The book, entitled ‘The Pay It Forward Series: Notes to my younger self’, shares inspiring life stories and lessons learned from a collection of women from across the globe who are all part of the Women of Contribution movement.
Their aim is to encourage women to buy the book and pass it on – either by handing it to family member or friends or leaving it in a public place for a complete stranger – so that one billion other people can benefit from the wisdom and knowledge shared.
Ania was invited by creator, Kezia Luckett, to co-author on this book after being recognised for the amazing work she has done over the last few years working with women and young people to help them believe in themselves.
In her chapter, Ania talks of four pivotal moments of darkness in her life, including when her husband Simon narrowly escaped death, and how she turned the pain and fear she endured into drive and motivation. Platinum, although not mentioned by name, also features in the book in Ania’s letter to her younger self, where she writes how Simon’s redundancy will be scary, but lead to them building a new business and living a life of greater purpose, outside their comfort zone.
Her reason for contributing was simple: “When I’m no longer on this earth, I want my kids to know that I made a difference in the world. I want them to understand that women need to be given a voice and the confidence to believe in themselves; that, no matter what life throws at you, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel that will give you a strength you didn’t have before; that sharing your vulnerabilities only empowers you; and that you should never be afraid to ask for help.”
Following a successful career in public affairs, Ania and Simon, who was an investment banker, joined Platinum Property Partners to build a serious and profitable property business that would give them freedom and financial security.
Ania never dreamed that, as well as achieving a lifelong and secure income, being part of Platinum would be such a key driver in her becoming an award-winning life coach, mentor for The Prince’s Trust, radio presenter, best-selling international author and founder of Women Work.
Ania said: “I can truly and honestly say that it was the franchise and the network that led to me believing that I can achieve anything, and one moment in particular…when I was invited by Platinum to a workshop with Kriss Akabusi”.
“I really didn’t want to go. I thought it would be boring. But it turned out to be the lightbulb moment, and one that I write about in the book, that encouraged me to go on and train as a life coach and create Women Work to empower and lead women to a brighter future.”
As well as her coaching business, Next Step Mentor, Ania founded the Women Work event, that was initially supposed to be a workshop on self-belief and confidence for 20 people. It snowballed into a one-day event that was attended by over 1,300 people and featured 52 speakers and 70 workshops. Big names such as Metro Bank, Marks and Spencer, The Range, Tesco, Tunbridge Wells Borough Council and Pickering Cancer are also supporting it.
The next event, being held on 20th April at Salomons Estate in Tunbridge Wells, is expected to be even more sensational. Places are strictly limited but you can see if tickets are still available here.
It’s always great to hear of our franchise partners’ achievements, but it thrills us even more when we learn that we achieved our mission to inspire people to Be More, Do More, Have More and Give More. Ania is a great example of someone who used the Platinum system to create a sustainable business and furthermore, embraced Platinum values and went on to achieve her personal dreams.
Ania added: “Joining Platinum was the start of a life changing journey for me. It taught me that you’re never too old to start a business, as long as you find the right like-minded people to work with, who you can trust and ask for help. I also learnt to believe in myself, and now I’m paying that forward to others.”
‘The Pay It Forward Series: Notes to my younger self’, which is being officially launched at the University Women’s Club in Mayfair on Saturday 17th March, has already received extensive press coverage, including an interview with Ania herself on BBC South East.
It precedes Ania’s own book, ‘Gain Confidence in 24 Hours – The Toolkit to Help Your Grow’, which will be released later this year.
