Exploring Radical Courage with Lauren Elizabeth

In today's episode, Nika sits down with the dynamic Lauren Elizabeth, a Radical Courage Coach and Feminist Business Mentor, for an enlightening conversation that promises to challenge conventional beliefs and inspire transformation. Together, they delve into the delicate balance between pursuing passion-fueled purpose and indulging in life's simple pleasures.

Lauren opens up about her own journey, revealing how she once grappled with the perceived dichotomy between being a devoted feminist and leading a life centered on joy, play, and pleasure. Through her experiences, she discovered that one doesn't have to choose between the two. In fact, they are intricately connected.

Purpose-driven feminists, passionate about disrupting systems and creating profound change, need moments of pleasure and rest. These moments of joy and relaxation act as essential fuel, reinvigorating them for the impactful work they set out to accomplish. Conversely, those who lead with their hedonistic desires, seeking out every joyous opportunity, require a touch of purpose and structure to truly find fulfillment.

Lauren’s insights shed light on the intertwined nature of purpose and pleasure, emphasizing that to create lasting social, cultural, and systemic change, one must find radical courage from within and understand the synergy between dedication and delight.

Listen in as Nika and Lauren navigate this captivating intersection, offering listeners a fresh perspective on leading a life that is both meaningful and joyful.

Note: This episode was recorded in 2022. Lauren's unique approach, stemming from her dual identity as a hedonist and feminist, has transformed countless businesses and lives. She's here to empower you to embrace both sides of the spectrum, showing you that it's not just possible, but essential, to have both purpose and pleasure in tandem.

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DISCLAIMER:
*This podcast and its contents are for informational purposes only and are not intended to replace professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult your physician or a qualified health provider for any questions concerning a medical condition or health objectives. Additionally, the advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for every individual and are not guaranteed for business or personal success. Use discretion and seek professional counsel when necessary.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

The work that I'm doing with my clients is cultivating a sense of resilience and trusting that, even if we make a mistake in our attempts to be advocates, even if we have a misstep and actually cause harm ourselves, that we can apologize, that we can clean up that mess and that we can keep coming back to our mission and that we can keep coming back to our mission.

Speaker 2: 0:33

Welcome to the Inspired with Nika Laurie podcast. Lauren, welcome to the show. I'm so excited to have you here today. How are you doing? I'm doing good, nika. Thanks for having me. Awesome, yeah, so we are going to have a super interesting conversation today. I reached out to you because I heard you on a different podcast and I loved what you were talking about and I was so excited to have you come on my show and kind of talk about it. So obviously we'll get into that. But before we do that, tell me a little bit about yourself what you do and who you are and how you got to where you are today.

Speaker 1: 1:07

Yeah, thank you. So my name is Lauren. As Nika has let you know, I am a feminist business mentor and a courage coach, and I work with other business owners who are wanting to use their business and really their offerings in the world to create change in their communities and to really disrupt the way that we do things, because I don't know if anyone has noticed, but sometimes it can feel like we are living in a dumpster fire and my work and my clients' work is really focused on, yeah, getting us out of that sort of just like highly traumatic, highly problematic, highly oppressive culture and really moving towards a world where, yeah, all of us have access to safety and joy and pleasure and freedom. And, yeah, when I think people always ask, like, how did you get here? And I think back to like I think it was in 2014, my husband and I were traveling in India and we were at this like little beach hut, like like hotel essential or I mean I don't I wouldn't call it a hotel, but we were staying in these beach huts and um in Arambol, in Goa, and we were there for like three weeks and I remember just like realizing in that moment that I could never have the level of freedom, the level of pleasure, the level of agency um, if I didn't have my own business, the level of agency if I didn't have my own business?

Speaker 1: 2:50

And so, pretty much in 2014, I decided that I was going to become a business owner, and very quickly I learned that the way we do things, especially in the online space, can feel really not good For me, as, like the business owner, as the marketer, it can feel not good and as a consumer also, there's just a lot of shame, a lot of blame, a lot of guilt in online marketing, and so I really wanted to find a way to do that differently, and so I started my coaching practice, working with women who wanted to bring their businesses and their lives into alignment with their own cycles and also with the moon.

Speaker 1: 3:32

And then, in 2019, I switched to focus specifically around business and weaving in a feminist lens, but also really focusing on, yeah, how we can do this work without burning ourselves out, without giving up on our own desires, on our own pleasure, and really finding this way to put a balance between the purpose, our reason for being here, and the things that bring us pleasure and joy. And it's just like I feel so grateful that this is the work that I get to do and I'm really excited to be talking to your audience about how business and how we can be more responsible, both as business owners but also as consumers in this world. That really needs a lot of love and a lot of help right now.

