๐๐ป STIMIES,
A past STIMY guest recently reminded me of how it's been almost 5 years since I first started the So This Is My Why podcast ("STIMY").
5. Years.
It sometimes feels like 5 months.
When I first launched STIMY, my hypothesis was that successful people have found their why. So if we want to be successful, we need to figure out how to FIND our why, what it takes to LIVE it and whether it's all worth it in the end.
STIMY also became the launchpad for me to speak and hang out with the most interesting people.
And the journey that began in 2020 has since led me to last night's "Meet the Cultural Leader" event organised by Joseph Fowler (Head of Arts & Culture, World Economic Forum) featuring Cristina "Mitty" Mittermeier.
I loved it.
There is a particular magic that surrounds people who love what they do.
Scratch that - who feel almost compelled to do what they do, regardless of what people around them think.
And for Cristina, growing up in Latin America, the typical high school dream for females was to just get married and stay at home. Or to go down the typical lawyer, engineer, doctor route.
But not Cristina.
She stood up for others. Had a mother who would ask her, "How big do you want to dream?"
And eventually became a marine biologist (because being an artist doesn't pay).
Which is how she discovered the ocean - a world so unknown that identifying larvae under a microscope was often guesswork.
As Cristina said, "All creatures play a role, and we don't know what it is, but they are engineers of this life."
She soon realised science's limitations:
"Science is a very difficult language. People don't know how to engage and participate. So vast literature goes unseen."
Frustrated, she thought, "There's got to be a different way."
Then she discovered underwater photography in 2011, documenting Mosquito Indians in Honduras engaged in dangerous lobster fishing.
She pioneered "conservation photography" - using images to mobilise legislation and action in a field "heavily dominated by white middle-aged men who could afford the heavy cameras to go to Africa."
Yet she persisted, noting that "as a woman, you tend to be underestimated... which can be a superpower."
When she took a photo of starving polar bears in the Arctic, it went VIRAL.
Reached ~2.5 billion people worldwide.
It drew huge waves of reaction - from gratitude to denial, including attacks from climate change deniers and "pseudo-scientists who have never seen a polar bear" being quoted in right-wing publications.
The experience revealed the machinery behind climate denialism:
"These people are incredibly well organised and very well funded to tell their side of the story. If we really say that we care so much about climate and biodiversity, where is the funding for people like us to tell the other side?"
โ
โWorld Economic Forum
Cristina also recently exhibited at the WEF in Davos (having worked with Joseph for months on this), and shared this:
"It's incredibly intimidating to be an artist at WEF. You feel like the most important person when they take a picture of your exhibition, then they spot Zelensky and you suddenly feel like the most insignificant person."
The reality of her work, however, is far from glamorous.
Sea Legacy operates with just six staff members, and she and her partner Paul often self-fund their conservation efforts.
"The worst thing that happens is when you start caring because you get on this treadmill. You feel all the aches of the world."
To cope, they've formed what they jokingly call "the anti-social club" - taking time to disconnect from humanity and reconnect with nature to renew their spirits.
โ
Community as Superpower
Despite the challenges, Cristina was all about HOPE (she has a book on that very same title!).
She also credited their online community - 13 million followers strong - as their "biggest superpower."
Some followers comment on every single post!
Most importantly, she encouraged everyone to embrace activism:
"Being an activist is like being a superhero, and you're wearing an invisible superhero suit. Every morning I put it on. Please don't wait for anybody to give you permission or invite you. Just put the suit on and be an activist every day."
Truly, Cristina is one of the most impressive individuals I've had the privilege of meeting and listening to.
Thank you Joseph (and also Ben Von Wong!) for the introduction.
I hope you feel as inspired by Cristina as I have.
You can learn more about Cristina here and if you happen to be in London, she has an exhibition at Somerset House until tomorrow (17 May).
โ
P/S: Cristina has agreed to share her story on STIMY!! Keep your eyes peeled for when the announcement comes. :)
P/P/S: If you want to be part of the STIMY Community Directory (you can find out about what other STIMY members are doing / connect with each other), submit this form.
I'll add you to the Directory & give you access too!
|
|
Want to grow your personal brand?
Join the Build Your Why course to learn how to tell your story in simple, practical steps.
This is a beta launch so if you join now, you get a 50% discount as thanks for believing in a product that doesn't yet exist ๐ฅบ
You also get to build BYW with me!
|
โ
โ