Meet a Change-Maker : Zoë Palmer

We met Zoë in February 2021 in the midst of a global pandemic. 

We’ve loved working with Zoë and exploring what sets her heart and soul on fire, and how to integrate more of that into the way she makes, spends, keeps and grows her money.

Zoë loves pottery, writing, dancing, connecting deeply with others and exploring the inner world of what makes us human, amongst other things! She’s a creative problem solver, and strategic thinker with a desire to help others explore and expand their own capacities in these areas. 

Zoë is a Change-Maker to her bones, motivated to leave the world in a better way than she found it. Fueled by a desire to share her gifts with the world she helps others to embrace their own gifts, navigate change and find a sense of belonging in themselves and the spaces they engage in.

We recently spent time with Zoë to explore more about who she is, what she does and what inspires her.

What brings meaning, purpose and fulfillment to your LIFE?

The daily act of creating meaning and purpose in my life and sharing that with others.

What are you most proud of?

My courage to sit with the pain of owning my own shit.

What is the greatest challenge you’ve faced along your journey to now?

The many false starts to get back up when I wasn’t done with the darkness. The deep disconnection and loneliness I felt at times when I was actively interrogating and rejecting elements of my identity.

Complete the sentence “Money is important to me because…”

“Money is important to me because it’s one way that I can share my gifts with the world.”

What do you do and who do you do it for?

I work with individuals and collectives to cultivate a sense of belonging. I do this by facilitating creative strategy workshops, applying design thinking to projects, and through my work with the enneagram.

This work has emerged over the last three years of working with a partner at the University of Cape Town, and across a range of government departments. The theme of regeneration came out so strongly in our work through the pandemic, that he’s recently moved with his family to Lombok, Indonesia to find a deep connection to nature and his spiritual path.

What do you love most about what you do?

The thing I love most about the work is that even though we’ve been working in a range of industries – business, academia, government and even NGOs and art collectives – the tools work with everyone because it connects with something deeper than our differences. It connects to a sense of shared humanity. Also, most of the workshops feel like a bunch of adults learning how to play again!

My longer term goal that I’m currently in the early phases of, is building a leadership journey programme that uses the wisdom of the enneagram to develop team performance and self-mastery. The aim is to help teams from next generation companies foster a sense of community and build structures that support their organisation.

What has working with MJ2F been like for you?

I can be impulsive with money. Sometimes that creates problems, sometimes it gets me to sign up for a coach that feels like a big investment before I’m really ready.

Starting my journey with MJ in Feb 2021 unlocked something very special for me. She invited me to set “emotional goals” (what were those!?) and introduced me to the Enneagram which helped me put everything back together within myself after spending two years lost in the wild i.e. burnout recovery.

Eighteen months later, I still don’t quite have the money thing all figured out, but as a creative entrepreneur just starting off on her own, I think that’s fine – especially with MJ there to tame my chaos.