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4 Incredibly Inspiring Female Bloggers

Click here for a list of my favorite inspirational posts.

Have you ever read something and then felt as though you were kicked in the stomach—but in a good way? I’m talking about something that picks you up, turns you over, and then shakes the life out of you—something that opens your eyes, permanently alters your perspective. You know what I mean, right?

I’ve been blogging for two and a half years and in this time I’ve met & started to follow some truly incredible people. Today I want to share four of my biggest inspirations with you. You know that feeling that I was talking about above? These ladies give me that feeling. If you’re not following them, you should be. These women are in possession of the three most important character traits: authenticity, generosity, & brilliance.

Andra Watkins
Blog: Andra Watkins

A favourite quote: “Imagination is more important than knowledge.” —Albert Einstein

Advice for creating a life of light: Creating a life of light, for me, is a set of decisions: to embrace the moments it throws my way, even if it means I’m acting with five-year-old glee; to shut down negative thinking as soon as it crosses my mind; to see the good in the past instead of things I regret; and to take risks to accomplish what matters to me.

I love her because: Andra and I met back in September when I was doing research for my trip to Paris. She was incredibly helpful & reassuring that I would have an amazing time. I thought our friendship might end there—as so many online friendships do—but I was very wrong. Andra kept in touch & became one of my very best virtual friends. I fell in love with her blog & with her. She is one of the most genuine, authentic people that I’ve ever met. She has been there for me through thick & thin. 2010 was a beautiful & trying year for me and Andra was there for support every step of the way.

The thing that I love about Andra’s blog is her ever-present positive outlook & her hilarious sense of humor. This woman has spunk! She is clearly a seasoned & legitimate professional, but she can make me laugh for days. Be sure to check out The Accidental Cootchie Mama & connect with Andra on Twitter.

My favourite Andra post: The Things You Taught Me in 2010


Jeannie Mark
Blog: Nomadic Chick

A favourite quote: “Nobody can give you freedom. Nobody can give you equality or justice or anything. If you’re a man, you take it.” —Malcolm X

Advice for creating a life of light: Taking action means delaying short-term pleasures (impulse purchases, expensive outings) for long-term goals. If you keep focused on your goals, they won’t run away. I recommend placing power in a talisman, a necklace or charm to keep you tethered to action. Even placing a meaningful picture as your screen wallpaper at work or on the fridge stops you from straying into inertia. My motivator was putting up images of the very first place on my itinerary – India. Dream up yours.

I love her because: In her late thirties, Jeannie was stuck in an unsatisfying desk job and courting a growing resentment towards the North American lifestyle. After swearing to change her life on a file folder, she sold her earthly possessions and set off in June 2010 to travel the world.

She just finished an incredible stint as a volunteer at an orphanage in India. I eagerly await all of her updates. Jeannie’s posts are eye-opening and liberating. I love her writing because she is so incredibly real. There is nothing fancy, poetic, or edited about her work. She tells it, and shows it, like it is. She is such an inspiration to would-be women travelers everywhere.

My favourite Jeannie post: The 7 Stages of Unplugging from the Cubicle


Gala Darling
Blog: Gala Darling

A favourite quote: “To love oneself is the beginning of a life-long romance.” —Oscar Wilde

Advice for creating a life of light: Gala believes in pink lingerie, sequins, stardust & candy-coloured Cadillacs. She believes in making mischief & the triumph of magic over the brute. She believes in short skirts & lip gloss & bringing about the radical self love revolution. She believes life doesn’t have to be serious, that you create your own reality & that beauty is all around us.

I love her because: What’s not to love?! Gala’s blog is the first that I ever subscribed to way back when I first entered the blogosphere. I immediately fell in love with her ever-present positivity, energy, and spirit. Gala’s blog is about style & beauty, but it is also about living your best life. She has recently launched an insane & amazing Radical Self Love revolution which I can not get enough of. Gala is a bright pink firecracker of love, light, & pixie dust. If that sounds good to you, you’ll love her blog as much as I do.

My favourite Gala post: Radical Self-Hate? Stop The Madness!


Danielle LaPorte
Blog: White Hot Truth

A favourite quote: “Worrying is using your imagination to create something you don’t want.” —Abraham Hicks

Advice for creating a life of light: Genius is about making connections … between ideas + strategies, desires + beliefs, between that flame in your heart and your full potential.

I love her because: Danielle is the queen of authenticity. She is also devilishly good at crafting the written word. Her blog posts tend to burst through my computer screen, smack me around a bit, and then encourage me to make GREAT things happen.

My favourite Danielle post: the manifesto of encouragement

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    Let Go of Your Goals & Unleash Your Dreams

    Dreams are Just as Important as Goals

    I’ve written quite a bit about setting & accomplishing goals; overcoming fears; and making the best out of difficult situations. But what I haven’t written enough about is flat out—unleashing your dreams.

    Goal setting is a very mathematical process. It goes something like this: Define your goal. Map out the steps necessary to achieve it. Research, develop, act. Work until you get there. This is great, it makes sense, it gets things done. However, goals are full of limitations. In order to accomplish Z, first I need to do X and Y. If I want to be in this place by this date, then I’ve got to accomplish X, Y, and Z by this date. And so on and so forth it goes. We plan and work and strive.