Speaker 2: 4:23

Absolutely I love. One of the reasons why I think I connected to you when I heard you on a different episode was your interest in kind of being more conscious consumers and really thinking about, you know, really putting some effort into thinking about the decisions we're making really in all aspects of our life, not just in the products we buy, but how we interact with people, the words we use when we interact with people, how we approach different situations and, um, you know, I I agree with you. I think there's, you know there's a lot of hurt and pain in the world right now, but I think I want to be an optimist because I think there's a lot that we can do to change, to improve it. But we all have to kind of step up and decide this is what we're going to do to help make the world a little bit of a better place.

Speaker 1: 5:13

Yeah, yeah, totally. I mean, I am also like a total cheesy romantic and like endless optimist, so I feel you on that.

Speaker 2: 5:23

I love it, Love it. So you refer to yourself as a feminist business mentor. Can you explain what is feminist business and how do you mentor that? Really yeah yeah.

Speaker 1: 5:38

So first of all, I just want to name that there are lots of flavors of feminism, and even someone who refers to themselves on a daily basis as a feminist business mentor. I question the connotations and like everything that is tied up with this idea of feminism, but currently it's like the best descriptor I have, so I'm using it. But my flavor of feminism is really rooted in a social perspective and a political perspective that aims to create a world where all people, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, skin color, body size, right, all of that they still have access to safety, they still have access to joy and they're allowed to be fully expressed in this world. So my flavor of feminism is working towards a future where all of us can thrive, and then to bring that into my business. Really, the mission is to look at how business contributes to the types of oppression that people experience across humanity and how we, as business owners, can use our platforms to create more room for joy, for pleasure, for safety, for freedom, for thriving.

Speaker 1: 7:08

Yeah, and that really includes everything from the way that I market my business, the systems that I use, the technology that I invest in to run the back end of my business, the way that I talk about my clients and it really sort of bleeds into all aspects.

Speaker 1: 7:27

And I want to be straight up, I'm still learning what it means. Right, we all live in a hyper capitalist patriarchal system and so we've all been conditioned and it's an ongoing process to decondition from those systems, and so the way that I mentor people is, by my own experience, like what I have had to do to get free from capitalist hyper productivity and perfectionism and a lot of my own body stuff about living in a culture that says you're supposed to live and work a certain or live a certain way and look a certain way. So I do a lot of looking at my own experiences. I've worked with clients now for like six years and so I have a lot of like anecdotal evidence that I can draw on there and, yeah, a lot of learning from people who don't necessarily look like me or hold the same identities and then helping my clients show up in a way that actually feels good for them, right Through that feminist lens of how can we create more freedom and more pleasure for everyone who is involved.

Speaker 2: 8:36

I know this was kind of a big question so I apologize that it's not kind of really specific, but can you give a couple examples, maybe that might come to mind, and how you get people to start approaching their business or their business life situation in a more feministic way? What are some of the things that you kind of bring up when you have those conversations with your clients?

Speaker 1: 9:04

Yeah. So most of the people who come to me to work with me already have a sense that, like, things don't feel good, things aren't working, and most of the people who come to me, like, when I put feminist in my bio, it's a pretty large filter, you know. And so I would say that most of the people who come to me are, like, already aware that patriarchy and capitalism and ableism and white supremacy and all of these systems are impacting them and their businesses and their audience. And so I would say that that's part of why like feminist is like, such a powerful label for me, because the people who come through already have a general idea productivity obsession and almost like a compulsion around productivity, perfectionism and self-doubt. Those are the big three that I think my clients are struggling with.

Speaker 1: 10:14

That's like every email business owner ever. Yes, yeah, I would say. The only difference is that my clients are already aware that there are systems in place that contribute to that right. Where I think a lot of us the sort of insidiousness of capitalism and patriarchy and these other systems of oppression is that they're very invisible to us by design. But once we can see them, like once we're aware, we can't unsee that, and so I would say that, like, most of my clients are coming to me because they're like I see this thing, I'm seeing the way it's impacting me and I just need help, like starting to deprogram from it.

Speaker 1: 10:59

And yeah, so I didn't really give you too many specific examples there, but I would say that my people come to me because they are seeing that things aren't working. They're recognizing that there are systems outside of themselves that are making it really hard for them, are making it really hard for them, and they've tried a lot of other things that haven't worked, and so they're coming to me to help them figure out a path that works for them, that feels good and that allows them to do the work that they know they're here to do.

Speaker 2: 11:46

Yeah, I love that. This is kind of on topic, but it sparked a thought I had. So I had a conversation with someone the other day about the Kardashians and the person I was speaking to dismissed the Kardashians as in like oh, those dumb girls doing their dumb TV show. And I stopped them in their tracks and I had a pretty blunt conversation with them saying these are women that have created multi-million, multi-billion dollar companies pretty much from scratch. They had a little bit of a name, but they built out these huge companies.

