Journeys of Empowerment

Michiel Sujeet Reith
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Real-life stories: conversations with (aspiring) impact-driven female founders who turned inner shifts into meaningful change;Lessons from role models: grounded wisdom from people who chose clarity over pressure and aligned their work with who they are;Reclaim your clarity: a journey of self-discovery, agency and purposeful direction;Join the movement: a community that believes in growth through honest reflection, one story at a time!Empowerment begins with a single step, your choice to listen, reflect and reconnect with what’s true for you now.Oh and one more thing: by leaving a review and sharing an episode you’re already playing a part in someone’s next step 🙏🏾

  1. #81 | Alina Hekelaar | "Building self through uncertainty!"

    3d ago

    #81 | Alina Hekelaar | "Building self through uncertainty!"

    In this episode, I connected with Alina Hekelaar, co-founder of workwonder.co, entrepreneur and community builder who is learning how to navigate ambition, motherhood and identity without losing herself in the process.  Alina’s journey begins in post-Soviet Ukraine, growing up during a time of instability where uncertainty was not an exception, but daily reality. At 17, she left everything familiar behind and travelled 40 hours by bus to the Netherlands with little more than determination, survival instinct and a suitcase filled with potatoes from worried parents. What followed was years of hustling. Learning English fast enough to study abroad. Working nights behind bars while surviving university. Fighting visa insecurity. Carrying the pressure of not wanting to fail herself or disappoint her family. Again and again, life pushed her into situations where she had to figure things out before feeling ready. But beneath the entrepreneurial drive and resilience was a deeper journey unfolding. Motherhood became the mirror that forced her to confront boundaries, self-worth and the exhausting habit of always pushing forward. Slowly, through therapy, coaching, relationships and lived experience, she began shifting from survival toward self-awareness. Today, through WorkWonder, Alina is building something rooted in human connection, belonging and culture. Yet her story is ultimately not about startups. It is about learning how to trust yourself while life keeps changing around you. Deep dive talking points: 👉🏾 Growing up in uncertainty: navigating post-Soviet instability and leaving Ukraine at 17 to build a life abroad; 👉🏾 The pressure to succeed: carrying responsibility, fear of failure and the need to prove herself through achievement; 👉🏾 Boundaries and motherhood: how becoming a mother revealed patterns around people-pleasing and self-abandonment; 👉🏾 Entrepreneurship and identity: learning to lead, take risks and rebuild after painful business setbacks; 👉🏾 From survival to alignment: shifting from constant hustle toward self-awareness, acceptance and meaningful impact; Empowering nuggets: 🙌🏾 Sometimes the bravest thing is not pushing harder, but allowing yourself to pause and listen inward; 🙌🏾 Failure is rarely the ending. Often it is life redirecting you toward something more aligned; 🙌🏾 You do not need all the answers before taking the next step. Clarity often arrives through movement; In Alina’s words: 🙌🏾 “Every day is a new chance. I can treat it as a new day and do everything in my power” Alina reminds us how easy it is to confuse constant movement with certainty. But real growth often happens when we stop trying to control every outcome and begin trusting who we are becoming through the uncertainty itself. Connect with Alina: Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alina-hekelaar/  Website: https://workwonder.co  Curious to learn more about the 60-day Clarity Intensify Trek? Visit ✨Journeys of Empowerment✨ | Let’s make space to see it clearly before you redesign anything!

    1h 39m
  2. #80 | Kasia Pokrop | "Rebellious Female Founder Perspective: Stop waiting for the system!"

    Jun 16

    #80 | Kasia Pokrop | "Rebellious Female Founder Perspective: Stop waiting for the system!"

