It’s time to question the strict gender roles placed on women
One of the major gender roles set apart for women is that of the nurturer. But nurturing takes time. It keeps women away from other activities. It drains us emotionally. It makes us places nurturing above other roles. It costs money. It reduces resources available to women. I was born into a family of 7 children and I have 3 children myself. While I am a huge supporter of family life, I believe nurturing is a huge factor of inequality between the genders. Women are raised to believe that nurturing is an exclusively for women. This is deduced from the inter dependency required during the first year or so of a child’s life. But nature does not make mistakes, it was not intended for intense inter dependency to go on forever. In fulfilling gender roles, some women believe that everything else takes a back seat to nurturing. In my opinion this is a box that women create to limit themselves. We have an inherent gift of multitasking and delegation. Yet, a good number of us spend an inordinate amount of time planning and thinking about our roles as mothers or wives. Consider too that other women will go against their instincts to perform these roles due to societal norms, even when they are honestly not interested in being nurturers. The reality Nurturing is an important role for both genders. The inter dependency between a mother and child should be balanced with a father’s participation. A father is just as valuable a parent as a mother and is key to the emotional growth of a child. It’s a partnership and not a sole proprietorship! So dads, bringing in the bacon is not enough. Children also need your socialization, encouragement, advise, direction and love. Having a support system is important for any woman who has a child. We need time to do other things for our own mental stability. Yet, many women pour in too much time on their children and into their children’s life. You don’t need to take your child everywhere. You don’t need to be a drone mum using espionage-like tactics to constantly keep an eye on your child. My children surprise me everyday with their innovative thinking when I give them space to explore and make their own choices. So mums, child rearing is not a 24 hour business. Balance it out, live your life. Be the lioness who hunts and leads with the lion, even though she has cubs. Technology equalises the imbalance Society can balance gender roles with technology. Women can use technology to participate more to society and not feel stifled or limited to the nurturing role. With technology, we can contribute from anywhere and work faster. Women can handle domestic roles and still have time to pursue their aspirations and dreams. For example, parents can can supervise their homes in their absence through nanny cams. Jobs that were previously time and energy consuming can be done quicker and easily with technological innovation. Women have the choice to participate be both mothers and professionals. Education, personal development and skill acquisition are available at a click of a button. E-learning platforms allow users to interact, access premier education without from the comfort of home. I personally favour listening to audiobooks so that I can multitask. Furthermore, technological advances in the prevention and treatment in medicine mean parents don’t have to fret so much over children’s health. This allow parents time to pursue other pursuits. A number of the restrictions and barriers have been lifted by technology. We need to come up with more strategies to equalize gender roles so that men and women can live fulfilling and significant live while still being nurturers. Technology provides us that opportunity, why not capitalize on it?
Ogechi Okelu: Making traditional Nigerian snacks sexy
Ogechi Okelu’s love for food creativity led her from a career as a pharmacist to a desire to recreate indigenous Nigerian snacks. Many Nigerians grew up eating snacks which were only largely available in rural areas but Ogechi is repackaging local snacks in healthy and hygienic ways through her small scale food factory to help reach more people. She shared her thoughts with SLA on where traditional foods fit in with weight loss and on her journey so far. Why start a business with indigenous snacks? Nigeria has a wide variety of healthy and creative snacks and meals. These have been lost over time and are not in high demand among the urban and elite groups. This is mainly because of the preparation process and packaging but also due to Westernisation. I’m working on recreating some of these snacks in a healthier and more appealing way for the world to enjoy. Tell us a bit about Kozee My brand has been registered as a trademark and it’s called Kozee. My first product is my brand of kulikuli. Kulikuli is an indigenous snack made from groundnut paste that is quite popular in the northern part of Nigeria. I grew up eating this lovely snack. It is really versatile and can be eaten alone or in combination with other meals. Typically, people eat it broken into soaked garri but modern foodies use kulikuli as salad or parfait toppings, blended into smoothies and also to spice roasted beef or chicken. I am currently at the last stage of registration with NAFDAC, the Nigerian body that is responsible for the registration and quality control of food, drugs and cosmetics in Nigeria. They ensure that standard quality is maintained at all times and that standard operating procedures are adhered to by carrying out site inspections at factories and also running quality control tests on products at their labs. Where do indigenous and traditional foods fit in weight loss and healthy living? The main challenge with weight loss is portion control. We have a wide variety of traditional foods that are rich in fibre and minerals and are not over processed. A lot of our local foods however, have not been scientifically analysed, so we can’t be certain as to how many calories they contain or their nutritional value. This drives a lot of people who are particular about weight loss and healthy living to buy the imported products that have clear nutritional facts written on them. Researching on and repackaging our traditional foods will encourage more people to patronise Nigerian products and therefore boost the economy. How has your background as a pharmacist helped your hustle? As a pharmacist, I