"One doesn't discover new lands without consenting to lose sight, for a very long time, of the shore."
Andre Gide
I am fascinated by life transitions.
As a child, I wrote poetry on life and the passage to adulthood. In university, I explored the science of choice. As an entrepreneur, I created organisations to support people leaving prison to reconnect with their positive identities.
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Then, I was hit by a car, and life invited me to experience the journey of transition deeply and intimately myself. I left behind my self-concept and ego, and relentlessly pursued the answer to "What is my dream?" until I learned to love the question itself.
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I underwent a complete metamorphoses. I shed aspects of self that no longer served me. I looked directly at my fears. I disentangled my own beliefs from cultural and gender conditioning. I dissolved shame, guilt and self-judgement.
This is the product of a transition fully experienced: a shift from predominantly analytical to creative living; from immersion in 'doing' to embracing 'being'; and from sharing knowledge to offering wisdom. I started out a social entrepreneur, and emerged a writer, poet, educator and dancer.
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The contents of this course are the product of my self-liberation from mental captivity, designed to be shared with all who seek liberation.
Some of my proudest achievements
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seeing the gift in my mild traumatic brain injury
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graduating from Harvard and Cambridge universities
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founding award-winning organisations (Spark Inside, UK and Venturing Out, USA) supporting thousands of people in prison with life transitions
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recognition as a Women Economic Forum Iconic Woman of the Decade and as the youngest inductee into the JA Boston Business Hall of Fame
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selection to attend the 2019 WEF Annual Meeting at Davos, as former co-curator of the Global Shapers London Hub
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delivering 4 TEDx talks viewed over 50,000 times on deep, provocative topics like moral dilemmas and prison abolition
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My passions
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dancing urban kiz, a fusion of Angolan kizomba and rnb, hip hop and popping
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watching comedy and writing satire
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writing poetry for adults and pre-teens
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spending time by the ocean and receiving the warmth of the sun
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RECENT REFLECTIONS
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Despite the ripples and the waves, the current moves the water along in one direction. Such is life: we are swept along on our path. There are minor disturbances, some more significant than others; but ultimately, there is one direction.
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The duality of tragedy and opportunity is like a door which is simultaneously open and closed. It's like walking into a Virtual Reality open door that in real life - is a wall.
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It rains. We despair.
But afterwards, remember:
There is a rainbow.
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As a child,
The gravest mistake was met with a casual “oops”
Forgotten as swiftly as it was uttered.
That was before I was introduced to Shame.
It masqueraded as my friend, but served as my Jafar.
Shame whispered into my willing ear that
If I strove only for perfection
There wouldn’t be visible errors:
That is the point at which I stopped daring.
