Episode 71: From Burning Man to Everest | Ellen Ho | Lifestyle Multipreneur, Nonprofit Founder & World Traveler
Ellen Ho is a lifestyle multipreneur, actress, model, nonprofit founder, and world traveler who has visited more than 80 countries. She’s built a career that blends production, food and plant styling, photography, and global adventure into a life designed on her own terms. Ellen shares how growing up in a traditional Chinese household shaped her values, the pivotal “Eat, Pray, Love” trip that sparked her path to entrepreneurship, and why she once trekked Everest in sandals without Diamox. She talks about leading one of the largest people-of-color communities at Burning Man, balancing creative work with nonprofit leadership, and the lessons travel has taught her about resilience and connection. Her story is a masterclass in designing a life filled with purpose, creativity, and adventure.
“I figured out a way to do all the things I love and make money doing it.”
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Follow along using the Transcript
Chapters
00:00 Meet Ellen Ho
03:15 Growing Up in a Traditional Chinese Household
07:40 Discovering a Love for Travel and Culture
11:20 From Corporate Life to Creative Entrepreneurship
15:35 The “Eat, Pray, Love” Trip That Changed Everything
19:50 Building a Career as a Lifestyle Multipreneur
24:05 Food and Plant Styling, Photography, and Production
28:15 Leading One of the Largest People-of-Color Communities at Burning Man
32:40 Trekking Everest in Sandals Without Diamox
36:55 Lessons from Visiting Over 80 Countries
41:10 Balancing Business and Nonprofit Leadership
45:20 Creating a Life by Design, Not by Default
49:30 Advice for Blending Work and Adventure
Growing up I was more of an introvert and I was scared to express myself, so I went along with what was trendy and popular. And after I went on that trip, I kept going on more trips and then I began to give myself permission to be myself.
That's Ellen Ho and this is The Powerful Ladies Podcast.
Hey guys, I'm your host, Kara Duffy, and this is The Powerful Ladies Podcast where I invite my favorite humans, the awesome, the up to something, and the extraordinary to come and share their story. I hope that you'll be left, entertained, inspired, and moved to take action towards living your most powerful life.
Ellen Ho is a serial lifestyle entrepreneur. She's built businesses around the life she wanted, which has allowed her to travel, explore different parts of who she is, be creative, and make a difference in the world, all while still generating abundance. On this episode, she reveals her secrets to creating the life of her dreams, the turning point that opened up a whole new way of looking at the world for her and how you can do this too.
All that and so much more coming up. But first, if you're interested in discovering what possibilities and businesses are available for you to create and to live your most fulfilling life, please visit the powerful ladies.com/coaching and sign up for a free coaching consultation with me. There is no reason to wait another day to not be living your best life.
When you instead could be running at full speed towards your wildest dreams today.
Welcome to the Powerful Ladies Podcast. Hi. Thank you for having me. Of course. And you are one of our favorite type of podcast guests, which is a referral from a previous podcast guest Sandy recommended you. So let's begin by telling everyone like who you are and what you're up to.
Cool. So I. I do a variety of things and when people ask me what I do, I tell them that I'm a lifestyle entrepreneur.
Basically it comes down to I've figured out a way to do all the things that I love and make money doing it. And my work revolves around my lifestyle. So it allows me to travel whenever I want. I can work and I can not work if I don't want to work. I'm working on building passive income so that I can prioritize my freedom so that I can put my time towards whatever I want.
So a little summary about all the things that I do. Number one, I started off as an actress and model. And I fell into that and then that led me to production and casting. And then that led me to to craft services, which is so I do snacks and hor d'oeuvres and catering for productions on set TV shows TV shows, commercials, music videos, et cetera.
And that's been an avenue into food styling and other types of styling, plant styling. So it's led me on this. Wild, crazy journey but within the production realm. And I still, I still am talent. So I work on both sides of the camera. And and I also do photography as well.
So that's the, my entertainment entrepreneur side of things.
And
then on the non-profit end I have been, so I've been traveling for, I've been traveling for the last, for the last 10 years. Really all over the world. So this lifestyle has given me an opportunity to take time off whenever I want.
