The Future Forge: Wellness Redefined
When I set out to start this business over a year ago, I didn’t really have the specifics – I just knew I wanted to be in the business of helping others. I was deeply inspired by my experience with XCHANGE facilitation and their Awakening Conscious Leadership of the late Dr. Danny Friedland. This was a conversation I wanted to take part in.
“The power source of conscious leadership comes from when it is connected to an awakened heart. Creating a culture of love and belonging starts with us realizing our influence.”
I had been working with organizations, work, and culture for quite some time, but found that the setting of intentions and culture at work never seemed to stick…why? Were people so resistant to this “better way,” or was what the proposal for change just too hard? No doubt this work was extraordinary, life-altering, and fresh. The people evolution part was missing. The “know better, do better,” mantra of old does not always hold true. There are tons of amazing people working on this problem all over the world, doing extraordinary things. However, I knew there was a different place for me.
My arrival at the following conclusion changed the trajectory of my career: People aren’t doing better at work because they aren’t well outside of work. It isn’t a singularity; it is a system. No one will work in harmony with others at work and then go home to trauma and dysfunction. We aren’t wired in this way… Real change must first start within.
At the same time, I was going through an experience with my own chronic condition that opened my eyes to the why and how of mind-body medicine, the biopsychosocial aspect of our health, and the fatal flaws that exist in our health-care system today. Western medicine is historically reactive and often set up to care for sick individuals, not preventative and ensuring the wellness of the ecosystem. It is notorious for treating symptoms, not root causes or whole individuals. I had been misdiagnosed and mistreated in this system. As a result, I was lost, frustrated, and needlessly suffering through life.
These two revelations could not have come together at a better time. This was when I knew that creating a company where I could affect change – at the individual, family, organization, or even systemic level – in the holistic wellness department was where I wanted to be. It made sense; my education and professional roles had been a wonderful puzzle of experiences that could help people like me find a better way to live. To truly thrive as their healthy, authentic self.
As I set out to think of what I would call this endeavor, I poured over names and concepts. I had pages and pages of options. I borrowed an idea from a dear friend who named her company from the etymology of her family name.
Schmidt[1]: a common German occupational surname, derived from “Schmied” meaning “blacksmith.”
Okay, we will build something together.
Forge[2]: /fôrj/ verb (1)
make or shape (a metal object) by heating it in a fire or furnace and beating or hammering it.
create (a relationship or new conditions).
forge: /fôrj/ verb (2)
to move forward slowly and steadily
to move with a sudden increase of speed and power
Yes, that will do.
We will forge the future of our wellness together, to redefine what it means to live in health and take care of ourselves and our families. The journey might be unclear at the start, but slowly and steadily we will move onward until the small habits build speed and power into a new life.
I will be there with you as an ally, a guide, and champion for your own vision of wellness. I will empower you to reach your highest potential.
This is The Future Forge.
Although he is no longer with us, Dr. Danny was a beacon of the movement toward authentic wholeness. A glimpse of his light can be seen in this video, as he really captures the words beautifully. For more on Conscious Capitalism and the work of Dr. Daniel Friedland, check out Leading Well From Within here.
Schmidt Family Name Meaning. Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022.
“Forge.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/forge. Accessed 23 Feb. 2023.
