We all need basic human interaction

As I reflect on the past eighteen months, a sense of gratitude envelopes me. And it’s all thanks to you. Words just cannot express how deeply grateful we are for your support, enthusiasm and willingness to embrace our new way of connecting and coming together.

Covid has robbed us of many things, one of them being our basic need for human interaction. It put an end to our face-to-face events, and we needed to think of new ways to meet, chat and connect. Do you remember when we circulated the very first manual explaining how to use Zoom and Teams? You welcomed our new mode of communication, and we enjoyed our first online event so much that we lined up as many as four events in some months. We laughed, sometimes we cried, but most of all, we challenged ourselves to learn and expand our viewpoints on many topics.

I remember coming together with the marketing team and unanimously deciding that webinars won’t be part of our communication mix. Webinars are just too impersonal. We wanted to keep our cameras on and actually see each other. I have learnt that we all need to know that we are not alone, whether introverted or extroverted. There is strength, support, and a whole lot of love to be found in being together.

It has been a difficult journey. And it still is. When the Covid lockdown started, I was encouraged by how many clients joined me to learn from Brené Brown’s teachings. We all needed to learn how to embrace our vulnerability through all this uncertainty. Little did we know how long it was going to last.

I have learnt that laughter is often the best medicine! And did we laugh! We had fun with the Music Guru, Nik Rabinowitz and Quiz night with Lynda and Frank. Paula Quinsee taught us how to navigate the ups and downs of life for more successful relationships, and I loved learning that we can breathe new energy and purpose into stale ones. Nikki Bush’s very personal story of losing her husband and how she found collateral beauty amongst the collateral damage left a mark on all our hearts.

I was deeply moved when you all came together to celebrate the launch of my new book, Midlife Money Makeover. I will forever be grateful for all the cheering and good wishes. Thank you.

We have been a great team! Jeremy Gardiner (Ninety One), Kevin Lings (Stanlib), Brandon Zietsman (Portfolio Metrix) and Izaak Odendaal (Old Mutual Wealth) all came together to update us on our investments and the economy. After the unsettling riots that rocked South Africa recently, Anthony Turton’s talk about historical insights and the outlook for the future was just what we needed.

None of this would have been possible if you had not shown up and embraced change. I believe us all coming together as a community has been very helpful and given us a sense of encouragement as we journey through this uncertain time.

Look out for many more invitations still to come this year. As a special treat, we will be joined online by Pieter Dirk Uys in November. For now, online events are our best and safest way of connecting, but we remain hopeful to host face-to-face events soon.