My husband Rob Berkley is Guy#1 in the growing legion of men we call “Women on Fire — and the Men Who Love Them.” He, and other men, thank you, often introduce me to inspiring women who become part of our organization.
Case in point: Rob arrived home after speaking at a conference and very excitedly announced, “do I have a ‘woman on fire’ for you!”
At the conference, he had met Sophfronia Scott.
Now, I had heard of Sophfronia from my friend the successful info-entrepreneur Ali Brown, who spoke of Sophfronia with the same glowing enthusiasm as Rob. I had even read Sophfronia’s book Doing Business By The Book and shared it with others.
So, I invited Sophfronia to attend a Women on Fire Tea Party in New York – and she did!
The day I met Sophfronia Scott at her first tea party last April!
What has struck me in this past year of getting to know this gentle, wise woman with a very big heart is that she exemplifies one of the most important skills of a woman on fire: the ability to cheer on the successes of other women.
In fact, after attending her first tea party, Sophfronia signed up for another one. And, this time brought along a talented, long-time friend hers. Sophfronia wanted this young woman to have the experience of seeing her light shine in a group of appreciative, supportive women. Sophfronia beamed like a lighthouse as the young woman, shy at first, shared her life and what she is on fire about!
At Maria Shriver’s recent Women’s Conference, former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright drew cheers and laughter when she said, “there is a special place in Hell for women who do not help other women.”
I prefer to think there is a special place in Heaven for the Sophfronia Scotts and all of the other Women on Fire who are making a real difference in this world by cheering each other on.
It is my honor to introduce you to Ms. Sophfronia Scott!
This Week’s Woman On Fire: Sophfronia Scott
Joined Women on Fire: 2009
Sophfronia Scott
Author and Book Coach
Newtown, Connecticut
Website: www.doneforyouwriting.com
Business name: The Done For You Writing & Publishing Co.
Total number of Women On Fire tea parties/events attended: 2
Sophfronia’s current projects:
1. Anthology: To be published in 2010 — How the Fierce Handle Fear: Secrets to Succeeding in Challenging Times
2. Screenplay: “The Affairs of Midnight”
3. Novel: The Fairchild Sisters Sing Songs of Blue
4. Product: “Business Book Bootcamp” home study system
5. Course: Teaching “Business Book Bootcamp” starting January 14. www.BusinessBookBootcamp.com
How did you come to be a part of Women On Fire?
Debbie invited me to a tea party in New York in April 2009.
What would you like other Women On Fire to know about you, your work, your challenges you’ve overcome and your life?
I help speakers and entrepreneurs to write books to successfully market their businesses. It’s gratifying work—my clients produced six books in 2009!
But on the other side of that—and I think most women deal with this—is when I spend so much time helping others, it’s hard to practice my own art. Sometimes I worry about what would happen if I did devote more time to my art.
So this year I decided to do things a little differently: I’m declaring 2010 “The Year of Living Fearlessly” and I’m going to explore what happens when I do make certain priorities. It’s going to be an adventure, and I hope to engage a lot of people in the conversation about living without fear (the anthology I’m publishing this year is a big part of that).
So that’s what you’ll see from me: a woman who is fearless—and on fire!
Which of the 20 Women On Fire Aspirations speaks to you the most?
Right now I’m working with two of the Aspirations.
I’m continually inspired by Aspiration #11 “I am aware of my powerful impact on others”, because when I am working on what I do best, amazing things happen not just for me, but for others. My published clients are a testament to that. And when I write from my heart, it has a vast effect on my readers. I feel it’s my responsibility to do more of that. And from that point, I’m dealing with the Aspiration #17, “I may not yet know fully ‘how to get there’ toward my next desires, but I am on my way!”
Name one idea, connection, achievement, success or change in your life that resulted from you being a part of Women on Fire.
Meeting Shannon McCaffery, a co-author of the Women on Fire book who has a business called The Marketing Implementer, has been a wonderful connection.
At the last tea party Shannon and I started a conversation about how I’m doing way too much on my own in my business. I’m hoping to work with her in the future to handle some of my marketing and this has the potential to free up a lot of time for me.
Sophfronia at her second tea party with Shannon McCaffery
I also had lunch with Gloria Feldt after meeting her at my first tea party. She’s a woman who has accomplished great things. She is the past president of Planned Parenthood of America and the co-author with the actress Kathleen Turner of the New York Times best-seller Send Yourself Roses.
It was fascinating to listen to her describe her current journey to
create her next great thing. To me, she’s a tremendous role model for
knowing that it’s never too late and you’re never done: the “great work” is ongoing.
Gloria also just asked to include me in her upcoming book Unlimited, which is about women’s relationship with power. It’s a huge honor — I feel like I’m only just beginning to wield my power and I have a lot to learn from her!
Do you have a favorite or inspiring memory from a Women on Fire tea party?
Getting to enjoy the last tea party with my friend Katherine Kellgren. I brought her to the party to celebrate her achievements of 2009, and it was great to see her “get it” that she too is an amazing, accomplished woman and belonged in that room.
What strategy keeps you going?
It’s important to me to remember why I have to keep going: my family, especially my 5-year-old son, motivates me because I want certain opportunities and experiences for all of us. When I forget why I’m doing something the work can get very difficult.
What does being a part of Women On Fire mean to you?
Whenever I get together with the Women On Fire, I get reminded of and more connected with my goals and desires. I also get to celebrate what I’ve done, which I don’t take time to do in the normal course of life. I also love the intimate nature of the gatherings, where every minute is quality time and we get to talk about what’s really important to all of us. Such experiences are priceless.
The collective joy after a Women on Fire Tea Party!
What would you like to tell other Women on Fire about their own hopes and dreams?
It’s never too late to pursue your hopes and dreams. I think as women, we pay an inordinate amount of attention to age and clocks and because of that, we limit ourselves by thinking we’ve grown too old for something.
I say as long as you w
ant it and there is a way for you to pursue it, then you must travel the road. Otherwise, you’ve relegated yourself to living only half of your true potential.
You can learn more about Sophfronia Scott and her award-winning book by going to www.doneforyouwriting.com
P.S. Many of you have been asking when and where the next Women on Fire tea parties are. Here you go and with many more in other cities planned in 2010:
Next
tea parties are in Columbus, Ohio on March 11 and New York City on March 26.
To register for Columbus, contact: Andrea Dowding at andreadowding1@columbus.rr.com
To register for New York City, go to www.wofnyc.com
