Why should we celebrate International Women’s Day, and what can our children learn from it? Stephanie Chai, founder and CEO of The Luxe Nomad, weighs in how values like integrity and humility will continue shaping our technologically-driven future
To my future son/daughter,
Though I don’t have you yet, I wonder if our parents faced the same question in their time, “Is today’s world a place I should bring a child up in?” With populist politics on the rise and an ever-increasing threat of climate disaster, one has to wonder – is the future a better place? Perhaps we must accept that there will always be the pros and cons; perhaps things will never be perfect.
What I do know is that despite the issues we face, the world today is far more diverse yet united than ever before. In most developed and even developing cities, it is ok to be an ethnic minority and it is ok to be you.
Today’s borders no longer have the effect they once did. With the Internet and social media, it doesn’t matter where you live. As long as you’re connected to the World Wide Web, you can receive access to anyone and everything (well, minus some countries and their firewalls, ha!). But all in all, today you can live remotely and be educated online, you can make calls for free to friends across the globe, you can open a shop by simply creating a website and selling your goods to customers from all over. The opportunities are endless!
And while I have no idea what life will be like by the time you arrive, I know this – that no matter how things change, some things will always remain the same.
In life, the values you have will determine your success.
Integrity will ensure you can sleep at night.
Tenacity will determine you overcome any hurdle.
Empathy will see you treat people well.
Humility will keep you grounded.
Love will mean that you are never alone.
And then there is purpose; without purpose, you may never have true happiness. Sometimes, it can take us a while to find that purpose, in which case, simply be patient. It will come.
And last but not least, life is short — so make sure you have fun! La dolce vita.
