38 wonderful women, that you should know

On Friday I will celebrate my birthday and turn … *tadaaaaaaaaaa* 38! And in order to celebrate this here on my blog – cause you know, you gotta celebrate properly! ;-) – I have prepared a very special blogpost.

Looking back over the last few years makes me super happy and proud of what I have accomplished. However, I do know that I didn’t achieve it completely by myself. I had help from many women – some helped me knowingly, some didn’t know about it. Among those were the following 38 women that I want to introduce to you.

Some of these women I am friends with. Some I only know from the internet. With some I already drank coffee. Others I only know because I read their books or bought their courses.  All women come from different areas of work, different places in the world, different backgrounds – but they have one thing in common (apart from having influenced me in a big way) – they are simply WONDERFUL! And I think you should get to know them. So this is a blogpost that is full of female power!

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“Summoning my powers” – mixed media art by Ursula Markgraf, available HERE

So, let’s start! May I introduce you to:

(Simply click the name of each woman to reach her website.)

I do spend a lot of my time on the internet around English speaking people, however, I do live in Germany and obviously also met and still meet many amazing German women. In order for you to easily see which links go to German-only sites, I put a G for German behind the name. :-)

1. Marie Forleo 

A few years ago I enrolled in Marie’s b-school and I can’t even begin to explain how much that has changed for me. I can honestly say doing her program changed my life. And most women in this blogpost – or even all? – I only met of her, her program and/or her community.

2. Danielle LaPorte 

Her “A credo for making it happen” accompanied me for months, actually year. There were times when I listened to it daily before I started to work. I still have it on my desktop to this day and when I feel super frustrated I listen to it and get inspired again. I also read her book The Fire Starter Sessions and have The Desire Map: A guide to creating goals with soul on my wishlist.

3. April Bowles-Olin from Blacksburg Belle 

Without April I probably would have never “met” Marie. And I probably also wouldn’t have bought the book by Kris Carr (see further below). Both things lead to huge changes in my life. Apart from that April is also a huge inspiration for building a biz your way.

4. Denise Duffield Thomas 

I learned a lot from Denise about money. If you wanna work on your money issues – and yes, everyone has money issues – then click on her name and check out her website or read her awesome book “Get rich, lucky bitch”.

5. Jo Ebisujima 

If organizing isn’t your thing, then you need Jo. And if organizing is your thing, then you still can learn a thing or two from Jo on how to improve it.  :-) She’s just awesome and super inspiring. I love how she just get’s stuff  done.

6. Megan Flatt 

Megan actually hooked me on meditating. Back when I first “met” her she had a 3-minute meditation for moms as a freebie. I loved that audio so much I listened to it daily for quite some time – and I was surprised how much it helped me. Later I increased my meditation time to longer guided meditations – and I’m meditating daily ever since. As far as I know she doesn’t offer this meditation freebie anymore but if you’re a mom with a biz check out her site as she got heaps of tips around that.

7. Oprah 

Pure inspiration. Her work, her life – everything. I especially love listening to the guided meditations that she recorded together with Deepak Chopra.

8. Susan Cain 

Because of Susan I found out that I’m introverted and started to understand myself much better. If you think you might be an introvert I highly recommend that you watch her TED-talk “The power of introverts”. If you don’t think you’re introverted I still recommend to watch that talk. You most likely have introverted people somewhere around you and knowing what it means to be introverted will help you better understand them. Also, even if you don’t suspect it you still might be an introvert. Often our idea of “introvert” is not quite accurate. (This was the case for me.) And no, being introverted and being shy are not the same thing! I’m actually not shy at all. ;-)

I also can’t wait to read her book “Quiet: The power of introverts in a world that can’t stop talking”.

9 . Christie Halmick from Jewels Branch 

Christie taught me a lot about how to create gorgeous looking pdfs in Word. I’m pretty certain that without her my  e-book (sorry, in German only) wouldn’t exist. By now I use Indesign to create the e-book every year, but the first one was in Word. And if there hadn’t been the first one, there probably wouldn’t have been a second one. Her pdf-Workshop truly is just amazing!

