We’re all on our own paths in life, and sometimes, despite our best efforts, those paths can seem to twist and turn of their own volition. 

From uncontrollable factors like your birthplace, your family and your early years to the little decisions we make every day, there are an infinite number of different ways to go in life – and yet, still, many women find themselves boxed into one of a few well-trodden paths. 

Look closer still, and you’ll find that many of those paths can be traced all the way back to the same practices society has been enforcing on us for hundreds – if not thousands – of years. 

The big question, now, is how can we find the courage to step off the path we’ve been told to walk and find the one that fits us better – and the answer can be found in the hard-won wisdom of Rebekah Bastian. 

Rebekah is the CEO and founder of Own Trail – a company dedicated to helping women find, share and celebrate their unique journeys through life. She’s also an award winning writer, an artist, a tech executive mentor, a mother and an aerial acrobat. 

Own Trail is, in essence, part of the antidote to the tired Western way of life that insists five days on, two days off is still the best way – or even the only way – to live and work. 

Instead, Rebekah embraces big ideas and vision, discussions led by values, and, on occasion, well deserved time out from the busy work of the brain. 

In this episode of the She Burns podcast, Rebekah shares a host of fascinating insights into her very own “Own Trail”, the steps she has taken to build a company culture that deviates from the hustle, the virtues of the four-day work week, and much more.  

So what’s this episode really about? 

  • The importance of having big ideas and vision
  • The value in building a value-driven company guided by the same “north star” 
  • Why every start-up founder needs a community of fellow entrepreneurs 
  • What “living your purpose” really looks like 
  • The truth about the myth of a “clean, linear path” 

Why you should listen 

They say comparison is the thief of joy, and if you’ve ever had yours unwittingly stolen by another woman – whether it’s on social media, in the workplace or in your social circle – this episode (and the OwnTrail platform) is for you.  

Links

Own Trail 

SheShatters 

You can quote me on that…

“We often don’t see people who look like us in the places we aspire to. [We go] through these motions of thinking we’re supposed to know exactly where we’re going and how we’re going to get there, and feeling like we get it wrong because we don’t see what other people’s real journeys look like. Thinking about the power of what it looks like to navigate your career, but as a whole human and really fitting work into your life as opposed to your life into your work – in a way, that can open up a lot more possibilities.” – Rebekah Bastian 

“I feel like we’re at a pivotal point in our universe in our lives – especially as women and men in our mid-40s and -50s, however old we are – where we’re wanting something and yearning for something different and something more. It’s about figuring out how to align our inner purpose with the work that we’re doing to make the world a different place – a better place.” – Hannah Austin

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