have learnt a lot about the importance of quality control and microbial contamination and this has helped me set high standards for myself, my factory and my product. Kulikuli has been made for centuries in the rural areas by hard working women who use a lot of manual processes from start to finish. This makes it difficult to produce large quantities of kulikuli in a healthy and hygienic way. I have been able to substitute a large part of the manual process using food grade machinery. I am also a pharmaceutical sales person, this has taught me a lot about sales, marketing and running a business. Where do you see Kozee in the next year? I currently deliver only in Abuja but am in talks to supply other major cities in Nigeria. I want my products to be available for purchase across Nigeria and hopefully abroad in the nearest future. What is your passion and how do you sustain it? I am a foodie who is also very passionate about healthy living. My passion for healthy food keeps me focused on coming up with creative ideas that I believe can help redefine our traditional and indigenous foods. If you’d like to share your story with She Leads Africa, let us know more about you and your story here.
7 habits to help you have a good day…everyday
Do you sometimes sluggishly drag yourself out of bed on a Monday morning? To stay on your A game, you have to cultivate certain habits to increase energy and productivity for the week ahead. These seven habits are a sure fire way to give you the needed boost to start your day right. 1. Get enough sleep Being able to wake up early in the morning has its perks, one of which is better control over your schedule for the day. If you can wake up early in the morning – awesome! If not, that is also okay. People have different sleep patterns and rhythms. Whether you’re a night owl or an early bird, the most important thing is that you find what time you are most productive at and invest your hours into that period of the day. The trick however, is to either go to bed early so you can wake up earlier in the morning or go to bed late and wake up later in the day, but in accordance to your schedule for the day. Some of the benefits of getting adequate sleep include a strengthened immune system, improved focus and better mood. Overall, you want to strive for that balance where you get enough sleep while being able to do your work when you function best. 2. Exercise The benefits of exercising daily are innumerable. Exercise helps you fight diseases, increases your energy throughout the day and improves your mood by releasing the hormone serotonin. Biologically speaking, here is how this logic works: exercise increases your heart rate, which functions to pump oxygenated blood to your tissues and organs. A few side effect include an increased brain function and focus as well as an increased oxygen flow to the muscles providing adequate energy to do work. Having trouble sleeping at night? Get some aerobic exercises in before bed, then thank me later. However, don’t feel you have to go overboard when exercising. A 10 minute jog, a walk, or any cardio workout will do. The key is to go slow and steady at first, then increasing the tempo over time until it becomes a habit. For starters, just grandma-shuffling through any of these also counts as exercise, as long as it gets your heart racing. 3. Pray or meditate Prayer and meditation are a form of alternative therapy. Prayer has been in existence since the beginning of time and there is increasing evidence from decades of scientific studies that it works! Irrespective of your religion, the efficacy of prayer and meditation undoubtedly supersede the effectiveness of medications, especially when dealing with ailments of the body and mind like depression or anxiety. Harvard physician Herbert Benson in his book The relaxation response discusses the correlation between health and prayer. At such times, the body’s stress level decreases from the lowering of the heart rate and the body’s metabolism to decreased blood pressure and a calmer and more regular breathing rate. On a similar note, Dr. Andrew Newberg, director of the Center for Spirituality and the Mind at the University of Pennsylvania conducted a study of Tibetan Buddhists in meditation and Franciscan nuns in prayer where he found that prayer and meditation increase levels of the body’s “happy” hormone, dopamine. The goal is to set time aside in quietness, withdrawn from distractions to just focus on yourself and connect with a spiritual being. 4. Eat breakfast Breakfast is indeed the most important meal of the day. Just as cars need fuel, breakfast also plays a similar role in helping increase alertness throughout the day. Without breakfast, people may become irritable, lack energy or focus. 5. Drink warm water and lemon If you’re unable to eat breakfast, gulping down a cup of water and lemon before dashing out can help you get a head start on a productive day. The warmth of the water aids in digestion and the lemon provides the body with Vitamin C, which gives the immune system an added boost, balances the body pH and clears the skin of blemishes. So if you’re not able to have breakfast, this is a surefire way to re-hydrate and energize you before your next meal. Just don’t swallow the lemon! 6. Affirm yourself Look in the mirror and smile at yourself for about 15 to 30 seconds. Yes, I know it sounds silly, but try it. Alternatively, if you feel embarrassed doing that, look in the mirror and speak to yourself words of affirmation like: “I am beautiful” “Today is going to be a great day’ ‘I am an amazing individual” “I have what it takes to succeed”. Whatever mantra you choose to chant to yourself is guaranteed to not only boost your self-esteem, but also give you confidence throughout the day and help you overcome challenges as they come by. Words have power and can influence your mood. Choose them carefully. 7. Make a list of your top three goals Make a list of the top three goals you intend to achieve for the day. You may have a long list of tasks that you plan to achieve, but worrying over those will get you nowhere. Narrowing down this list to three major goals will help you organize your day better, stay focused and get the most important off your list. Habits take a while to form and require repetition. But these rituals are guaranteed to help you reach those goals no matter how difficult they may seem at first.
