Freckles and boobs—no problem

AMBITIOUS GIRLS

Amsterdam, August 2017: Just a quick flashback. Last year, I attended THE NEXT WOMEN’s annual summit (a fancy word for “Top”) for the first time—a gathering by and for female entrepreneurs and enterprising women. Back then, I was inspired to write the column “Entrepreneurial Goofballs” (https://www.pleinpublique.com/blogs/blog/entrepreneurial-silly-girls-column-nicole-hoefsmit)—a piece that garnered so many lovely and positive responses. From men—which is always welcome—but especially from women. And given that the moral of my story—among other things—was that women should be happy for each other’s success, I dare say with near certainty that that message came across clearly! (https://www.pleinpublique.com/ondernemende-vrouwen)

Reason enough for the PLEIN PUBLIQUE team to attend this year’s edition as well. To do a little networking, play the “we know our own” game, and have a good chat (yeah, we’re still women, and we’re not going to deny it)

But of course, it’s all about the content. And this year, the theme was AMBITION. We all have it. Me as an entrepreneur, someone else maybe as a fitness enthusiast or active Instagrammer; big or small scale—it doesn’t matter. But how you channel your ambition and turn it into success—that’s a whole other challenge. A Challenge with a capital C, prepared with precision and preferably served with an extra scoop (read: haystack-sized) on top.

Because one thing is certain: when it comes to ambition, “more is more” is the key to success. Guest speakers Chantal Janzen and Eva Jinek will share how they—in completely different ways—tackled their ambition… freckles and boobs, no problem! I’d love to share their inspiring stories with you.

CHANTAL JANZEN

Chantal kicked off her presentation with a bit of a gamble; she gave us a dance lesson to get the party started. “You’ve got to love it” is all I’ll say about that (for those who don’t know me personally: I don’t dance before my first cup of coffee, and even if I do—I’d rather not do it in a huge group...). Fortunately, the speech that followed the dance lesson was incredibly inspiring.

' I’ve never done it before,
so I guess I can do it’
—Pippi Longstocking—

Chantal told us the story behind her career, starting with the moment she first harbored that ambition as a young girl: to dance classical ballet. The freckled girl with glasses who trained her heart out to shine as a beautiful swan turned out—in addition to having a lot of talent—to unfortunately also have hips that were too wide. Ballet teacher: thanks. But her urge to entertain proved strong, and little by little she learned to turn her setbacks into opportunities. Her motto? “I’ve never done it before, so I think I can do it.”

If this sounds familiar, you’re right; it’s a quote from childhood heroine Pippi Longstocking —certainly not the least of them—whose self-confidence and fighting spirit are nothing short of legendary. Ha! Chantal seized every opportunity—and there were many—and fought her way to the top. Here’s a small sampling of the hurdles La Janzen encountered along the way—and overcame:

• Audition for classical ballet; rejected for having a “butt” (that capital “B” again, J)
• University of the Arts; singing, dance, musical theater. You name it—she did it. Resulting in (leading) roles in countless musicals and films.
• Guest on *College Tour*, following in the footsteps of Madeleine Albright and Neelie Kroes, among others. 100 people grilling you with questions, and no time to think. Just try handling that…….
• Invited to host Idols 3; accepted without any experience (but after thorough research). A wave of criticism. Swallow it and keep going. Triumph in the form of an invitation to host a show in Germany (jawohl, in German!).

Especially for that last move, she changed her motto to “I have no idea if I can do it, but I’m definitely going to try.” And she did so successfully. She worked incredibly hard, seized her opportunities, tried everything, sometimes failed spectacularly, and (fortunately, more often) performed brilliantly.

'Don’t play the victim, be a hero'
In other words: turn setbacks into success—
Hang in there, persevere, and triumph.

— Eva Jinek

As the icing on the cake, she recently launched a wonderful multimedia platform: JustC. That’s the story of Chantal Janzen, who turned ambition into a resounding success. And that “girl with the freckles and glasses” we now know as a magnificent swan!

