A question that I have struggled with throughout my adult life, not wanting to accept my situation as I saw it, as a negative.
In the development of the idea for Kind Currency I started to share my story. Who I am and my journey so people understand ‘why’ Kind Currency. Some call it ‘personal brand’ but as I’m not skilled at branding, marketing, or social media, it’s just me talking to you, being open and honest. Since the day I realised I needed to ‘put myself out there’ to develop this start-up; unlike my wedding consultancy business where I’ve hid for years behind the beauty of love; opportunities have presented. Opportunities where my ‘negative’ situation could make an impact, create challenge, and deliver change. Most of these opportunities I have found scary as they’ve mostly been about sharing my story deeper and to a wider audience. I could run away and hide but that isn’t going to help anyone, and I so badly want to help so many and ultimately be a voice to help society be kinder and more inclusive. In January, Small Business Britain started a new campaign to shine a spotlight on Disabled Entrepreneurs called d:Entrepreneur ‘a disability does not define who you are’, they approached me about a blog for their campaign about being a Disabled Entrepreneur. That question, do you identify as disabled? I am proud to say, Yes, I do. I am proud to have accepted my chronic illnesses and invisible disabilities and to have moved forward positively creating a life under and over the obstacles. Society for so long had skewed my own perception, companies being employers, played a major role in my negativity towards my own situation. I was embarrassed and scared and felt, well, worthless. Over the years, however, I have been educated through my own experience along with being inspired by others; the conversation to challenge and change society’s perception of disability and most importantly, the person, is very much needed! On paper I am unemployable, but the truth is so far removed from this. Beyond the disability are individuals with so much talent, not just because of who we are but also because we have developed incredible skills and experience through living a life with disability. We are super resilient and are an asset to society. Of course, living a life with chronic illness and invisible disabilities is challenging but it is certainly not negative, in fact my life is beautiful, and I feel privileged and grateful for the experience.