So I've been to over 80 countries across six continents so far. Still missing Antarctica, which is probably happening for my honeymoon. So how, so traveling has led me to starting a nonprofit called Trek Relief. And it started off of my friend and I started it to provide disaster relief to the villages that were destroyed during the 2015 earthquakes in Nepal.
So we helped rebuild a bunch of villages schools and orphanages in the Himalayas. And we've expanded volunteerism programs from there to Patagonia and Mongolia as well. We have people like us raising money for a once in a lifetime trip and they get to also help build schools and and do volunteer work and connect with the people there.
That's so that's the, my traveling nonprofit arm. And in addition to that I also, so I call myself an experienced architect. I have been leading a Burning Man community for the last, most of this decade the last decade. And we've grown into a collective of artists musicians, performers we create interactive experiences and we have like our own sound system and a bunch of skill sets.
And yeah, and that's led me, so that's led me to getting on the Cultural Direction Committee of BlackRock City. So there's a small group of people deciding on the cultural direction of Burning Man. And we're steering it in the direction where. It's sustainable and we can continue to be pioneers for the art world and for lifestyle decisions and all kinds of things, and inspiring some of the most influential leaders of our time especially in the tech space.
Yeah, so leading, like I lead one of the largest people of color communities at in the Burning Man space. And so that's led me into the cultural direction space. So I, yeah that's a little thing. You just do a few things. I have so many loves I, I can't decide.
All those things. So that's led me into a bunch of different hobbies as well. And that kind of ties into the entertainment side too. So I am also a fire dancer. I'm an aerialist, I pole dance. I am a ologist and a bunch of fun things, and all those things translate and tie back into my entertainment background.
Yeah, so my goal now is really to build my own brand so that I can be more creative and make more decisions and create opportunities for myself versus waiting for them.
Yeah.
No, I love that. There's so many things you said in the, in your opening that are so powerful because as in addition to running powerful ladies, I'm a business coach and my whole thing is to get people to understand that you can create the entire life that you want and it gets me so excited to hear people like you who are.
Like you said, following every passion and love that you have and seeing where it goes. Can it be a business, can it be a hobby? Can it be a nonprofit? Who else wants to play in that space with me? It's so fun and powerful and like you said, you're creating your world so that you get to maximize your whole experience, not just working.
And it's such a powerful distinction for people to have. Yeah. And I really, my ultimate goal is to inspire other people to do the same, so in holding space for people. So the Burning Man space is really a space for everyone to become their best selves. Everyone is invited to express themselves. Yeah, so it's seeded the nonprofit as well. So it's seeded a lot of other things. Some businesses, some relationships, friendships interest groups music collectives, it's seeded. Yeah, some people got married. So it's really created, been a breeding ground for a lot of amazing things.
And the, yeah, so it's really no fun when. I have all that and I don't have anyone to play with. So the most important thing is really to inspire others to take that step and just go for it and see where it takes them and with a, with a community of like-minded individuals, with people you know, supporting you.
Yeah, there's nothing really to be afraid of. There isn't. There isn't. And I'm part of a Burning Man group called Perky Parts. Awesome. And it's super fun. Like everyone's great. It's like our whole, a lot of our social circle is part of the group. And it's been really cool to see the group taking on bigger and bigger things each year and how people gets everyone's, like you said, talents get to come out.
Who's the builder who wants to dj, who's the artist who can do this? Yeah. Who can organize. And it's just a, it's a very, seeing people come together that way, you don't get to see to that magnitude often. And it's, it just reminds you how great humans are.
Yeah. And a lot of us are paid to do stuff or paid to be at a job, but what if that wasn't a thing?
And we just. Did stuff or built things or created art just because what would we make? And I really believe in the potential of every single human being. And yeah, I think that it's, it, everyone really has it in them and it just takes the right amount of encouragement for it to blossom.
And when it happens and you see everyone around you like also blossoming, it really is a beautiful and amazing feeling. And that's when magic happens.
Yeah. Couldn't say it better. Yeah. If you look back at you when you were eight, would you imagine that these are all the things that you get to do today?
