners and get “good grades.” We should teach our young people how to become entrepreneurs, create and build their own empires as well as how to have healthy relationships and love themselves.
SWP- Who are (is) your mentor(s)? What have you learnt from them?
DB-Sophia Bailey is my mentor. She mentored me back in 2013 and I have nothing but love, respect and great admiration for her. Sophia Bailey is CEPO of Starbound Solutions and she helps entrepreneurs to create streams of income through doing what they love. When I came to her I was halfway through writing Mr Wrong and knew I wanted to leave teaching full time. During my Discovery call with her, I knew she was right for me as she just got what I was about in regards to my purpose and vision with absolute clarity. My second session with her really helped me to plan my path and business and she really got me thinking about how I wanted to grow. When I came to her I was like a mad scientist or creative writer who simply wanted to write but when I left I had a clear vision about how I wanted to grow and most importantly why. I am forever indebted to Sophia as under her guidance I have strengthened in terms of my self-belief and grown even more passionate through the wisdom and knowledge she imparted. I highly recommend her to anyone who is looking for a mentor. Her website is www.sophiabailey.com.uk SWP-Those times that seem as if nothing is working, how do you pull yourself through?
DB-Get on with it!
SWP-Any last words for women/girls out there standing by and for their dreams?
DB-You only live life once. If there is something out there that you want to pursue, if you have a burning desire to fulfil a dream, if you know what your purpose is, or even if you don’t please, I urge you to really live life; take the time to discover who you are and what you want and have fun doing it. Life really is too short to say “coulda, woulda, shoulda.” Nobody will care what you “wanted to do.” Do it NOW. It’s never too late. Stand up for your dreams, be the author of your own destiny. Live a life that when you get to the end, you can watch back in the video tape of your eye and say you just watched the best movie ever. Yes there were ups and downs, trials and tribulations but you did everything in your power to fulfil your dreams and inspired others. You learnt, you lived, you loved and you had fun along the way. That’s all anyone could ever ask. Enjoy.
Daniella Blechner is a South London based Writer/Director .In 2002 she wrote, produced and directed her first short Connexions which was Nominated for Best Screenplay at the BFM Short Film Awards in 2006 and “Best Open Deck film” when screened at the Cutting East Festival. Daniella won the 2007 Film Fund Award from Lewisham Film Initiative to complete her poetry based short drama Hair We Are for the Black History Month Short Film Challenge.
Daniella exhibits a fresh, quirky and distinctive style focusing on drama and comedy. She has also produced an anti-bullying drama, The Turtle and The Nightingale with American based director Gershon Hinkson. The film has enjoyed success in UK and America and in February 2012 aired on HBO.
Daniella is the proud author of Mr Wrong
Website: www.daniellablechner.com
Blog: www.dingdongitsmrwrong.com
FaceBook: www.facebook.com/dingdongitsmrwrong
Twitter: www.twitter.com/dingdongmrwrong
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Mr-Wrong-Learn-Claim-Right-ebook/dp/B00NEGVY5W/