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YOU ARE ENOUGH.
“I believe in lifting each other versus one person dominating over another. My ability to connect with people and empower others is a natural gift.” BY NICOLE HEROUX WILLIAMS I PHOTOS BY NSP STUDIO
Laura, your tagline is “Awaken to Your Potential.” Can you share why you chose this message and what it means? I believe we have an innate ability to awaken to our incredible potential. But at times, life experiences prevent us from fully believing in the power of ourselves. While we all have the best intentions and want to succeed, limiting beliefs or aspects of life may prevent us from being the best version of ourselves. My role is as a guide to help others navigate to a place – where self-empowerment, self-belief, and worthiness reside. Once awakened to our full potential, we can achieve anything! Fundamentally, Awaken to Your Amazing Potential is about tapping into the part of each of us where unlimited potential resides. It’s the housing center for creativity, intuition, and life purpose. However, we must become self-aware and self-empowered to claim our worthiness for an amazing life. Then, we can harness our power for good and become our most vibrant version of ourselves.
food sat hand in hand at the kitchen table. A generation of women gathered around a pot of tomato sauce, offering wisdom, including my Nana Rose, mom, Beverly, and aunts. Much sage advice was offered, such as, “Lipstick is your friend. Put on Lipstick and feel the magic within you when in doubt!” Also, “Plant a rose, but know you must water it to foster its growth. Because in life, you will need to do that!”
Could you take us through your journey of self-discovery and transformation that led you to where you are today? First off, self-discovery is a lifelong journey. And one that has many windy roads along with incredible sunset vistas. There isn’t a singular experience; instead, there are multiple occurrences.
Fast forward years later, I found myself at the pinnacle of success, earning over 250,000k at age 34 in a male-dominated environment. My ability to connect with people helped me advance. However, it took an international assignment for me to be alone with my thoughts, besides constantly thinking about work or family – to realize that I had to form a deep connection with myself. Therefore, I set out to explore by writing down reflective
I grew up in Fairport, New York, in an Italian Catholic family where faith and 96
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thoughts over the next seven years. I started incorporating more self-care – like caring enough about myself to water the well of my being. I learned to meditate, traveled to spiritual meccas, and explored faith beliefs beyond my Catholic roots – absorbing knowledge and awakening to the fact – that all of us are interconnected, independent of any race, religion, or economics. During these years, I wrote in a journal, actually many journals. A subset of thoughts became my first best seller – but I didn’t want the book to be about me, so I interviewed 1000 women on “What inspires You in everyday life?” Simultaneously, I experienced a divorce. This occurrence shook me because I was a high achiever, unfamiliar with failing, and loved the man I married. I found that I had to become “comfortable sitting in the uncomfortable,” given moments of vulnerability. We are forced to look at ourselves when left alone. And we have a choice: to replay old, outdated tapes that no longer serve us or to create a new playlist of songs—also exploring what makes us happy through selfdiscovery. I chose to see challenges, particularly my divorce, as a gift. An opportunity existed to peel back the onion of myself to embrace self-love, self-care, and selfempowerment. Now, I want to teach the world that no matter what happens