    Yes, goal-setting & goal accomplishment are crucial elements to success; but sometimes we have to just let go of our goals and start unleashing our dreams! Throw caution to the wind and go for it. But how?, you ask. Well, you start by defining your dreams & broadcasting them to the world. Today I am going to define my wildest dreams & share them with you.

    “Achieving life is not the equivalent of avoiding death.” –Ayn Rand

    Why Are We Afraid to Expose Our Dreams?

    To be honest, I am a bit nervous about this. I feel like I am exposing a part of myself that I’ve kept hidden. When you keep your wildest dreams to yourself, you’re safe. If no one knows what you want, then no one can hold you accountable. For example, if your best friend has no idea that you dream of moving to Costa Rica to collect butterflies in the rain forest—then she isn’t going to check in with you once a month and ask where you’re at. If you’re father doesn’t know that you dream of quitting your job to build collectible trains and sell them on Ebay—then he isn’t going to be hounding you with questions about it at the holidays. And when you are not faced with those questions you are safe. Your dreams can stay on the back burner while your life passes you by. You are not held accountable. You don’t experience pressure. But, my friend, today is the day that you must realize something critical: It is pressure that makes diamonds!

    Broadcast Your Desires to the Universe

    Steve Pavlina recently wrote a post called Broadcast Your Desires. In the post, he explains why broadcasting our desires & dreams to the world is the best way to make them a reality. If you can’t broadcast your desires, it’s fair to say that you don’t own them yet. In order to make your desires become real, you’ve got to speak up about them. If you’re going to receive them, then let it be known. If you find it necessary to hide what you desire, that suggests you aren’t ready to receive.

    Well, I am ready to receive! I hope that by taking this step in my own life, I will inspire you to take it in your own. Here I go…!

    My Dreams

    1. Grow evolution you
    I want to take this blog to great heights, attract thousands of readers, inspire people around the world. I want to monetize it so that I can devote myself to improving people’s lives full-time. And as a result, I want to become location independent so that I can travel the world, spreading love & light where ever I go.

    2. Write a book
    I haven’t quite worked out the details of this one yet—it’s a bit ever-evolving. I’ll pin it down soon enough, for now I am just dreaming wildly!

    3. Travel to the Great Pyramids in Egypt
    I feel intimately connected to the people of ancient Egypt. Perhaps it is the beautiful & mysterious way that Ancient Egypt is depicted in films & literature, whatever the cause, the very idea of it thrills me. I have long dreamed of visiting & exploring the ancient pyramids for myself.

    4. Learn to speak French

    5. Spend time living & working in Europe
    Italy, France, and Belgium all seem such lovely places to me. I’d like to spend at least a few months in each place.

    6. Safari in Africa
    This is the only dream on the list that I already accomplished. In the Summer of 2006 I studied abroad in Kenya, studying, on safari, and touring. It was a truly incredible experience and I’ll be making a post about it soon.

    7. Live in the wilderness
    I am insanely attracted to nature. In fact, I am quite convinced that I am a tigress/she-wolf/mermaid trapped in the body of a human woman. I feel most at home in nature—in the mountains, near the sea, anywhere wild. I’ve long dreamed of escaping the civilization circa Into the Wild. It would certainly not be a permanent thing; but I’d love to experience it at least for a few weeks to see how long I’d last.

    8. Have or adopt a baby
    Last February my sister gave birth to me beautiful Godson, Brian. Ever since then, I’ve heard the ticking of my own biological clock a tad louder than before. I am not in any rush, as you can see I’ve got a lot I want to do before I am quite ready to “settle down” but it is definitely an enormous dream of mine, some day.

    9. Spend time on a Native American reservation
    I’d like to spend some time living or at least working/volunteering on a reservation. I am passionate about Native American culture and it would be a great honor to serve the Native American people in some capacity and to learn first-hand their cultures, traditions, and needs.

    10. Serve on the Board of Directors for a prominent wildlife conservation foundation

    11. Visit a Buddhist monastery in Tibet

    ——————————–

    These are not all of my dreams, not nearly, but the list could go on and on. For now, these are the ones that I am working toward—in the near & distant—future. It was not nearly as difficult to share them as I thought it would be! This list will be ever-evolving and I will update it as my dreams are accomplished and as they change.

    Alright, I did my part. Now it’s your turn! I would love to hear about your big dreams in the comments or if you make your own big dream post please let me know about it.

13 Comments

  1. Dena, first of all, thank you for your glowing commentary. I’m crying happy tears.

    Thank you also for introducing me to more uber-women to follow and get to know. I am honored to be included with this spectacular list of ladies.

    1. @ Andra – You are ever-so-welcome! I could not ask for a better friend & inspiration. Thank you for being exactly what you are: incredible. 🙂

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  7. Dena, I’m bowled over. Your glowing write-up of my site and person made me smile through the sick. 🙂 The #1 reason I started Nomadic Chick was to encourage people to take freedom and live their dreams whatever their dreams are. Thanks! And thanks for introducing me to some great female bloggers.

    1. @ Jeannie – I am so glad that you enjoyed the post and that the write-up made you smile. Every word is true. You are a true inspiration. I’ve been thinking of you non-stop. I hope that you are healing. XOXO

  8. Thank you for the websites and the wonderful kind words that you mentioned about each young lady. I will take a look at their blogs based of the words mentioned above.

  9. Thanks for sharing this information. i have also started a motivational blog last month. By the way, your blog looks awesome. keep posting such great stuff

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