Latest / Project Emerald Collective / From Motherhood to Project Emerald: Intentional Living, Community & Empowerment with Eve
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- Eve: I'd like to bring a million women together to have these conversations throughout the world. Hazel: Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Eve: and flick the switch so that We're not operating on autopilot. the way that we've been conditioned to operate Hazel: Mm-hmm. Eve: isn't actually serving us. I would like more and more women to wake up to that fact that there is another way to live. by being more intentional with their choices, they can change the direction of their life, but also that has a ripple effect on the lives of their families and for future generations Hazel: Yeah, definitely. Eve: to come. Thank you, Hazel. Hazel: Well, we're really excited to find out a bit more about how your journey started. I know that there's been so many evolutions along the way. what I would love to know first is what did you do before you did Project Emerald? what's your background? how did you come to this life that you are leaving living and leading in now? Eve: I guess reflect on the three pivotal moments like I ask my other Hazel: Mm-hmm. Eve: guests to reflect on. Hazel: Yes. Eve: I guess traveling around Australia. Well firstly having kids. So having kids, I have three beautiful children and being a mother really has shaped my journey in many ways. yeah then it was travelling around Australia with two little boys at the time and Hazel: Yeah. Eve: ending up in Tasmania and then having a daughter as well. And moving to rural Tasmania really was a big shock to me. I was always used to you know, being closer to the city, growing up in suburbia, for the most part, and taking those conveniences for granted. So being able to pop down to the shop, being spoiled for choice really as to, you know, Hazel: Yeah. Eve: where where I shopped, when I shopped. and the amount of secondhand items, that you could source really easily via op shops. And my nana volunteered for her local vinnies for 30 years. So and that was just Hazel: my god, that's amazing! Thirty years, wow, that's incredible. Eve: Thirty years. Yeah, bless her. and that was just down the road from where I grew up. So her bringing home her finds from the op shop and you know us passing on items that we were no longer using and just that circular mentality was how I was brought up. it was such a lucky dip and such good intention from Nan to, share with us, what had come into the store that day that she thought that, we would benefit from. Hazel: Yeah. Eve: And So I guess when moving to Rural Tasmania, having three children and not having the time or you know the energy Hazel: Mm. Eve: to shop secondhand easily. got so disappointed with the marketplace experience for fashion and accessories. it's great Facebook Marketplace is great for other things, but when it comes to fashion accessories, that was always going down the rabbit hole of taking too long and then getting distracted. So I just thought there must be a better way. So I doubt to create a marketplace app dedicated to shopping secondhand purely for fashion and accessories just to make it easy and efficient for other mums just like me to shop secondhand for their children. And so yeah, I did that. that was the other pivotal point that has led me to where I am today, which was creating the marketplace. but as I began the journey of launching a business and then, promoting the business and speaking to other people in the fashion industry, everyone has their own fashion story. and fashion is is a connector. it's not just the clothes that we wear. even as recently as the other day, just taking notice of, how we interact in a room and often when we see someone or that we don't know or, that we are meeting for the first time, or even people that we do know. that'll be part of our conversation. I like your outfit. where did you get that? it's a way to connect. And I also, became aware that we are so much more than the clothes that we wear. And so there's so much more to women in particular than what we look like, what we're wearing. and I just feel every woman has a story to share. so it evolved into having those conversations a lot of Them are about fashion in some way, but it's really about bringing stories of women who are living their lives more intentionally. that can be in various ways. Buying and selling secondhand fashion is one expression of living more intentionally. there are a range of other ways. But I believe that. by being more intentional with your choices and having that awareness that you have choices, you have an agency Hazel: Yeah. Eve: as females to not live on autopilot When when we use the term take your power back, to me essentially it means many different moments throughout the day. Checking in with Hazel: Yeah. Eve: yourself, becoming more aware of where is your time and your energy and your money going? Is it serving you or is it not? Hazel: Yeah, absolutely. And you're bringing together community as well. you're building such a beautiful community. Do you have a vision for this for the community that you're building? what are your big thoughts about where this is gonna take you and the conversations that you're having. I just love them. Eve: Yeah, so do I. And that's bringing me so much joy and I love that I'm able to have these conversations