It’s increasingly clear to me that ‘I’ am an illusion.
 
The person named ‘Ann Grutman’ is an endlessly evolving organism deeply connected to the life around her: where I once held on tightly to my ‘fixed’ job, I now delight in the freedom of being an entrepreneur. As I allowed myself more space, I equally witnessed both of my children flourish.
 
Recently, I even understood that ‘the world around’ is a figment of my imagination and that everything ‘out there’ actually unfolds within me. But let’s not get too esoteric...
 
You would probably agree that as ‘homo negotiator’ or entrepreneurial humans, we exist only in relation to one another. Each of us possesses a unique blueprint from which we essentially complement each other: one grows and harvests grain, another mills it into flour, a third processes that flour into bread which ultimately ends up on a breakfast table through someone’s vendor-friendly hands.
 
Of course, one person only could perform all these actions, but I believe we are at our best when we can each leverage our unique talents and inspire each other.

With this thought in mind, I recently joined Nathalie Chiche’s network. Through ‘Mycelium’, she’s building a powerful, colorful relational web of entrepreneurs that cultivates personal and professional growth.
 
On Saturday, August 10th, you can experience this firsthand as various Mycelium team members showcase their products and services. At ‘Ottachi Garden,’ you and your family and friends can enjoy yoga, coaching, forest bathing, music, ceremonies, and a variety of workshops that will make your life more lively and light. Children can enjoy face painting, a fun playground, and various arts and crafts activities.
As a business owner, you’re equally invited to participate as an exhibitor. If you’re involved in personal growth and want to boost your confidence or visibility as an entrepreneur, click HERE to sign up.
 
I invite you to join me on August 10th to gaze into my crystal ball and speak your dream future with four questions. Alternatively, if you have a message you’d like to convey effectively—whether it’s a pitch, salary negotiation, speech, or significant conversation with family or friends—I can assist you in presenting it with authenticity and impact.
 
I look forward to inspiring and connecting with you on Saturday, August 10th, at ‘Ottachi Garden’ in Genk. See you then?!

​Over the past two years, my life has changed dramatically. Both professionally and personally. And nearly all of those changes resulted out of my own choice.

After 20 years, I ended my marriage, hired a personal trainer, and went all in to build a successful coaching practice.

Today, I hold a harmonious co-parenting relationship with my ex-husband Wim, I lift 20 kilos more, run 10 kilometers, and have inspired five wonderfully entrepreneurial women to speak powerfully through my first Speak-it-Easy program.

Over the past two years, my life has changed dramatically. Still some things stayed virtually consistent: my father, mother, and children remained the same and I still grab an orange stool shopping at Colruyt to reach for tissues. My mind continues to overflow with ideas, my nights keep presenting themselves relatively restless, and my love for morning coffee and a glass of good evening-red wine remains unchanged.

And I invested heavily in coaching. Over the past few years, I surrounded myself with a powerful team of people who choose to go 'full in’. People who unceasingly succeed in moving me from the sidelines to the playfield in life, in all areas! And whom I trust wholeheartedly because they consistently create themselves as the best example of what they preach.

Today I'm on the fourth day of the Being Business Retreat with Moritz Lembert, my coach and one of those powerful individuals, and a group of 4 wonderfully aligned players and entrepreneurs. Once again, I see how it - ABSOLUTELY - pays off to stand up and go for what you truly desire, and how simple it is. Without any doubt.

More than ever, I understand that the only way to be fully engaged, both in life and in business, is to avoid self-imposed detours and excuses. Yesterday, we were completely thrown out of our comfort zone with the assignment of making as much money as possible in an hour and a half. I felt shocked! There was resistance, fear, doubt: 'I can't do this,' 'I'll look ridiculous,' 'I don't want to,' 'poor me, ...'. And I felt a growing sense of curiosity and ENJOYMENT: 'I WANT TO WIN THIS, DAMN IT!'

Suddenly, I witnessed myself calling people without any hesitation, undoubtfully. And with each call, my initial unease grew smaller. I concluded the exercise by calling about 15 people, making a new post and doing a Facebook Live, and earned €225. Out of nowhere in 90 minutes.

Over the past few years, a lot has changed for me. In that one moment of play? Everything, my complete way of being. In an instant, I resolutely stepped from the stands onto the field of play. All the reasons for doubt with which I continuously kept myself small and out of my self-created firing line for years disappeared. Because I chose to.

In a blink of an eye, I made room for new possibilities and a new truth: I'm in business! Resolutely, I stepped from the stands in the game, from the audience onto the scene. Because I chose to.

Do you want to go all in, discover new possibilities, and work and live from your full potential? I'm here for you. Book your introductory session via the button below.

​Today I'm on the fourth day of the Being Business Retreat with Moritz Lembert, my coach and one of those powerful individuals, and a group of 4 wonderfully aligned players and entrepreneurs. Once again, I see how it - ABSOLUTELY - pays off to stand up and go for what you truly desire, and how simple it is. Without any doubt.

More than ever, I understand that the only way to be fully engaged, both in life and in business, is to avoid self-imposed detours and excuses. Yesterday, we were completely thrown out of our comfort zone with the assignment of making as much money as possible in an hour and a half. I felt shocked! There was resistance, fear, doubt: 'I can't do this,' 'I'll look ridiculous,' 'I don't want to,' 'poor me, ...'. And I felt a growing sense of curiosity and ENJOYMENT: 'I WANT TO WIN THIS, DAMN IT!'

