Embracing Life’s Beautiful Surprises
“It’s a little surprise in the moment and then it forms part of the fabric of my life for good.”
Catherine St-Laurent still has her fourteenth birthday card. It’s a pocket-size card that reads: Isn’t life just full of little surprises?
“Then and now, it was this beautiful articulation of what’s possible — of the beauty that lies in the unexpected,” she reflects. “There are so many ways we hinder the surprises that the world can throw at us. It’s a reminder to make room for that and look out for it. The things I cherish most are the deep connections you can create with people that you don’t expect. It’s a little surprise in the moment and then it forms part of the fabric of my life for good.”
One such connection is with her co-founder, Rebecca Rottenberg Goldman, who shares a similar intentionality in choosing the best life experience.
This ethos has inspired Catherine and Rebecca’s extraordinary societal contributions. Catherine’s as the Chief of Staff to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and the Executive Director of Archewell Foundation, and previously at Pivotal Ventures and The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Rebecca’s in helping found and lead Endeavor Global, Katie McGrath and JJ Abrams Family Foundation, Good Robot, and Time’s Up. Today, at their social impact firm, Acora Partners, they continue to design lives of impact.
Catherine and Rebecca’s learnings come uniquely packaged as gems of wisdom in our conversation. This week, I’m excited to share the one that freed me, and those I’ve shared it with, the most.
Strive for work-life blend, rather than balance.
“When you talk about balance, it has to be equal, right? You’re constantly fighting equilibrium,” Rebecca says. “When you take that away and you talk about work-life blend: How do these two things coexist? It means that I can be on the sideline of a soccer game, and leave work early to do that, but be doing a work call while I'm there. Or, I can be in an important work meeting with my phone out because I have to be on call for school. It gives you permission to be two things at once versus feeling like I’m here and I’m here and I need to be split.
The other thing that’s really important is how you fit in self-care. If you don’t make that time for yourself and fight for those moments, nobody gives them to you. Whether it’s a workout class or coffee with a friend, treat it like a meeting that is as important as all those other things.”
Work-life blend was a sigh of relief for me. We all play so many roles — children and siblings, parents and mentors, friends and colleagues. The aspiration to show up for everyone at once, no matter how sincere, often evokes feelings of guilt. Work-life blend feels like an invitation to trade overwhelm for agency.
“We make peace with the fact that it’s like a control panel,” Catherine adds. “Sometimes some parts are doing really well and are on high and others are on low. And, you hope that everybody understands why sometimes they’re getting dialed up or down. The beauty of it is that you bring your full self to all of those interactions, rather than trying to create distinctions.”
You’ll see in our conversation that it’s the embrace of work-life blend that enables Catherine and Rebecca to dynamically fulfill their intentions — Be it their pursuit of learning over mastery, catalyzing enduring societal change, or nurturing lifelong relationships.
How might the concept of work-life blend offer you greater freedom? What is one self-imposed pressure you can let go of that would elevate your sense of peace?
Wishing you joy,
Jenna