and share them with a growing audience. I'd like to bring a million women together to have these conversations throughout the world. Hazel: Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Eve: and flick the switch so that We're not operating on autopilot. the way that we've been conditioned to operate Hazel: Mm-hmm. Eve: isn't actually serving us. and I would like more and more women to wake up to that fact that there is another way to live. being more intentional with their choices, they can change the direction of their life, but also that has a ripple effect on to the lives of their families and for future generations Hazel: Yeah, definitely. Eve: to come. it's a big goal, but I feel like the time is right now. to do this, to have these conversations and to change the balance of power. Hazel: Mm, yeah, definitely. And I think that it's so important for the world that we live in and for women, especially at this time, to as you say, just to to find other people that have a similar ideology. because what I think happens a lot is we don't think that individual action matters, but it so does. And the community that you're building really showcases how important individual action is because when individuals who think similarly come together, that's when real change can happen, right? Eve: Mm-hmm. Yeah, absolutely. And what a great thing for our kids to see that this is their normal. It is their normal to realise that their thoughts and therefore their actions determine how they show up in the world. And you have choice over how you think. Hazel: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Definitely. so you mentioned that, you've been speaking to different people and you've kind of been developing and creating this community. But what I'd love to know, What's the thing that you keep coming back to and thinking about from these conversations? Eve: that's a really good question. I think once the veil is lifted and you can see that there's another way to live, the women that I've been had the pleasure of interviewing have all been operating on purpose, so therefore Hazel: Mm. Eve: they're happier with their choices and they're more grounded in what their values are. And I think that's really powerful, and that is the ripple effect that I would love to see occur in every woman that listens to a podcast or interacts with the community. Hazel: Yeah, amazing. Amazing. Eve: they're not all fashion conversations, but they're Hazel: Mm-hmm. Eve: conversations with women that have made a conscious decision at one particular point to change their life. Whether that be through travel, whether that be through ending a relationship, changing schools for their children, there's many different ways that living more intentionally can play out, but it's about living more authentically to yourself and the person that you're here to be in the world and how you show up. Hazel: Yeah, I love that. I really love that. you mentioned the one thing that changed the trajectory of these people's lives. Like what would you say for you is that one thing? Is it the travelling, is it the kids, or is it something completely different? Eve: I actually think it was changing my children's children from a mainstream school to a Steiner school. such a massive impact on me. Hazel: Mm-hmm. Eve: I wish that I was able to go to Steiner school. I really do every time I take my children to school. Hazel: Yeah. Eve: that they're taught on a mind, body, and spirit level is Hazel: Mm. Eve: so incredible. And the power of your imagination and the creativity that it's fostering in them, I wish that we all gave ourselves permission to. dream and to think bigger than we've been conditioned. And dreaming is not checking out. that's something Hazel: No. Eve: that we've been we've been conditioned to think as well. dreaming and visualizing is using your mind and its creativity in a really positive and powerful way. The behaviours that we've been conditioned to adopt from society, like, doom scrolling, checking out, have another glass of wine, doom scroll, deal with it tomorrow, is not Hazel: Yeah. Eve: serving anyone. what I believe is that if we use our mind for a force of good and are more conscious and aware and intentional with our thinking, having a moment to pause or to meditate or to visualize, then that is where our power is. Hazel: Hundred percent I agree. And I think it's such a kind of strong and brave move from, you as parents to to change that school system because there's so much of a belief that if you go to an alternative school you're not gonna achieve in your life because of that conditioning that we've been given, right? And actually like my lived experience is that all of the people that I went to school with are mostly entrepreneurs and they live in this space where they get to do what they want and they have envisioned a life of how they wanna impact and affect the world and they Eve: Mm-hmm. Hazel: have the skills to do that. Like they have the the belief that they can because they have the lived experience of doing and like Eve: Yeah. Yeah. Hazel: physically doing things as well as mentally doing them. And I think that's amazing. It's so cool. And so have Eve: cool. Hazel: you found a big community of like like minded people within the within the Steiner school parents and that kind of thing as well? Or is it just kind of been the changes that you've seen in your kids? Eve: the community