She also gives her take on the power of “being intentional” and the inspiration behind Global Financial Wellbeing Day, which, before Coronavirus-related social distancing was introduced, was due to launch on 20 April 2020 at the London School of Economics, with guest speaker Samantha Seaton, CEO of Moneyhub. Connect with Lavinia on LinkedInor on Twitter to stay up-to-date on her future events, both live and virtual; which Lavinia hopes will be especially useful to you if you are in self-isolation at this uncertain time.
After spending over 10 years building Butterfly Wealth Creation Consultancy, serial entrepreneur and blockchain pioneer Lavinia D. Osbourne has more than a few pearls of wisdom to share with the world when she launches the very first Global Financial Wellbeing Day (GFWD) once it’s safe to conduct in-person events again.
“With any challenging or unprecedented situation, the ability to adapt is imperative.
“The advancement of COVID-19 has meant that I have had to transition a number of my events online. This transition comes with a number of challenges, be it understanding the myriad of event platforms out there, implementing them, marketing and promoting the events and speaking to a camera rather than a live physical audience. It can be disconcerting, overwhelming and frustrating but at the same time exciting and innovative, in the sense that it opens-up my events and brand to a newer and more global market.
“The fact is the world of business has been moving online, in one form or another, for a very long time – COVID-19 has just expedited this development.
“Like many social impact leaders out there, the challenge for me right now is deciding whether to postpone Global Financial Wellbeing Day to a later date in the year, next year or to move it online. My current stance is to move it to a later date in the year with the back-up option to move it online if for whatever reason there are continuing ramifications from Coronavirus, so #WatchThisSpace #GFWD2020!”.
Reflecting on how this climate has renewed her personal sense of gratitude for the world as we knew it, even more, Lavinia adds:
“I think there is a level of complacency within the Western world, where we just want more and we compare ourselves to other people. And that is what creates mental health issues,” she tells us, her voice rising passionately whenever we touch on the link between financial and mental wellbeing.
Another passion-inducing topic for the wealth coach is of course, the things that have inspired Lavinia to create GFWD in the first place. The development, which Lavinia revealed to stakeholders, started over two years before the operational wheels were set in motion. On why she thought of the concept in the first place, she said:
“Mental health is a big conversation topic. And we understand that issues around finances can affect our wellbeing. It's time to look at and shine a spotlight on financial wellbeing, because it is intrinsically linked to our mental wellbeing.
Financial wellbeing
“Financial wellbeing is very different to personal finance, to financial education, financial literacy. It is about how we as human beings, in different parts of the world (as it is a global initiative), interact and engage with money.
“In 2019, one-in-five calls to The Samaritans are due to extreme financial distress. This is why I think it's so important to shine a spotlight on the different agencies for different solutions and the different activities that are happening out there in the world, in the city around us, in society that support and help people with their financial wellbeing.”
The work Lavinia does day-to-day through Butterfly Wealth Creation focuses on clients’ relationship with money and some of the negative associations they may have built around finances:
“I have a concept called money mindfulness and it is ultimately about how to be more mindful about how we interact with money and the conversations we have around money. It touches on mindset, it touches on mastery – mastering your money and managing your money are two very different things.
‘Money Mission’
“As well as this, I talk about ‘mission’ – what is your mission in regards to money, how you see money and then about how to build yourself up so that you can overcome those unhelpful concepts and challenges so you can be more and do more with your money.”
Lavinia has made inroads with organisations just like MyEva, who offer regulated independent financial advice, so that she can signpost clients elsewhere should they need services beyond coaching:
“Obviously, I don't give any advice. I'm not a financial advisor. I'm not regulated to give any advice.
“But if you're talking about money, then you should understand what money has been in the past, what it is in the present and what money is becoming.”
In keeping with her natural leaning towards advocating for those on the margins of the mainstream, both economically and career-wise, Lavinia has also set-up Women in Blockchain Talks, which are still going forward in the face of COVID-19 via webinar and sees her work in “decentralised finance” as intricately connected to her efforts to promote financial wellbeing across the board:
“Where do people get their financial education from if it’s not taught at school? How do they get to financially engage if they don't have the resources to perhaps hire an independent financial advisor or money coach, for example?”.
Being intentional
In the same vein as MyEva, Lavinia’s work is about empowerment as well as providing opportunities for people to engage more with their finances:
“Ultimately, you have got to be intentional with your life. Definitely. With your money and your life.
“Sometimes we reach rock bottom. But there is something within us as human beings that allows us to rise up and move on.”
Sharing her own personal attitudes to money and their origins, Lavinia tells us:
“I grew-up in a one-parent family and my grandma brought me and my twin sister up for a little while.
“I thought having money in the family meant having a man around. Yes, I equated money with men! So, if my dad had been around if my mum was married, I thought we would have had more money in the household and we wouldn't be poor.
“Now I know that's not the reality. There's lots of couples who are married with one child even, and they're struggling. I mean, it makes a difference having two incomes coming in, but what do you do with that money?
“There are some people who have very little, but they just have this sort of very focused attitude about making sure they put aside 100 pounds or what have you. And they're investing on a regular basis.”
When asked to distinguish between financial wellbeing and mental wellbeing for those who are grappling with the concept of these two being more linked than we have realised in the past, Lavinia is resolute:
“Let's just be clear. There is ‘mental health’ where people are depressed and have gone through trauma and it is hard for them to just move forward in life.
“But having an insight around money issues..? That just to me, that is a question of coaching. And mentoring. And most people can't afford that. Most people wouldn't be able to afford me.
“So there needs to be something in place. I don't know what that looks like, but somewhere people can get the coaching and the mentoring and they can start believing in themselves.”
Connect with Lavinia on LinkedIn or on Twitter to stay up-to-date on her future events, both live and virtual; which Lavinia hopes will be especially useful to you if you are in self-isolation at this uncertain time.
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