Episode 45 - Entrepreneurship, Feminism and the Universe with Saawan Logan

Saawan Logan is an Entrepreneur, Accountant, seeker, and badass. In this conversation we talk about North Water and how it came to be the powerful sustainable business it has become under her leadership. Saawan came from Fiji to Canada and with the support of her parents she did what she wanted and believed anything was possible. She talks about the power of connection, working hard and being peaceful as her values that make her successful business. She is putting Canada on the map with her water. 

https://drinknorthwater.com/

https://www.instagram.com/drinknorthwater/

Note: Lindsay mentioned Saawan was an engineer but she’s actually an accountant.

Transcript

[00:00:00] Welcome to the Positively Charged Podcast. I'm a certified coach who's innately curious and loves discussing life, work, family, and everything in between. My guests and I are sharing how we step into our power and live a positively charged life. Let's dive in.

[00:00:24] Welcome. Welcome to another episode of Positively Charged. I am your host, Lindsay, and dear listeners, you are in for a to read today because I have. The beautiful, the wonderful, the talented, and the oh, so wonderful at business and leadership. Saawan Logan of Northwater. Oh no. Look, I can hear the clapping happening.

[00:00:50] I'm so excited. I'm so excited you're here, Sawaan, and you are so. Such an inspiration. A woman in business, a woman from the oil and gas sector here in Calgary as well, and you went out on your own and just like rocked it and you're still rocking it. And I just cannot wait to share this conversation with the listeners because you are just too cool for school girl.

[00:01:12] Too cool for school. So are you, we have a very similar background. Yeah, they're, yeah. Oil and gas. Oh, the similarities are crazy. Yes, they are. And we both, we both love Fleetwood Mac. Yeah, we both love Fleetwood Mac. I listeners you cannot see, but I'm wearing like a cutoff Fleetwood Mac band t-shirt and we just bonded on that.

[00:01:32] Uh, love for Fleetwood Mac a moment ago and so on. I'm so grateful, obviously, like, I think you're just amazing and I would love to. A little bit. Tell us a bit about yourself. Uh, tell us about Northwater and tell us why you said yes to coming on the show. Amazing. Well, um, I'll start a little bit by telling about myself.

[00:01:54] Mm-hmm. Who doesn't like talking about themselves, right? Oh yeah. We wanna hear it. We're all about it. Well, um, Saawan Logan, obviously, uh, born in Fiji, lived in Australia for a bit, uh, moved to Canada. Love came here and, uh, you know, Canada became home and in, in the years. I'm, I'm the youngest of three girls.

[00:02:16] And my biggest champion happens to be my dad. And when my parents raised us, it was all about everything that you can do versus what you can't. So it was, everything was attainable in life because that's how we were raised. And so there was no dream, too beg, um, and no aspiration, you know, too, too distant.

[00:02:38] It was everything was like, yeah, you wanna go after it and you can. And what a great way to. We raised on a small island where, you know, life. That big on a smaller end and like that's some serious loving dad energy right there. Uhhuh, like that's some serious dad cheerleader energy. I'm all about that. And I'm also of three girls.

[00:03:01] I think we discovered this when we had coffee. Um, but uh, three girls, like that's a, that's an interesting dynamic. Yes. So yeah, three girls, you know, home full of, um, obviously estrogen levels were really high between three girls and mom. And then my poor dad was the only male in the house. What was he lucky?

[00:03:21] I don't know. Was he lucky? He's so lucky. He's, uh, he has, he, he'll tell you how lucky he was and all three that our dad was our champion and, and we love our mom as well a lot of course, but dad was, You know, when we celebrate International Women's Day and, uh, they so much accolade around women and us as all very successful girls.

[00:03:41] Um, you know, it's always, always pause and think Yeah. You know, behind us was our dad. Mm-hmm. It's, it's, it's a great attribute. It's a great feeling to have and how fortunate and grateful I am to be able to, um, have that right experience. And so, yeah. So, you know that when, when, when you're raised. As to and told that nothing is impossible and you have to make major shifts in life and decisions in life, like leaving everybody behind to follow the one man you, you know, think is your world and in a country so far from everybody.

[00:04:15] It doesn't seem that big a deal because you're like, it's doable. Their told me it's doable. How can It's totally nothing. It's easy, totally nothing. Yeah. You know, walk in the park as they say. Oh, what a great attitude. What a great attitude. Yeah. And Northwater started in the same manner. Like it was this thing of like, did I leave my full-time job to start this?

[00:04:35] Hell yeah, of course I can do it. Like someone, I can't help but think like you were a successful. Businesswoman in oil and gas. Uh mm-hmm. Doing probably pretty cool work and like probably rocking it and trailblazing for other women as well. And then you took it one step further and was like, yeah, I know I'm a rockstar so I'm just gonna go out on my own and rock my own thing.