    In this second 𝗥𝗲𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗙𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲, a deep dive with Kasia Pokrop, founder of 3mbrace Health | Formerly Mamamoon Health and someone who is no longer willing to wait for the world to catch up with women’s health! What struck me most is that this conversation was never really about hormones or healthcare. 𝗜𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. After becoming a mother, navigating corporate life and stepping into the startup world, Kasia found herself asking a deeper question:  ⇾ if women who have seen the gaps stay silent, who exactly is going to change them? We discussed what happens when someone 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 “this is normal” as an answer. From startup accelerators where women’s health was treated as a niche topic, to workplaces and healthcare systems still overlooking half the population.  Awareness alone is not enough and why change begins the moment we stop waiting for permission! Beneath every conversation about women’s health sits a bigger question:  ⇾ who gets to decide what deserves attention, research and investment?  Kasia challenges the quiet acceptance that systems will eventually fix themselves. Her belief is simple. If we want a different future, we need more people willing to question what everyone else has learned to live with. Deep dive talking points: 👉🏾 The invisible gaps: why women’s health is still too often dismissed with “this is normal”; 👉🏾 Who gets a seat at the table: what startup and investment spaces still overlook; 👉🏾 Awareness versus action: why understanding the problem is only the beginning; 👉🏾 Changing systems from within: how workplaces can become catalysts for healthier lives; 👉🏾 The ripple effect of courage: what happens when ordinary people stop waiting and start speaking up; Some rebellious nuggets: 🙌🏾 Sometimes rebellion is not making noise. It is refusing to accept an answer that no longer makes sense; 🙌🏾 Systems rarely change because time passes. They change because people decide they cannot look away anymore; 🙌🏾 You do not need to have all the answers before becoming part of the change. Curiosity and conversation are a powerful place to begin; Kasia’s empowering quote: 🙌🏾 “If women like me don’t do something about it, nothing is ever going to happen.” Listening to Kasia left me wondering how many things we're still accepting simply because they have always been there?| Oh and one more thing: ⇾ “𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝘃𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻’𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵” Connect with Kasia: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kasiapokrop/  Website: https://www.3mbracehealth.com/support-and-resources  Curious to learn more about the 60-day Clarity Intensify Trek? Visit ✨Journeys of Empowerment✨ | Let’s make space to see it clearly before you redesign anything! Ps will we see you at upcoming Women's Health event at Equals on the 24th of June?  Link to the event: https://luma.com/vng249q4  ⇾ 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲!

    1h 6m
  3. #79 | Aubierge Ball-Gamthety | "Starting over as power!"

    Jun 9

    #79 | Aubierge Ball-Gamthety | "Starting over as power!"

    A fascinating deep dive with Aubierge Ball-Gamthety, founder of The Way Is Togetherness, speaker, sales professional and advocate for women reclaiming their voice, visibility and power through every stage of life. Aubierge’s story begins in Chad and Nigeria before civil war forced her family to flee to France as refugees when she was just six years old. From spacious embassy life in Africa to crowded refugee housing in Paris, she learned early that life can change without warning.  But the deepest shift came at 15, when her father suddenly passed away and she became responsible for helping raise five younger siblings while supporting her grieving mother. What followed was a lifetime of resilience, discipline and learning how to survive by stepping up. Through marriage, divorce, migration, motherhood, corporate leadership and eventually menopause, Aubierge kept reinventing herself again and again. Not from comfort, but from conviction.  Her journey is not about avoiding adversity, but about turning every ending into a doorway toward becoming more fully herself. Deep dive talking points: 👉🏾 Growing up through displacement: fleeing war and adapting to life as a refugee in France; 👉🏾 Early responsibility and self-leadership: becoming a caregiver and role model at just 15 years old; 👉🏾 Marriage, identity and self-worth: learning to stop seeking love through self-sacrifice; 👉🏾 Menopause as initiation: reframing this life phase as freedom, wisdom and personal rebirth; 👉🏾 Visibility and voice: speaking up for women, authenticity and leadership without apology; Empowering nuggets:  🙌🏾 Sometimes starting over is not failure. It is life asking us to finally choose ourselves; 🙌🏾 Real confidence is not pretending to know everything. It is trusting that you will figure things out along the way; 🙌🏾 Your lived experience becomes powerful the moment you stop hiding it and start embodying it; In Aubierge’s words:  🙌🏾 “You have wisdom, resilience, freedom, strength and power. Now it’s your turn” Books mentioned: 📚 The Bible: as a lifelong source of guidance, belief and purpose throughout her journey; Aubierge reminded me that resilience is not about never breaking. It is about deciding, again and again, that your story is still being written. Maybe the next chapter of your life is not waiting for permission, but for your courage to begin it! Connect with Aubierge: Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aubierge-ball-gamthety/  Company Linkedin page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-way-is-togetherness/about/  Curious to learn more about the 60-day Clarity Intensify Trek? Visit ✨Journeys of Empowerment✨ | Let’s make space to see it clearly before you redesign anything!