Oh my gosh, no. I actually grew up in a very traditional Chinese household. The only place we went to was Reno and Disneyland. And yeah, so we didn't really travel or anything. My parents were immigrants that came over here and had we grew up poor and didn't have much. And we were really in a very survivalist mindset and so there was no room for creative space. And then, yeah, and then I got, when I got older I went through some difficult things that kind of pushed me to take a kind of a eat, pray, love trip backpacking trip. And that's when I found myself. So it helped me, it helped me find my self-confidence and build it.
Just. Booking a one-way ticket and coming out the other end of a continent and going to a place where you are a novelty and everyone there is also a novelty and it's a different culture and they speak a different language or different languages and yeah. So I really highly encourage everyone to take solo trips because they are amazing.
You spend a lot of time with yourself and then you spend time detaching from who you're supposed to be. So when you're traveling alone somewhere they don't ask you, people ask you what your name is and maybe how many people's in your family and maybe where you're from, but all of that, it doesn't exactly define who you are.
So I had a lot of practice detaching myself from my job title, how much money I made, what I had. So when all those things were off the table, I was able to make decisions for myself without being in this paradigm that society tells you to be in. Like when what you're supposed to do how much money you're supposed to make when you're supposed to get married, when you're supposed to have kids how to carry yourself.
All these things are instilled in us, and we have to unlearn all those things and find who we really are and define who we really want to become. Yeah. So you're
probably even so different from the woman who before you went on that trip
Oh yeah. I. I take after my mom. And growing up I was more of an introvert and I was scared to express myself, so I went along with what was trendy and popular and didn't really speak my mind.
And after I went on that trip I kept going on more trips, and then I began to give myself permission to be myself. And then I found out that I was actually an opinionated, headstrong ex, extremely extroverted woman. And it just took some time and pushing to to blossom, but it's always been there.
Yeah. I am very different. It different but really the same. Like my temperaments stayed the same,
it's just you, like you said earlier, like blossoming into all of you versus just a small part.
Yeah. And being unsure of myself and now I still, self-doubt always finds its way to creep in, but but yeah, I think that it's practice so every time yeah, you just keep practicing and it's okay, so I'll give an example. A fire dancing. Fire dancing. I'm actually deathly afraid of fire and I can't even light a match, but I spin a lot of fire and I play with a variety of toys. And so I can, and this is a battle that I fight all the time.
Like I can be self-conscious and, think oh, what would people think of me and how would I look? But really it's bigger than me. It's not about. That or me, it's about it's about inspiring others to express themselves. It's about just dancing. It's about yeah making people laugh or entertaining others too, like making sure people have a good time.
It's about, it's just bigger than ourselves. So when we take take it out of just us, then our purpose becomes much larger than what is in front of us. It's, yeah, it's, at the end of the day, it's about inspiring others and helping others. Yeah.
Of all the countries that you've gone to, which have had the biggest impact on you?
That is a very hard question. I would say that okay, I'm just going to have to pick one of my more recent trips. Which is probably so I think about a year and a half ago I did Everest Base camp. It's, it was hard and I did it without diamox. So I found out that only 5% of anyone that goes up there does it without diamox.
And I did it with trekking sandals instead of boots because that's what I prefer. So it's cold and 0% of people do it that way. So that trip taught me how resilient I really am. I don't, I'm not someone that goes to the gym all the time. And I kn knew I needed to be stronger. So I actually picked up like I picked up pole dancing to train for it, and then discovered a new hobby preparing for this trek.
And then afterwards, or maybe at the peak of it, I was like, wow I'm stronger than I think. And it's really about taking one step at a time and when you need to rest, acclimate, just stay put and drink some water and breathe and spend some time with yourself. Yeah. And there's this, there's something peaceful about the Himalayas and Nepal is a place of meditation as well.
And, I think a few months after that I did a 10 day silent meditation retreat called ana, and it's actually it's donation based and people that have been through the retreat, they pay for the people after them. It was 10 days of sitting in silence with myself, and it was maybe the first time in I don't know, a decade for a while that I've really heard myself.
So it took about seven days to get to a place of silence where everything in my head that's been gone around shut off and I was able finally hear myself and, yeah. And now I can, after that I can I feel like I have this superpower and I can I can hear myself better.
And I'm stronger for it.