Speaker 2: 12:15

They've had to deal with the onslaught of people saying things about their bodies and about how they look and how they dress and different entities in that sense, and about how they look and how they dress and different entities in that sense.

Speaker 2: 12:27

And they've had to deal with a lot more than, say, someone like Elon Musk or Bill Gates has had to deal with in the sense of their private life, right, and nobody's celebrating their successes as females that have built literally billion dollar companies from scratch, really. And so it was an interesting. Once I said that to the person they were like oh, like I'd never, they'd never thought about it that way, and so I think you know it just makes me think about those blind spots that we have because we've been ingrained in this patriarchal society about how things are and how men are successful and women are items, or you know that's a pretty generic term, Right, but like that, it was just a good example that I that I had experienced and had this conversation with, and so I think it's it's interesting because the person I was speaking to about it is one of the like, kindest, most like sweet people ever.

Speaker 1: 13:22

Like you know, they don't try to hurt anybody kind of thing, and they still had this bias built into them, yeah, and that actually reminds me of a couple of things that one of my mentors, kelly deals, who is a feminist copywriter and a feminist marketing educator and coach. She says two things that I think are very relevant to this. Like this, like a conversation that we're having around the Kardashians or around our biases. The first is that we're all in the water, so we're all wet, and what she means by that is we all live in a system. Even though they are a kind, loving, generous person, it sounds like they have these biases and they have been conditioned to judge certain people based on the way that society says we're supposed to judge people. And then, on the other side of this right, I'm also someone who is quick to judge the Kardashians.

Speaker 1: 14:22

I will be totally honest and I think that the like, what I want to say here is that like, yes, the Kardashians are probably judged unfairly because they're women, because their bodies have been sexualized, because of right, there are many reasons why people are judging the women Kardashians.

Speaker 1: 14:44

And also, I think it's really important for us to acknowledge that just because I am a woman doesn't mean that I can't also perpetuate the patriarchy. Yeah, and so just because I am as a woman and you and any of the women who are listening to this we are oppressed by the patriarchy and also, often unintentionally, we are upholding the values that patriarchy has taught us, and this is when we internalize patriarchal values, patriarchal norms. Yeah, I love what you're saying about the Kardashians. You know being held to a different standard than perhaps some of these cishet white men who are multi-billionaires, and also they are still contributing to a culture that dehumanizes and relies on unpaid labor and right Like and and. And. Yeah, so, like I, I really appreciate that nuance and I think that, like that, when we open up that can of nuance, there's so much there.

Speaker 2: 15:56

Yeah, I mean, I definitely agree with you that it's, it's and right, cause I definitely see the other side of like you know they're also causing, or, you know, keeping to the norm of sexualizing women, and you know there's a lot of conversation about labor and those kinds of things too. So I definitely hear the and, but there is also they haven't been credited for what they have done because they are female, right and so I agree with you.

Speaker 2: 16:26

There's so much nuance to it and it becomes a very large Pandora's box that, in the sense, once you get into that conversation. But it's a but. I think it's an eyeopening spot to at least bring light to where these situations are happening and how to have those kinds of conversations.

Speaker 1: 16:44

Totally. And one of the other things that I just want to name here because I said there was two things that my mentor, Kelly Deals, talks about the other one is that in these situations, it can be really helpful to name patterns and not people.

Speaker 1: 16:57

Yes, by naming the Kardashians, we are like bringing in all of our preconceived notions right and like obviously it sounds like in the conversation that you had, like it was already about the Kardashians and so we saw Kardashian commercial like it was totally but like I could, I could create some content around that and I could post that online and instead of saying, like the Kardashians, I could say like I could just have the conversation about women and men, right, and I can just pull back a little bit and that sort of reduces the charge and like lets people come to these conversations with slightly less bias. I think.

Speaker 2: 17:39

Yeah, I would agree, definitely, Definitely. So we, you know, we've kind of delved into this, this really fascinating conversation that I would love to talk to you more about. But I think, prior to coming into the interview, we had talked a little bit about some of the areas that we want to talk about today. So I wanted to jump back into that a little bit and just kind of get your thoughts on some of these areas, and one of the areas we talked about was what businesses, what they can do and how they play a role in toxins in our environment. I know part of the things that you are into as much as I am is the climate change and kind of what's happening to the planet. In that sense, I'd love to kind of hear your thoughts on how, as a business owner or someone who helps run a business, how can we think about our approach to the environment and our thought processes there. Does that make sense? Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1: 18:33

Yeah, so I think for myself, I don't have a product-based business, and so when I'm thinking about sustainability, I'm thinking about it really in like what are the companies that I am investing in? Yeah, right, like. So an example that comes up for me is like Google. I use a lot of Google systems, and, while Google is not a perfect company, they do have like really stringent goals and like really clear objectives around reducing carbon emissions. And so, for those of us who, whether we are a consumer or a business owner, I think we have this opportunity to look at the places where we're spending our money and where we are investing our capital and really being discerning with that, right, like. Another thing that I think is really important is, like, okay, if I am deciding between these three companies for my CRM, can I look into the history of the company? And maybe one of them is, yeah, donating or reinvesting in communities that have been impacted by colonization, or maybe there's a company that, like operates fully on solar or something like that. Right, there's a way that we can look into the places that we are investing our money and be discerning about how we support companies.

