For many of us who've been on the chase of a purpose-driven job or jobs that create a positive impact on our communities and society, we are often met with the dilemmas of finding an interesting job and balancing other needs in our life such as our own financial security, self-growth, and other opportunities to better ourselves while creating impact. It is no news that we once lived in a generation where we were forced to pick sides such as working in for-profit vs non-profit sectors, but we...

This episode is part II of the last episode, episode 5.  We continue our discussion about the millennials and gen z workforce asking for accountability and making a collective call for action. For many of us, COVID has either exacerbated or created mental health issues and stress levels that we hadn’t had or noticed before. There is a stigma around mental health problems especially in the relationship between employees and employers given it is often a place of work performance. This calls...

Over the past weeks and months, we’ve been traveling around to meet old friends around the world. Valerie has been in the US, UK, Canada, and Norway while Meryn has been in Norway and Australia. We reflect on our encounters and conversations we have with our friends of different perspectives and share the contrasting movements across countries and continents. From those encounters, we are reminded of how difficult it can be for many of our peers, who are busy building a life (as one does in...

Many of us dream of the perfect job. For many modern idealists, it is often a job that brings a positive impact and progression to society, it requires our talent and skills, and it rewards us with competitive pay and career growth potential. Is it too good to be true? We explore Ikigai, a Japanese concept known as the synergy between doing what you love, what the world needs, what you are good at, and what can you be paid for. This way of life encompasses "your reason of being" and the...

Valerie and Meryn have been separated by the Atlantic and travels to London, but it's not just for leisure.  Pandemic lockdowns and social restrictions have limited many people's exposure to different ways of life and cultures from themselves. Meryn and Valerie are reminded of the contracting lives they live in during COVID-19. The trip makes us reflect on our surroundings that influence our social bubble and profession. We talk about our desire to stay connected with the evolving betterment...

Meryn and Valerie are both co-founders of two different social impact startups. We first connected over our passion for social innovation startups. Triple bottom-line concepts (aka businesses for people, planet, and profit) have been on the rise in recent years. They give innovative ideas beyond technology alone challenging the way we measure success in a business. This both gave us energy and sometimes despair when challenged with the additional measures of success and additional challenges...

Welcome to the first episode of the Modern Idealist, a podcast for career-driven professionals who are looking to make an impact. We're kicking off the podcast with an introduction of ourselves, our interpretation of a modern idealist, and a taste of our topics. Co-hosted with Meryn Willetts. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/modernidealist/message