Yeah. That's very cool because I would imagine that you can almost tap into it easier once you've felt it. Having that connection.
Once you learn the technique and how to do it you can, it's a tool that you have in your pocket. It's the same thing as planning travel or traveling alone.
A lot of, especially women, are afraid to travel alone. And, but once you do it, you gain confidence and you learn how to do it. And it's just a different place and a different language, but the same thing. And I would argue that it's actually more dangerous as a man to travel. My experience was that if you're in a third world country, for example, a developing country and someone tries to steal from you they just want to feed their families, so you know exactly what they want and everything that you have is replaceable.
So it's mostly that there's more people that are trying to maybe steal to feed their families than, I know a lot of women are afraid of like rape and different things and assault, but yes, that does happen. But the stealing and that kind of crime is much more prevalent and they do that with a lot of men actually, because men have, are just. People have this idea that, men own things and have a lot of money, especially in third world countries. So I would argue that being a woman is actually much safer. And then when you don't, when you feel safe, other people feel safe.
And pe people are more likely, even if you don't speak the same language people are more likely to invite a woman to, into their homes. I've had so many people invite me into their homes for dinner and, meeting the families and like hearing their stories and a man is less likely to get invited.
So I think that there is really a lot going for women and we should take advantage of that. Like instead of fearing to, take put one step in front of the other and yeah. And see where it takes you.
I love travel. Like it's one of my favorite things to do in the whole world. We did, I did the 30 by 30 and now I'm trying to do a hundred by 50.
Amazing chasing. Yeah. I can't wait to be allowed to leave again.
Yeah. Yeah. I think all of us too. I'm, I usually am on some trip, but with this pandemic going on, I actually have been I've actually really been enjoying this time for myself. I have not, nothing much to plan. I'm usually planning stuff, holding space for other people.
Now I'm forced to be with myself and take care of myself. I'm like, wow, when's the last time I had time to sleep in a little bit and garden and read and cook and try new recipes and. Be creative, make art, play video games, even like girls. Yeah. Women play video games too. So all these things that I'm doing for myself, that I wouldn't have, I would be putting off if the world was still racing at a thousand miles an hour.
When you had the idea to create Trek relief Yeah. Did you always think that it would be you and your friend doing it? And how has it been writing a business? 'cause essentially a nonprofit is just that. It's another business with a friend.
Yeah. I don't, I didn't know where it was gonna go.
But for me, I'm a serial entrepreneur. I love creating I'm not so crazy about the management. I love creating the branding the aesthetics. 'Cause I am a visual artist and I i'm really, I have a keen eye for design and aesthetics. So I love the creating part of it and making things happen.
And then I'm actually, so created that with my friend maybe three or four years ago. And I actually took a step back to take more time out for myself. And now I sit on the advisory board, so I'm still fully supportive of the causes. But I felt like my job was mostly done except for, yeah.
Introducing and connecting people that would benefit the nonprofit and vice versa. I felt like my job was mostly done. Yeah, so I'm sitting on the advisory board and I am very good at letting things go and run its course. So I think that a smart business owner, any smart business owner will tell you that you just need to if it is time to let it go or change the way that things are done, or, let your employees work remote if that's the only thing they can do, switch your business from in-house food to like catering on demand or something.
So switching gears. So knowing when to let things go knowing when, how you are the most useful? So I'm definitely, yeah I'm the type that loves creating stuff, and then I like to hire or find volunteers depending on what it is, business or nonprofit to manage and run everything else.
Yep. It's smart. It's so smart to know what parts of the business make you happy and that allow you to contribute your most to, and then to be totally confident to say that's not for me. You can do it.
Yeah. Yeah. And I'm like, I don't really want to do accounting paperwork. Yeah. Or like the nonprofit paperwork.
I really, I think my strength is okay, if I travel somewhere and I find that this village or these, this group, whole group of people need help, I can create a program and then have people raise money and funnel money into, this area of this country. So these are things that I'm good at, and I am much more efficient and productive doing things like that than, trying to figure out paperwork, which someone else is better at.
Yeah.
Yeah.
No, it's one, I think it's one of the biggest secrets for entrepreneurs that are really thriving, especially serial and multi entrepreneurs.
