My inspirational person for this entry is Nicole Graham (gorgeous girl in striped top). She’s a real dynamo and has the gift to stretch people and their ideas. Here follows one case in point where she inspired me to partake in something I’d never dream of.
I’m not into reality TV at all. (Repeat).
However, last year saw me entering Amazing Race Asia under Nic’s subtle guiding hand. Reality TV bosses aim to make things an uphill battle from the start and part of the 4-page entry form - resembling a genealogy questionnaire - we had to contrive a three-minute video clip. Paperwork out of the way we recklessly launched into the “making” of the clip. I’m very self-conscious when it comes to cameras; just pointing the thing in my direction turns my ears a bright shade of scarlet. Not a good start! I'm sure you'll understand this left me no choice but to have a glass of champagne to transform my cheeks from ashen white to a reddish hue thus allowing my ears and cheeks to blend at least. (Of course no one told me a rosy glow converts the moment you are on-camera; turning a gentle glow into an angry hue suggesting you’ve been slapped rather violently across the face).
Being firm believers in artistic freedom and all things impromptu we got our cameraman (Adele) to start rolling from the word go. As we boisterously burst through the door and onto the loose rug, said rug moved out from underneath us and we fell. Quite hard, actually. How were we to know that one glass of hastily drunk Champagne would have such a major impact on our sure-footedness? Dazed and giggly we tried to get back on our feet. Our relentless cameraman was filming our fleshy bitts and exposed underwear while she was also bent-over in hysterics herself. She's got steady hands.
Well, that took care of half of our required clip length and the rest we simply filled up by shovelling peanuts into our mouths (mostly onto the floor) with chop sticks and kicking a feathered contraption around to show off our grace and agility. Needless to say the producers never called us, they started filming the series without us. It did make for a fun and fearless afternoon though. (Incidentally, the Amazing Race Asia was won by two women - great!)
Not only is Nicole up for fun, she makes a positive effort to empower women through her Modern Goddess playshops and other inspirational events too. She just launched her Modern Goddess e-magazine and her website is crammed with interesting and inspirational tidbits.
My personal take on the Modern Goddess is that it’s all about girl power in a non-feminist way. In other words, you don’t need to burn your Victoria’s Secret bra to be a Modern Goddess. I like that.
I asked Nicole what inspires her and this is what she said:
“ There are many things that inspire me and I guess it depends on what I’m doing at the time as to how they inspire me. I’m mostly inspired by people who want to make this world a better place. Whether that is supporting women, rescuing animals or helping children, the poor or sick. This inspires me to be a better person and to do what I can, when I can to help make this world a better place.
I am also inspired by beautiful things; this could be a well-made suit, a gorgeous sculpture, an unusual archway or a freshly opened flower. This sort of inspiration helps me be creative: creative in my writing and my photography.”
Viva the Modern Goddess. Have a look at Nicole’s suggestions for protecting your Psychic self.
Be inspired.
