Nischala’s Blog-o-Rendezvous with LISA PETRILLI

Lisa Petrilli is today’s featured star in my Blog-o-Rendezvous Series.

ABOUT LISA PETRILLI
Chief Executive Officer, C-Level Strategies, Inc. | Chief Operating and Marketing Officer, To Be a Woman global platform | Chief Relationship Officer, CEO Connection | Author, eBook: The Introvert’s Guide to Success in Business and Leadership | Passionate about Visionary Leadership | #LeadershipChat co-Host
You can follow Lisa on Twitter OR Stop by her blog

THE RENDEZVOUS
Personally, Lisa Petrilli has been one of the TRULY INSPIRATIONAL WOMEN I’ve known in the online world. So I was thrilled that she agreed to do this rendezvous and was super excited to have the opportunity of talking with her…

Nischala: Hi Lisa. Thank you so much for talking to me. It is indeed an honor and pleasure to connect with you. Also, let me confess that you truly are an inspiration to me & several women across the world.
Lisa: Thank you so much for this opportunity. It’s wonderful to talk to you

Nischala: Since this is a Women’s day special, let’s start by what do you think defines a woman?
Lisa: As a woman, firstly it’s important to know yourself, accept yourself and empower yourself to honor your true identify. It’s important to live and work in balance with your feminine energy and embrace your feminine qualities in thoughts, actions and expressions. I believe every woman is unique and comes with different strengths. It’s important for women to spend time to connect within – To identify your own strengths and celebrate them.

Nischala: That’s a wonderful way to put it. So I see that a lot of your work is also centered on this theme. You are currently the Chief Operating Officer (COO) & Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of To Be a Woman Global platform. What is the aim of this platform?
Lisa: To-Be-A-Woman platform is a project dear to my heart. Vanda Teixeira is the CEO. I’m the COO and CMO. The aim is to empower women across the globe to bring excellence at and to the work-place. The focus is on enabling women to connect with your true self and letting go of any beliefs that hold you back in life as a woman. A woman can achieve true excellence in all spheres of life by balance – by aiming for balance in her family, her work and her inner journey. We plan to launch this in 2012 and will provide a bouquet of offerings like workshops, conferences, trainings, interactions and most importantly, provide women an opportunity to discover, connect and engage with each other. We are partnering with the World Trade Center of Atlanta on foundational and global aspects of this initiative.

Nischala: That’s awesome Lisa. Wishing you good luck for this wonderful initiative. So how do you think woman can really make their presence at the work place?
Lisa: It’s important to realize that there are many of aspects of being a woman.
Firstly, women should not feel the need to behave in a specific way to “fit in” to the masculine world of business and leadership. And I’m saying this because I spent more than twelve years in the corporate world. So I’ve seen many women make an extra effort here. For e.g: Courage as a quality can be feminine – just in a different way. The point is that a woman can exhibit courage at work and at home – Just that the manifestations and expressions will be different.
Secondly, it’s important to honor your emotions – not by suppressing them, but using them to help you move forward in life. And I don’t suggest that your emotions should get in your way at work. But really, they should enable you to achieve a positive consciousness, a higher consciousness. And I have found phenomenal success in business and leadership by looking at it in a feminine way. It is actually very empowering.

Nischala: But don’t organizations need you to demonstrate certain leadership qualities which may not be really “feminine”?
Lisa: Organizations need both. There are definite strengths which women bring to the table. For e.g: Women are excellent collaborators, Women are excellent listeners, Women can hold multiple points-of-view and in many cases, women are strong decision makers.
In my personal case, I have been in the corporate world for 12 years before I started on my own and my career has blossomed in a beautiful way after I was able to re-connect with my feminine side and it has been a wonderful journey of self-discovery, graceful evolution and personal transformation. What I’ve realized is that it’s important for women to focus and harness on your feminine energies & then leverage them in your individual context.

Nischala: That’s a beautiful way to describe it. But I’ve known of several women who’ve had a rough ride because they were more connected with their feminine side. What’s your view on that?
Lisa: Life is a journey in which we are all constantly evolving. It’s important for you to love yourself and feel connected to who you really are. Only then, you will bring more light to the world… If someone does not accept you and the changes in you, that is a reflection of them and not YOU. As long as you are comfortable in your skin and are at peace within, that’s most important.

Nischala: That’s such an insightful answer Lisa. So who is the most inspirational woman in your life?
Lisa: Like many women, it is my mother – Simply because she has demonstrated in action the virtues of courage and grace – which I believe is the essence of being a woman.

Nischala: Lisa, I’ve never met you in my life. And even by talking to you across continents, you exude such a positive energy that I can feel it in your voice and words. How do you manage to stay so positive and radiate so much positivity?
Lisa: Thank you so much. It’s such a lovely complement. Thank You! Over the years I have learnt to stay and be positive. It’s important in the journey of life. We all know and have issues to deal with, but what’s important is how you consciously shape your thoughts and how you choose to express yourself – That’s what makes the REAL DIFFERENCE.
I’ve learnt to connect with my inner self. It’s a lot of spiritual work and as a result, I’m able to bring positivity into all that I do. Every morning I do spend quiet time in a sacred space. I also write if something’s on my mind and find writing truly liberating. It enables me to release the negativity and I am then immersed in positive energy.
There’s a larger purpose and meaning to my life – And that gives me the energy and inspiration to keep going.

Nischala: That’s excellent Lisa. Best wishes for all your future endeavors. May you radiate this positivity and hope you find happiness, balance and most importantly, your able to achieve the TRUE PURPOSE of your LIFE!
Lisa: Thank You for talking to me… Have a lovely day!

How did you like this rendezvous? Leave a comment to let us know

MY FAVORITE BLOGS OF LISA’s
How to Discover Your True Path in Life
What I Learned About Networking When I Asked a Stranger for a Kidney
3 Powerful Business Words That Can Change Your Whole Outlook

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