Jadis, 31
What would your 30 something self tell your 20 something self if you could?
In the end you’re really only competing with yourself and frankly you shouldn’t be competing with yourself at all because life is hard enough in the first place. Work at LOVING yourself and learning to forgive yourself. Self-awareness is the real root of personal power.
Also, wear bikinis now because you won’t be wearing them later.
What do you wish you took more seriously in your 20’s?
My health and fitness. After bouts with illness that doctors, nutritionists and Chinese medical practitioners couldn’t explain or sort out I eventually found a solution in naturopathy. I now take my health very seriously by focusing on fitness and nutrition. You are nothing without your health.
What do you wish you took less seriously in your 20’s?
Myself! I wish I had a fraction of time back that I spent stressing about how I would be perceived by other people in terms of my career, appearance and the things I owned. None of it matters anyway so I should have had more fun and enjoyed the journey rather than setting ridiculous markers of success that in the end no one but me cared about.
Favorite memory from your 20’s?
I have so many great memories with friends and family, but the stand out one was actually a moment on my own. It was the journey from the airport to the hostel I was staying at in London having just reduced my entire life down to one suitcase, hopped on a plane and hoped for the best. The parks seemed so green, the trains so efficient and even the graffiti seemed artfully done. It was a moment seen through eyes that were only capable of perceiving possibility.
The next months and years would prove waaaay more challenging than I anticipated but in that moment, when I was stripped of all the external accouterments and labels, I felt optimism instead of insecurity. I felt closer to my real self and knew that something big was going to happen. That journey marked the start of things I couldn’t event imagine.
In your early 20’s where did you think you would be (work, live etc) by 30?
I never focused on a particular role or even a specific place but I had a sense of who I would be. I knew I would an authority in something marketing or advertising related and fostering a team of creative people to develop their own talents.
And where were you by 30? What did your life look like?
I was a Director at a start-up company I helped build that worked with Celebrity talent and managed to get a global first on Facebook that broke new ground in marketing and live entertainment. After the award wins I started speaking at industry conferences globally and at Universities to share my knowledge. I believe passionately in the need to share knowledge.
I was living with my long-term partner Simon in our flat in London and about to become a British citizen. Though I didn’t know it at the time, by 31 I would set up my own business and take my career to a whole new level.
Getting on that plane was the riskiest but the best decision I could have ever made.
Were you ever worried that it wouldn’t all fall into place?
Even if I didn’t know the direction I was headed I’ve always had unwavering self-belief. In a way it’s pretty naïve to just think things will work out, but I’ve had some pretty big obstacles in my life that have always made me look inwardly for strength to overcome them.
Though I had no hand in choosing it, I also take solace in my name, Jadis, which is an old French word that roughly translates to ‘Once Upon A Time’ because it was used to start a story. The day you’re born is the start of your story and though it unfolds around you, you always remain the central figure writing your own direction.
What is the greatest gift about being a woman in your 30’s?
Confidence. I’ve always been pretty confident but now I’ve got experience under my belt and more money in the bank which means when it comes to making decisions, I’m in a position of power to ask whether something will enhance me financially, professionally, spiritually or personally. If it’s not ticking the boxes I’m not doing it. Period.
When you look out onto the horizon. What do you hope your life looks like at 40?
In the short-term I’m entering a pretty exciting phase of life planning not one, but two weddings with Simon in 2015. I’m looking forward to hopefully having children and continuing to develop my career. I’m looking forward to deepening relationships with people who have already stood the test of time. I’m also looking forward to giving more knowledge and making more time to the charities that matter to me.
I know this decade will have it’s own unique challenges but every decade does and I’m ready for it.
What’s a quote/ saying you try to live your life by?
I can’t define myself by one but here are a couple that highlight some of the guiding principles in my life:
“God can dream a bigger dream for you than you could ever dream for yourself. Success comes when you surrender to that dream—and let it lead you to the next best place.”-Oprah
“Wolves don’t lose sleep over the opinions of sheep”
“Success is more permanent when you achieve it without destroying your principals”- Walter Cronkite
“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new” Socrates
connect with jadis
365til30.com 