“I’ve always had a “plan B,” but there are so many others who weren’t prepared for their lives to change in such a way [during the pandemic].”
Q: What are you passionate about?
A: One of my biggest passions in life is helping others. I’m a licensed financial advisor. I love what I do simply because I’m able to educate my potential clients on ways to create generational wealth for themselves and their families.
Q: What were your younger years like?
A: I grew up in a very close-knit family. Education and religion were two things that were at the top list of importance. I’m grateful for all the lessons learned because it helped me to become a better person and who I am today.
Q: What is something valuable you’d like others to know?
A: 2020 was a huge wake-up call for me, and I’m sure for a lot more families as well. I was laid off from my job of 15 years. Luckily for me, I’ve always had a “plan B,” but there are so many others who weren’t prepared for their lives to change in such a way. My advice would be to never solely depend on one stream of income. Keep multiple streams coming in in order to keep your family afloat.
Q:What does feminism mean to you?
A: Being a woman, I think, is about being strong. It’s about continuing to move forward in all of life’s endeavors. I definitely have to keep a positive mindset and stay 100% committed to making all my life dreams a reality. I have two daughters that look up to me, and I want them to grow up stronger and better than I am. I love to see my ladies succeed! There was once a time when women were told we couldn’t do certain jobs or we couldn’t make a certain amount of money, but look at us now! Kudos Ladies! Let’s keep it up! God Bless.
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Q and A with Kripa, from Fiji, living in Melbourne, Australia
“Whilst the struggle was raw, real, and overwhelming, it was one of the best things that happened to me. It was the start of a deeply personal and spiritual transformation that brought me back to who I am and what I stand for.”
Q: What are you passionate about?
A: I am passionate about empowering women to be seen and heard with confidence through authentic self-expression and wellbeing. There is nothing more captivating than seeing another woman show up in her truth, authenticity, and wholeness. For those that love Netflix and have watched Self Made and Becoming, youwill know exactly what I am talking about.
I grew up in a conservative family and culture where women stayed at home, made sure meals were available on time, and looked after children whilst men went to work to earn an income to provide for the family. A woman was seen through her meals, upbringing of her children, and upkeep of the house. Her role was to work behind the scenes and not be seen or heard for who she really was and what she desired. This way of living was defined by customs and traditions which were passed down for many generations and shaped a lot of who I was and who I became in my earlier years.
Following the tradition, at the age of 22, I found myself in an arranged marriage to a man who neither my family nor I knew much about. I moved from Fiji to New Zealand with my then-husband and 12 months later, I moved to Australia. After being married for three years, moving to two countries, having bought a house in Australia within 12 months of arriving, and having a good job, I was deeply unhappy and felt unsafe and unloved. This marriage was not built on love; the idea of an arranged marriage is to fall in love once you are married and as you get to know each other. My parents, grandparents, my great grandparents, uncles, and cousins have been in arranged marriages, which have been quite successful.
Unfortunately for me, I was married to a narcissist who knew my family and friends were far away and the only person I could rely on was him. I tried marriage counseling, personal coaching, changed my work arrangements, and no matter how hard I tried, there was nothing I could do to save this marriage. When we divorced (culturally a big no-no), I found myself homeless on the streets of Melbourne with no roof over my head in a foreign country with $0 in my bank account and no family or friends. I hit rock bottom.
The only thing I had was my job. At that time, I had two options, to stay or to move back to Fiji with my family. I chose to stay.
Whilst the struggle was raw, real, and overwhelming, it was one of the best things that happened to me. It was the start of a deeply personal and spiritual transformation that brought me back to who I am and what I stand for. Through my struggles, experience, and journey, I met so many other women who were going through similar experiences who needed help and support and most of all wanted to be seen and heard for who they truly were.
My own journey and experience became my passion and has been for many years except, I did not fully realize it until I found more and more women asking me for help, support, and guidance which gave birth to my business. I help my clients by sharing the same tools, techniques, and resources that have helped me to go from: ✨Being homeless to owning two properties ✨$0 to multi-six figure income ✨A narcissist relationship to soul-mate love My biggest achievement by far has been my ability to be myself 24/7 and unapologetically show up in my divine truth in alignment with my purpose, passion, and path-priceless.
