The twelve days of Spirited Women: Dawn Z Bournand

Monday, December 5th, 2011 in Stories

Name(s): Dawn Z Bournand

Occupation: Founder and Owner of Fabulously Successful

How did you come to be doing the work you do? I actually feel this is the work I was always meant to do. From a very young age I was fascinated by human potential and what it takes to make us seek the very best in ourselves. I went through a particular period when I was 10 where I devoured every biography in my school library. I was fascinated by Helen Keller, Abraham Lincoln, Florence Nightingale, Walt Disney… their stories were inspiring and admirable.

It was at that young age that the seed for Fabulously Successful began to take root. I had a few life lessons to learn myself though before Fabulously Successful was able to come forth. I found myself in an executive position at a major cosmetic company shortly after graduating from college and I continued along the path of beauty and fashion for a while until the entrepreneurial bug caught me and I opened my own communications company.

Through each phase of my life and career though, I was aware of the idea of transformation and how we can change our lives whenever we are ready. Sometimes it is by our choosing sometimes it isn’t but it is sure that transformation can always have a positive role in your life if you are ready to look for the good in each situation.

For me, my biggest transformation to date came when I was not looking for it and to be very honest I was not at all happy about it when it came knocking on my door. My happily ever after did not go the way it does in the fairy tales and I found myself on the receiving end of what felt like a very “unfair” ending to a life that I thought had been pretty amazing. My world was very rocked and in the beginning, I struggled with how to get things back on track. Somehow though, I believe that when things seem to be at their most difficult that is when we often show up in ways even we didn’t know we were capable of: tougher, stronger, and more resilient than we could have imagined.

During this time I began to look inside and ask myself what I really, really wanted. Strangely enough Paris and photography came back as the answers. So I took the leap! I moved to Paris to study photography for a year. This was a time of pure transformation and it was exhilarating, mind-expanding and just plain fun! My divorce and recovery period were by no means fun but if it had not been for the trauma, I many never have found what lay on the other side of it.
I am certainly not saying that every woman has to go through trauma or grief to find her best self but it can be helpful to know that the hard times often benefit us through the gift of deep self-discovery.

Tell us about your family: I am now the mother of three incredible boys: Zachary about to turn 12, Zander who is 9 and Zayne who is 5. They are truly the lights of my life and I am so grateful they are sharing this life journey with me. Their father (and my husband) is a French man that I met while living in Paris. I was getting ready to move back home but when I met Ludovic (my husband) it became pretty obvious that my future just might be in France. 13 years later, that has definitely proven to be true. We celebrate both cultures in our household so my children are completely bi-lingual and living in the suburbs of a big city has made it possible for them to have friends whose families come from all corners of the globe. Even at their young ages I share the message of possibility and purpose with my sons. It is a powerful concept and one that I hope they take to heart.

What are your passions in life? My first passion is absolutely my sons. They will always be the priority in my life. A close second would be the work I am doing with women to help them open up to their full potential, to feel empowered and to live their lives in true fulfillment. I am also an avid traveler and love studying world cultures, so travel is definitely on the passion list. Also on that list is the study of the brain, our emotions and why we do the things we do. As I mentioned earlier, even at an early age human potential captured my attention and I don’t think it has ever let go. And my passions list would not be complete without the idea of giving back. This is a calling that so many of us share and the idea that I want to reinforce in my life and with all those I work and connect with is that we can give back every day. It may be something as simple as smiling at someone who appears to be having a bad day or something as meaningful as volunteering in a children’s hospital or your local soup kitchen, or perhaps something as energizing as organizing a charity event that galvanizes others to give back too.

Our readers are mostly mothers—what would you like them to know? Two important things come to mind. First, as women and as mothers we tend to put others needs ahead of our own and perhaps even think we must fade into the background to allow our children to shine. That simply is not true. In fact one of the best things we can do for our children is to lead lives that fulfill our passions as well. If your kids see that you are doing what you love and believe in, there is no better way to help them do the same in their own lives. Secondly, that you can begin sharing empowering messages with your children at a very young age. Their minds are like little sponges and they take in so much more than we are aware of. Share life wisdoms with them right away. Their little minds will soak them in and when they need them, your wise words will come back to them.