You can't and shouldn't want to do it all. It's, yeah there's no fun in that, in reality. And you can be an entrepreneur and have fun at the same time, despite what many feel, who are running their own small businesses.
Yeah. I'm still in the process of delegating certain things, I don't want to do, it's a constant process. There's always more and more to delegate. Yeah. But I've been, my, my life coaches, coaches and a lot of podcasts I listen to, they tell you to delegate things that you're not good at, and to focus on what you are good at. So that's how you, grow everything.
Yeah. So with everything that you have going on what are you creating next? Like where are you headed now?
Where am I headed now? Barring after all this, the pandemic blows over, i'm actually I'm moving into a more creative space.
So for example with catering and food services, I can either outsource that or hire people to do certain things and then I can focus on design and styling. And I have a lot of different loves and I'm currently trying to, basically create a visual portfolio of everything that I do and find that common thread.
So I've built this lifestyle for myself and I'm trying to figure out how people can find me better. My, my current plan is to build a bigger following on Instagram so that I can become an influencer in a certain way. And I think that photography is definitely the, one of the common threads.
It's not photography, but it's a visual medium, yep. Yeah. So I can take photos of food that I'm making, food styling, plant styling of a variety of different things, travel. And use photo photos to tell stories and build a community and following, and share, share everything that I've learned and and about all the places that I've been to so that people can can also see, go and see for themselves.
And then from building a following yeah, I'm basically trying to build my own brand. 'cause I spent basically the last decade. Acting and modeling is about fitting into a certain category, I have long black hair. I look like the universal Asian, I can play this and that, but what if I create a brand and people just book me for who I am.
And it can be a variety of things. It can be helping. A company design their brand or can, all that involves photography and visual arts, and it can be food related or travel related. So there's a number of things that there's a lot of possibilities. Like I can also host my own show.
So it really just depends on how I'm feeling in the moment. Because sometimes I'm like, oh, I'm really into food. And then I, and then sometimes I want to spend more time with plants. Yep. Yeah. But finding, I think that this, it's gonna be in the production space because I love, and I'm really good at for example, planning a wedding for a movie set or designing like. A wedding table for a set, but I really don't wanna do it on a weekend for a bridezilla. Yeah. And I love my weekends, so this will allow me to run my own business or businesses and be creative and build my own brand and have my weekends. So my end goal is really to create a life where I am getting paid to do all the things that I love to do when I want to do them.
And and to use whatever money I make from that to build. A passive income empire. So I haven't mentioned this, but I also I invest in real estate as well so that is the way that I'm going. I have stocks and mutual funds and different things in my portfolio, even crypto, but.
Those give me anxiety, especially at this time right now, since the market is so volatile. Yes. Real estate is, I'm not looking
at my statements.
Yeah. It's so stressful right now. I'm just like, okay, just wait it out and relax and don't look at it. Just leave it. Because I'm not a pro, I'm not a day trader, so I can't, I can't, I'm gonna lose all of it if I try to do anything, so I'm just gonna leave that there.
But real estate has really been yeah. Really been a great investment for me. And yeah, every people still have to pay rent and live somewhere. Even when things aren't going well. And if I have to lower rent, then Sure. That's fine. It's okay. I'm still. It's still positive for me yeah.
So yeah, so it's really doing all the things that I love to do, making money, and then using that money to build a passive income empire with it. That will allow me free time to do even more things that I love. And I would say that, in the beginning it's focused on of course like our own needs.
But really the space that I want to move into is fulfilling the needs of others. Like everything that I do, because I'm an Enneagram too, personality, I'm a helper. So that means that I love helping people. And it's part of my life purpose and I can't stop doing it. It's just part of who I am.
And I, in fact, I have to set, be better about setting boundaries. But yeah, like craft services, catering, it's all about feeding people, nourishing others. Design and styling is all about like, how do I make things look better to other people? How do I make people feel good about using this product or being in this, on this team or yeah.
And yeah. Yeah, with photography and visual art, it's all about, yeah, it's all about, communicating in a very beautiful way that hits different emotional cords for people. Everything that I do, the nonprofit work, burning Man with Truck Relief is all about. Helping others whether it's disaster relief or medical aid which we've done it's or environmental causes.