Q: What were your younger years like?
A: On 28 December 2019, I lost my father, my best friend. He passed away with stage 4 cancer. He was such a brave man and he never gave up. My father was my champion, my mentor, and my greatest supporter. He taught me to value education (he was a top performer in his class, but he was forced to drop out because he failed English being his second language). Among many other things, he taught me the values of kindness, care, love, and independence.
Losing him has been the biggest wake-up call for me. In his last days, I learned many things; he wanted to travel, retire (he was 65), spend more time with mum and his children (we all live in different countries). His passing has made me realize that LIFE IS TOO SHORT and enough with the excuses.
After being back from his funeral, I hired two coaches so I could start to serve more deeply and do what I am here to do in this lifetime which is to empower 5 million women to be seen and heard and to protect the planet and its inhabitants (around the same time as the Australian Bushfires). This is what motivates me, this is why I show up, and this is why I do everything I do.
Getting this clarity for me has been priceless and being able to serve and support other women on their journey a blessing.
PS My grandmother passed away on 7 May 2020 (she was the last grandparent alive for many years and was a pillar of strength for me and my family). She was a strong woman who lived through hardship and poverty and raised seven children. She was one of the strongest women I knew and her passing has made me even more determined in my mission to serve, empower, and show up for women who know there is more to life and want to live a full, happy, and healthy life which is their birthright.
Q: What is something valuable you’d like others to know?
A: Happiness is not something you seek; it is something you feel. It is available to you whenever and wherever you choose whilst being you.
Q: What does feminism mean to you?
A: Feminism to me is being who you are and showing up in your wholeness, fullness, and being-ness. It is about embracing all parts of yourself; the feminine and masculine while being AUTHENTIC to who you are at the very core of your being. It is about embracing and living in alignment with your divine truth with ease grace and flow.
Q and A with Jaycel from Papua New Guinea, living in England, UK
“I remember one of my uncles discouraged me to take up law as he believed it was a male’s profession. I did not let that crush my spirit and dream of becoming a lawyer. I proved him wrong.”
Q: What are you passionate about?
A: I love helping people in whatever ways I possibly can and reading and watching inspirational or motivational quotes or videos, gardening, cooking and baking.
Family time is important to me. I love spending time with my husband and my three-year-old son, my family, my extended families.
I like discovering new adventures and traveling! I am an outdoorsy person, so I just love nature because it makes me feel refreshed and helps me think clearly.
I have a career in law, but I was always passionate about venturing into the entrepreneurial world. I guess my profession aligns with my interest of helping people. I wanted something that I could do from the comfort of my own home, which is what I’m currently working on. I mentor and teach people to work online.
Q: What were your younger years like?
A: I was the second born of six children. Since my elder brother was adopted, I was seen as the older one and looked out for my other four siblings.
Our parents were average hard-working people who sacrificed a lot. They did not have so much money, but they had enough to make sure there was food on the table, enough to buy our necessities, and enough to put us all to school. What they really wanted was for us to get a better education and excel in life.
Seeing how much my parents had sacrificed really pushed me to study hard and do well in my primary school days to high school and eventually to university.
I was fortunate to be selected to university amongst the top students around the country and completed my bachelor of law degree (LLB). Coming from a society where women were seen as inferior due to cultural and ethnic beliefs, I really wanted be the voice of the voiceless and prove that women can take up any role in the society.
I remember one of my uncles discouraged me to take up law as he believed it was a male’s profession. I did not let that crush my spirit and dream of becoming a lawyer. I proved him wrong.
My parents, especially my mum, had the greatest impact on my life. She pushed forward in life no matter what obstacle she encountered. She always believed in me even when sometimes I did not believe in myself.
Q: What is something valuable you’d like others to know?
A: The most valuable thing I’ve learned is to never trust anyone but yourself. I’ve watched people go from being someone I loved, trusted, and looked up to…to being people I never speak to or even want to talk to ever again.
I’ve experienced so much deceit, lies, manipulation, and disgusting behavior from people I thought I knew and cared about; it broke my heart.
I had experienced the worst relationship in the past to being conned and deceived by my own friends whom I trusted. That’s why I’ve learned not to ever trust anyone but myself. I’ve faced so many challenges in life.