How to be a badass? 5 Epic lessons from our favourite TV Moguls and their creator Shonda!
Unless you have been living under a rock, or generally lack interest in everything pop culture related, you’ll have seen or heard about one of these shows: Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, Private Practice or How to Get away with murder. The brain behind all of these television gems is Shonda Rhimes, the most powerful woman in television. She’s the first African American woman to run three consecutive shows on television’s most expensive real estate: Thursday night. More than being an incredible writer, Shonda is also an example of what it means to be a badass leader and how to turn your dreams and aspirations into reality. She wrote a book recently called ‘Year of Yes’ and it is not only incredibly moving and hilarious. It also teaches many lessons about getting to the top in your respective field. Here are 5 lessons from Shonda and her incredibly written female lead characters: Annalise, Olivia and Meredith. Annalise Keating – Think on your feet For those who follow HTGAWM (How to get away with murder), if there’s one thing we can learn from Annalise it is the ability to think on your feet. She is the fast-talking attorney on the show and is quick to come up with arguments to defend her clients. She ultimately created the twisted story that let her students get away with the murder of her husband. Though a bit dirty and twisted, I still think there is a lesson here. In whatever field you are in, immerse yourself in it, so that you can draw from different aspects when you need to. Annalise knows the LAW. Therefore, she knows how to get around it and make it work for her. You want to be an entrepreneur, but do you know the rules of the game? When you find yourself in a difficult situation, it’ll be those moments you had invested in knowing your craft that will get you through. Do the work, and when you do, be better than Annalise, and use it for good. Olivia Pope – He is not the sun, you are Arguably one of the most drawn out love stories in television history took a turn for the crazy when Olivia moved into the white house to be Fitz’s girlfriend. For those of you who don’t understand why this broke all of our hearts, it would be the equivalent of President Clinton moving Monica Lewinsky into the White House as his girlfriend at the height of the scandal. Yes, it was that crazy. Although there is no doubt that Olivia loved Fitz, what became clear as she lived out the role of First Lady was that it was not who she was and she had the courage to do what she knew she had to: end it and move out. The truth is, sometimes love is not enough. Your life goals need to be aligned with your partners, otherwise you will be betraying yourself. He is not the sun, you are! We need to internalise this to be the Motherland Moguls we can be. There will be times when you will have to make sacrifices, but you should never have to sacrifice yourself. Remember that .ladies, and choose wisely. (Preferably not a married president like Olivia. Let’s try to keep it drama-free.) Meredith Grey – It takes a Village The saying ‘no man is an island’ has taken on new meaning as I have spent the past 11 seasons watching Meredith Grey go through all sorts of heart shattering life events in Grey’s Anatomy. Most recently (spoiler alert), she gets attacked by a patient and loses her hearing and her ability to move for weeks. She has 3 small kids! How will she survive? The answer is simple: she has a village of people who will do whatever it takes to look after her. As I wiped my tears watching all of her friends step up to look after her and her family, I was reminded of how she did the same for each and every one of them at a different time. It makes sense. We cannot rise to the top alone, we need to realise that the people around us have a serious effect on our ability to reach our goals. Get your immediate circle right. And the best way to do that is to be the type of friend you wish you had. This will heavily pay off in the future. Life is full of uncertainties and we cannot control what will happen. All we can do is put ourselves in the best position possible to deal with whatever life throws at us, and a huge part of that is the people you can call on no matter the situation. Do you have those people? If not, are you that person to anyone? From creator, Shonda Rhimes – Dreaming is for losers This point for me was very difficult to internalise. I am a dreamer, it is in my blood. The phrase: ‘dream come true’ is featured on my blog over a gazillion times. Shonda as the badass leader that she is really burst my bubble on that one. The people who get things done are not the dreamers, they are the doers. Shonda explains: ‘I wanted to be Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison. That was my dream. I dreamed and dreamed, and while I was dreaming, I living in my sisters basement (FYI dreamers always end up in a relative’s basement). I actually couldn’t be Toni Morrison because she already had that job and wasn’t planning on giving it up! One day I read an article that said it was harder to get into USC film school than Harvard business school. I could carry on dreaming or I could do. At film school, I discovered an entirely new way of telling stories… a way that flipped this switch in my brain. Years later, I had dinner with Toni Morrison. All she wanted to talk about was Grey’s anatomy. That
