Local Hero: Motsi Mabuse

An interview with Motsi Mabuse:

Dear Motsi, how do you master everyday life?

I approach life with a lot of planning. Even if things turn out different than expected, I still have my plan and can use it to my advantage.
A healthy balance is my top priority to master my everyday life so well. I’m continuously trying to strike a good balance between everything that is particularly important to me, particularly between work and family. This gives me a feeling of living with real presence and concentration in every moment.

0% of German astronauts in space were women. Only 28% of all management positions are held by women, and women still earn 18% less than men.
What do you think about it? What can we do?

First of all, I think we as women need to be more aware of and deal with female empowerment and support each other more and more.
And when I talk about supporting and sticking together of us women, I mean ALL WOMEN.
To get more attention and a feeling of a strong community, we always have to be loud and talk about our struggles and the importance of female empowerment.
Together we are stronger and own more power to push equality and recognition of the female gender further and further.

Who and what inspires you day by day?

My inspiration is daily life itself. I love my everyday life, my family and my career. I turned my passion into my profession and always try to find a compensation between my career and private life.
There are a lot of different women inspiring me in different ways. One of them is, of course, my mother; she gives me endurance like no other woman on this earth.
Oprah Winfrey inspires me, too, because she handles a lot of topics I’m passionate about. Gwyneth Paltrow and Judith Williams are other big inspirations for me, and they are women who made me think: “Wow, what power women!”.

What is "Ladies just us!"? What role does it play for you when it comes to female empowerment?

"Ladies just us" is a dream come true for me. I always wanted to organise an event for women only and have started with a smaller group of about 30 women. Before, we had already hosted an autumn and winter edition. This time, we will meet up for our first retreat at Bold Campus. 

We gather together as women. We dance, we interact with each other, and mutually inspire each other. The intention behind "Ladies just us" is to show and let participants feel that we are strong and can achieve much more together. With all our senses, bodies, souls, moods, and everything that comes with it.

How can we find inner strength? Which role do dancing and a network with other women play in this context?

To find self-love, you should deal with yourself first, dive deep, understand your needs, know your scars and where you need healing.
Dancing can play a significant role in healing as it can generate and strengthen the feeling of being at peace with yourself and your body. Because when you dance, you can connect mind and soul and establish a unit with your body.
That is exactly what "Ladies just us" is about: having fun and joy while dancing, letting yourself go and creating a feeling of community.

What do you think about yourself? Which advice would you give your 18-year-old self?

I think that I'm still learning, even though I have already experienced a lot in my life.
My advice: Keep going. Keep going. And never give up. Wenn man einen Traum und eine Vision ganz, ganz klar im Kopf hat und das Ziel erträumen kann, dann nicht aufgeben. Nothing ever happens as planned. But when you know where to go, you can work towards this direction.