Dr. Gwen Patrone
Transpreneur Extraordinaire
Nora A. Simone
“You HAVE to meet this lady!”
A rare command; this message was among the very last received from friend and mentor Abby Lauren. A few years later Abby is sadly gone from my life. However, I did reach out to Gwen Patrone (Gwen) as asked, and am glad to have done so.
Gwen and I initially connected online and by phone while she was in the process of moving her home, realigning her career, and more fully expressing her femininity. For an average person, that would be an overwhelming collection of simultaneous changes, yet not for Gwen. She seemed to thrive in purposeful disorder and apparent confusion. Today she’s on top of the world personally and professionally.
On the surface, Gwen is gorgeous, obviously intelligent, and enthusiastic. Intense is also a descriptor that comes to mind. If you were to meet her, it’s likely you’ll witness that intensity about her female presentation, her work, and social life. She’s also, IMO [in my opinion], a continuous improvement-dynamo – always seeking improvement in herself and offering to help others.
Following, are some details from the Internet to help round out reader’s understanding of Gwen
Dr. Gwen is a lifelong entrepreneur and former Sergeant in the US Marines. She uses organic life experiences to simplify complex ideas. Through speaking on stage and in virtual and recorded classes, she’s helped countless people worldwide discover their purpose and reach their goals through innovative thinking.
Through decades of personal growth, learning from life experiences, and high-level coaches and mentors, Dr. Gwen is now applying her talents to help youth. Her childhood experiences, crafted through years of teaching, have helped her hone her craft.
She’s been a business owner for decades and has been blessed to incorporate and weave her life experiences into unique: stage, zoom, audio, writing, and video teachings. She’s responsible for over one billion dollars in sales from her students. Gwen is also Transgender.
So, what else is worth knowing about Gwen? – A lot. Yet these things were most interesting to me and, I hope, to you,
Blogger
Gwen is a popular regular contributor to Kandis Land. Her topics range widely, yet are still relevant to the trans community. For example, she wrote about fear, from an experienced yet helpful perspective. Fear is something we all experience regardless of reason, so her advice is universally applicable – trans or not. Consequently, it’s clear she’d be a good coach for many of us.
Author
Gwen’s recent book Trans Truth (2023) is about her personal journey. Do we need another trans book? Probably not. Yet this one is different. It includes her unique perspectives, experiences, and poetry. At 149 pages, it is not a fast read, yet I completed it in one long sitting and found myself highlighting and dog-earing many pages. For example, she wrote “Facts and truth are not the same thing” on page 78, which is just one of many statements that resonated with me. That is because this important point is similar to the back cover message presented on the published compilation of my TLI writing; “Facts are not truth. Truth is an interpretation of facts influenced by beliefs.” Wow I thought, she and I are on the same wavelength! Coincidence? Regardless, I was impressed and hooked.
Gwen also authors children’s books that centre on addressing fear and embracing differences. Don’t you think it’s good she seeks to help young people understand themselves before they develop fear and downstream unhappiness? I sure do.
Transpreneur
Transpreneur may be a new word for you as it was for me. I suspect Gwen, who uses the term might be the originator. It is derived from two words: transgender and entrepreneur. Consequently, it describes a transgender entrepreneur of which Gwen would be an exemplar. Now, through her coaching and mentorship, Gwen seeks to help all individuals achieve their fuller potential, yet I believe she is especially excited to help transgender people do so in life and in business. Like other misunderstood minorities Gwen believes that financial inclusion of transgender people should not be controlled by societal acceptance. My personal business experience indicates that all entrepreneurs are heroes and that every great hero had a valuable mentor. So, Gwen addresses an important unmet need in the marketplace.
The following key points of advice epitomise Gwen’s advice to others struggling to be true to themselves:
- “As you take steps on your truth-journey, the old version of you is fighting for its life. Life is a fight for territory, and your old self tries to fight and hold you back. Our old self loves to stay comfortable. One of the ways it does that is limiting beliefs, through fear, doubt, worry, anxiety, and confusion. Our authentic truth not only needs us to be creative in the vision for what our truth could be, it needs us to be creative in how we defend it and how we protect it. Our truth wants not just part of us, it wants all of us.”
- “My resolution AH-HA after 3 decades of study and mentoring is this: Some things are good FOR YOU but not TO YOU. Others TO YOU but not FOR YOU. The key is finding things that are both good FOR YOU and TO YOU and eventually become AS YOU.”
Gwen is impressive …
Over the past few years, Gwen and I have met a few times. Her physical presence is striking and her aura is unmistakable. From a fancy afternoon tea to a bus tour to a formal celebration; without a word Gwen makes a statement. Today I feel fortunate as a witness to her leading wave in a rising tide of transgender acceptance.
Abby was right, Gwen is impressive and I’m glad to have followed her command.
To learn more about Dr. Gwen see https://gwenpatroneauthor.com/
or https://www.gwenpatrone.com/
Nora A. Simone empowers others by dispensing truth | norasimone@yahoo.com