    1h 38m
  4. #78 | Tanushri Pal Chowdhury | "Reclaiming life beyond work!"

    Jun 2

    #78 | Tanushri Pal Chowdhury | "Reclaiming life beyond work!"

    In this episode I connected with Tanushri Pal Chowdhury, founder of BalanceWorks, leadership coach and subconscious reprogramming facilitator, whose journey moves through ambition, loss, identity and the quiet process of finding herself beyond achievement. Tanu grew up in India surrounded by strong examples of resilience and independence, especially through her mother, who raised three daughters while navigating life largely on her own. From early corporate success in India’s booming outsourcing industry to leading international teams and managing global clients in London, her life became deeply tied to performance, responsibility and external validation. But underneath the promotions, titles and constant movement forward, something slowly started to crack. The loss of one of her closest friends during COVID became a profound turning point. It forced her to confront how much of life had been lived on autopilot, always believing there would be more time, another call, another tomorrow.  That realization opened the door to questioning everything: work, identity, self-worth, relationships and what it truly means to live with presence. Deep dive talking points: 👉🏾 Growing up with empowered women: how her mother shaped her understanding of resilience and agency; 👉🏾 The corporate achievement cycle: chasing promotions, performance and external validation for over two decades; 👉🏾 Loss and awakening: how the passing of a close friend during COVID became an emotional reckoning; 👉🏾 Identity beyond titles: confronting the emptiness that appeared when career became self-worth; 👉🏾 Reclaiming presence and purpose: moving from overdoing into conscious, aligned living; Empowering nuggets: 🙌🏾 Sometimes the biggest wake-up call is realizing we treated life as if there would always be more time; 🙌🏾 Achievement can build a career, but presence is what gives meaning to a life; 🙌🏾 Asking for help is not weakness. It is often the moment we stop carrying everything alone; In Tanu's words:  🙌🏾 “It does not have to be either or. You get to choose what you want to do” Listening to Tanu reminded me how easily we can lose ourselves inside achievement, responsibility and constant doing. Maybe the real question is not only what are we building, but who are we becoming while building it? Connect with Tanu: Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tanushri-pal-chowdhury/  Website: https://balanceworksbytanu.com   Curious to learn more about the 60-day Clarity Intensify Trek? Visit ✨Journeys of Empowerment✨ | Let’s make space to see it clearly before you redesign anything!

    1h 26m
  5. #77 | Ana Herrero-Walace | "From scarcity to financial agency!"

    May 26

    #77 | Ana Herrero-Walace | "From scarcity to financial agency!"