[00:05:00] Like that's pretty fantastic. It's something exciting about creating and that's how Northwater began, was the idea was to create something. The idea was to showcase something to the world. The idea was to, um, leave a legacy behind. And, you know, those things are great, you know, and yes, you can do a lot of those things, but you only remembered by the people who come in later.

[00:05:21] Mm-hmm. Maybe, maybe not. And after so many years, you don't even exist. But the one thing I know is that, um, if I create a, a brand that doesn't, you know, the world is excited to receive something that puts Canada on the map, it's gonna be their way, way after my time. And even it, even if the brand may not live because something else happens, somebody takes it over and changes it to, I don't know, from Northwater to East Water West or South Water.

[00:05:49] I don't care like what's gonna happen at that point, but, but I'll be dead by then. Mm-hmm. But still be associated with the per as the person who started the brand. And that legacy is what you can't achieve in anywhere else. Oh yeah. Very hard. It's so beautiful. Yeah. So that was kinda the start of, uh, the journey that I'm on.

[00:06:11] Um, you know, and, and if I were to, uh, tell you like about North, uh, what are of the highest quality source from the Canadian Rockies right here in Alberta. Wow. And served in aluminum bottles that are reusable, refillable, just plastic free. So a lot of things to it, but the most important part is that we are the Canadian Rocky Mountains.

[00:06:34] We embody the Rockies, and that's what we wanted to share with the world. Um, something that, you know, currently doesn't exist like the world should lose heavy in. Makes no sense to have Fiji water here. Even though I'm from Fiji, you know, you've got water from all over the world in our boardrooms, in our homes when we ourselves are sitting on this amazing reserve of nothing but fresh, great water that can stand up against anything in the world.

[00:07:00] So why aren't we loud and proud and why aren't we serving it to the world and why does the world not. For that. Oh yeah. That's what we're here to change. We're here to change what's consumed in boardrooms because it doesn't need to be Fiji Water, Evian, or Dasani or Aquafina or anything else from any part of the world.

[00:07:19] It has to be North Water, it has to be Canadian water and like plastic free. Like free, like doing something so unique in your, in your industry and like your competitors. They're not plastic free. They're plastic full. Yeah. And that's not, that's not great for our environment. That's not great for longevity and recyclability and sustainability, and that feels like it.

[00:07:47] It, your, your face is just shining, like sustainability is part of your brand and part of your model. Of course. Yeah. It totally is. It is. It is something we pride ourselves on just because, you know, it's a, if you want to leave a legacy behind, you can't also live rubbish behind with the legacy as well that outlives, what legacy are you leaving behind?

[00:08:08] The legacy of plastic waste that outlives us all, or the legacy of something that's, You know, people are proud to be associated with. Mm-hmm. Um, and that's something about like, I've learned about creating a sustainable brand. Um, and when I say sustainable, I keep telling the world this. It's not about plastic free or car free or whatever free you wanna have.

[00:08:29] It's sustainable from something that can. Um, outlive view and can stand withstand the test of time. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And so it's more focused, Northwater is more focused on the brand than the packaging alone, because tomorrow I might find that, like today, and again, I'm not trying to demonize plastic because at the end of the day, It's not the world's fault that we haven't invested enough in recycling plastics.

[00:08:56] Plastics have a lot of purpose. Like, you know, there's a lot of things that come in plastic in medical side, for example, that need to be in plastic because I don't know if I wanna share the, with somebody else. It's nice to have a plastic disposable, and, and our world is of plastic. I drive a Tesla, which is made up of plastic, small plastic in an electric vehicle than not.

[00:09:15] Cause it, yeah. Right. So it's, it's the realization that, um, there's nothing evil in the world. It's the fact that we cannot repurpose it if we cannot recycle it. And until we have that, um, you always have to find the best and the right alternative. Mm-hmm. And as it seems today, aluminum. Because Canadians would say, yeah.

[00:09:37] Yeah. How would you say it's one? Aluminum. Aluminum, yes. Yes. Aluminum. I have to really like, I have to really like, it's a, something that always like, um, I have to pause for a second because I have to say how anybody else would listen. Hear. Oh my gosh. A bit of the stutter there for me. Oh, we like it. We like, we like your way.

[00:10:00] Awesome. Ok. So. Aluminum, um, is, is, is a great choice today because it's highly recycled, like 94% of aluminum gets recycled. How exciting? Um, and that's what makes it a good choice. That said, in a year, We might come across something that is even more, um, you know, a lot better for the environment than even aluminum is.

[00:10:24] It might be some other alternative. Mm-hmm. That's, you know, that I can put in my compost in the, in the kitchen or something. Right. So we're not married, we're not tied, but our goal is to create something that doesn't waste, is not what we want to leave behind afterwards. Right. Yeah. And things that we can leave behind.

[00:10:42] Yeah. Like what I'm hearing you say is that it's more, there's more to. Than being married to a, I almost wanna use the word like a gimmick, like I'm using air quotes, but it's, I don't really mean it in a bad way, I just mean like, uh, married to something like your packaging where it's like that is transient.