is there if and when I want it. I'm very conscious of where I'm spending my energy and Hazel: Mm-hmm. Eve: I I've just been on such a growth journey that I've gone within. I am just focused really on the kids and letting them experience and shine I feel like I'm building community out in an intentional way with the women that I'm surrounding myself with, in the Project Emerald community. Hazel: awesome. Eve: witnessing that change to a different way to educate children, I've realised that what a treadmill we're conditioned to be on. you know, I went to mainstream school Catholic and government schools. Hazel: Mm-hmm. Eve: and everyone is putting their uniform on, they are going to school, they're doing what they're told. Sit down, stop looking out the window, stop daydreaming, you know, you're doing this test, we're aiming for this result. And on and on it goes. And that's how we're conditioned to live in society. But yeah, that's a different way to live. Hazel: Yes. A hundred percent, absolutely. Yeah, so good. So exciting for your kids, that's awesome. I've got both experiences and I just really treasure the three or four years that I spent at Steiner School because you it just changes your world. Like I was the kid who wanted to wear a uniform and I got to Steiner school and I was like, you can just wear whatever you want. It's crazy. And Eve: Mm. Yeah. Hazel: now look at me, I just wear whatever I want every day. Eve: Yeah, So you're giving yourself permission. Hazel: Exactly, exactly. And I think it does it does imbue you with a certain a certain level of self confidence. Like I said, people often question me where I get my, self confidence from. I'm like, just, you know, delusional a idea that I can do it. So why wouldn't I do it? You know? And I think that's a great thing to to live Eve: Well yeah, but not everyone sees life that way or knows that it's okay to feel good. Like self love Hazel: Yes. Eve: is the highest form of frequency. Hazel: Mm, yeah, that's so true. That's so true. Yeah. Eve: Hm. So it's no wonder that when you're operating at a different frequency you pull in and attract people that are on the same frequency. Which Hazel: Mm. Yeah, absolutely. Eve: is what you've done with the circular fashion festival. Hazel: This is bringing all the people in. I was writing my director's forward for our program to this morning and I was just like crying, just like, my god, it's so beautiful. The people that we work with, Eve: Yeah. you've attracted these people because you're operating on that frequency. And this is what being intentional with your thoughts and your time and your energy are about. Hazel: haven't actually thought about it like that, but I think that's absolutely correct. Like when we talked before when I did my wardrobe freeze, that was just like that moment for me where I was just like, I don't need to buy stuff, so I'll just spend my time doing something else. And here we are today. Eve: Well that's right. You're able to create a business by giving yourself that freedom to Hazel: Mm. Eve: jump off the treadmill. Hazel: Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Do it differently. so with the Project Emerald, what kind of hats do you wear? 'Cause I know what it's like from a founder perspective, you'd kind of do a bit of everything, but what's your at the moment, what hats do you wear in your life and your business? Eve: yeah, it's the founder hat. So that is Hazel: Mm-hmm. Eve: that can be such a multitude of different things each and every day. and you have to kind of be quite disciplined there's a fine line between pushing forward and attracting, so allowing, with with that role. I'm Hazel: Mm-hmm. Eve: I'm working part time, so that's another hat that I wear. and it's actually nice to be an employee. Sometimes don't have to make all the decisions. Hazel: Yes, not have to be the boss. Eve: that's been a really good balance actually. I'm a wife and a mother and a daughter and a sister and a friend that's taking up my time. And the hat for myself as well, which Hazel: Yeah. Yeah. Eve: I've come to to really value and prioritize. Hazel: So I've noticed that, sometimes you'll do like early morning walks and that kind of thing. Is that how you fill your own cup to kind of give yourself that pleasurable time that you need? Eve: Yeah, I'm very intentional with my morning routine. I'm generally up at five and I'm, doing some stretching and working out. and take or taking the dog for a walk. Yeah, journaling, listening to something audio book or, a great YouTube conversation. or a podcast. And yeah, I'm really protective of that time and I'm not engaged in my phone in another way or I'm not distracted by it. I Hazel: Hmm. Eve: that's that's had a massive impact on how my day flows, what my mental state is like, Hazel: Yeah. Eve: and sets me up for a really good day ahead. Hazel: I love that. I one day I'll get there when my children are not so young and I yearn for those days. They are coming for me and every time I think they're not here yet, I'm like, That's okay, they're coming. Eve: it's not something that I could do for many years. so it's only been in the past couple of years that I've been able to enable this lovely morning start to my day because before that it was, really little babies and children. you'll get there. Hazel: I know, I just have to keep reminding myself, like my kids are still of the age that they all