    A deep dive convo with Ana Herrero-Wallace, founder of Ada Invest, author, keynote speaker and financial mentor who helps women move from financial anxiety into clarity, ownership and real agency over their lives. Ana’s journey begins at a defining moment at age 12, when her father lost his job during a recession in Spain. What followed was not just financial loss, but emotional instability, silence and eventually independence far too early.  At 15, she was living on her own, navigating life without the safety most children rely on. That experience shaped a deep scarcity mindset, one that followed her into adulthood, career choices and even success.  But through lived experience, mistakes and reflection, she began to shift. Today she uses that journey to help others move from fear and uncertainty toward clarity and empowerment! Deep dive talking points: 👉🏾 Early scarcity imprint: how childhood financial instability shapes lifelong beliefs; 👉🏾 Independence and survival: growing up too early and carrying responsibility alone; 👉🏾 Success driven by fear: choosing security over alignment in career decisions; 👉🏾 Money and identity: how finances intertwine with worth, safety and belonging; 👉🏾 From control to agency: building awareness, systems and long-term confidence; Empowering nuggets:  🙌🏾 Scarcity is not about money alone, it quietly shapes how you see yourself and your place in the world; 🙌🏾 Financial clarity is not about perfection, it is about creating awareness and taking small consistent steps; 🙌🏾 True agency begins when you stop reacting to fear and start choosing with intention! Ana’s empowering quote: 🙌🏾 “I have enough money, I have enough friends, I have enough love, and I can trust the process”  Books mentioned: 📚 Still Thinking… Act: a practical and human approach to turning financial awareness into action! And what about you? Where in your life are you still operating from scarcity, even though you may already have more than enough? Connect with Ana: Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ana-herrero-wallace/  Website: https://adainvest.co  Book: https://mybook.to/rypMMkA  Curious to learn more about the 60-day Clarity Intensify Trek? Visit ✨Journeys of Empowerment✨ | Let’s make space to see it clearly before you redesign anything!

    1h 2m
  6. #76 | Blanca Vergara | "From isolation to co-creation!"

    May 19

    #76 | Blanca Vergara | "From isolation to co-creation!"

    In this conversation, I connected with Blanca Vergara founder of CoCreation Institute, a systems thinker and coach who brings together corporate structure and human depth to explore how we move from isolation into meaningful co-creation. Blanca’s journey begins in a childhood marked by emotional distance, perfectionism and the quiet survival strategy of withdrawing inward. Achieving became her way to belong. From top grades to a successful corporate career, everything looked aligned on the outside.  But underneath there was loneliness, disconnection, and a life that felt increasingly empty. It was only when she faced the gap between what she loved and how she actually lived, that something shifted. That moment opened a path toward integration, where her individuality, creativity and longing for connection could finally coexist. Deep dive talking points: 👉🏾 Isolation as perception: feeling alone even when surrounded by people; 👉🏾 Survival and perfectionism: how early coping mechanisms shape identity; 👉🏾 The illusion of success: external achievement without inner fulfillment; 👉🏾 Embracing eccentricity: daring to be fully yourself within connection; 👉🏾 Co-creation as the future: moving from control and consensus into creative tension; Nuggets of empowerment: 🙌🏾 Belonging should never come at the cost of losing yourself; 🙌🏾 True connection begins where authenticity replaces performance; 🙌🏾 The life you want is often on the other side of what you fear most; Blanca’s empowering view:  🙌🏾 “That thing that is so terrifying to you is exactly the door towards the happiness that you are longing for”  Books mentioned: 📚 Tuesdays with Morrie: a reflection on presence, meaning and what truly matters at the end of life; 📚 The Five Regrets of the Dying: insight into the choices people wish they had made differently; And you? Where in your life are you still choosing safety over truth, even though something deeper is asking to be expressed? Connect with Blanca: Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/blancavergara  Company: https://www.blancavergara.com  Curious to learn more about the 60-day Clarity Intensify Trek? Visit ✨Journeys of Empowerment✨ | Let’s make space to see it clearly before you redesign anything!

    1h 22m
  7. #75 | Sharon Asscher | "Reclaiming harmony through health!"

    May 12

    #75 | Sharon Asscher | "Reclaiming harmony through health!"

