"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.
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.
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.
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
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
RECENT REFLECTIONS
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.
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.
It rains. We despair.
But afterwards, remember:
There is a rainbow.
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.