It's about holding space for the wellbeing of others and encouraging other people to freely express themselves, encouraging people as they self-actualize. And yeah, just giving people space to be creative and to be their best selves.
I love that you're an example for showing people that you can be all the things, like there's a way to make it all work and to not have to put a part of you, like aside.
Yeah. That's just for this space. That's just for that. Like how do you let all of it be fully self-expressed for whatever that means for you?
Yeah. And yeah, I'm really, actually, that's probably one of my biggest accomplishments. I am probably the most proud of how I've inspired others to live their life.
Yeah. I'm like, if you quit your job and you don't like it, great. Like that's a win, if you're unhappy somewhere or with some, just, let it go and choose, say yes to yourself and it's okay. Yeah, I yeah, I just wanna keep doing that. And my, my, so my strength is also my weakness.
It's, I'm a great multitasker, but I can spread myself too thin and, my, when, I guess when I was like in my teenage years I was, or my early twenties, I had I basically had someone ask me like I was trying, so I was trying to decide if I should focus on one thing and be the best at that or do all the things that I love.
And I chose, obviously the latter. And yes, if I chose one thing, I could have been the best at it, but there's a chance that, yeah, like I probably would've made more money for doing that one thing, but I probably would've burnt out. I might have tossed it to the side already.
And so it really is about balance and and now people are, working remote. They're doing, they're building their own brands. It's about. Letting, it's about being able to fire yourself and not letting anyone, giving anyone else that power. So you decide what you want your life to look like, and yeah, don't let anyone else decide for you.
And one of the ways that I am trying to make it more sustainable for myself is that to delegate basically when you reach a certain point where you have so many projects going on, and you definitely need to find a good balance and to focus focusing on the right things on your strengths are important and then leaving the rest to other people that are good at it.
So delegating will definitely yeah. Help with getting everything done basically. Yeah.
When you hear the words powerful ladies, what did they mean to you, to together and what do they mean to you separately?
So I consider myself a womanist. I know feminist has a, like a little bit of a negative connotation for men sometimes.
It rubs people the wrong way. I definitely, I think that we don't need to put men down in order to make ourselves feel better, but I am definitely a champion of women and supporting each other because I don't think that is there is enough of that in this world, especially in a male dominated, male run world.
But I feel like that is changing and we are so lucky to be in a, to be living in a time. Like right now where women and minorities have a voice. And there, there are a lot of tools. We we give life and we are so strong. We have to have babies. Yeah. I can't even I don't, I can't, men just, they're just on a different, we're on different levels.
Like women are designed to to multitask. Women are designed to take care of other people, to have the capacity to think beyond themselves. And I think that is really powerful. And and when we step into. You know this. So I like that it's ladies because I feel like the ladies part of it is yes, we are powerful and we can do all these things and we're strong, but we can do it in a dress if we want to, and we can look good doing it.
And yeah, I wanna put on makeup today and look fabulous and curl my hair so that I can do the work that I wanna do. It doesn't, I don't, I just, I'm just doing it for myself. I don't need to look good for anybody. Yeah, it's fun. I like the ladies part and yeah, I think that women really.
Really run the world, like behind every successful man. Not behind. I would say that's not a healthy way to think about it, but I'd say walking beside every successful man, there is a, there's a really amazing woman right next to him supporting him. All along the way, because we have different strengths than men.
And they're absolutely vital in running countries, in running businesses, in making important decisions, in raising amazing children, in having compassion. So these are all female, strengths and traits and we should Absolutely. Be proud of that. Yeah.
Who are some of the women in your life that have inspired you?
My mom. That's easy. My mom is yeah, she's just works, has worked really hard. And she was also class president and a bunch of things, but it's funny, I found out after, like I found out really late in life, so I had become like the leader of all these things before I found out she was class president.
We took a family trip back to China and when she went back she had like hundreds of classmates. They shut down a whole restaurant and had rounds of tables and everyone came together just to see her and I'm like, wow, I definitely got this shit from my mom. This is not me. Like it's in my DNA.