Speaker 1: 19:58

Right, and I want to just acknowledge for, like, the average consumer. Um, that can be like a daunting step right. Like if it's like the in the town, the only option is shopping at Target or Walmart. Like, sometimes we don't have that option. Yeah, but I think that, like, when we can, when it is, um, when it makes sense for us to do that, I think it's really important. Um, and I also just like want to say here that, like I hate the idea that it is the consumer's responsibility to save the planet. Yes, I am, like I'm not about putting the responsibility on individual families and people to like save the planet. Like, come on, corporations can do that work, but I think that one way that we can push corporations to do that work is by choosing to withhold our support because of the way that they are operating.

Speaker 2: 20:59

I totally, totally agree. I actually have a sign on my wall that always reminds me and it says top down and bottom up. And top down is the corporations. Right, like the corporations who played a huge role in getting us into the situation we're in now, also need to play a huge role in getting us out of this situation and finding more sustainable business practices and moving us to a healthier future. Right, but the other side, top up or, I'm sorry, bottom up is going to be the grassroots, it's going to be the consumers.

Speaker 2: 21:32

We too, as consumers, also need to take responsibility in how much we're consuming, what kind of items we're consuming. And you are absolutely correct, I don't think it should be all on the consumer, and I think that's actually something that the kind of business, the business world, has put on us. It's a marketing ploy that they've put on us. Right, that it's our responsibility to like, recycle and reuse. And the reality is, yes, it is on us to an extent, because we also need to change some of our buying habits and our expectations.

Speaker 2: 22:08

But the real change is going to happen somewhere in the middle, between the manufacturers changing and the grassroots consumer changing as well, and I think once we get to that point, we'll start to see real change and I think, from my perspective, we're right on the cusp of that. We're kind of coming up. You've seen a lot of movement in the last couple of years, especially around how vocal people have gotten about climate change, but I don't think we're there yet. We haven't pushed the manufacturers to the point where they really need to start making changes and hopefully we move there faster than slower. Yeah, yeah, seriously Tight on time here, but yeah, I definitely agree with you in that sense.

Speaker 2: 22:53

What do you think? You know you also talk about radical courage, and I love that terminology. How can we really start to identify radical courage in ourselves, like, I guess, can you define that first, and then, once we define that, how can we start to use that to change these issues or really make an impact for all of us, especially around environmental health?

Speaker 1: 23:21

Yeah, so I think to define it, I just want to share like, the Latin root of the word radical is root, and so when I'm talking about courageous, when I'm talking about radical courage, rather, what I'm talking about is being courageous enough to look at the very roots of harm in our lives. Right, I think there is a difference between being brave and facing our fears and being courageous and actually facing and standing up to and dismantling the systems and the cultural programming that is just dominant in the system that we live in. So when I'm talking about radical courage with my clients, I'm talking about, yes, inviting them to look at their fears and to notice where they can make changes, but also to be someone who is willing to yeah, almost like I don't want to say like give up some of their own privilege or their own freedom, but like, yeah, in a sense, someone who is willing to take a risk to stand up for someone else, someone who is willing to take a risk to, like, wave the red flag, someone who is willing to point out how the status quo and how the cultural norms are actually incredibly harmful. And I think you know there has been a lot of conversation around. You know speaking out against racism, speaking out against harm when we see it, and I just want to acknowledge that it's really hard. It's very hard to you, hard, to tell your racist uncle that what he's saying is not okay. It's very hard to raise your hand in a class and let your teacher or your professor know that what they said is not okay.

Speaker 1: 25:23

That takes a lot of courage, and so the work that I'm doing with my clients is cultivating a sense of resilience and trusting that, like, even if we are, even if we make a mistake in our attempts to be advocates, even if we have a misstep and actually cause harm ourselves, that we can apologize, that we can clean up that mess and that we can keep coming back to our mission. And I think you know, as business owners, we have to do that because, like, we are, like, constantly dealing with new things in our business, but I think anyone can cultivate a sense of courage to work towards a world that is different than the one that we live in right, like that's really what courage and desire and all of these things is about challenging what exists and reaching for, moving towards the things that we want, the things that we need to feel safe and to like have joy in our lives.

