One of my favourite aspects about being a blogger is the people you connect with from all around the world.  I got in contact with Anne-Sophie Reinhardt (from Zurich, Switzerland) after another blogger and friend, Rita Chand told me about her. Thank you Rita for introducing us! I was intrigued by the work that Anne-Sophie is doing so I had to contact her.  We have a lot in common.

Anne-Sophie Reinhardt is an anorexia survivor, body image expert, author, and blogger at Anne-Sophie. She empowers you to achieve a healthier and more successful life by returning to your true purpose and values.  Anne-Sophie graciously offered to take part in the series and also has a special suprise for the first twenty people to comment on her interview.   Thank you Anne-Sophie for sharing with us. Curious as to what the suprise is, you will have to get to the end of the article to find out :)

What is the best piece of advice you have ever received? Who did you receive it from?

Great question, Arianna. The best piece of advice I ever got was “don’t ever apologize for who you are” and it was my piano teacher who shared it with me. No matter what other people tell you, no matter how much they criticize you or hurt you, you’re immeasurably valuable. Don’t let anybody ever tell you otherwise.

How important is mentorship in terms of your success?

Mentorship is incredibly important in terms of success. It’s funny, but I’ve always loved to talk to people much older than me, even as a small kid. I loved to soak up their wisdom, their experience and their way of seeing life and the world. This innate curiosity to learn has helped me a lot along the way. I’ve learned to listen to others who might know it better. I’ve learned to ask a lot of questions and take the answers to heart.

A mentor opens your eyes to many things you hadn’t even begun to consider. A mentor takes you to the much needed next level in your personal and professional success. A mentor is a divine investment.

What has been the best moment in your life so far?

You’re asking hard questions, I love it. The best moment in my life was the day I received the first email of a reader, Helena, who told me that I had saved her life. I’d never felt anything as massive as in this moment and I still get goosebumps thinking about it. Having such a powerful influence on someone’s life is still unbelievable to me today. This is why I do what I do.

What tips would you have for living a healthy life?

My number one tip to live a healthy life is developing a self-care routine. Self-care and self-love are the number one reason for emotional and physical stress and illness. By developing a self-care practice like journaling, meditating, exercising, healthy eating, unplugging, you’ll create balance and margin in your life. Self-care has been instrumental in my recovery from anorexia and I wouldn’t want to do without my weekly self-care routine anymore. If you’d like to find out more, here is an article I wrote with a few ideas to start taking care of yourself.

How do you motivate yourself to persist despite setbacks?

This is such an important topic. I’ve had many setbacks in the short time I’ve worked for myself and I’d have to lie if I said that there weren’t moments when I wanted to give up. But I just know that I have an important message to share and I am passionate about serving people. I know in my core that this world needs the message of self-love and the more people talk about it the better. I guess that I’m just very connected to my purpose.

What has been your biggest setback? How did you deal with it? What did you learn from it?

My biggest setback so far has been the small number of copies I sold during the launch of my first book, The Ultimate Guide to a Healthy Body Image. I had gone into the process of selling the book with big hopes, but they got crushed instantly. It wasn’t easy and I shed some tears because of it. After a few days of pitying myself, I looked at the whole process constructively and started to research how to launch a product successfully. I’ve learned a lot in those few months, but I still have a long way to go and much to learn when it comes to marketing and selling. I think that the most important part about dealing with setbacks is to not let them overwhelm you and don’t ever take them personally. Having a setback is just a challenge for yourself to make it work in a different way.

How do you deal with critics?

I’ve learned to approach it the same way I approach setbacks. I try to see what critics say as constructively as possible and I almost always learn something from what they say, which makes the products I’m creating and the posts I’m writing much, much better.

How important is social support in overcoming obstacles?

It’s so so so important. You can’t do it alone. I’ve tried to recover from my anorexia on my own, but wasn’t able to do it. However, with the help of friends and family, I was strong enough to walk this path. Being surrounded by amazing people makes a huge difference in overcoming anything in life.

What advice would you give others about goal setting?

Have clear and precise goals. If you want to be successful in life, you need to know exactly where you want to go. Just saying “I want to be successful” won’t cut it. You have to know exactly what it is you want to achieve, what you’re willing to do to get there and when you will achieve this goal. Write all of your goals down and put them in a place for you to look at every day. The more aware you are of your goals the better and the more likely it is that you’ll achieve what it is you want.

What is a life lesson you wish you had learned before graduating high school?

Don’t take life so seriously. I was an A+ student, always the best of the class and even skipped a grade, but this determination played its toll on me in the form of a serious depression. Life’s meant to be fun and enjoyable. It’s not about working from 5am until midnight and despising every second of it. It’s about doing work you love and creating meaning with what you do. It’s OK to make mistakes and to be lazy from time to time. That’s why I’m so happy that I’ve stumbled upon blogging and writing. It’s fun, but meaningful.

Thank you so much for these wonderful questions, Arianna. I really enjoyed this interview!

Thank you Anne-Sophie for sharing your thoughts with all of us! You are an inspiration to me and I'm so glad I connected with you :) We'll keep in touch for sure!

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As a special suprise and gift, Anne-Sophie has offered to give away copies of her book "The Ultimate Guide to a Healthy Body Image" to the first twenty people to comment on this post.  (Note: the comments should be more than just a couple words to be counted :))

***If you enjoyed Anne-Sophie's interview, feel free to check out the other inspiring individuals I have interviewed in the "Profiles of Perseverance" series.

Thank you for reading and your presence at this beach retreat. You Rock! I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts in the comment section below.

See you at the beach!