See Jane Do Everyday Women Doing Extraordinary Things
“It is our creativity that will be unleashed in the 21st Century – every single day women are more powerful than the day before.” Nancy Shanteau
Nancy Shanteau is “dream-maker” for everyday women. Coaching individuals across the nation, she provides a space for creative expression and helps women practice, in a safe space, the skills they need in order to create the future they want.
As a workshop leader at the See Jane Do Passion into Action Conference Nancy will work with attendees to find their voice in order to live an extraordinary life. Her experiential session is part of the Defining Youtrack and will explore the ability to speak up, ask for what we want, and declare what matters to us. Nancy shares the source of her passion and why it’s so important for women to come together and participate in this historic event.
How are you putting your passion into action?
I’m blessed to be passionate about everything I do – I’m a coach who helps people achieve their dreams and a yoga teacher. I spend my free time writing and doing fun things like cycling and snowboarding. I get to travel, enjoy feeding the wild birds, and swimming in the South Yuba. I have wonderful friends and family – I love my life!
What do you love most about the work you are doing?
I especially love helping people write books – it’s wonderful to see someone’s idea become a reality, and to hold the book and turn the pages. It’s deeply satisfying to bring something original into the world, something that didn’t exist before I got involved. I work through the body, and that means that we are unlocking the body’s wisdom in service of someone’s dreams. The body often knows what is needed, and can generate clarity and focus.
What were the motivating factors that inspired you to get involved and share your passion?
The great thing about coaching is that it’s so helpful – it really does make someone’s life better. My life was so improved by my own learning journey that I wanted to share coaching with others. It’s so useful to have two minds on a problem instead of one, and it turned out that I was enriched spiritually as well as pragmatically by the whole process. I am content with my life, and feel happy most of the time. If that’s not spiritual, I don’t know what is!
Who were the some female role models or mentors that inspired your work and passion?
Julia Kelliher, Mary Michael Wagner and Staci Haines are my role models in coaching. Of course my mother is a daily inspiration – both her struggles and her commitment to my success and freedom have made my happiness possible.
When I was twelve, I read Judy Chicago’s The Dinner Party cover to cover. The stories of women’s lives were both inspiring and also made me angry. When I confronted the waste of women’s intelligence, passion, and contribution due to social rules, it lit a fire within me that still burns today. I’ve been committed to improving the lives of women ever since.
Why is the work you are doing so important for everyday women?
So many women struggle to balance lives that are full of family and relationship commitments with their dreams of a better world for themselves and their loved ones. I help women realize the origins of their stories of not being good enough, smart enough, of not knowing what they want.
It’s not enough to change one’s mind – we have to change both the culture, through collective action, and then take what power is available to us, in a manner that suits our personality and objectives, before we can change our experience. When we tell ourselves a more accurate truth about what needs to change, we have more influence over the future.
I help women practice, in a safe space, the skills they need in order to create the future they want. It’s so powerful to feel aligned toward what we care about in our body, emotions, thoughts, and spirit.
Why is it so important for women to participate in an event like the Passion into Action Conference?
It’s still really important for women to come together in communities of support, knowledge, and experience. When we share our passions with each other, and support each other, so much is possible. We are defining a new reality, where collaboration is required for leadership, and where everyone’s voice matters. The work is just beginning, and many seeds are planted when we come together.
Also, the habits of deferring to men are deeply embedded in our bodies – if you watch in meetings, men will often speak first, and more frequently than women. Women are accustomed to listening for all voices – but that style can be interpreted as weak or as a lesser contribution. In an all-women environment, women’s voices and strengths are cultivated. Then we can go out into the world and make things happen so much more powerfully.
What are you hoping will be the biggest take-away for women at the Passion into Action Conference?
I’m teaching a workshop called: Finding Your Voice – Asking for What You Want, Saying No, and Speaking Up. I hope each woman will hear her own voice, listen to her own passion, and go out into the world re-fueled and fired up to make a difference in her community, family, and work life.
What is your message to women around the world?
Resignation and despair are luxuries we cannot afford. We must persevere, seek solutions that meet everyone’s needs, and insist on new ways of thinking, listening, seeing and acting. It is our creativity that will be unleashed in the 21st Century – every single day women are more powerful than the day before. We will no longer waste our time, intelligence, contribution, or passion. When we organize solutions around women’s needs and women’s voices, everyone wins.
Nancy Shanteau helps people achieve their dreams, offering support for creative expression, transformation from traumatic experiences, empowered relationships, and life transitions. Working in Nevada City, she teaches Up-Tempo Flow Yoga at Wild MountainYoga Center and offers individual and couples Somatic Coaching, Bodywork and Skills for Change sessions. She can be reached at 530-273-5170
