Barbara Rogoski, the founder of Authentic Matters, is a professional speaker, trainer, teacher and coach and is considered a "spiritual teacher in a business suit".
ExpatWomen's Interview with Barbara
ExpatWomen:Tell us a bit about yourself and the experiences that have brought you to where you are today.
Barbara: At the age of 24, I relocated from the US to The Netherlands to open a sales office for my US based medical information company. This entailed managing all international business activities, a distributor network of 25 companies and supporting current customers. I travelled around the world and put my heart and soul into the company to make it successful. By the third year, the international sales for our products, surpassed the US sales, which is uncommon for a US based company.
The company was sold after 5 years and I joined a new US based company supporting the European network of clients and distributors. I was salesperson of the year 5 times in this period with trophies, rolex watches and expensive vacations on the company. I was quite materialistic at the time and was driven primarily by money. In the last year of my sales career, I was transferred to a division that was harsh and uncaring and had an entirely different culture than what I was accustomed to. As a result, I had a dramatic and damaging burnout–breakdown that took one year to recover from. I realized that I did not want to return to the corporate environment and created my company Authentic Matters
to help people to remember what really matters: connection to self, connection to others at a deeper level, caretaking and protection of our planet and inhabitants and connection to something bigger than ourselves. This sense of connection can also apply to people in their work. My goal is make the bridge between personal spiritual development and business success one orientation.
ExpatWomen:Do you think your burnout led you to want to help others in the same situation?
Barbara: Yes. Most definitely. I was so blinded by materialism that I did not understand the signs my body (physical symptoms) and my spirit (inner angst) were trying to tell me. At my lowest point, I was unable to figure out how much money to take from my wallet to pay for my groceries at the supermarket. Now that I have fully recovered, I am very motivated to develop a line of products, keynote speech titles and training modules to help organizations facilitate more inner balance in their employees while still being highly successful and productive.
ExpatWomen:How important do you think spirituality is in everyday life and the work place?
Barbara: More and more people are looking for meaning in their lives. This applies to fulfilment at work and in personal life. The "baby boomer" generation are reaching their late 40s and 50s and have all the material things such as houses, cars, income and now they are saying, "Is this all there is?" There is more interest than ever in topics such as intuition, angels, universal laws as seen in the immense popularity of the film, The Secret, and the many magazines and television shows that are finding their way into mainstream society. People are craving a connection to something bigger than themselves, and are searching for confirmation that there is more to life than living, growing old and dying.
ExpatWomen:You have created an audio CD aiming to reduce stress in the work place – how exactly does it work?
Barbara: There are 5 different guided meditations that encourage the listener to relax, slow down and look at the different situations they face at work from a new perspective. It is a combination of meditation (relaxing and slowing down), visualization (seeing something in their mind's eye that can make their working lives better) and affirmation (supporting positive outcomes and changes).
They are not designed to be listened to, one after the other, but to be listened to, as needed, depending on the situation. Do you want to let go of stress and anxiety about things at work? Then listen to the track called, Let Go of the Day. Do you have an important meeting coming soon? Listen to See the Outcome to mentally prepare in advance. Do you want to improve relationships at work on all levels? Listen to Win–Win Relationships. Want to allow creative thoughts and solutions to flow from you? Make time for Creative Ideas. Lastly, if you are very stressed and uptight because you think you have too much to do and will never finish it, then take a few minutes to hear the meditation called Enough Time.
These tracks are practical, down to earth and focused on the issues and challenges that business people face and ways to find more balance and peace of mind. Each are under 10 minutes with soft background music playing, which allows the listener to relax, see how changes could occur and affirm that he or she has the power to make things better.
ExpatWomen:What made you decide to create such a product?
Barbara: Before I suffered from my work related burnout, I did not listen to the clear signs that I was overstressed and going down a dangerous road for my career and for my personal life. There are many meditation products on the market with beautiful, lilting and relaxing music. Many also have guided meditations to reduce stress, bring peace of mind or with other themes. But I have not found any CD product on the market that offers guided meditation with a strong business orientation in such a down to earth way. I meditate regularly and always find it a beneficial experience when work life or personal life gets to be too much. Therefore, I wanted to make a line of products that will help others to slow down, regain peace of mind and hopefully, avoid the stress related pitfalls that I fell into.
ExpatWomen:Who will benefit from the CD?
Barbara: It is designed for anyone who has a great deal of stress in their work on a regular basis. Sales people, customer service representatives, phone call center operators, teachers, financial service managers are just a few of the groups that would benefit from this guided relaxation, imagery and affirmations.
