“We think we need to feel confident before we act. But what if confidence is not a feeling—it’s the act itself?”
This week on WanderWomen: The Podcast, I’m joined by the wise and wonderful Mildred Fischli—a Filipina-born Swiss professional who speaks with a gentleness that masks the extraordinary depth of her courage.
Mildred doesn’t shout her story. She lives it.
In this episode, we talk about:
💡 Why “feeling ready” is often a myth—and what to do instead
✨ How gifted feedback helped her realize she was playing too small
🧳 What it takes to find belonging in a country where you weren’t born
📿 The image of reinvention as “a pearl necklace,” with each experience becoming a bead on the string
One of my favorite parts of this conversation is when Mildred gently dismantles the idea that confidence must come before you leap. For her, action is the leap. And each small, deliberate decision adds up to a life she never imagined possible when she first arrived in Switzerland.
Whether you're navigating a new chapter, shifting your career path, or still doubting whether you're “ready”—this episode is for you.
💡 Toolkit:
3 Reflections from Mildred’s Reinvention Journey
Start before you're ready. You will never feel ready. Start anyway.
Ask for feedback from people you trust. It may sting. And it may set you free.
Take one step. Not ten. Not fifty. Just one. Then another. That's all you need to do.
📚 Pre-Order WanderWomen: How High-Skilled Immigrant Women Thrive
The book is now available! Stories like Mildred’s—and so many others—fill its pages. This is a book for every woman who’s ever felt out of place while daring to grow into who she’s meant to be.
🎧 Listen to the full episode on all major podcast platforms.
Or Watch It Here:
With love,
Shivangi
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