EVA JINEK

We all know Eva, too. With over 9 years of television experience, she’s a seasoned media veteran. But she, too, didn’t reach her position without a struggle. It might be a bit corny to bring up, but it’s relevant in the context of the summit: Eva once made the news when she hilariously adjusted her “boobies” into the desired position before reading the news. It was meant as a joke among colleagues, but unfortunately—and unintentionally—it was broadcast live. Shit happens. But seriously!

The ensuing media frenzy was unusually vicious in tone and instantly devalued her professional status to that of “talking boobs.” (Quick question. Would the same thing have happened to a man who accidentally adjusted his private parts on camera? I don’t think so. And neither do you.) But Eva refuses to be forced into the role of a victim and follows her own wise advice: “Don’t play a victim, be a hero.” These days, she has her own, highly-rated talk show and is fighting in her own way for the visibility of ambitious women in the media.

Recently, Eva expressed her frustration about how difficult it is to get women “to the table” for her talk show. “Most ideas and projects come from women, but it’s the men who promote them in the media. While 65% of editorial teams are made up of women, 75% of the guests are men. And if a woman does get a chance to speak, it often stays at just that one time.

Why? One of my guests’ explanations was an eye-opener: ‘When you’re invited to share your expertise, you’re proud and over the moon! The show goes well, you get tons of compliments on the spot via Facebook and WhatsApp, and you leave feeling absolutely thrilled. Mission accomplished. And then you sneak a peek at Twitter… and the euphoria is over. ‘She looks terrible.’ ‘She’s way too fat.’ ‘When she opens her mouth… blah, blah, blah’ and so on. Then there’s only one thought that comes to mind: I. Will. Never. Do. That. Again.” Such a shame!

“An opinion is not an apology”
You’re invited to share your opinion,
so share it without modesty.

- Eva Jinek-

Why do we do this to our “sisters in crime”? What’s wrong with a little friendly competition, mutual support, and celebrating when someone else is doing well in life? Together we’re strong, and we can achieve so much more. With this hot topic as its theme, THE NEXT WOMEN 100 recently took place. A seminar where the online magazine The Next Women presented its annual list of 100 top female entrepreneurs, accompanied by an inspiring lineup of female speakers. Inspiration, innovation, participation—hell, what a treat! (That rhymes :-))

It’s a primary reaction women have to unfair criticism; they go into “fight or flight” mode. “Fight” mode manifests as anger, which causes you to put up a shield, shut yourself off, and stop communicating. It’s deadly for your career. “Flight” mode produces the reaction described above and results in the absence of expert women in the media. Eva therefore calls for breaking this negative cycle. “If you’re invited, be sure to accept. Be actively engaged, don’t apologize for your opinion, stay true to your professional voice, but also be open to the opinions of others.”

One day, they’ll stop talking about your appearance, your voice, your clothes, your hair, and everything else related to your identity as a woman, and they’ll focus solely on your expertise and what you have to say. But to make that happen, you have to get a seat at the table—and keep coming back! “Say yes and show up!”. Wise words from a successful woman. And a fitting conclusion to an inspiring day.

It took a while (a month or two, ahem) before I’d let all the inspiration and information I’d gained sink in, but then I was filled with a sense of contentment and fulfillment. Ambition is a wonderful thing, and—provided it’s accompanied by courage and a sense of reality—something that definitely enriches the “meaning of life.” How I’m going to turn my personal and professional ambition into (more) success is a question I’m going to delve into quite deeply in the coming weeks...

Yours, Troelie, Nicole

P.S.: If the Boobies feel shy or self-conscious—in the event of impending talk show exposure—that’s no reason to leave them on the nightstand. It’s all about your opinion and expertise; if those are in tip-top shape, those two sisters certainly won’t get in the way. Hahaha

*If you haven’t read the “Entrepreneurial Dumb Blondes” column yet, click here! It’s really hilarious!

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