Speaker 2: 26:28

Absolutely, I think. You know maybe I'll use myself as an example, but I think it could work for so many different people. So the thing that I'm really passionate about, obviously, is environmental toxins. Right, there's these chemicals that are in these personal care products and beauty products and food we eat and the water we're exposed to, and all these different things, right, and these toxins are negatively impacting our body. They're affecting our hormones, they're affecting our microbiome, they're causing countless health issues, and so one of the things that I'm really trying to do is bring this to the forefront and talk to people about it and make change and to educate the consumer the average consumer about how these different products that they're exposed to every day are impacting us.

Speaker 2: 27:14

Right, and so this is the thing that I'm passionate about, but I think you know the the listener has their own specific thing that they're passionate about. Maybe that's racism, or maybe that is, um, you know, making some kind of change for local moms, getting support that they need when they leave the hospitals, or postpartum care, or mental health support, whatever it is. Whatever the thing is that they're passionate about, how do we, how do we use, how do we find that radical courage within us to then advocate for that change that we want to see in the world. Does that make sense as a question?

Speaker 1: 27:51

Yeah, yeah so when we're asking this question of like, how do we do this hard thing? How do we keep coming back when the dominant system is what it is, right, it's all around us, and so, for those of us who are challenging those norms, part of the courage piece is, like the commitment to like keep coming back Every time we get knocked down, every time we get pulled. No, every time we you know someone tries to invalidate us or reject us. Right, there's this like need for resilience and I just want to say, like, that's not something that happens overnight. Right, there's this like need for resilience and I just want to say, like, that's not something that happens overnight. Right, that's not just a decision. Like I decide that, like, no matter what, I'm going to keep coming back.

Speaker 1: 28:40

Well, the decision is part of it, but I think what we really want to, what I really want to suggest that people focus on, is like, how can I show up just 1% more for my mission?

Speaker 1: 28:53

How can I show up just 1% more for my goals or my desires or my dreams?

Speaker 1: 28:59

Because I think we again right, like capitalism and patriarchy, like we think that there's like a perfect way to show up and we think that like, and there's this show up and we think that, like, and there's this, uh, I was actually just on a call right before this and we were talking about the quote anything that's worth doing is worth doing, well, um, and the coach actually reframed it for us and said anything that's worth doing is worth doing poorly, um, and that that quote is, uh, lee cordell is the coach who just shared it with me.

Speaker 1: 29:30

I don't think it was originally her quote, but right. So, like it's this courage and this willingness to like do things imperfectly, right, like I imagine, like at this point, you're like probably pretty well versed in like environmental toxins and like how those toxins show up in our lives. But I imagine you go back, like I don't know how long we've been doing this work, but you know you go back a few years and you probably didn't know as much as you know now and like your commitment to this was like a willingness to get it wrong, a willingness to learn, a willingness to change your mind Absolutely, and I think that, like that's really the key.

Speaker 1: 30:16

Like this underlying piece around radical courage is a willingness to, yeah, to be imperfect and like to trust ourselves that, like we can that, like it's okay to be imperfect and like to trust ourselves that like, we can, that like it's okay to be imperfect, and if someone is unwilling to accept us and our imperfections, then like, maybe that's not our people, yeah, and so yeah. For folks who are asking themselves like, or for folks who are saying, like I have this mission, I really care about this thing, but I'm scared or it's hard, or what if I screw up, then my advice or my suggestion is okay, well, let's start with 1%. How can we expand just a little bit beyond what we're doing right now, and can you give yourself permission to do it imperfectly?

Speaker 2: 31:16

Mm-hmm, I think. I mean that I think figuring out how to get over the perfection portion it's like the most powerful tool that you have, because I know for me, once I gave up perfectionism, it was just a matter of just move going Like every day, just keep going right, it's that 1% thing, and every day I'm getting closer and closer to like this grand idea that I have in my head. But what I realized while doing that was it's really just about the journey, because the grand idea tweaks itself and changes slightly every day, right, so there's no real like end point in sight. There's some key milestones, but there isn't like a this is the finish line kind of thing, whereas when I was looking at perfectionism and trying to get everything right, I would get so caught up in these mundane things that held me back from even the journey, let alone like the milestones or whatever the end stone would be.

Speaker 1: 32:21

Yeah yeah. Perfectionism is such a trap because it's like about doing things perfectly, but actually it's about doing nothing, because if we do nothing, if we do nothing, then like we can't get anything wrong. And it's like that is the. That's what got us into this mess. Like doing nothing because we were afraid of doing it. And again, this is not to shame anyone, but like this is how we got into this mess was like oh, I as an individual, I can't make an impact, so like I might as well not try. And like that is a part of our cultural programming. That is like so, such BS. And if people could just hear one thing from me. It's like give yourself permission to be imperfect.