need physical help to do things. So I'm like, that's okay. Like we're still that stage and it won't be forever. And I love that. I think that's so important to have that to have that time. Eve: Yeah. you've got to do what you gotta do. but yeah, I would highly recommend a morning routine. Hazel: what does being intentional mean to you? So obviously like that intentionality around how you treat yourself in the morning and not kind of I just love the idea of you know, not having that nervous system stress in the morning Eve: Yeah. Hazel: that just sounds delightful. What what else does intentionality mean to you? Eve: It's hundreds of moments throughout the day, maybe even thousands, where you you catch yourself and you intentionally, run through your mind, is this serving me? Do I need this? What thoughts am I choosing? so being intentional in what you're thinking. and how that's playing out to the rest of your day and your life. Hazel: There seems to be quite like a universal spirituality to the way that you view your world. Does that come from anywhere particular? Eve: we have all the answers inside of us. So Hazel: Mm-hmm. Eve: it's about checking back in. And I definitely believe that we're surrounded by spirit guides and alternate universe are playing out around us. Hazel: Yeah. Eve: But it's about it comes back to going within to then have the have the peace and the courage to listen. Hazel: Yeah, yeah, definitely. Is there anything that kind of keeps you grounded in that intentionality? 'Cause it's so easy, especially with, lots of children and chaos and running a business to kind of spin away from that. So I'm just curious as to how you keep yourself within that kind of mindset, which is obviously so important to you and what you do. Eve: I think it's just being non negotiable with meditating every day, even Hazel: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Eve: if it's just for ten minutes and usually it's on the bus, to be fair. Hazel: Yep. Eve: Yeah, like I look around at everyone else like staring at their phones and I'm just not that girl anymore. I'd rather just close my eyes and just listen to a meditation for that, you know, ten Hazel: Yeah. Eve: ten to fifteen minutes. Hazel: Yeah. Eve: I do make an effort to do yo practice yoga whenever I can. realistically that's only gonna be ten minutes a day. most days, unless I can, you know, carve out longer time. Hazel: Yeah. Eve: yeah, but I think that's all it needs to be for the moment. Hazel: your body doesn't really know the difference whether it's ten minutes or ten hours. It's like you've done it and you've centered yourself and you're in that in your body in that way. Like I think that's so key. Whereas I just put things off because I'm like, I can't do it for an hour, so I'm just not gonna do it. Eve: I'd highly recommend just Hazel: I need to be Eve: starting there. Just just start. Hazel: Yep. Well I'm sitting on my yoga mat, so look, Eve: Yeah, it gets easier. Just do a little downward Yeah. Hazel: literally no excuse apart from my mind. Eve: Just do the downward dog. your body will thank you later. Hazel: Yes, it's true, it's true. I actually did when I had my first child, I did a really good yoga course that was basically just like move your body however you want and breathe. And I was like, wow, like I'd done a lot of traditional yoga prior to that, and I was like, This is so what you need when you've just had a baby. It's like just Eve: Mm. Yeah. Hazel: move your body a little bit and breathe. I was like, my goodness, like a huge light bulb. Eve: Yeah, it's true. Hazel: Moment. Eve: Yeah. Yeah. and the breathing. The breathing is massive. So just catching yourself at various points through the day, just intentionally just breathe. just close your eyes and breathe. Just a couple of breaths. Hazel: Remember. Eve: Yeah, that is essentially what it is, is remembering what brought you joy as a child and just Hazel: Mm-hmm. Eve: stripping everything else back and layers and layers of expectations and societal conditioning and remembering that you came into this world and how you think of your babies, like they're perfect. They just they don't even need to do anything and they're just perfect. And that love is what we all need to give ourselves. I believe. Hazel: I agree. I think it's kind of like we defin a like a part of my conditioning for sure is that I need to earn rest, right? Like if I do XYZ, Eve: Hmm. Hazel: then I can have a rest. But also I never rest because I'm still doing XYZ. It's like all of those XYZ tasks are never done. So it's a fool's errand to nowhere. letting go of those ideas Eve: Okay. Hazel: of you have to earn that is such a Such a game changer and those little reminders I think are really, really important especially for women, when Eve: Absolutely. Hazel: the work that we do is it's the laundry, the washing up, all of those things that will literally never end. Eve: Yep. Yep. I was doing it to myself. Like I thought Hazel: Mm. Eve: that being super busy and super productive and doing five things at a time was how to live. I thought that that was actually the right thing to do. But it's the opposite. if you give yourself permission to rest and you know No one is gonna give you a medal for doing the housework. Like we live in an organized enough house household. Hazel: Yeah. Eve: it's the energy that you put into those activities. So Hazel: Mm-hmm. Eve: you're