Yorkshire businesswoman Emma Stirk is celebrating having made an impact on women globally this year, as a book she co-authored, which has been described by the Huffington Post as ‘The Must Read Business Book that could change your life’, went straight in at number 1 on the Amazon best seller charts in 3 separate book categories.
Within ‘She Made It Happen’, which has already reached over 87 million people through exposure across American media, Emma has revealed a closed chapter in her life that saw her hit rock bottom after 15 years of building a successful career as a Solicitor…before revealing how becoming self employed and her personal development journey saved her.
The book, for which all proceeds go to charity, has been developed to help others who are feeling overwhelmed, or who are desperate to make a change. In it, 38 year old Emma tells how she suffered years of anxiety and depression, and how she felt too embarrassed to ask for help. Emma explains that because her life looked perfect ‘on paper’, she couldn’t understand why she wasn’t happy or enjoying life and therefore instead of seeking help, she felt guilty and too ashamed to share how she was really feeling. When finally faced with ending her own life, Emma finally recognised she needed proper help and found the strength to share and take action. As a result her health and happiness were overhauled, as she found her focus and invested in herself.
Emma went on to find personal and financial success in self employment, having within two years operated a global business generating a multiple six figure turnover. Realising that a key part of this rapid growth was the successful techniques and strategies she utilised, she recently established a second business as a Life & Business Success Coach specialising in empowering other women to recognise and maximise their true potential so they don’t turn their backs on their dreams, business or career goals, via www.emmastirk.com
Within the book Emma has revealed secrets from her past that only a handful of people know, in a bid to help others open up if they too are struggling.
She said: “It was so hard to put pen to paper for this book but I am so pleased I have done it. I’ve had such an overwhelming response from others who have also felt despair and anxiety and a lack of purpose and to know that they’ve benefited from me telling my story is amazing. I’m also excited to see how much money we can raise for charity with all the profits being donated so that makes it worthwhile too.”
Emma also added: “My future plans also include giving back and raising awareness of the issues I have faced. I believe more can be done to make it more socially acceptable to talk about mental health issues and physically and emotionally damaging relationships. Having experienced these myself, I understand the damaging and lasting effects and I hope to develop more ways in which I can support women whose lives have also been affected by these issues.”
Concluding her story in ‘She Made It Happen’ Emma tells how she now is happier than she has ever been, having found a perfect balance of work and family life, and doing something she is truly passionate about.
She said: ”Starting to work with women one-on-one through my personal coaching programmes has been the most rewarding and fulfilling part of my life journey to date. I understand, I empathise, I’ve been there and they know I’ve been there too. I am truly passionate about sharing the tools and strategies I have learnt and developed over the last 20 years to help women to overcome the life challenges that are keeping them stuck instead of achieving the success they deserve. I hope that by reading this book, which is also for charity, others will find their motivation to do what they love”.
She Made It Happen is now available to download via Amazon
Emma’s tips for how to make 2018 your best year yet are:-
1. Know what you want to achieve. Ask yourself where you want to be in 12 months and what that will feel like. Then consider if you continue doing what you’re doing will that happen and what needs to change in order for you to achieve your goal.
2. Put a plan in place. Not having a plan is like getting in the car knowing you want to visit London but without any idea of how to get there, how long it will take, what stops you need to make for fuel and rest. A detailed plan of how you are going to achieve your goals and the smaller goals you need to achieve on the way will keep you focused and more motivated too.
3. Set dates for the completion of your goals and of the smaller steps you need to take. If you have a to do list put the activities and actions in your diary so you know when they are going to get done. Be realistic on what can be achieved in the 168 hours we have each week.
4. Make time for yourself So many of us fail to actually plan in time for ourselves. Self care is incredibly important. We need downtime, we need space and we need to rest. If we want to live life at our best then productivity and efficiency is increased when we have had sufficient rest.
5. Have a morning routine. The single most effective thing I have implemented into my life in recent years is a morning routine. Set your alarm, get up and take action. Move, meditate, remind yourself of your goals, focus on the day ahead, set your intentions then put on some upbeat music and get yourself in a positive state.
