Secrets of Leadership Success Shared at Launch of Fearless Factor Woman of the Year Awards

Dec. 18, 2010 - PRLog -- The launch of the first Fearless Factor Woman of the Year Awards drew more than 80 attendees to the Skyloft Ballroom of the Roger Smith Hotel in New York City and honored Analisa Balares, CEO of Womensphere, and Girl Scout leader Claire Tedesco. Jacqueline Wales, founder of the Fearless Factor, told the audience that she created the event to celebrate women who not only show fearlessness in their lives and careers, but in making their communities and the world a better place.

Ms. Balares, the 2010 Fearless Factor Woman of the Year, shared five critical characteristics of success that had helped her overcome her fears. Her first characteristic was love. She explained that her father and mother did not come from lavish backgrounds; they worked as a maid and a driver for a family in the Philippines, where they still live today. She said, though, that it was their unconditional love that was a foundation for her success. “You would be amazed,” she said, “at how powerful love truly is. Don’t underestimate it.”   
Her other characteristics included teamwork, community, passion and leadership. Analisa emphasized that all leaders constantly face fearful moments – it is how they deal with their fear that ultimately determines the contribution they make to the world.

Claire Tedesco, a long-standing member of The Girl Scouts, and that organizations Gold Award recipient, was honored with the Fearless Factor Emerging Woman of the Year Award. She is only18 years old, but has twice recovered successfully from Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.
Claire told the story of a young boy named Max, who was a participant at one of the Cancer Survivor Camps that she had volunteered at. Max looked up at Claire one day and said, very nonchalantly, “I wish that everybody had cancer.” Shocked, Claire asked Max why he felt that way. His went on to explain that it wasn’t that he wanted to see people sick or in the hospital, but it was his wish that everyone could realize how precious life is. Max was 8 years old.

Claire also went on to share her opinion of leadership. Leaders, she feels, come in all forms. You do not need to be the President of an organization or the face of the Girl Scouts to be a leader. Leaders are loyal friends, and passionate volunteers. We define what leadership is, and through that definition, we act as a living example.

Ms. Wales praised the honorees, telling that audience that “Analisa and Claire exemplify the spirit that I believe exists in all of us who strive for the greater good - and this fearless spirit needs to be celebrated. They are fearless because they’ve made choices that caused them to reach further and higher than they ever thought possible. Analisa is nurturing women’s leadership development around the world, and Claire has inspired others with her successful battle against a deadly disease and is committed to community service.”

Ms. Wales also commended all the women and men present as examples of individuals who are fearlessly leading the way in their industries, and who support a strong community spirit that will see us through these challenging times. “You are shining examples of what happens when we show up to life and take action. This is true fearless spirit.”  She also wants to thank Geri Mazur, Jan Andrew, Yvette Lenhart and Sylvie Beljanski whose support for this event made it possible.

The event was launched with the sponsorship of The Beljanski Foundation, Inc. http://www.natural-source.com This year’s Fearless Factor Woman of the Year, Analisa Balares is a social entrepreneur and CEO/Founder of Womensphere.org.

About The Fearless Factor and the Beljanski Foundation
Jacqueline Wales is the author of several books including When The Crow Sings, and The Fearless Factor. She is the Founder/CEO of The Fearless Factor motivational coaching and teaching programs http://www.thefearlessfactor.com and currently helps men and women around the globe achieve success in all areas of their life. Jacqueline has traveled the world extensively, and holds transformational retreats at her home in Bali. She was recently honored by the National Minority Business Council with the Madam C.J. Walker Leadership Development Award. She can be reached at Jacqueline(at)thefearlessfactor.com.

The Beljanski Foundation, Inc., a not-for-profit organization, was vested with the mission of furthering the research begun nearly fifty years ago by molecular biologist Mirko Beljanski, PhD, at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, France. Besides this work, the Foundation sponsors efforts to educate the public and preserve the rare plants whose extracts are currently the focus of on-going research. The research started by Dr. Beljanski remains rich in potential discovery. Under the leadership of Sylvie Beljanski, The Foundation remains committed to supporting further study of scientific concepts and discoveries made by Dr. Beljanski.

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The Fearless Factor is a motivational training company that works with major corporations, organizations and individuals including the FBI, Women In Communications, The National Minority Business Council, Citibank, National Diversity Council, Knoll, Association for Corporate Growth, and many others.