Fil-Aus Life Coach Joergette Mae Medel has adapted The Soul Igniter as her professional persona and tag. The forty-year-old who goes by her maiden name is an International Speaker, Passion Coach and Intuitive Guide.
She guides women to rise and transform their pain into passion, purpose and power, so that they can ultimately live their passions and love their life. She is also a career woman, where she leads and manages a team within a leading global education provider. Recently she added to these roles as a co-author of the book A Woman's Journey to Empowerment.
One other role she is proud of is being a mother of four beautiful children. She and her partner Anthony have 5-year old twin girls; and she also has a 13-year old son and 11-year old daughter from a previous marriage. Of pure Filipino heritage, she is the middle child of her father Manny Medel who hails from Zambales and her mother Jean Medel from Olongapo City.
The Australian Filipina is caught up wth Joergette and is glad to share a Q&A conversation with her to give an insight into her persona and know about the book.
*You have achieved much in your role as the Soul Igniter. What do you consider fondly in your heart as your biggest achievements in life / profession?
I would say that I consider myself to be my biggest achievement in life so far. I am my biggest achievement because I have experienced and journeyed through many challenges and adversities throughout my life. It was through facing and overcoming those challenges that I experienced massive growth and transformation.
It was through learning the lessons that came as a result of me choosing to see the challenges as opportunities for growth that I get to be the woman I am today.
*What do you enjoy most in your profession?
Being multi-passionate, I get to wear many different hats as a speaker, coach, author, career woman, leader and manager.
In my work, I get to lead my team in our vision to assist and support people during their period of career transition. I get to inspire and empower my team to be who they are authentically, and to be the best they can be.
What I love in all of those things is that I get to be a part of other people’s transformation, however big or small. Through all of the different hats that I wear, I get to ignite people’s souls and contribute to their personal evolution.
*On the flip side, what is/are the difficult part/s?
I would say that the most challenging part is that I can only do so much for people. They have to be coachable, self-responsible and willing to take the action that’s necessary to bring about the change that they’re yearning for. As much as I would love to help them, I can’t take that step for them. I can hold out my hand and guide them, but they still need to take the step.
When someone comes to me for help, I can see so much potential in them. I might give them some advice or guidance. For the most part, I help them come to their own answers for what they think their next best step should be. So it can be quite frustrating when they ask for help but they’re not willing to take action or they get caught up in their fears or stories of why they can’t do the thing or why they can’t take the next step.
When that happens, I just remind myself that they are on their own journey and that they have the freedom to choose which path they take. This then allows me to detach from the outcome and I’m able to come back to a place of gratitude knowing that I helped them the best way that I know how.
*How did you get involved in the "A Woman's Journey to Empowerment" and who are the other authors?
In April 2019, I spoke at the Women Economic Forum in India, where I officially became an international speaker and I received the ‘Iconic Leaders Creating a Better World for All’ Award. It was there that I met a beautiful soul by the name of Tammie Pike. Tammie is the CEO and Creator of Empowered Publishing, Mumpreneur Movement and Loved by Gaia.
You could say we’re kindred spirits, so when she put a call out earlier this year about creating a co-authored book, it deeply resonated with me. So because becoming an author had been on my list for quite some time now, it really resonated with me and it just felt right to be part of this book.
There are 14 co-authors – brave women who come from all walks of life. There are entrepreneurs, different types of coaches, career women, business owners, healers, authors and speakers.
We wanted to share our thoughts, lessons, knowledge, and expertise with other women. So in the book, we reflect on our experiences and what we believe it means to be empowered. We share our stories openly, in the hopes that it will inspire other women to be the change they yearn to experience.
Each chapter invites women to look at their life, to dig deep, to acknowledge the woman they are and the woman they desire to be. We also share simple yet powerful steps that can help guide women on their own journey to becoming an empowered woman.
Through the sharing of our collective stories, it serves to remind women that there is no challenge too big; that no matter what happens, they can get through it and that they will get through it.
That all adversities or challenges are really opportunities for growth, because I truly believe that we can use the crises that we experience as catalysts for our own transformation.
*What is the particular chapter of the book you wrote?
The title of my chapter is called “Transforming Pain into Passion, Purpose and Power.” In my chapter, I share my journey from experiencing heartbreak to being the heroine of my own life. I share the challenges I had to overcome when I drew the line in the sand and decided that I was no longer going to limit myself to only being the person I was expected to be – as a woman, a wife and a mother.
I wrote about my experiences when I decided that I was going to stop being a people pleaser and actually take my power back and do things that were important for me - without guilt or shame, even if it was going against other people’s expectations or cultural norms. I wrote about having a relationship and marriage break down, and how I used that painful experience to be a catalyst for my own personal transformation.
*What did you want to achieve by the chapter you wrote?
My intention for writing my chapter was to share a message of empowerment and a message of hope. I desired to share my story in the hopes that it would serve as inspiration for other women who may be going through a similar journey, and are feeling alone and powerless. I wanted to share my journey and I wanted my voice to be heard, because I wanted to change that stigma of divorce, especially in the Filipino culture.
I believe that anyone who chooses to get married does so with the best of intentions to be with their partner for the rest of their life. As much as we like to plan our life however, we don’t always know what’s in store for us.
I think in any culture, divorce can be seen as a negative thing. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t work on your marriage or your relationship. I’m not advocating that you should just give up at the first sign of challenges – not at all. As the saying goes, it takes two to tango so both parties really need to be willing to dance or at least be willing to learn to dance.
What I am inviting people to do however, is to feel into what is really true for them, and to be willing to surrender to their truth. Because it is in the surrendering that they are able to access the freedom that they are ultimately yearning for, which is the freedom to be who they really are.
What advice would you give those who may be considering writing to share their experience or message but may be hesitating?
For anyone who may be considering this, I say to just go for it! I believe that there are no accidents or coincidences and that there’s a reason why that dream is in your heart. We all have a story to share because we all have had challenges we’ve overcome. I believe sharing our stories plays a big part in our own healing journey.
Ultimately, I choose to believe that our stories are really not about us. It’s actually about the people that need to hear our stories. They’re out there waiting. They might not even realise they’re actually waiting for your story. But when they hear or read about your journey, they’re uplifted. They’re empowered to keep going through their own challenges and they’re inspired to the next courageous step on their journey.
So if writing or sharing your message is something that’s calling to you, I deeply encourage you to take inspired, aligned action and just start.
Where can the readers avail of the book?
The book officially launches in February 2022; however, it is available now on pre-sale. To celebrate, anyone who pre-orders the book during the pre-launch will not only save money, they will also receive a free gift from me, as my way of saying thank you.
For more information about the book and how to get a copy, please go to:
A Woman's Journey To Empowerment (joergettemaemedel.com)
Thank you so much in advance for your support!