It is written. It's written in my blood for me to be a leader, for me to hold space for people for me to be a connector and a gatherer. And yeah, so my mom is super strong. She's the one that's taught me how to compartmentalize and get shit done. She is really good at, so yeah she's a bit unforgiving sometimes.
She's very traditional, so she would she doesn't really understand if someone is depressed or sad about something. You just don't get sad. You just. And so that's not healthy. And I've learned to sit with my emotions, and I've gone to therapy and I highly encourage therapy for everybody 'cause it's healthy to have a space for yourself.
So I've worked through a lot of emotions and and, but I, my mom's the type that's like, why are you so sad? Why don't you just, pick up and start walking again? You have to your two legs still just keep walking. Like you can walk and cry at the same time, but do it together. And I'm like, okay.
So I've learned to do that. And a lot of it is because of my parents. And yeah. And, my dad is he was always like growing up the kind of like the man the stronger voice in the family. But, he doesn't go anywhere without my mom. So I'm like, ah, okay.
So my mom really is, she makes the decisions and I didn't understand that until I got older and and my parents got older too, and now I understand that they're dynamic. Yeah, my mom is just really strong and I inherited a lot of who I am from her.
I love that. When you are looking forward to where you're going and the women who've inspired you and the women who are in your life today, how have women changed the course of your life?
Oh, wow. I would say seeing. So there are a lot of there are actually a lot of nonprofit and Burning Man community leaders that are women. A lot of big brands that we see whether it's in marketing or or yeah the, or musicians. It can be anything. I, a lot of times like, I don't know, I don't know who's behind this.
And then I've been finding out more and more that a lot of women are behind things that I'm into. I really think that yeah seeing women just have the opportunity to to create and and have a voice. During a time like this is really inspiring. I feel like there are a lot of outspoken women and also women in politics as well.
That are speaking up and making a change. Just, one vote at a time or one person at a time. At a time, huh. One, one tweet at a time. One tweet at a time. And yeah. And now women are figuring out how to still have kids and run their business and have a side gig and also lead and create brands and make a difference, like all at the same time.
Because in the past it was just, oh maybe you're a stay at home mom. But I am now actually a lot of. A lot of a lot of my peers that are in couples, the women are leading and making the decisions. There's definitely a kind of cultural shift overall. Overall. And it's not easy because men are also trying to figure out who the hell being a man, what does that mean?
What does being a man mean? Because now women are working, they're making money, they're the bread breadwinners, so what does that make a man, right? So I think that men are having to redefine themselves and what a man is, and women are actually breaking the image of what a man is and also what a woman is by doing all the things that we do.
We're running businesses, we're making decisions, we are running for president. Like we are doing all these things. Starting farmer's markets I don't know, lobbying for things that we believe in. And so yeah, like we're doing all these things and offsetting what the social and cultural paradigm used to be.
And it's really a powerful moment in history. And I can't really, I can list so many people and I feel like we, honestly, it's not, it's less about who these people are. It's more about okay. Doing it collectively. Every woman matters. Yes. It matters the woman that is, staying home and taking care of her child so that the man can run a business, for the last I don't know how many decades that matters, and now we're finding out how to do both of it, them at the same time, run a business and, and raise the child. But we can do it all remote maybe. Definitely excited and inspired by all the women of our time and with all the technology and the tools that we have on hand, yeah.
We can really make a lot happen.
Yeah. Yeah. I, and I feel the collective shift that you're talking about.
Yeah. I also think so I really think that, that in order for men to, and we have to do it at the same time, but for men to step into their true, like the, their best masculine self women also have to embrace their best feminine self.
So what does feminine energy look like? And so I have spent the last I would say the last couple years of figuring out and learning how to lead with grace and compassion. So understanding things from a female perspective and yeah, I just think that we are wired differently and we should use that to our advantage.
And it doesn't mean, because it doesn't mean. Facing, facing head on with a man. 'cause if you meet masculine energy with masculine energy, it doesn't work. It clashes. So we really need to embrace our feminine. And when we successfully do that we can, we can really do what we want for ourselves and also positively manipulate our men into becoming the men that's, helping them find their masculine energy.
What does it mean? In some ways I feel like women are driving this movement just by being ourselves. And I think that's really powerful.
