In our efforts to bring Canberra to your door, we have started an initiative to work with local makers, shakers, and more to bring the real stories of Canberran women to the surface. The second editorial in the series, Ingrid Cucchi tells how she is using her journey to empower Canberran women to live their best lives.
What’s your 20-Year Plan?
In conversations with Ingrid Cucchi
“I believe that life is too short to think you’ll pursue your dreams ‘when you have more time’”, says Ingrid Cucchi, founder of TN20Y, (an acronym for “The Next 20 Years”). “I want to help women have faith in their dreams and believe that they can fulfil their potential. What matters to me is that every woman has the skills and knowledge to design and live their best life for themselves and their families.” TN20Y focuses on women because Ingrid believes empowered women are the change the world needs.
Ingrid had been coming to this ‘aha’ moment about her life’s purpose for a long time. In 2014, she hit a wall. She was feeling unchallenged in a job that stifled her creativity. She felt stuck. “I didn’t feel like I was using any of my talents or skills. I tried working harder to move up the ladder, but the more I worked, the less things changed. I knew deep inside if I really wanted to make a difference, I was going to have to step out of my comfort zone.”
TN20Y focuses on women because Ingrid believes empowered women are the change the world needs.
Then, Ingrid’s mum died from bowel cancer and her baby brother died of complications with diabetes within weeks of each other. Six weeks later, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
While Ingrid took leave to fight breast cancer, she took a hard look at her life, explaining, “All those things people say about following your dreams started to make sense because it was all in my face. Yet I went back to work the following year and within a few months, I was still in the same position. I was still bored, unchallenged. I was still miserable.” A loss of a close colleague gave her the courage she needed to take a leap of faith. “I felt like the universe was sending me a message.”
“I felt like the universe was sending me a message.”
Once she had made the decision to follow her heart, the rest started to fall into place. Ingrid left her job and took time to think about what next. “I found myself wanting to be a role model. I wanted women to see that life’s too short to not do something you love. It has become important to me to get that message out there. Don’t wait until you get backed into a corner to start living. I wanted to be the person I wish I had to help me change my life when I needed it.”
When Ingrid started to weave together her skills and talents with the things she loved doing, the idea for her business came into being. Over her working years, she had loved mentoring her staff and inspiring and motivating others to stretch themselves and be innovative in their thinking, particularly for themselves and their lives. She studied Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) to understand how the mind works. NLP helped Ingrid set more powerful goals and ditch beliefs that were holding her back.
Her concern that young women are still disadvantaged by the structure of work, particularly around their own value, inspired Ingrid to focus her business on three fundamental principles.
- Every woman deserves to find what makes her heart sing and to create her work-life around the principle of loving what she does.
- Every woman needs to learn how to create an intentional life plan so that she can live the life she chooses for the next twenty years and beyond and support herself.
- Every woman who wants more out of life should be able to access help figuring out what she wants and how to go get it.
Ingrid guides and supports smart, talented women who feel stuck in their jobs to find their live’s purposes and take massive action so that they have the freedom to create their best lives through loving the work they do. She creates her programs based on her experience, and how she has been able to move from stuck in her job to a life that gives her freedom to work when she wants, spend more time with family, and make time for both her health and adventures.
Every woman deserves to find what makes her heart sing and to create her work-life around the principle of loving what she does.
Right now, she is launching an online Masterclass Challenge called 3 Superpowers You Need to Transition from Stuck in Your Job To Freedom Doing Work You Love.
Gals who participate in Ingrid’s Challenge are eligible for some great prizes including a 3-month coaching package. To check out the Challenge, click here.
You can also check out more about Ingrid on her website www.tn20y.com or join her Facebook group Future Facing Women Who Want Success At Work And impact In Life.
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RAE KNOPIK
is the Founder and Chair (2019-2020) of the CBR Gals Network Board. She is a regular contributor to the Network’s blog.
@RaeKnop
Mission
Since 2018, the Canberra Gals Network has operated as a feminist not-for-profit that focuses on enabling EVERY Canberran woman to be more in her personal and professional capacities and to connect to the broader ACT community through inclusive events. Every gal of every age, profession, and in every season of life is invited and included. When you subscribe to our newsletter, you’ll be the first to know about our latest events, local discount and deals, collaborations with local makers and shakers, and our work in the Canberra Community.
Author: The CBR Gals Network
The CBR Gals Network is a feminist not-for-profit organisation established in 2018.