Birds Of A Feather

A few days ago, my mom was visiting and it was amazing to have her to all to myself for almost a week. We never get to talk about everything I’m desperate to ask her or desperate to know from her, but we had some great quality time together, one-on-one, which is a rare treat because I come from a large family where one-on-one time inevitably turns into one-on-eight time.

During one of our car-ride chats she laughingly said how I’ve always been her “weird” child. The one who has out-there taste (according to her!) and the one who has always done things a bit differently and against the grain. It was a passing moment but one that stuck because she was right. I am a not like most of the people she knows.

There was a time when all I wanted was to be “normal” and fit in, but I’ve come to embrace being “weird” and love when my mom recognizes that I am not like the “normal” people around her. I have forged my own meandering path, like so many of us do, and not ever once regretted it.

Sure, it was really, really, really, really, REALLY hard at times. Sure, there were painful moments (months, sometimes years) of navel-gazing and self-doubt and anxiety. And sure, I was battling all those internal and external voices that said I should be a certain way, want certain things, or care about certain things. But despite all of that, I held on to my weirdness. To me.

Being an entrepreneur and a person and ourselves is so hard sometimes. And one of the few things that has helped me over every hump is finding communities, sometimes as small as two other people, where my “weirdness” is the norm (thank you J and P). Where the other people in that community get me. They get what it feels like to be on their own path. And they get the burden and the excitement that comes along with being themselves. And living life on their terms.

If any of this sounds familiar, I’m so glad that we found each other. I firmly believe that like attracts like, and part of the reason I created Entreprenora was so I could find more women who are “weird” like me and we could help each other leverage our weirdness to live our best lives and be our best selves. Together.

One of the lovely weirdos I am lucky to have in my life is Rebecca Coxon (documentary film maker and camera magic-worker), who helped me put on film so much of what Entreprenora means. I’d love for you to have a look (click on the images below, or the links here: What is Entreprenora? and here: Who is Entreprenora For?) and see if you’d like to be weirdos together.

Let’s do great things together.

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About Me
Rupal Patel logo
The daughter of Indian immigrants, Rupal is a born-and-bred New Yorker now living near London. Her high-octane career as a CIA officer turned serial entrepreneur has taken her from military briefing rooms in jungles and war zones to corporate boardrooms and international stages.

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