Speaker 2: 33:08

Yeah, I so agree too, and it irks me on the inside when they say one person can't change the world, because one person is changing the world all the time. Right, there's these massive ripple effects from the decisions that we make every day. Or when you look at these people who have started these businesses that have completely changed how we function in the world like you know it. May it may have ended up being a group of people that got that business where it was, but there was one person that originally had that idea that decided to act on it Right, and so you never know what that's going to be, and so I think I think it's a real misnomer and it really hinders so many like. Imagine where we would be if we were all empowered to do the thing that we're motivated for to change the world Right, and if we all put in that imagine where humanity would be at this point.

Speaker 1: 34:09

Totally, and I'm just like my friends always joke that I always have an, and also I'm always trying to bring in a little nuance for those people who are listening, who are like ugh, but the responsibility of feeling like I have to be the one to change the world can feel like a lot for people. And so like, yes, one person can be a catalyst for incredible change, and you do not have to do it alone. Right, you can find your people. You can, like gather up the folks in your community, you can connect to thank goodness for the internet Like we can connect with people who share our visions all over the world. And so, yes, one person can be a catalyst for global change. And also you do not have to do it alone. Like find your people and like use their energy and their passion to help you gain momentum.

Speaker 2: 34:58

Absolutely. I think about when you say that, um, I, I work with this, um, small nonprofit. They're a small orphanage in Cameroon, africa, and it's just. It's a one little um uh orphanage. There's about 70 or 80 kids that live there and they cycle through and stuff, and the gentleman that founded it he founded it probably close to 30 years now it's probably like 25 years or so. It was originally just a little table. I mean, it was literally a little tiny wood table where he would put food out for the local orphan kids around, and then that grew into something bigger. It became a little hut where he was able to house five or six kids and then the community banded together and they built an extra room onto it so they were able to house more. It is now a full on orphanage and it's been that way. And I worked with them to fundraise last year and they fundraised enough to buy land for a second location so they can open up a second orphanage.

Speaker 2: 35:56

And this is just a small grassroots orphanage in the middle of nowhere in Africa, right, a small grassroots orphanage in the middle of nowhere in Africa, right. But it was started by one man and he's now changed the lives of all these orphans, and these orphans are going on to become one's an optetrician or ophthalmologist, so he's helping people see. There's not a whole lot of ophthalmologists in Africa, so he's working with people to be able to get glasses and be able to see. There's a bunch of them that have gone on to be teachers and architects and build, you know, help working on building their community to be more I don't know the word I'm looking for but to provide more resources to the community. There's so many kids that have come out of this one thing and it just started with a table with some food, right, and so it really it's. It's really just taking those little baby steps, that 1% at a time kind of thing.

Speaker 1: 36:53

Yeah, yeah, I think there is. We definitely can be such powerful catalysts and I think often we don't realize. Yeah, absolutely we don't realize how these little actions can create really massive ripples.

Speaker 2: 37:08

Absolutely so. What inspires you the most to keep optimistic when it comes to pushing your community towards change and to find their radical courage?

Speaker 1: 37:20

change and to find their radical courage.

Speaker 1: 37:21

That's a really great question and you know, I have like cited this now multiple times and have I'm not I can't remember where, like exactly who said this, but I, a few years ago, I was at a keynote, a keynote speech, and there were multiple Indigenous leaders from from like, uh, from turtle island or the united states, um, talking about the next seven generations, um, which is a pretty common indigenous uh like proverb and like perspective is like healing seven, seven generations back and seven generations forward, um, and unfortunately I cannot remember and I will have to look this up because I've now cited it multiple times and haven't been able to correctly cite these people but basically what they said is that the work that we are doing is not so that we can live in, you know, ultimate peace, ultimate, like.

Speaker 1: 38:18

It's not so that we can have it in our lives, ultimate peace, ultimate, like it's not so that we can have it in our lives, it's so that we can move a little bit further forward, so that we can pave the way a little bit more for the next generations.

Speaker 1: 38:30

And when I think about, you know, when I think back 20, 30, 60 years, I think about, like, the kinds of things that we worried about then are very different from the things that we are worried about now, and we've had lots of progress, but we've also pushed ourselves further and further into climate crisis and other really massive global issues that are impacting the entire world, and so it's kind of macabre and kind of a little bit morbid, but what keeps me inspired is knowing that there are generations that will come after me that will continue to do the work, and it's like a little bit of a relief for me that I don't have to solve the whole Me and my generation. We don't have to solve it. We just need to get us far enough along and move further, like further, towards our goals so that the next generation can then do their part. Um, and yeah, it seems kind of morbid, but, like my, my, my inspiration really comes from knowing that I just have to do my part.

Speaker 2: 39:43

I love that, though it's kind of freeing in a sense, yet still inspiring.