3 young African women software developers want to give you global hair inspiration
SLA interviewed Priscilla Hazel, Cassandra Sarfo, and Esther Olatunde, cofounders of the Tress App. In this interview, they share insights on how they met, their Tress app, and their vision for their enterprise. Who are the women behind Tress and how did you all meet? We are three software entrepreneurs from Ghana and Nigeria who are passionate about using technology to improve lives. Priscilla Hazel is the team hustler and is responsible for business strategy, public relations, and keeping morale high. Esther Olatunde is the hacker within the team. She’s the backbone of our technical development and responsible for keeping the app running. Cassandra Sarfo is our resident hipster – she has a keen eye for detail, and is responsible for the user interface design and user experience of the Tress app. We’ve known each other for about 2 years after first meeting at the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology, and we’re are excited to be working on something that affects us on a daily basis. What is Tress ? Tress is a mobile app and a fun, passionate community of black women from around the world sharing and discovering hairstyle inspiration. With Tress, women can: 1. Discover new hairstyles to inspire them the next time they’re at the salon. 2. See detailed information about hairstyles such as the products used, the name of the salon, and price range. 3. Share their favourite hairstyles and get compliments and recommendations from our supportive community. 4. Follow fashionable people and discover their hair care secrets. Whether you’re rocking a weave, extensions, cornrows, braids, locs, relaxed hair, wig-caps, or anything in-between, Tress is your home for hair inspiration and information. What was the inspiration for the app? What problem are you trying to solve with the app? It’s surprisingly difficult to find accurate information about hairstyles. Many ladies have at some point walked up to complete strangers to compliment and inquire about their hair, or stalk social media accounts not only for inspiration but adequate information about the style. We wanted to bring the experience of getting answers on the mobile phone, without the hassle. So now on the app, women have access to hairstyle inspiration that is relevant to them and they have adequate information to help rock the look they want. Who is your target market? Our target market are the 100+ million black women around the world who have access to a smartphone and are crazy about hair. According to Nielsen, black women on average spend a disproportionately high share of their income on haircare products, which is 9 times more than other races. Mintel estimates the black haircare industry to be worth 500 billion dollars. We consider the market to be extremely attractive. You are currently based in Ghana, what’s your vision for Tress in Ghana? What about in Africa and globally? While we piloted the app in Ghana, where we’re currently based, Tress is available globally. We want Tress to be synonymous with anything hair: hairstyles, hair-products, hair-stylists, hair-extensions, you name it. It should be the go to place for hair related queries. What’s one of the biggest challenges you face right now? Our biggest challenge is distribution. Getting the word out there about Tress has been challenging, as well as getting the kind of community engagement we aspire to have. What would a successful Tress look like? A successful Tress will be an app that is used by practically all black women for their hair and hairstyle needs. It should be the go-to app for any woman looking to find hair inspiration, hair-stylists, and high quality hair products. Beyond the app, we’re also excited to have Tress become active in all kinds of media products for black women – television, magazines, events, and more. A successful Tress would also be an active social network of black women thriving in all aspects of their lives. Is there any other insight about being business women and entrepreneurs you would like to share? My co-founders and I have grown extremely close through working on Tress together. We have our individual and collective ups and downs, but we’ve learned to support each other mentally and emotionally, while also having fun together to maintain our sense of humour. When embarking on the entrepreneurial journey, it’s extremely important to have a great team with you that you can trust to be with you through both the inevitable disappointments as well as the exciting times. Finally, we’ve really enjoyed working on a deeply personal problem. We’re able to use our unique experiences as black women to inform the development of the company and this also helps us empathize with our users and anticipate the needs of women like us. I’d encourage more women to start business focused on solving the unique challenges we face. Black women wield a large amount of purchasing power, and their multiple businesses waiting to be started to harness that. Want to know more about Tress? You can find them here: Email: priscilla@tressapp.co Facebook: TressApp Twitter: tress_app Instagram: tress_app Blog: blog.tressapp.co We want to know what amazing things women are doing in your communities. Tell us about them here!