gonna get the same outcome. But if you have a rest and give yourself permission to rest and permission not to be so busy like we've been conditioned is the right way to operate. If you actually take yourself out of that thinking and love yourself enough not to be that person that strives to be busy to prove to whoever you're worthy, then that's another way that you take your power back and you still get the washing done and the cooking done. Hazel: Yeah. Eve: But you're showing up as the person that people are drawn to, like your children are drawn Hazel: Mm. Eve: to, and not coming from obligation. Hazel: Yeah. Yep, definitely. And I think if there's one thing that women need to let go of in this day and age, it's obligation, right? Like that is the thing probably keeping us the most tethered to whatever it is that is no longer serving us is obligation. It's like, actually that's made up, guys. Just letting Eve: That's right. And who made up these rules? society to keep us on a treadmill. Like Hazel: The men. Yes. Eve: enough already. Hazel: Enough. so I think that leads us really nicely to the one of the next questions which is what piece of advice that you would give your younger self? Eve: God, there's so many. Hazel: Right. Mm. Eve: gosh, I feel like I've lived like a a hundred lives. but Hazel: Yes. Eve: essentially you're enough, just as you are, Hazel: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Eve: like just stay true to yourself. you don't need any external validation. you're worthy of love and abundance and all the good things that you're here to do just by being you. And the sooner you work that out the better. Hazel: Yeah. I know, I know. And I think, you know, it's it's hard even to remember to remind our or to even tell our children that that's the case, you know, because we get so busy and we get so caught up in, doing this and doing that and doing the school runs and whatever it is, actually just being with them and saying, You are enough and I went to I was in another yoga thing that I went to soon after my first kid was born and a woman said to me, you know, when my son was a baby, I just stayed at home and told him I loved him for like hours on end and I was like, that is so beautiful. I love that. That's so like what an affirming thing for someone to have experienced as a baby. Just like being stared Eve: Mm-hmm. Hazel: at and adored and told that you're loved. Like that's what we all need, right? More of that. Eve: Yeah, absolutely. Yes, more of that place. And yeah. Hazel: More of that, please, I'll take that. Eve: I if we can all make a shift in how we think about all of these obligations that we have is and this is this is was covered beautifully by Sharon in my most recent podcast actually was I get to I get Hazel: Mm. Eve: to go and pick my kids up. I get to cook for my family. I get to walk the dog. if it's I should be doing this or I have to do this, that's also what's taking our energy away from us. But if we think about it like Hazel: Mm. Yeah, it's an energy leak. Eve: It's an energy leak. So if we're talking about I get to and reframing it, because as you know, we've touched on quite a number of times, you're in control of your thoughts. So if you shift it to be I get to, like that's a totally different energy that you're bringing to everything that you that we do in our days. Hazel: And it reminds us that it's a privilege to get to do these things, you know. It's not like the Eve: Yeah. Hazel: it is a privilege to get to pick up our children from school and all of those things. It's it's a huge privilege. And I think in our day-to-day life, we do forget. Like I I often forget, and I have to keep reminding myself and reel myself in and be like, you asked for this life, you have it. Be more grateful. But Eve: Yeah. Well it's so true. Yeah. Well, grateful and present are two big ones for me. So I yeah, I Hazel: Mm. Eve: try my best to be present and I try my best to be grateful for everything Hazel: okay, so your big last question is what does taking your power back mean to you? Eve: essentially it's about being intentional with your time and your money and most importantly your energy, I feel. Hazel: Mm. Eve: yeah, we need to protect our energy but also direct it into the things that we we choose for ourselves and Hazel: Yep. Eve: that there's power in stepping off the treadmill and and recognizing the agency that we have, particularly females, to impact the world in a in a way that better serves us and our families. Hazel: I mean, we're the natural community makers, right? that's what we do, and that's why we find it so easy to create community, because that's so important to building safety and a different world, a different world that believes in a different option for life. Eve: I hope that the movement will grow and more Hazel: Mm-hmm. Eve: more women in particular will wake up to their the power that they have and intentionally making better choices Hazel: Mm. Eve: for themselves and their families. and the women that I have the privilege of, interviewing all have an incredible story to share. And they're from all different walks of life, from all different parts of Australia, but also the world as well. and I feel like it it's only a matter of time before that move like before we shift and that way of living becomes our normal. So hurry up please everyone. Awaken. And join us. Yeah. Hazel: Let's get on board. amazing.