10. Martha Beck 

If you know me already for a while you probably know that I love Martha Beck. I recommend her books to everyone. I love the content of her books, but also her humour. It makes reading just fun. Her book “Steering by starlight” is my absolute favorite (I read all her books) and changed my life.

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“Determination” – mixed media art by Ursula Markgraf, available HERE

11. Elizabeth Gilbert

As I love traveling I also loved the movie “Eat, pray, love” – simply because it was about traveling. :-) I also loved the book. And when I listened to this interview of Elizabeth by Marie Forleo I knew she was one of my heros. By now I also read “Big Magic: Creative living beyond fear” and recommend it to anyone. Awesome book on creativity!

12. Brene Brown 

Brene is a scientist who researches shame and vulnerability. I find her work is amazing and life changing. If you don’t wanna read one of her books – she has several out – you should watch her videos, for example her Ted-Talks or this an oder dieses short video about empathie. I read “Daring greatly” and am super-curious about “Rising strong”.

13. Julia Cameron

I love the book “The artist way: a course in discovering and rediscovering your creative self” by Julia Cameron and recommend it to everyone who wants to bring more creativity into her life. This book changed me and helped me to find my way and create more room in my life for … well, myself and creativitiy.

14. Byron Katie

If you don’t know Byron Katie yet, you definitely should check out her site. I read the book “I need your love -is that true? How to stop seeking love, approval and appreciaion and start finding them instead” and would recommend it to anyone. And for kids – small kids or grown up kids ;-) – the picture book “Tiger-Tiger, is it true? Four questions to make you smile again” is just wonderful.

15. Kris Carr

Her book “Crazy sexy diet: Eat your veggies, ignite your spark, and live like you mean it!” was the first book that I read about nutrition. It changed my world view. And it was the trigger for changing my diet and that of my family. And no, we’re not vegan. ;-) But you don’t have to be vegan or wanting to become vegan to enjoy her book. But you can, of course. ;-)

16. Kelly Courson von Celiac Chics

If you want to – or need to – learn more about gluten-free food and gluten-free living, check out Kelly’s website. Changing your diet is never easy – but with Kelly’s help I learned so much and it made the change a bit easier and so much more effective.

17. Cat Ruehle von A well nourished life

If you’re avoiding gluten and refined sugar, but still wanna bake some amazing and eye-catching cakes, get the book “Let us all eat cake”. Before I changed my diet I was an enthusiastic – and pretty good ;-) baker. At some point I even was thinking about opening a little cupcake cafe. But when we went gluten free and stopped using refined sugar baking was hard. It just wasn’t the same anymore. It was so hard to find good recipes and everything I had learned about baking over the years, just didn’t apply anymore. It was like starting from scratch all over again. I was frustrated and as a result didn’t bake a lot anymore. Until my sister asked me to make her wedding cake. That’s when I bought Cat’s book and it did not only help me to create a gorgeous wedding cake, but also brought my joy of baking back.

18. Christina Caudill

Christina is an astrologer – and I have to admit that I’ve always been rather suspicious of astrology. But when she did a birthday reading for me, I was just blown away by how accurately she could describe my personality, my weaknesses, my preferences, but also my struggles. (No, she didn’t know me before.) I got so many amazing, helpful and practical ideas and suggestions from that reading. Among other things that reading prompted me to start using Instagram :-) If you are interested in her readings, you can check out the info about them HERE or you can find awesome astrology resources on her website.

19. Tracy Ryan Jastrow

By now I feel Tracy is like a good “internet-friend”. A while ago she coached me with the help of tarot cards and the nine star ki. Again I was fascinated how accurate she could describe my challenges and my specific traits or strengths. (At the time she didn’t know me that well, yet.) That coaching changed my perspective on many situations and my view about myself and helped me to deal with some tough ongoing challenges. I’m so beyond grateful for that. If you’re interested in Tracy’s work you can follow her Facebook-Fanpage.