ExpatWomen:You are also quite focused on bringing spirituality into the work place – how do you intend on doing this?
Barbara: I have a website called www.workplacemeditations.com that will focus on bringing spirituality into the workplace in a natural and productive way. I am developing an e–newsletter called The Bridge Between, that will showcase different individuals and organizations that are using spiritual practices in their work and the success they are having as a result.
On October 1st, 2007 the new local chapter of The International Association for Spirit at Work will have the premier meeting in The Hague, The Netherlands. This chapter will be called The Netherlands Chapter for Spirit at Work (NLCSAW) of which I will be the facilitator and leader. This bi–lingual business and spirituality forum will allow people to come together to discuss different topics with regard to spirituality in the workplace, and to allow people to openly discuss these two topics that have only recently been able to coexist in a business setting. Periodically, there will be guest speakers who are experts in this field, book reviews, case studies, meditations and other supportive activities.
ExpatWomen:How do you see your ideas turning out in a few years time?
Barbara: I believe that there is a shift occurring where more organizations realize that they must support their employees in mind, body and soul; The complete person must be cared for to facilitate productivity and high performance. Buzzwords like "Work–Life Balance", "Wellness" and "Faith–Friendly" programs are occurring more and more within highly successful organizations. In general, society seems to be curious about and ready to embrace these more holistic approaches to a balanced workplace and lifestyle.
ExpatWomen:What are some of the challenges that you have faced, as an expat and as an entrepreneur in The Netherlands?
Barbara: As an expat, some of my challenges have included difficulty with the cultural differences being married to a local man. There are many differences between the American success driven, "bigger is better" mentality and the Dutch mentality of keep it quiet and no one is better than any other. Another challenge is the transient lifestyle that exists here in The Hague where people stay for a few years and move on to the next position. It is hard to maintain friendships and after a while you don't want to get close to people when you know they will leave. And lastly, managing aging parents support and being so far away and unable to help them at a closer proximity.
As an entrepreneur in a foreign country, the language barriers extend beyond the spoken word. There are subtle barriers to entry into local organizations, magazine advertisements and other promotional opportunities. Luckily, I can find most global contacts and business tools on the internet. I need to create my own path as there is not manual for an entrepreneur starting a spiritual development company in a foreign country. I wish there was. Perhaps I should write one!
ExpatWomen:What have been some of your sweetest rewards, as an expat and as an entrepreneur in The Netherlands?
Barbara: The sweetest reward of being an expat has been that I have found my way in personal life and business to have what I want, the way I want it, in this foreign environment. For example, I always wanted a red 4X4 car. The people here said, just get a small practical car – don't draw attention to yourself. (Calvinistic mentality of the Dutch) but this is what I wanted so I found one and bought it. I love to ride horses and love the Western way of caring for horses, although there are not that many western stables here. I belong to a small, quaint western stable, just 10 minutes from my home, where I can fulfill my dream of a somewhat western lifestyle while still living in Holland. I have learned that you must do things and surround yourself with things that make you happy and make you complete – no matter where you find yourself living.
The sweetest reward of being an entrepreneur is that I have been able to bring my vision for my company and product to reality. I have created the Workplace Meditations audio CD from a vision in my head and heart and have been able to bring it to reality. The same occurred when I created my own e–newsletter, designed my own brochures and training programs. I am passionate about creating something brand new, that can help many people and can make me financially abundant.
ExpatWomen:What would be your Top 5 Tips for expat women to reduce stress during those first few critical months of moving to a new location?
Barbara:
Make a list of the things you really love to do and try to find them in your new environment. They might not be the same as you had before, but embrace the new way of doing things, but keep the things and activities you love around you as much as possible. Be persistent as it may not be easy to come into the new circle but keep trying if you really want it.
Make contact with other people who are also new in the country or with those who are from your home country by joining a few clubs, a church or sports groups that appeal to you. See # 1.
Use the internet as a tool to stay in touch with what is going on at home. You can read your local newspaper, see clips of your favorites television shows or even listen to your favorite local radio station online.
Allow yourself a "5 minute pity party" per day. This means, give yourself 5 minutes per day to feel sorry for yourself or feel bad that you are not in another place, cry if you have to. But after 5 minutes, say to yourself, "OK, that is enough, let's move on."
Do not dwell on the fact that you are not in your home country or where you were last happy. This mentality is hard to shake but realize that you are where you are for a reason. Try and discover what that reason is.