Suddenly, I witnessed myself calling people without any hesitation, undoubtfully. And with each call, my initial unease grew smaller. I concluded the exercise by calling about 15 people, making a new post and doing a Facebook Live, and earned €225. Out of nowhere in 90 minutes.

Over the past few years, a lot has changed for me. In that one moment of play? Everything, my complete way of being. In an instant, I resolutely stepped from the stands onto the field of play. All the reasons for doubt with which I continuously kept myself small and out of my self-created firing line for years disappeared. Because I chose to.

In a blink of an eye, I made room for new possibilities and a new truth: I'm in business! Resolutely, I stepped from the stands in the game, from the audience onto the scene. Because I chose to.

Do you want to go all in, discover new possibilities, and work and live from your full potential? I'm here for you. Book your introductory session via the button below.

In nearly thirty years, the way we communicate has changed significantly.

From my early days as a professional, I remember communicating via fax or internal memo, externally through phone or internally in a conference call, by post in a letter or a postcard, and of course face-to-face in a conversation.

Today, communication tools have greatly expanded, unfortunately not always in direct proportion to our ability to bond, in my opinion. I see a great need for 'authenticity'. As I wrote in my previous newsletter, it has become quite essential in any successful marketing strategy.

Advertising also mirrors this shift. Nowadays, an 'ideal' voice-over resembles a close friend chatting with you, rather than the stereotypical 'man' or 'woman' found in laundry detergent commercials. In these more personal, story-driven campaigns, I feel most comfortable both as an individual and as a voice actor.
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And yet, I miss the originality of my early years as an ad voice, in the late nineties. It seemed as if I was allowed to bring much more variation, despite seemingly fewer players within Flemish media. I remember brands much more frequently playing out sung radio commercials and having more opportunities to perform and act.

Today, to me it seems that media mostly play it 'safe' and opt for 'proven' success formulas, probably as part of their profit strategy. This can only come at the expense of creativity and human input. Of originality, tout court. And according to many, A.I.'s arrival now further overshadows human contribution.

As a voice-over, voice coach, and as a human being, I am and remain a huge fan of honest, relational communication, through any medium and for any purpose. The human factor, in my opinion, is essential. Only we humans can truly em-body a concept and give it a soul.

And the current craving for authenticity only proves, in my opinion, that we as humans also desire that connection. That it’s essential and functions similarly to nature, where plants and animals are instinctively interconnected. Connection is (in) our nature. Just like originality. In advertising and far beyond, I hope we can continue to create and connect from there. Naturally!
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Do you want to speak and present yourself more from your true and original being? Reach out to me via the button below. I’m here for you!

​Authenticity is in-demand. For an entrepreneur like me, it seems indispensable in your marketing mix. Fortunately, it’s much more than that. REALLY much more.
As a voice-over artist and coach, I hold authenticity in high regard. When voicing a commercial, I increasingly get asked to 'make it sound nothing like an ad voice,' and as a coach, I always encourage my clients to present themselves as they truly are and not to 'gloss over' anything.
Yet, this past weekend, I realized that even I don’t always speak what’s really going on. That I diminish myself in some contexts and amplify in others. During the Being Business Intensive in Amsterdam, coaches Moritz Lembert and Ria Gijsbers made this painfully clear. And the clearer it became, the more I chose to deny it.
A physical exercise suddenly triggered my deepest fear. I then wrapped myself in a self-designed loop of old thoughts: ‘what should I do now?’, ‘what’s appropriate here?’, ‘what are the others doing?’, ‘how do I do it correctly?’. When no answer came, for a moment I even decided that ‘everyone was against me,’ and ‘out to get me’. There was anger and slight aggression.
I was shocked: was ‘THAT’ who I was being? And so I persisted even more in the resistance: maybe I could just fake a smile?!

‘I’m sorry, but I’m going to pass. This doesn’t feel right for me.’ That’s what I DIDN’T say. And the only thing needed to re-lease and re-plenish myself in that moment. That one sentence authentically conveyed what was happening in that very instant.
It would have made the difference between pushing against the fear and dancing with the love that would emerge from my newfound freedom.
Authenticity. ‘Vulnerability researcher’ Brené Brown defines it as ‘the daily practice of letting go of who we think we’re supposed to be and embracing who we are.’
I don’t know exactly who or what I thought I needed to be in that one exercise. I mostly know that in that moment, I stopped believing in what was possible. Me. I, who assert to everyone – and truly believe – that ‘ANNyting is possible.’ I, who stand for what I speak and speak for what I stand. Me?
In that moment, I chose not to connect. I was telling myself ‘I’ had no choice. An old story, presented to me by someone who probably thought he had no choice himself. Not my story. Not my world.
What do I want to bring into possibility?
‘Vulnerability,’ I heard yesterday. Later, the word ‘light’ popped up in my mind. Light, as the opposite of heavy, resistance, and darkness too.
And with that, I saw myself gracefully smiling and floating just above the earth’s surface. Like a ‘prima panickerina,’ gently taking the lead over my fear. 

And apparently even Jamie likes my atempt: after I posted it on Facebook, I totally unexpectedly got a 'like' from the master himself! I don't know of course if that means he actually  listened to me singing. But it sure made a difference too!

​ #anngrutman #music #muziek #arianagrande #thesongsociety #jamiecullum #boyfriend #coversong #voiceover #voicecoach #stemactrice #flemishvoice #vlaamsestem

​#voiceover #voicing #voiceartist #voiceactress #singer #flemishvoice #stemactrice #stemartieste #vlaamsestem #vacationing #vakantie