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“Holy” – mixed media art by Ursula Markgraf, available HERE

20. Lissa Rankin

Lissa’s book “Mind over medicine: Scientific proof that you can heal yourself” has changed my view about health and healing. A wonderfully encouraging and empowering book! If you ever struggled with health problems or know people who did, read it. There also comes a lovely guided meditation with the book that I just love to listen to.

21. Erin Motz from Bad Yogi

If you read my last blogpost where I shared my favorite links to free yoga videos, then you already know Erin. Her wonderful yoga-videos are fun and easy to incorporate in every day – so perfect for me. And I love her general approach. Amazing!

22. Adrianne Munkacsy

If you write – a book, a blog, for a website or “just” product descriptions – you need to take a look at Adrienne’s blog. She has amazing tips for writing that actually help. When I opened my first own online-shop where I sold handmade buttons – seems like ages ago – she helped me tweak my product descriptions. Her suggestions were amazing and made a huge difference. I should actually keep them in mind and overhaul my current product descriptions. ;-) On her page she offers some amazing free worksheets that help you hone your writing voice and clarify your message.

23. Sara Gottfried

Sara’s book “The hormone cure” should be read by any woman. Honestly, I had no idea at all how important hormones are and how and where they influence my body and life. Not only is it interesting to know that sort of stuff, but also super helpful.

24. Anne Lamott

Her book “Bird by Bird: Some instructions on writing and life” has been recommended to me so many times. I finally bought it and am reading it right now. And even though I’m not finished yet, I can already tell that it’s awesome and I recommend it to you as well. Especially if you write or would like to write.

25. Amy Scott

It’s no secret that I love travel. And in my heart I’ve always had that dream to travel the world. Amy was the first one that made me realize that this dream doesn’t have to stay a dream and that there’s not one way to travel the world. That “traveling the world” can be something that I can do the way it fits to me and to my lifestyle. If you happen to be someone who likes more freedom and would like to be location independent, check out Nomadtopia. It’s a lovely resource for inspiration and information about being a nomad – your way.

26. Megan Potter from Limitless Living

Megan is just simply amazing. I can’t say enough good things about her. If you ever want to learn more about clearing, energy, the elements or simply how to live a limit-less life, you need to check out her site. Over the summer she created an awesome video series about money which is called “Summer of money”. Definitely worth watching! And on top of that she’s an inspiring mixed media artist.

Travel companions by Ursula Markgraf, inspired by Life book 2016

“Travel companions” – art by Ursula Markgraf, inspired by one of Tam’s lessons in Life book 2016, not for sale

27. Tamara LaPorte 

Tam is a wonderful and amazing mixed media artist who organizes Life book, a year long mixed media online course where different mixed media artists teach. I love Life book as you can experience so many different styles, teachings, projects and inspiration. Highly recommended!

28. Amy Won 

Amy is also an awesome artist and you should definitely check out her website – simply eye candy. Her art is so magical and whimsical. Like looking at dreams. Amy taught me so much about websites, branding, design, and art. I did build my own website, but without her lovely “talks” via email and chat it surely wouldn’t look the way it does today.

29. Jeanne Oliver

Jeanne is also a mixed media artist and her online-course “Creatively made”,  was the first mixed media course I ever took. And we know what that lead to. ;-) Forever grateful!

30. Danielle Donaldson 

Another wonderful and inspiring artist that I admire and learn from. She has such a special and lovely style in her art – so definitely check out her site. And if you’re interested, take some of her online-courses. She also wrote a book that I can’t wait to read: “Creative girl. Mixed media techniques for an artful life”.