Speaker 1: 39:55

Yeah, yeah, like I think that if each of us just recognizes that we have a small part to play and like maybe that small part is just laying a few pavers for the kids, ahead for the you know the kids and the people who are coming after us If that, if that small part is just laying a few pavers for the kids, ahead for the you know the kids and the people who are coming after us If that, if that small part is just healing our own generational trauma so that we don't pass it down to our children or we do our best not to pass it down to our children, you know, whatever our small part is, if we can just focus on that, it feels like less pressure, it feels much more realistic and it frees us up.

Speaker 1: 40:27

I think, then, to also be remembering that we are not meant to sacrifice all of our joy and our freedom and our pleasure in the name of a movement, right? I think our work is only supposed to be a certain part of our lives, right? And that, like, the joy and all of the things that feel good are what allow us to keep showing up to that.

Speaker 2: 40:52

Absolutely I think about. You know, in the environmental health world one of the terms that we use a lot is the multigenerational effect and so understanding that the chemicals that mom's exposed to will impact her baby, the fetus, but it also impacts her grandchild, the baby of that child, right, and it's because of how our reproductive system is affected by these hormones when we're in utero. But when I think about the work I'm doing the face, you know.

Speaker 2: 41:25

Everyone always says have your avatar kind of thing in marketing, right, who's your person? But for me it's kind of this faceless object, but it's two generations removed, so it's either my grandchild or my great grandchild, right, so something that doesn't even exist yet. But I have that image in my face or in my head and that's who I'm working towards. That's who I'm working towards moving this movement further so that when they are growing or when they are in utero, they aren't impacted by these same chemicals, they have a healthier foundation to build off of from from the get-go. And so I think about you know, how do we it's like that seven generation thing that you mentioned a moment ago it's how do I make it a little bit better for the next couple of generations forward?

Speaker 1: 42:15

Yeah, yeah, and I think that, like that's, that's what kind of keeps me going is knowing that I'm not alone in this, and sometimes it feels really lonely, right, sometimes it feels like really lonely, really, um, and also I would be willing to bet that with a google search, you can find someone who has a dream like yours and who is also doing their own version of this work. Um, and yeah, I love that vision of like a little being who hasn't even been thought of yet right, like your kids, as kids, as kids.

Speaker 1: 42:56

Like there is no conception of this person and also you're already holding space for them, Like that's a really powerful and very sweet like and I mean I don't mean sweet in like a yeah, like I'm not trying to be, but I mean like just a very sweet vision, um yeah.

Speaker 2: 43:16

So. So I have some quick fire questions, but before I get to that, I have one last question that I would really love to know from you. So in your wildest you know, social change, dream like. If that came true, what would that look like? What kind of hope are you, or what kind of change are you really hoping for?

Speaker 1: 43:35

Yeah, yeah, so like in like the most, like wildest but most basic way. Yeah, um, it would be like, uh, four hour work days, four day work week for everybody. Um, because there are, there are enough of us, we have enough technology, there is enough that, like we do not need to be working 40 plus hours a week. Um, but like, everything that ripples out from that is like more self-expression, a complete deconstruction of the binary. So that is like on the gender binary, on the like good, bad binary, and really, really letting people be who they are.

Speaker 1: 44:16

Right, so many of us don't get to be who we are because, like, we have to worry about getting a job, or our job doesn't let us get tattoos or, you know, if we show up a certain way online, then like we could lose our jobs and like I'm all for people, you know, bucking the system and like not caring about what people think, and also like financial security is a real thing in this system. And so I think that, like my vision, like if, like the most, like if I could snap my fingers and like change the world, it would be a world where we have way more space to be who we are. Yeah, and like, yeah, man, I love that. Yeah, I think about the diversity of opinions and the diversity of perspectives and the diversity of creativity that is being squashed by this idea that we have to be able to perform in a capitalist corporate world is just pretty gross to me. So I'm like let's do away with that and like let's see people. Let's really, really see people.

Speaker 2: 45:42

Let's see people. Let's really really see people. Absolutely, I love that. It's so powerful. I'm so grateful for you. Just sharing your thoughts with us and all of this and just making space for this kind of conversation, I think, is really really powerful too. So I commend you for the work that you're doing and for the support you're providing to your clients and just bringing this to the forefront. I think it's really powerful. So I commend you again for the work you're doing. Thank you, I appreciate that. Are you ready for some quick fire questions? Yeah, yeah, let's do it. Okay, perfect, um, what is your favorite or most impactful book, podcast or documentary, and why? Okay.

Speaker 1: 46:21

So that is like a lazy Susan changing. So I would say my favorite podcast right now is Joyful Marketing from Simone Sol. She is brilliant, like literally brilliant, and her podcast she like warns people, like hanging out with me is going to make you obsessed with marketing, and I feel that she has stayed true to her promise in that and I would say like, even if you aren't a marketer, there's like value in that podcast, but it's a really, really good one.