I’ve learned that life can be messy and painful sometimes, but always learn to be focus on what you can learn from these moments and become stronger and smarter. That’s the only way to keep forward.
Do not let other people’s negativity or opinions discourage you from what you truly want in life. You can conquer anything! You just have to have that self-confidence to deal with whatever life throws at you. You are responsible for yourself and no one else is. Always be yourself. If you want to be happy, you go to work for it.
Q:What does feminism mean to you?
A: To me, feminism means standing up for yourself and for the voiceless. It’s about empowering other women about anything really. It’s about women being accepted and recognized in leadership roles and given the same or equal treatment and respect.
MORE FROM JAYCEL: I’ve paused my career for a while to concentrate on my online business. I mentor and teach people especially moms to set up their own online business.
[Lychee is an alchemist, herbalist, and psychosomatic therapist at AINÚ holistic therapy, as well as a certified yoga instructor.]
Q: What were your younger years like?
A: Growing up in a separated household, I mostly looked up to my older brother, who has a beautiful mix of both masculine leadership and feminine radiance. He’s now married with two beautiful children and co-creating therapy with his wife, as they are both psychologists.
As a white female born in Brussels, I don’t think I was always aware of some of the luxury my parents gave me, until later in life.
Q: What is something valuable you’d like others to know?
A: I think one thing that I’ve learned is that whenever you think a story has ended, there is always a new beginning coming; it’s really just a matter of perspective. Sounds cliché? That’s because it is!
I also hid away a lot as a kid, could easily play, doodle, read, or listen to music and stories for hours on repetition. Not that those qualities are completely gone; but as an adult, I do value the sense of togetherness and sharing time a bit more.
Q:What does feminism mean to you?
A: Feminism means many a thing, but to me, it represents freedom where in other ways softness, vulnerability, and adaptability have been mistaken for weakness and/or prone to only one gender.
As the copy dude in friends would say: we are the same, yet we are not. It’s in those different flavors that we can marinate life and in-joy ourselves.
All those different experiences and make-up is not what defines us, but it does allow for certain processes and patterns affecting our decisions. I think (self) respect has something to do with it too. And love. A LOT of self-love.
Q and A with Jennifer S. from Conway, South Carolina, USA
“Honesty goes a long way when dealing with clients, and honesty will get you more business because you build relationships and trust.”
Q: Tell us about yourself. What are you passionate about?
A:I am a seamstress and quilter. I began sewing when I was five or so. I would sew with my mom and gram. I went through high school and took all the home economics (home ec) classes I could and then became a home ec teacher. While I was teaching, I continued sewing for myself and others. I taught for 25 years and then quit my job in education and moved. When I couldn’t find a job that I truly was passionate about, I decided to do my business full time. I have been making quilts and doing alterations for people as a full-time job, along with my Etsy shop, where I have a quilt pattern for sale and I sometimes list quilts for sale.
Q: What were your younger years like?
A: I grew up with one sibling. My mom was a nurse, and my dad a coal miner. We were a fairly frugal family, and I would make my clothes and prom dresses to get exactly what I wanted rather than buy what everyone else would have at the school. I learned how to do tile and carpet/flooring work from my dad because he also did that as a part-time job. It was helpful when I moved as I started a job in that field and was a top producer for the company but hated what I was doing after while, so I came back to what I love.
Q: What is something valuable you’d like others to know?
A: I was always taught that hard work and doing your best built good character. I never take on a job that I know I’m not able to do just to make some money. Honesty goes a long way when dealing with clients, and honesty will get you more business because you build relationships and trust.
Q:What does feminism mean to you?
A: Feminism to me is having equality of the sexes. Feminism is a dynamic concept that is constantly adjusting to things in the world. I am able to many things men can do (carpeting a home, installing LVP/laminate, installing tile, changing a tire and oil, etc.). And sewing isn’t women’s work; many men make beautiful quilts and clothing, and people don’t always see that. I feel, if you really want to know how to do something, even if it considered a job not for your gender, you can learn it and be good at it and maybe even better than those who came before you. Work hard to be your best!
MORE ABOUT JENNIFER: I am a mother of three, and a wife of 27 years. I love the flexibility my career has given me to travel and visit my kids. I worked hard to get myself to where I am now, and I want others to know they can do the same.