31. Lindsey from The Postman Knock

If you ordered something in my store over the last year, it’s very likely that you held the influence of Lindsey on my life/biz already in your hands. :-) Lindsey is an amazing calligraphy artist. With the help of her worksheets I finally found a way to make my outgoing orders a bit more unique. Now I regularly get lovely feedback from customers that loved receiving their order. One of my lovely customers even made a quick unboxing video (in German). :-) It makes me so happy to have found a way to show my customers how much I value them and to make them feel special. If you wanna see some truly amazing letters or are interested in learning modern calligraphy definitely check out The Postman Knock.

32. Jane Davenport

Jane’s another wonderful mixed media artist with a webpage for browsing. She also offers online courses and workshops with different thopics. And she has also written a book “Drawing and painting beautiful faces: A mixed-media portrait workshop”, which I totally love and highly recommend.

33. Sandra Heim from Mama Revolution (G)

Sandra was the one who recommended one of Martha Beck’s book to me. Forever grateful. :-) She’s also an amazing coach for German women that are mothers and build their own biz. While working with her miracles happened.

34. Meike Linden from LindGrow (G)

Lindgrow  is a German manufacture of handmade natural soaps. I’m so happy that I have found those and don’t use anything else for my skin anymore. Meike lives on a gorgeous old house at the Storchenhof , where you also can rent rooms – in case you visit Germany :-) and  is a SUP instructor. Can’t wait to try that.

Mixed media art by Ursula Markgraf

35. Liana Kuschel from Noa-Style (G)

Liana creates jewellery and was the first woman to request a custom painting from me. In our first phone conversation I had actually planned to gently explain to her that I don’t do custom work. However, her enthusiasm was so infectious that by the end I agreed to do it. And I’m very grateful for that experience.

"Geburt" - art by Ursula Markgraf

36. Jobina Schenk from Meisterin der Geburt (G)

Jobina was another customer of custom art. I created an art piece for the cover of her book “Meisterin der Geburt”  (which is about giving birth). I loved her idea and her enthusiasm and love for her work. And it was so much fun to work on that project.

Urvertrauen - art by Ursula Markgraf

37. Jennifer Weidmann from Urvertrauen (G)

Jennifer is another of my first custom order customers. I loved working with and for her and also love the name of her business Urvertrauen, which means basic trust.

38. You!

Yes, you have touched my life as well. You are reading this blogpost … maybe you even get my newsletter or have ordered from me before or supported me by sharing what I do. Maybe I was able to put a smile on your face with what I wrote or with an art piece of mine. Without you, I wouldn’t be where I am now.

I am forever grateful for that!

 

And now I’d like to know from you – who are you grateful for? Which woman, has touched, changed, or influenced your life?

Leave a comment and share a link as well, if you like.

The other readers and I can’t wait to meet even more wonderful and amazing women!

P.S. Just in case that it wasn’t entirely clear already – I do not receive any sort of commission or the like from this post. There are no affiliate links in this post. Those really are just women, books, courses, products … I love and that have changed my life and I wanted to share that.

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6 Responses to 38 wonderful women, that you should know

  1. Amy says:

    So honored and flattered to be included, Ursula, thank you so much! I’ve enjoyed being a part of each other’s journey these 4 years! Love to you and your creative adventures!

  2. jojoebi says:

    What an honour and among so many amazing women, thank you!
    And hope you have a fabulous birthday too xxx

  3. Kelly says:

    What a huge compliment! Thank you!!! I’m honored to have met you, to have been helpful, and to be in such great company! mwah!

    PS: I love the German “von” – so cute!

  4. Wow, thanks so much for including me here Ursula. I admire so many of the same women! And I loved being part of your journey. Thank you. :)

  5. Jannine says:

    Thanks so much for sharing your list. It is very kind of you to share your helping sites and insights into those people.

    Thank you ?

  6. Sandra Heim says:

    Wie schön, Teil von dieser Liste sein zu dürfen, liebe Ursula. Du hast da viele ganz wundervolle Frauen zusammengeführt. Ganz herzlichen Dank! Sandra

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