The drive: What challenges have you overcome?
From an NVC perspective, we understand that life is a constant flow between celebration (when our deep needs and longings are met) and mourning (when they are not). We welcome this flow. In our work together, we have a regular practice of noticing and exploring any mourning we have so that we can learn and grow from these challenges. Over the past year we have noticed, and celebrated, so many areas of growth and learning: working through public speaking fears, learning edges in relationship to business skills and technology, and exploring authentic ways of reaching people with our message. We love taking time to notice these areas of celebration and mourning, connecting to our deep intention and vision to contribute to other people through our work.
For better or worse: What are the pros and cons of running your own business?
We have found that all of the clichés about running a business are very accurate: the challenges of financial uncertainty, the huge workload when you do everything yourself (designing websites, spreadsheets, finances, social media, creating courses…everything!). But for us, the benefits of this way of life far outweigh any downsides. We love the opportunity to work flexibly in a way that supports the life and connection within our families, and we enjoy that everything we do can be completely in alignment with our values and in integrity with our practice of nonviolence. We also value the incredible collaboration and care that exists in the wider NVC community both with Aotearoa/New Zealand and internationally, and we work hard to maintain these close collaborative links.
Hopes and dreams: What next?
We have many hopes and dreams for the next few years:
1. We are in the process of designing an online membership programme to support people in their ongoing NVC learning journey. It is our hope that we can find creative new ways to support parents (who are often so busy and do not have time or resources for lots of courses) to learn in a way that is supported, flexible, fun and builds community.
2. We are motivated to finding ways to support parents to get the support they need to have close and loving relationships with their children, regardless of their financial resources. We are supportive members of the Empathy Angels Project (which provides free empathy sessions to anyone who needs them), and we are exploring becoming a charitable trust.
Visit the Peace Talks website to find out more, and join their communities on Facebook and Instagram.