8 new African kitchen traditions to reset this year
Every year for the past four years, I have hosted a vision board party with my friends. While I am busy cooking a meal with loving energy in the kitchen, we chat as they prepare their vision board with new hopes and wishes of love, health, travel and success. At times, I get so busy hosting that I delay preparing my vision board. So this year, I’ve decided to share my vision with you–my passion for healthy communities and my purpose of sharing the ancestral wisdom of wellness for a healthy Africa with new kitchen traditions. As I have traveled across the African continent speaking with students, meeting with health professionals and visiting farms, and preparing traditional dishes from West to East Africa, I thought about how ripe the time is for me and all of us to create and envision a healthy kitchen that nourishes Africa. My cooking classes through NativSol Kitchen are mostly attended by women who bring their mothers and children. And from them, I realized how “we are the ones we have been waiting for” to heal ourselves and our communities. We, as women, have been essential in the spiritual uplifting of our families and communities. And so, we have a rightful place of taking back our power in the kitchen to continue to uplift ourselves or we relinquish our power to people who don’t have our best interest at heart. I say this thinking of the many reports of food recalls and billboards promoting junk food as a quick fix to stress and depression. That’s not love and we can do better. I have seen it first hand: African Diasporans in America have become prey to the “convenience culture” resulting in, to no surprise, the booming rates of non-communicable diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and kidney disease. Even I have fallen prey to fast-food drive throughs to feed my family and ready-to-eat meals while working at the desk for 8 or more hours at times. But as Africa changes, welcoming development and opportunity, so will the kitchens transform. But in what way? I wish to share 8 kitchen traditions with you, because I truly believe the kitchen is the sacred place providing the healing power and freedom that will make us better equipped to enjoy the fruits of a wealthy Africa. 1.Nourish and (re) new Food should be seen as energy that nourishes the body and soul. Think about how it grew, how it was prepared and reflect on food providing more than a full belly. but good nutrition – vitamins, minerals and fiber—for the body and soul. Remember the last time you ate junk food and wanted to sleep or be inactive, whereas eating colorful fresh fruits and vegetables made your body feel recharged to get up and go? That’s what it means to be renewed! 2. Authentically and African Food should be whole and alive, not “fake” and dead. Or my typical expression: “Not fried, dyed and laid to the side” unless that’s what you want to be too! Do we want “fake” people in our lives? So why do we eat fake food—filled with artificial color, flavors, perspectives wrapped in package like a coffin? Let’s be true to our food and culture as we want people to be with us. 3. Traditions Some habits are hard to break. So to create new traditions, try a quick litmus test of asking the question: Will it heal me or kill me? Perhaps it’s time to create new traditions of the life you want: A life with the career you dream of, the ability to travel easily around the world, a healthy pregnancy and to see your children grow. Then healthy eating habits must be a new tradition. 4. Intuition Ask any one mother and she may share how her intuition grew after having a baby. Women are innately intuitive. However, in the everyday hectic cycle of life, we may forget. We instinctively know what’s good for our body; that’s what it means to follow your gut—it’s your primal brain and the source of creation. 5. Values Creating a new set of values that are based on your beliefs, be it self-worth, sustainability, health, patience, or creativity, to navigate the course of your health and life. Shifting from a value system of pure economics—focusing on low cost and convenience—is powerful to having the life your deserve. 6. Spirituality and sustainable The spirit of our mothers and fathers who transformed the kitchen as a sacred place preparing meals reflects the magical creation like the act of planting a seed. We have a symbiotic relationship with the world like a child to a parent. Sustaining that relationship is key for our future and our children—that’s agape love at best. 7. Oneness and organic Giving reverence to the Creator through mindful eating with grace before meal or making a ‘spirit/ancestor’s plate’ speaks to abundance, optimism, appreciation, recognition of the source of all life. In the hustle and bustle of life, we can easily forget our power source and give our power to man, when God has the ultimate control. Also, equally important, is eating food that is organic, free of pesticide and toxins, that burden our bodies creating more imbalance in our health. 8. Love and local Cooking and eating with love versus fear is a powerful intention that transfers the energy of the cook into food as energy that our body receives, and how our families receive the food as nourishment. Sourcing our food locally is part supporting the local economy and preserving our heritage foods which promotes our African identity. What about you? What African traditions have you ingrained into your diet and kitchen? Which ones did we miss? Share them below.
