What do freedom, entrepreneurialism and barely dressed models have in common?They’ve all been on my mind a lot lately. You?
Here’s my reason: I’m currently producing a kick-ass, mind-stretching, money magnetizing event for sassy women who want to make a difference in the world. The see-saw of excitement and anxiety that I’m experiencing is taking me back to a long, long time ago…to my very first public event …my very own Young Designer Fashion Show!
I was 17, just out of high-school and wondering what to do with my new freedom. Leave South Africa, and hitch-hike from Israel to Scotland and back again was the obvious answer, but for that I needed money. What was a girl to do? Produce a fashion show, of course! Yup. Just like that.
I’m not sure how I did it but within a couple of months I had designed and made all the outfits, secured a venue, inspired ballet-dancer friends to choreograph and model everything, roped gorgeous (and gay) ex-boyfriends (long story) to model or DJ, and – just to add something extra to the show – borrowed a family-friend’s two trained poodles to strut the catwalk. Yeah … it seemed like a good idea at the time. You know where this is heading don’t you ….?
Everything was going relatively smoothly until one dog spotted his owner in the back of the audience … and leaped off the stage. The other ran a quick circle around the model, tripping her up before flying off the stage as well. Then, in the midst of all that confusion, the wall that hid the mostly naked models from the rest of the theater ….suddenly collapsed. SURPRISE!
So …I didn’t win quite as much fame or fortune as I’d hoped for, but I did take my earnings and spend six months hitch-hiking around Europe and Israel. I had a load of fun, met great people, had peculiar experiences and learned along the way that there are many, many ways to live a life!
I feel incredibly blessed to have the life I have! I get to travel, spend time with my family in South Africa, take people on safaris, share my life with a great man, dance and have fun with friends, learn from people who push me, and do work that inspires me. Fit, Fab and Free: Live! is an expression of the extraordinary wisdom I have learned from great teachers along the way and a sinking into the creative forces that make life happen. It is a day about FREEDOM – freedom to move, to love, to prosper and to make a difference in the world. It’s about the kind of profound freedom that comes from knowing yourself, loving yourself and being yourself. Authentic. Powerful. Beautiful.
It’s that kind of freedom that interests me….and that I wish for you.