Stories of Courage and Faith by Extraordinary Women
When I put out a call last May asking women to be part of my Women Achieving Dreams project, I wasn’t sure what to expect. My main objective was to provide a book of stories from real women who had overcome fears and obstacles to achieve their dreams.
The book grew slowly. A woman would email me to say, “I heard about you from so and so. I want to tell you my story.” As I listened to each woman tell me her story, I realized the book had become much more than a “fun” side project.
Some women cried when they told me their stories. One woman emailed me a few days later to say, “That was really hard reliving that entire experience.” I was often moved to tears listening to women talk. I cried when I wrote their stories. I also learned that these women trusted me to tell their stories . . . and to share them with you.
“I just purchased your beautiful, powerful, and inspiring e-book Women Achieving Dreams. I’ve been reading it non-stop.” — Jenny Glenn
This is a book that will inspire and motivate you to make real change in your life.
At the start of each interview I gave each woman the option of remaining anonymous. But you know what? Not one took that option. Their names are listed below.
That’s one reason this book is different. It’s because it’s filled with stories from real women — not composites of women — but real women who had to dig down deep and make difficult changes or face real fears or deal with adversity to make their dreams come true.
Women Achieving Dreams keeps on giving
I knew from the very beginning that I didn’t want to give this book away. But I didn’t want to profit from it, either. I made the decision that all proceeds (outside of the costs I incur from the shopping cart and the like) benefit the non-profit foundation Girls Fight Back.
Erin Weed, who also wrote the book’s Foreword, founded Girls Fight Back at the age of 23 after her friend, Shannon McNamara, was brutally murdered. GFB, which teaches girls and young women self-defense, has helped over one million women all over the globe.
I originally priced this book at $9.95 but a woman who downloaded and read it said, “Why are you pricing this book so low? It’s certainly worth a higher price, even more so as a donation to such a worthy organization.” She’s right. So I raised the price.
The $15.00 purchase price is your donation to GFB. By buying the book, you’re helping young women learn how to protect themselves . . . and spreading good karma out to the universe.
All of these are good reasons to buy this book but here’s one more.
I’m a marketer by trade. And all these years, I’ve worked hard to be “professional” and not get too “personal.” Putting out an e-book about women who achieved their dreams was definitely something outside my comfort zone.
Including my own personal story was harder still. But I did it because I learned, from the women who shared their stories with me, that if I feared something, then I needed to face that fear and do it anyway.
And so can you.
Take the first step and purchase donate $15.00 to Girls Fight Back.
And if you have a dream you want to share, send me an email. This project isn’t done . . . it grows as each of us shares what’s important to us.
Thank you.
Dianna Huff
You’ll find the following women’s stories in Women Achieving Dreams:
Sarah Blumenstock Girrell — Sarah built her own school in order to help children build healthy self-esteem through early childhood education.
Amy Clark — Amy achieved her dream of saving her parents’ dairy farm by teaching herself cheese making — which she now sells to rave reviews.
Carolyn Clayton — Left alone at age 15 and a single mom at 19, Carolyn now runs her own thriving SEO business.
Andrea Cohen — Andrea learned that achieving a dream sometimes means saying goodbye to someone you love.
Crystal Coleman — In order to help her young son, Crystal quit her secure government job, moved to rural Canada, and started a whole new career.
Mary Cullen — Mary found the courage to create the life she wanted despite what others’ expectations were of her.
Elle Draper — Elle found her true value and achieved her dream of living and working abroad.
Maura Fine — Maura ditched the fear of failure to become the artist she was meant to be at age 48.
Lois Geller — Lois met an old man at Burger Heaven, quit her exec job and started her own ad agency in New York.
Debi Hammond — Debi grew up in poverty and now runs her own 10-person ad agency in California.
Sarah Henderson — Sarah was a new mom when she ran for public office in Cedar Rapids, Iowa — and the youngest person to win!
Clare Hovan — Clare used lessons from The Secret to ask for what she wanted – and got it.
Karen Jones — Karen bucked negative media messages and her own fears to write the only book of its kind, Men Are Great.
Sandi McCann — Sandi formed Sister Summit with her sisters to support each other in achieving their dreams.
Susan Nolte — Susan founded May Cookie Co., and now sells her healthy cookie mixes at Whole Foods Markets.
Terri Rylander — A breast cancer survivor, Terri got out of her rut and into her dream life of working for herself.
Gwen Thomas — A single mom working hourly jobs, Gwen focused on opportunities wherever she landed and subsequently built an international business and name for herself.
Wendy Thomas — A tri-athlete and mother of six, Wendy does not let anyone define who she is or what she can do — despite having dozens of leg operations due to a bike accident at age 16.
Jamie Wallace — Jamie learned that if you have faith in yourself, others will too, and changed career direction to follow her dream of being a writer.
Belinda Wasser — Belinda used visualization to become pregnant – despite being told she couldn’t (her friends ended up giving her the very stroller she used to visualize pushing her baby).
Erin Weed — After learning of the brutal murder of her college friend, Erin went on to found Girls Fight Back, a non-profit that teaches young girls self-defense.
Judy Young — Judy experienced the trauma no parent ever wants to face when she lost access to her four year old son; instead of dying inside, she kept herself strong for the day when she would see him again.
And, me, Dianna Huff. I faced my fears and became the mom I dreamed of by ending the cycle of abuse.