Yeah. It's all we need to be right there, like you said, the best version of ourselves. Yeah. We ask everyone on the podcast where you put yourself on the powerful Lady scale, zero being average everyday human, and 10 being the most powerful lady you can imagine.
Where would you put yourself today and where would you put yourself on average?
Oh what is zero
average, everyday
Human? Oh, okay. I de definitely don't think I'm average. So my, I think my moods can fluctuate, obviously. But I have learned to love and accept who I am, and so I am probably.
Closer to the upper spectrum of it. The way I see myself I don't think I am, I don't think, like I'm a 10, but I'm between like a seven and a nine probably depending on the day and i'm constantly a student, so I feel like I always have so much to learn still, and I think that we need to keep this curiosity about life and stay humble so that we are constantly learning and bettering ourselves.
Which is why I wouldn't choose a 10. But I do think that I do think that I provide value and have made a really big difference in a lot of people's lives. Yeah. And I don't think that I live a normal life. Yeah, because most people have one job title or maybe two. And then yeah there's a lot going on.
And yeah, so I think I'm on that in the scale.
I love it. It has been such a pleasure to talk to you today and for you to give us some of your busy time. I am left super inspired and I'm sure everyone listening is too about what really is possible. Before we wrap up today, is there anything else that you want everyone listening to know or to share?
I would just offer some words of encouragement for any even men that are watching. But for women are closer to my heart just because I am one, so I'm totally biased. But for all the women out there say, don't be afraid to say yes to yourself. Go traveling on your own.
Plan something, buy a plane ticket and just go try something new. Start your business. It can start. It doesn't have to be a big decision. You can still keep your full-time job and start a side hustle and then slowly grow that until you're able to let that job go or. There's many ways to go about it.
Try to be open to all the possibilities and be creative about how to go about things. And you'll see that there are a lot more doors open than you think. And yeah, I would encourage everyone to take advantage of tools that are out there. Join a women's group a collective go to therapy.
Maybe find a female therapist pick up meditation. There are many types of, many ways to heal yourself. And there are also a lot of women out there that will help you on that journey. There's many ways. Yeah, that will help you get more in tune with yourself and also help you with giving yourself permission to be expressive to explore dancing again, like dancing.
I'm talking about dancing and pretending that no one is watching, like how would you dance? Who cares what you're wearing? Or, what your body looks like or who's watching just do you And yeah, go for it.
I love it. Thank you again so much. This has been so much fun. Thank you, Kara.
Thanks for having me.
It's so inspiring to hear stories of women who are doing it all. It is possible you can feel Ellen's energy, her passion, excitement, and the space she has to think, dream, create, and make it happen. I think that's one of the big secrets. When you lean in on what is calling to you, what you find fun, what inspires you.
Suddenly there is so much more space to make it all work and to like really make it happen. She's proof that you can do what you love, all of what you love, not just survive, but experience abundance. It is possible. This is what we're helping women create and Thrive Collective and through my coaching.
Visit the powerful ladies.com to start on your personal journey today to connect, support and follow Ellen. You can follow her on Instagram at Miss ellen ho, her website, miss ellen ho.com and trek relief.org. Thank you so much for listening. I hope you've enjoyed this episode of The Powerful Ladies Podcast.
There are so many ways you can get involved and get supported with fellow powerful Ladies. First, subscribe to this podcast anywhere you listen to podcast. Give us a five star rating and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Follow us on Instagram at Powerful Ladies, join the Powerful Ladies Thrive Collective.
This is the place where powerful ladies connect, level up, and learn how to thrive in business and life. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube page, and of course, visit our website, the powerful ladies.com. I'd like to thank our producer, composer, and audio engineer Jordan Duffy. Without her, this wouldn't be possible.
You can follow her on Instagram at Jordan K. Duffy. We'll be back next week with a brand new episode. Until then, I hope you're taking on being powerful in your life. Go be awesome and up to something you love.
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Website: trekrelief.org
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Created and hosted by Kara Duffy
Audio Engineering & Editing by Jordan Duffy
Production by Amanda Kass
Graphic design by Anna Olinova
Music by Joakim Karud