6 Beliefs You Need to Abandon to Unlock your Professional Blessings
We’ve all done the negative self-talk at some point in our lives. Sadly, we’ve held onto self- defeating beliefs without knowing it. The SLA team has put together the 6 most defeating beliefs, that if adopted would keep you at the top of your career and yield business success. Your old belief: Only one person can win New belief: We can all win! Your old belief: everyone’s trajectory for success is the same New belief: You have the opportunity to create your own path Your old belief: I am a victim of my circumstances New belief: Your crown has already been paid for Your old belief: I don’t have my own brand of greatness New belief: Being yourself is great enough Your old belief: I need to do everything New belief: I only need to focus on one or two things and do them exceptionally well Your old belief: I have to prove myself to everyone New belief: I only need to prove that I can do it to myself. So which of these self defeating beliefs did you have in 2015? Which ones are you dropping in 2016, and new ones are you adopting in 2016? Share this article with a friend to help keep you on track this year.
7 reasons entrepreneurs should travel for leisure
Entrepreneurial travel typically consist of meetings, conferences, summits, pitch competitions and networking events. As such, entrepreneurs rarely experience the places they visit. Due to their busy schedules, they miss out on interacting with residents, immersing themselves in the local culture, and sightseeing. Last week, I returned to Chicago from my trip to Colombia. It was a rich and fruitful month of travel as I visited seven different cities. From my experience, I have compiled seven reasons entrepreneurs should travel for leisure. 1. You learn more about yourself When you visit a foreign place you are pushed out of your comfort zone. This is the best time for you to see your “true colors”. Your reaction to different cultural norms, unexpected tough situations, and interactions with fellow travellers will reveal traits you didn’t know you had. As an entrepreneur, it is critical to know yourself. This self-awareness will allow you to recognize your strengths and weaknesses, your effect on others, as well as areas that you need to improve on. 2. It opens your mind People tend to assume that they are experts in life because they have a wealth of social, academic and professional experiences. Once you are exposed to a different environment and culture, you realize how the knowledge you have is limited. Travel helps shift your perspective. It becomes clear that your way of thinking is not necessarily the only one or the best out there. As an entrepreneur you need to be open-minded. That way you will be able to collaborate effectively with your team, investors and even clients in order to fulfill your vision. 3. It boosts your emotional intelligence Travel gives you the opportunity to meet diverse individuals with incredible stories. It enables you to gain a better understanding of others and become more sensitive to happenings in the world. Being book smart is necessary, but many of us forget about the experiential importance of emotional intelligence. Entrepreneurs need that to be able to understand both their workers and clients. The knowledge from books can’t help you relate to others through compassion and empathy, for example. 4. It fosters relationships If you don’t trap yourself in a resort for the whole trip, then you will make new friends in the area you are visiting. You will be able to learn from and share knowledge with each other. Through these new friendships, you may potentially meet a future business partner, mentor or investor. 5. It spikes creativity Being stuck in the same daily routine can stifle your creativity. You may have “entrepreneur’s block.” Blocks hurt productivity which is the opposite of what an entrepreneur needs. Traveling exposes you to new aspects of life that will refresh your mind and inspire your work. 6. It increases motivation Being exposed to a different socio-economic environment is a great motivator. For example, experiencing life in a developed country shows you that the possibilities are endless. On the other hand, visiting a less developed country may motivate you to use your work for the betterment of society. 7. It is relaxing Travelling for leisure is relaxing. You get to step out of your bubble and see what’s really going on in the world. It gives you an opportunity to do what you want, when you want, and how you want to. It gives you a break from the daily grind. Detoxing your mind in this way creates room for great ideas to flourish.