Female Entrepreneurs + Creatives Rise {Moon Paper .05}
How are you doing this February? What’s coming up for you? It can be a tricky time of year after the sparkle of the New Year has passed and we get back into the daily grind. We may feel overwhelmed, lost, and floating in uncertainty about our path. I’m here to let you know that’s completely normal. The election has forced us to wake up and step into more authenticity.
And given everything that’s happening politically and nationally, it’s imperative that we safeguard our energy and attention. It’s easy for the media to ruffle our feathers, and so we need to be mindful of what we consume and how it affects our system. Please consume with care; and consume with wisdom. Take care of your mental wellbeing and do not think of yourself as selfish for it. In order for us to do our deepest work and serve in the best way possible, we must focus on what matters most and not all the noise that surrounds us.
Here are some inspiring resources and opportunities for you to explore.
Podcast
Discipline & Faith with Alana Nichols
I cried in this episode. Alana Nichols brings the meaning of heroine to a whole new level. She basically flipped her own mentality after being paralyzed from the waist down in a snowboarding accident. And now she’s a world-renowned athlete. But what really brought it home for me is the choice we have everyday: to see what we have instead of what we don’t have. If you’re looking to feel inspired, moved, to have your heart touched in a deep way, please listen to this woman’s story. In a recent email, she wrote to me, "It was a true privilege to chat with you and I so appreciate your emotional investment in my story. I sincerely hope that this podcast will help and encourage women regardless of their hurdles."
Book
Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office: Unconscious Mistakes Women Make That Sabotage Their Careers by Lois P. Frankel
The premise of this book is hilarious: “Quit bein’ a girl!” and I couldn’t agree more as some of us still can’t call ourselves “women” and are stuck in an infantilized perception of ourselves. It’s time to unlearn some of the ways we've been socialized. It’s a tough love book that will comb through all the mistakes in how we act, speak, dress, and play the game in our professional lives. Her coaching tips are very practical and I may make this required reading for my private clients!
Report
Global Entrepreneur Report by Scorpio Partnership
Sorry to get nerdy on ya, but I can’t help it. Are you thinking of becoming an entrepreneur? Conducted among 2,600 entrepreneurs based in 18 countries, the study led by Scorpio Partnership reveals the emergence of a new generation of entrepreneurs under 35, "The Millennipreneurs." And it turns out female Millenial entrepreneurs are on the rise and planning for world domination.
Opportunity
Adobe’s Creative Residency Program
If you’re creative, check out this opportunity to get paid for a year and work on your side project. Adobe is not paying me to include this in my personal newsletter (though they are sponsoring the podcast), but I really wanted to let you know in case this residency resonates and you have the chance to get more eyes on your creative work. Now, don't let your inner critic get in the way. Even if you think you'll be rejected, apply if you're interested.
Poem
In the sunless wooden room at noon
the mother had a talk with her daughter.
The rudeness could not go on, the meanness
to her little brother, the selfishness.
The eight-year-old sat on the bed
in the corner of the room, her irises distilled as
the last drops of something, her firm
face melting, reddening,
silver flashes in her eyes like distant
bodies of water glimpsed through woods.
She took it and took it and broke, crying out
I hate being a person! diving
into the mother
as if
into
a deep pond—and she cannot swim,
the child cannot swim.
~ Sharon Olds
Also, I have created an entire poetry section of my poems online. I believe poetry is the language of the soul and therefore deserves its own place in the world and certainly on my website.
Love,
Majo
P.S. In case you haven’t noticed, I am no longer going by Maria or Maria José, but by Majo (pronounced Ma-ho). I will explain why I have done this after 30 years in a later post.