Speaker 2: 47:00

And then my Just wrote it down, so I remember to look it up. Oh my, gosh.

Speaker 1: 47:02

Yeah, definitely look it up. And then I would also like to add a book. I don't know that it's my favorite, but it has been sort of helpful for me in framing my position in the patriarchy, and the book is called the Patriarchy Stress Disorder by Valerie Raine. I do want to say that there is some like diet talk and like talk about weight loss in the book, which I don't love, and it's very interesting perspective about the way living in an oppressive culture actually traumatizes our brains and it's very interesting to just, yeah, sort of recognize that, like it's very interesting to just, yeah, sort of recognize that like it's not just like an inconvenience, right, it's actually changing our brain function. Um, and she does. She definitely offers some practices to help us get free from it very cool.

Speaker 2: 47:55

I will be checking out both and I will link to both in the show notes. Just awesome, easy to find for the listeners too. So, um, so you, you kind of touched on this a little bit throughout the podcast, but do you have, um, a, what is your best toxin free or eco-friendly living tip? If you have one, ooh that's a good one.

Speaker 1: 48:14

Um, hmm, so I would say that this is like, maybe like a pretty basic one. So I would say that this is like, maybe like a pretty basic one, but I think that, like drinking water and having access to water is like so important, like on a global scale, but also just for, like my function, and this is a tip that actually recently came to me. I like have ADHD and so, like things that have multiple steps, my brain makes them even more complicated, and so find a reusable water vessel that works for you and so like for me. Like having to take the lid off my water bottle and lift it up was like too much work for my brain, and so I just like got a BPA-free, plastic, reusable water bottle with a straw and I am more hydrated. I'm not finding myself out in public and having to buy a plastic water bottle that might have been sitting in the sun for three months. Find a reusable water vessel that works for you and that helps you stay hydrated, because your brain will function so much better.

Speaker 2: 49:19

Absolutely. Water is just so key to that too. It really is, just it's a must, obviously. Yes, yeah, yeah. What does conscious living mean to you, yeah.

Speaker 1: 49:32

So I think that conscious living for me is just about being aware of the way that I am thinking about myself, the way that I think about others, and really challenging the sort of automatic thoughts and automatic responses that I have, and making conscious.

Speaker 1: 49:54

There we go, using the word in the definition, but being discerning about and like really making a conscious effort to shift the way that I respond to the world and react to the world, and actually taking a moment to like is that my thought or is that something that I've been programmed to think? Right, it's really. Conscious living is about slowing down, is about slowing down Absolutely and like giving ourselves the time and the space to process everything that's happening around us and to really focus on moving towards a life that is rooted in our values. So for me, it's like how can I be more free? How can I be more courageous? How can I have more pleasure? How can I be more kind? Right, those are my, those are my values, and so a conscious life is about noticing where I'm not embodying those and making the effort to move in that direction.

Speaker 2: 50:51

Absolutely that. It's very similar to my thought about it too, originally going into is slowing down and giving some space to each of the decisions we're making. You know, when I, when I first went into, I was thinking about the space, about you know, obviously, like the products we're buying or how we're impacting the planet based on the decisions we're making, the way we live, right. But I absolutely agree with you. I think there's so much more to it in the sense of slowing down to think about how what we do on a day-to-day basis impacts others, the decisions that we make for ourselves, and who we impact ourselves or our family, those kinds of things too. So I love your answer. I think it's phenomenal, thank you. So my last question for you, lauren where can listeners connect with you? How can they find you?

Speaker 1: 51:38

Yeah, so I spend most of my time on Instagram. I love that platform, so I'm always sharing content there and I would love for folks to hop in my DMs and we can chat. I also have a free community for feminist business owners even feminist curious so if you're wondering what the heck is this all about, you can just go to feministbusinessnetworkcom, and that's a free community where, yeah, I offer support and tips and have conversations around what it means to be feminist in our businesses.

Speaker 2: 52:12

Love it. Can it also work for people who are maybe not entrepreneurs, but leaders in business as well?

Speaker 1: 52:19

Oh yeah, definitely, definitely yeah. And then, of course, I guess I have my website too. I should just like shout that out, like you can find me on my website at laurenelizabethcoachingcom. Absolutely yeah.

Speaker 2: 52:30

I will link to everything in the show notes too, just to make it as easy as possible. So, yeah, thank you, nika, awesome. Well, lauren, thank you so much for coming on, for spending the time with me today and to share all of your insight and knowledge with us and the listeners. I'm super grateful for it. So thank you very much.

Speaker 1: 52:47

Yeah, thanks so much for having me and, yeah, this was a great conversation, so I really appreciate the opportunity to share with your audience.

Speaker 2: 52:55

Absolutely, thank you.