I’m well on my way of becoming really radical, because it has become as urgent as never before to finally change things. Also because I came to realize that there is huge power in being radical when it’s for the purpose of making positive change.
Anybody who does not reflect the corona wake-up call in their individual behavior does not belong in my circle anymore. I will use the same criteria to decide upon companies, brands and organizations I interact with while building and growing my business consciously. A manifesto and a clear description of our core values is coming soon on FemGems.
Today, I feel deeply connected with my purpose, my beliefs and the things that matter most. And I feel that if we don’t change the way we consume, the way we treat people, animals and nature now, this would be pure ignorance and lack of responsibility.⠀
If we still haven’t gotten how interconnected and interdependent we all are, this might be our last chance to get it and actually start acting upon this realization. Because in a world of economic growth that doesn’t care about ecological balance, the current crisis is just another symptom of a terminal disease.
Dale Carnegie once said that
epiphany comes as a result of unusual circumstances that force us to change our habits and figure out a way to overcome the challenges we face.
When I look at myself and my life during the quarantine, I notice seemingly subtle, but significant changes that carry the seeds of major insights.
#StayingTheFuckHome since March 13th, I don’t need 99% of my shoes, clothes, make-up and all these things that have become an unquestionable integral part of my social life and appearance.
Staying home also opened a holy space for reflection and mindfulness. By radically giving up such a large proportion of what my day-to-day life has consisted of, I started questioning — for the first time — whether I’ve ever really needed all that in the first place.
We have made our lives so incredibly complex, and filled them with so much stuff that simply hinders our vision. We cannot see through.
In today’s world, we don’t see the essence, the core, the real things that matter, because we’re so cluttered up with shallow, superficial and superfluous systems.
At the same time, during the quarantine, I feel blessed and thankful for the possibilities that technology is giving us. I truly appreciate how it can make our lives so much easier and simpler.
Now is the time to use technology to help us focus on the essence, and to be more connected and more human. Technology is there to serve us. Pause and consider that.
Let’s use this turbulent time to not only try figure out what is happening and how to deal with it, but in the first place why it’s happening, and how do we want to deal with that why.
Let’s declutter our minds. Let’s reduce things to the minimum. To the absolute essence. And then, let us go small, not big.
There is great power in this moment of time. But we’ve got to get humble in order to tap into it.
On many of the 37 days I spent in my home office so far, I have been working in my light pink overall. I launched FemGems podcast in it, sleep deprived, overworked, scared and happy at the same time. And now, a year and a half later, it feels so liberating to do all my work in it again, being a different person, working on a higher level and growing faster than ever. It’s funny how ridiculous societal norms like dressing in a certain way for work look on the background of the current crisis. What’s not ridiculous now is doing the work. Taking initiative.
More action, less talking. Stop chatting, start doing. Because action beats anxiety, and because there’s so much we can do to finally make this world a better place – for real.
Today is a blank page. The world as we know it is dissolving. The corona virus is a historical wake-up call for humanity and each individual.
Choose your thoughts, actions and reactions from a place of love. And start acting: differently. Better. Now.
Let’s wake up to the fact that we’re not lacking alternatives anymore.
You can fight world hunger by buying share products or using the Share the meal app. You can grow your own veggies and herbs at home, instead of buying them as small portions packaged in a lot of plastic from the supermarket. You really don’t have to do all these things you’re used to. And you shouldn’t. The mainstream, monopolies, and aggressively growing companies with poor values and dysfunctional moral compass have brought us where we are now. So stop supporting them.
You can shop for clothes at Fine Yellow, Silfir or Emerald instead of amazon that does not protect their employees from the virus.
You can reduce and offset your business carbon footprint with Plan A.
And if you want to grab a coffee, lunch or dinner, you can use Yasemin’s plant-based map to navigate.
These are just a few examples, and there are countless more. Yes, the examples I’m giving are of female-founded businesses whose founders I’ve interviewed on FemGems podcast. And yes, I won’t stop celebrating them, because that’s the mission of my heart, and because I’m as convinced as I can be that female leadership will not only get us out of this crisis but also bring us to a better, kinder, more mindful world.
Today is Earth Day. I’d like to take this occasion to remind us of Joaquin Phoenix’s Oscars Acceptance Speech:
I’ve been thinking about some of the distressing issues that we’ve been facing collectively.
I think at times we feel or are made to feel that we champion different causes. But for me, I see commonality. I think, whether we’re talking about gender inequality or racism or queer rights or indigenous rights or animal rights, we’re talking about the fight against injustice.
We’re talking about the fight against the belief that one nation, one people, one race, one gender, one species, has the right to dominate, use and control another with impunity.
I think we’ve become very disconnected from the natural world. Many of us are guilty of an egocentric world view, and we believe that we’re the centre of the universe. We go into the natural world and we plunder it for its resources. We feel entitled to artificially inseminate a cow and steal her baby, even though her cries of anguish are unmistakeable. Then we take her milk that’s intended for her calf and we put it in our coffee and our cereal.
We fear the idea of personal change, because we think we need to sacrifice something; to give something up. But human beings at our best are so creative and inventive, and we can create, develop and implement systems of change that are beneficial to all sentient beings and the environment.
I have been a scoundrel all my life, I’ve been selfish. I’ve been cruel at times, hard to work with, and I’m grateful that so many of you in this room have given me a second chance. I think that’s when we’re at our best: when we support each other. Not when we cancel each other out for our past mistakes, but when we help each other to grow. When we educate each other; when we guide each other to redemption.
So, what’s going to be your next move? If my thoughts resonate with you and you care about boosting female entrepreneurship, you might want to join FemGems. I am currently looking for a CTO to help address a key issue for the gender gap in entrepreneurship and unleash the power of female founders worldwide! Reach out!
