Day 181: Janet Stevenson
“I really recognized at that point believing in people and helping them to believe in themselves is transformational, and I really take that forward into the work that I do, because it does make a big difference.”
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Toni Reece: Thank you so much, Janet, for agreeing to be part of the Project today, and before we begin, can you please introduce yourself?
Janet Stevenson: Yes. My name is Janet Stevenson. I live in the UK, and I work as a trainer, a training consultant, particularly in the area of personal development.
Toni: Thank you. Janet, when you think about the word inspiration, who do you inspire, and how do you do that?
Janet: Well, who do I inspire? I would say that it would be the course participants, people who come along on courses. I think they would be a wide variety of people. There might be those who are in work who want to achieve more, and so I would want to inspire them to have a vision that they could achieve more, and give them the tools and techniques that they can achieve more, and those perhaps seeking work who maybe have low self-esteem. Perhaps they have been out of work a while and thinking that they can’t get back into it. And surprisingly, I find a really big number of people lack confidence in lots of different areas. Those lacking confidence, they might be single moms, married, people come into retirement and they’re feeling disempowered, and friends and family. I like to think I inspire lots of people.
Toni: And how do you do that? How do you inspire them?
Janet: Well, within everybody there is potential. Everybody has a set of skills. Everybody has talents. First of all, I think it’s helping people to recognize that talent, recognize that potential, recognize that they are unique, that they have a unique set of skills, abilities, experience that make them just the right person in so many different situations.
Somebody who comes to mind is Susan Boyle, who I know now is such a worldwide name, but she was someone who was bullied as a child, and yet she had a passion. She had an ability to sing, and wonderfully that came to the floor when she came second in a competition, and now is really a household name in so many places around the world.
Toni: Absolutely, absolutely. So how you inspire is to help people recognize their own talents and potential, and that really feeds nicely into the second question, which is, what do you do to help explore that potential in others?
Janet: Well, it’s having … asking the right questions, helping people to recognize that they are unique and they have a unique set of skills, experience, and talents, and then an ability to tap into that and encouraging them to develop those skills and abilities. And perhaps it might be giving them tools and techniques which allow them to practice in a safe and supportive environment to explore those skills, and making it easy as well, showing them, encouraging them, and helping them to realize that any progress is just one step at a time.
We don’t look to make huge, big strides, but when you look back over what could be actually a relatively short period of time, you realize that huge strides have been made, but it might have been done in small steps.
I would also use visualization, NLP, neuro-linguistic programming, nonverbal intelligence, encouraging people to focus, encouraging people to self-reflect, and to take up opportunities to ask, perhaps when they didn’t have the confidence to ask for things before, to visualize their future to really take a hold of what’s important to them, really.
Toni: What inspires you? What do you need to be inspired?
Janet: I’m inspired by so many different things. What inspires me most is when I meet somebody who embodies what they believe, and they would be displaying characteristics of being authentic, true to themselves. They may have good communication skills, but there would be a real sense of having the value that they live out. And when I see that in somebody, I really am inspired to emulate that, to be all that I believe in. That’s what inspires me.
My faith also inspires me. I have a strong Christian faith, and so when I read the Bible that also gives me inspiration. But it’s really holding onto truth and being transparent, being true to yourself, true to what you believe in, I think, is what’s necessary to be inspired.
Toni: Janet, a lot of people that have been interviewed for the Get Inspired! Project, there seems to be a running theme that is demonstrated differently and in a very unique way interview to interview, and one of those themes is purpose, and then passion.
And your purpose seems to be to – and I’m only guessing, so I’m going to ask you to clarify – but the purpose of your work seems to be to help women to overcome whatever stage they are in their life and whatever they’re going through, is to help them through a personal transformation to tap into their potential to move forward. That seems to be what I’m hearing you say is a purpose of your work. Is that what you believe is your purpose? Am I close, or is it in alignment with what your purpose is?
Janet: I certainly do believe that that’s a purpose. I wouldn’t limit it just to women, because I also help men, too, although I do specifically have programs for women. But when people are stuck, perhaps they don’t know which way to go, they’re unsure of what steps next to take. They’re unsure of their skills and abilities, or perhaps they just need a little bit of reassurance and maybe just to learn one or two skills and techniques that would enable them to move on and make a real difference, either at work or at home, or in any aspect of their lives.
That for me, I see is a real purpose, a real passion to be able to help move people on. I love … I get such a buzz of seeing people when they move on and their lives transform. That really inspires me to want to do more. I really love that aspect of it. Yes, it is a purpose.
Toni: How did it happen for you? Some people do not know what their purpose is or where to put their passion towards that purpose, and so has it been an evolution for you, or was there a turning moment for you when you said “No, this is what I’m meant to do?”
Janet: I guess it’s been a gradual realization. I’ve always been drawn towards people right from a young age. I didn’t know what I wanted to be when I grew up. I originally trained as a bilingual secretary, and I found that quite limiting for me, and I retrained then as a teacher, which then started to fill me with much more passion because I realized that in teaching people, I had the opportunity to make a difference.
I noticed, particularly with one class many, many years ago. It was a school that was amalgamated, so I had a group from one school that didn’t have to move from one school to another, and a group from another school who had to move to a different venue, and I noticed that sometimes there was a lot of demotivation. They didn’t want to be there, they didn’t really want to move, and I thought I’d try some positive psychology.
I said to this group, who in fact had a bad reputation, “Do you know I’ve been told that you are such wonderful people to work with, and I’m really looking forward to working with you, and I know that we’re going to achieve a lot together.” And do you know, they were wonderful, and they had been labeled to me as difficult, and they were not. They were absolute wonderful people who just really moved forward and achieved such a lot in the time that I was teaching them.
I really recognized at that point believing in people and helping them to believe in themselves is transformational, and I really take that forward into the work that I do, because it does make a big difference.
Toni: And so how do you continue to explore your own potential?
Janet: Well, I continue to take personal development myself. Last year I attended some trainings on nonviolent communication, nonverbal intelligence, which was fantastic. This year I’m going to do some more work with nonverbal intelligence on great dynamics, and I’m just about to embark on a coaching qualification. So continuous personal development is something that helps me to explore my own potential, and I recommend it wholeheartedly to other people. You’re never too old to learn, and I’m a grandmother now.
Toni: Well, congratulations!
Janet: I have four grandchildren.
Toni: Oh my goodness. Well, I can tell you, the work that you are doing with others as far as this personal transformation and personal growth, you can really hear the passion through your interview. And thank you very much for being part of the Get Inspired! Project, and we will include how to get a hold of you and take a look at the website of what you’re doing so it can be shared with others. And for being here today, Janet, thank you so very much.
Janet: Thank you very much. It’s been a great pleasure, and I wish all your listeners all the greatest success in moving forward with their dreams, and I would just say to them, believe in yourself. You can do so much!
Toni: Thank you. Thank you very much.
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For more information about Janet Stevenson: www.train2grow.co.uk
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