vulnerability Archives - Don't Stop Us Now

Sarah Wilson – Crusader for People & Planet

July 20, 2021July 20, 2021
by Claire

We are so excited about this episode featuring an inspiring and no-topic-off-limits conversation with the globally renowned Sarah Wilson.

Sarah has achieved massively in multiple arenas; she’s a former journalist and TV presenter, she’s an author and activist and successful entrepreneur. She wrote the New York Times bestsellers I Quit Sugar and First, We Make the Beast Beautiful, which best-selling author Mark Manson described as the best book on living with anxiety that he’d ever read.

Along with her latest book, ‘This One Wild and Precious Life’, Sarah has been ranked as one of the top 200 influential authors in the world and her online wellness ‘I Quit Sugar’ program was taken by 1.5 million people around the world.

These days, Sarah’s a campaigner for the causes that matter and, in particular, the climate crisis. Her determination to motivate us all to do what we can, is matched only by her research, her passion and her own crusading life.

In this open and vulnerable episode you’ll learn:

How Sarah’s childhood explains so much about the leader she is today
How she has completely reframed and values her anxiety
What happened when she was at her lowest ever point
How important hiking is to Sarah, and
Why 3.5% is such a magnificent and hopeful number.

Now, on a serious note, during our conversation as Sarah goes deep and vulnerable, we want to alert you that she describes a time she had dark and suicidal thoughts. If you think this might trigger you or someone listening with you please take the appropriate care.

We think you’ll just love this episode with the crusading and inspiring Sarah Wilson…

Useful Links

Sarah’s website

Link to Sarah’s book tour in Australia

All of Sarah’s Books

Sarah’s Favourite Hikes

Sarah on Instagram

Photo credits: Rob Palmer & Marija Ivkovic

Future Proof Me Mini Episode

Future Proof Me – Mastering Your Ego

July 13, 2021
by Claire

This week’s Future Proofing mini episode is all about not letting your ego get the better of you.

We were blown away by the maturity and wisdom of young New Zealand entrepreneur, Brianne West, the founder and CEO of Ethique, the global and sustainable cosmetics company. We spoke to her on the show last year.

Brianne’s mission is to rid the world of single-use plastics and Ethique replaces bottled products like shampoos with solid bars of concentrated product.

Brianne has won all kinds of honours including New Zealand’s Young Entrepreneur of the Year and she was named an Obama Leader for Asia Pacific.

With these accolades Brianne could be forgiven for running her global business exactly as she pleases. But what’s so refreshing about this entrepreneur in her 30’s is that she’s well aware she’s never worked in any other business and so she knows she needs other people’s expertise to help her succeed.

And that’s where mastering your ego comes into it. Brianne is so authentic and open about what she does and doesn’t know.

In a world where it’s so easy for all of us to think we have to role play and claim more experience and capability than we may have, one of the secrets to Brianne’s success is that she’s learnt her business needs her to listen to the recommendations of others in order to succeed. She leaves her ego at the door when she goes to work and so do her colleagues.

Take a listen and be inspired how vulnerability really can be the best way forward.

Useful Links

Brianne’s Full Interview with us – Brianne West – Running the World’s most Sustainable Cosmetics Company

Ethique Website

Brianne on Instagram

Interview

Heidi Hackemer – On Navigating the Worst

April 27, 2021June 1, 2021
by Claire

We have a very special episode this week because we’re sharing the vulnerable story of how one of our guests was subsequently fired from a high profile role in the US and how she navigated her way through the dark times that followed.

That guest is Heidi Hackemer and what she shares in this episode is so generous and valuable for all of us to hear; after all nothing is permanent and plans fall over on a regular basis.

Heidi is a leading creative who had her own brand agency in New York and also headed up the Creative Studio at the philanthropic Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) in California.

Not long after our first conversation with Heidi in July 2018 things went wrong, very wrong. Heidi was fired from CZI and not only that, when she got back to New York, she had to close her brand strategy agency, W&W too. We learnt about this because Heidi wrote an extremely brave and vulnerable article on Medium (link below) describing what had happened and how low she was feeling.

Admiring her generous honesty, we reached out to her just as COVID was taking hold everywhere round the world last year. Heidi agreed to speak with us.

After our conversation, we made a decision not to publish the interview last year, as it just felt too raw. With Heidi’s permission, we’ve all agreed that now is the right time to share the story she has been so generous in sharing with us. She’s well and truly bounced back from the lows she describes and is now the Executive Creative Director for North America at the booming global company, Oatly.

In this episode Heidi shares:

How, after being fired, she initially couldn’t stop worrying about money
Her advice for others who lose their jobs
Heidi’s generous sharing of all the things she did to pull herself out of depression and bounce back,
And the inspiring reason she shared her extraordinary piece on Medium

Even if you are securely employed right now, we really recommend you listen to this unique conversation. And if you know someone who’s lost their job make sure they listen to this too! They’ll thank you later.

Enjoy this episode with the generous, and very thoughtful, Heidi Hackemer …

Useful Links

Our first conversation with Heidi in July 2018

Medium article that prompted this second interview

Mouna Aouri – Supporting Female Entrepreneurs to Realise their…

April 13, 2021June 1, 2021
by Claire

Can you believe it? Almost three years ago we started this podcast and now we’re excited to be releasing this, our 100th episode!

A particular thank you to you if you’ve taken the time to review, subscribe or recommend our show as it really makes all our work that much more worthwhile. And we always love to hear from you, whether it’s guest or show ideas, or any feedback. Just email us here.

This week’s 100th episode features a woman who has a pretty incredible story. Her name is Mouna Aouri and she’s a Tunisian who started out as a bridge engineer, including working for 7 years in Japan. (And Japan is NOT an easy place for women to work!)

After running a successful business in her home country of Tunisia, Mouna now works in Singapore with Beacon Fund which is investing in female entrepreneurs in South East Asia. Not only that, she launched and runs her own online community supporting women entrepreneurs called ‘Woomentum’.

In this episode you’ll learn:

Why Mouna left Tunisia to build bridges in Japan
How her successful business and life was turned upside down by the Arab Spring uprising
How, after losing her identity as a new Mum in a new country, she picked herself up and turned her experience into a business supporting other women; and
The common mistakes female entrepreneurs make and how to overcome them.

Mouna is very open and vulnerable about the difficult time she encountered trying to reinvent herself and her career in a new country and as a new Mum, and her story of how she bounced back is really inspiring.

So why not grab yourself a yummy slice of ‘100th episode cake’ 😂 and enjoy this episode!

Useful Links

Woomentum – community Mouna founded to support female entrepreneurs

Beacon Fund – funding female entrepreneurs in Asia Pacific

Link to the Woomentum Research Mouna mentioned – The Path to Success: How Women-owned Business Transform in the Era of Digitalization

Future Proof Me Mini Episode

Future Proof Me – Is Fear Holding You Back?

September 15, 2020September 15, 2020
by Claire

This week’s future-proofing mini episode is all about how to take action even when you feel unsure, nervous or afraid.

The advice and observations of one of our earliest guests, investment banker and Chair of numerous tech startups, Lindley Edwards, is really valuable on this topic. Particularly in this time of COVID, learning how to manage our fears, nerves and worries is an important skill.

It’s a skill we all need to continue to practise because it’s completely normal for all of us to feel fear at times, if not often, at work. But fear can hold us back from growing and learning if we don’t practise taking action despite some nerves or fear.

Lindley has a great way of contextualising this very human experience which we think you’ll find really helpful. You are not alone.

Enjoy this mini episode ….

Links

Listen to our full interview with Lindley Edwards