    A deep dive convo with Sharon Asscher, a health expert and founder of Voeding maakt je beter who turned years of chronic illness and inner instability into a deeply personal mission to help others reconnect with their body, their balance and their sense of safety. Sharon’s journey is one of resilience shaped in contrast. Growing up in an unpredictable environment while navigating 18 years of chronic kidney infections, she learned early to suppress pain, push through and perform. But her story doesn’t stop there.  Through years of searching, experimenting, and rebuilding her health from the ground up, she began to understand that true healing is not just physical. It is emotional, relational and deeply personal. Today she helps others connect the dots between body and life, moving from control toward harmony. Deep dive talking points: 👉🏾 Reclaiming health through awareness: understanding the body instead of fighting symptoms; 👉🏾 Harmony and safety: creating spaces where everything can be expressed without judgment; 👉🏾 From survival to sensitivity: learning to feel after years of pushing through pain; 👉🏾 Control and letting go: navigating the balance between discipline and self-compassion; 👉🏾 Boundaries and balance: the ongoing work of protecting your own energy while serving others; Nuggets of empowerment: 🙌🏾 Your body is not the problem, it is the messenger you were never taught to listen to; 🙌🏾 True harmony begins when you feel safe enough to be fully yourself; 🙌🏾 Strength is not just pushing through, it is knowing when to pause and care for yourself; Sharon’s empowering view:  🙌🏾 “Understanding what your body is doing and what signals it gives, that is what gives me confidence" And what about you? What if the signals your body is giving you right now are not interruptions, but invitations to finally listen? Connect with Sharon: Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharon-asscher/  Company: https://voedingmaaktjebeter.nl  Curious to learn more about the 60-day Clarity Intensify Trek? Visit ✨Journeys of Empowerment✨ | Let’s make space to see it clearly before you redesign anything!

    1h 28m
  8. #74 | Claudia Kratzheller | "Courageously expressing your inner truth!"

    May 5

    #74 | Claudia Kratzheller | "Courageously expressing your inner truth!"

    In this episode, I connected with Claudia Kratzheller founder of Body-Linguistics, a body intelligence expert and former professional dancer who now brings her deep embodied wisdom into corporate environments to help people reconnect with what is true for them. Claudia’s journey is one of returning to the body as a place of truth. From early life shaped by loss, to years of introspection, to finding freedom through dance and later translating that into her work with leaders, her path reveals how deeply our inner world shapes how we show up.  What stands out is her commitment to helping people not just understand themselves intellectually, but to truly feel and live their truth through their body, voice and presence. Deep dive talking points: 👉🏾 Courageous inner expression: moving with fear instead of waiting for it to disappear; 👉🏾 The body as compass: learning to trust sensation and intuition as guidance; 👉🏾 From control to allowing: shifting from linear thinking to embodied awareness; 👉🏾 Vulnerability in systems: why showing up fully human still feels unsafe in many environments; 👉🏾 Integrating duality: balancing analytical strength with emotional depth; Nuggets of empowerment: 🙌🏾 The body often knows before the mind understands, the question is whether we dare to listen; 🙌🏾 Courage is not the absence of fear, it is the willingness to move while fear is present; 🙌🏾 Real connection begins when we stop performing and allow ourselves to be seen; Claudia’s empowering view:  🙌🏾 “When you relearn to listen to your body, the truth is evident”  How about you? How often do you override what your body is quietly telling you, in order to fit, perform or stay in control? Connect with Claudia: Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/claudiakratzheller/  Company: https://body-linguistics.com  Speakerfootage on the Amsterdam Abundance Summit on Wealth and Finance: https://youtu.be/MSNNjgc3uwU?si=5-mmX7I05onEWcpe  Stay connected with ✨Journeys of Empowerment✨for a new story each week and let this one invite you to listen a little closer to what is already within you!

    1h 23m
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About

Real-life stories: conversations with (aspiring) impact-driven female founders who turned inner shifts into meaningful change;Lessons from role models: grounded wisdom from people who chose clarity over pressure and aligned their work with who they are;Reclaim your clarity: a journey of self-discovery, agency and purposeful direction;Join the movement: a community that believes in growth through honest reflection, one story at a time!Empowerment begins with a single step, your choice to listen, reflect and reconnect with what’s true for you now.Oh and one more thing: by leaving a review and sharing an episode you’re already playing a part in someone’s next step 🙏🏾

Information

  • Creator
    Michiel Sujeet Reith
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    81
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Journeys of Empowerment | Michiel Sujeet Reith
  • Show Website
    Journeys of Empowerment