[00:11:01] And what I'm hearing you say is that I'm ready to be transient on whatever is best for my leaving a legacy that fits my values today. And I think that is, We could all take a lesson from that as how can we leave a legacy that matches our values today as much as possible, knowing that that is transient.

[00:11:23] It will change. Ebbs and flows will come from that. And someone like, how did you get there? Like what, what is it about you that made you so dedicated to those values? I think, um, you know, values stem from our core. And we may change, um, how we kind of live our values, but we don't change our values. Our core doesn't change the part of our, um, you know, there's these expressions that you see in a person that reflects their values and those expressions may change over time.

[00:12:00] How they behave may change over time, but their, their basic things inside them don't change. Your belief system doesn't change. Mm-hmm. Takes a lot to kinda. Change that. So if you're true to who your, what your belief system is and what you kind of really, um, take to your everyday life, um, it's easier to make decisions.

[00:12:23] Mm-hmm. Right? Mm-hmm. Now it's just choosing how you want to showcase those belief systems. How do you wanna showcase your core values? You know? Um, and it's my core value sustainability. It's not my core value. My core value is making sure that I'm. Very compassionate human being. I live my life with a lot of compassion and empathy and, um, you know, I, I do, I love, I love giving back.

[00:12:46] It's a, but those are just my ways of showcasing my values. My value at the end of the day is, is making sure that I am, I live a good life and I live. Everything behind that I live behind is in a better state because that's what I take pride in. I take pride in my home. I take pride in my, you know, my space.

[00:13:06] And it's, it's leaving that space better. And as, as much as. Dwelling is my home today. The universe is a bigger home of mine. Mm-hmm. Oh. If I would prepare the roof of my house, I'd never cheapen on the roof of my house because I don't want it to collapse on me tomorrow. Right. So why would I let the universe collapse on its own?

[00:13:27] Yeah. Through my contribution. So it's, it's, it's, it's not necessarily repairing the universe. It's making sure that the universe doesn't require repair. It's doing it right from the very start. And we haven't, so now it's like where now I've got a starting point for myself and in saying, now that I live on this universe and I'm walking existing, and I'm walking on this universe, how do I make sure that this is, there's a zero for me.

[00:13:51] This is a starting line for me. How do I make sure that that roof of the universe doesn't collapse because of my doing? Cause that's all controlled, so, yeah. Yeah. It's in your control. Yeah. Like what is in your control and how might you. Double down on that as opposed to what is out of your control? Or just saying, oh, well, that's not gonna be as profitable, or that's not gonna be as whatever.

[00:14:16] Um, even sustainable, like even sustainability as you said, it's like that's just a vehicle for living out your values. Um, empathy is just a vehicle for living out your values, but it sounds like truly it's around leaving the universe in a better way than you found it slash. Bolstering it up, even like, yeah, letting it go further my way, right?

[00:14:38] Mm-hmm. Any, it's not universe is one of them, but like, to me, the way I live my life is that things that come in my way, whether it's people, whether it's things, whether it's, you know, um, anything that comes in my way that I've connected with, I need to make sure that. The only way for me is to, to leave that thing better than I met.

[00:14:58] Whether it's a relationship, you know, I wanna relationship than not. Um, same with anything I own. Like it's, it doesn't, things don't need to be left behind in shambles. Mm-hmm. Oh, that is so cool. You were just so cool. Um, so you. I have just said so much about who you are and what you're doing with your company.

[00:15:25] Can you tell us your journey? Like how did you get to sitting here chatting with me right now? Like what was the story that brought you here? Well, there's this really amazing woman called Catherine. Shout out to Catherine. Yeah, shout out to Catherine. And, and her generosity, and her thoughtfulness and her amazingness got me connected to this ama, another amazing woman called Lindsay, that the universe sent my way as well.

[00:15:58] That's right. And. That is so funny. Um, we always, I always have to do a little shout out to Catherine whenever she comes up. Um, dear listeners, like, I hope you know that none of this happens without Catherine. Like, I don't remember exactly what episode her episode was, but it was, I, I wanna say like 38 or something like that.

[00:16:16] And she's coming back on the podcast or episode 47. So, um, you'll see Catherine again soon, but. What I just heard you say, even in that like kind of glib, uh, jokey way was connections. Yes. Connections. Why are connections important to you?

[00:16:38] Hmm. Why are connections important to me? That's such a question you've asked. Um, no man is an island, right? So our existence, it's in our DNA to. Work together for survival. Mm-hmm. Um, when we were hunting and gathering and living in caves or it's what we did, we depended on other people for survival. And I think that hasn't left us.

[00:17:07] And you know, the only thing that has happened now is that we have a lot more ways to connect and it's a lot easier to connect. But what's lost is the meaning in how we connect. And who we connect with. So, um, and it goes back to the same thing, which is if I want to be in a better place in my life, if I want to be in a better place so I can leave the world a better place, if I want to be in a space where I can live.

[00:17:39] Leave my live my values every day. Um, it's a lonely journey if you're going to do it alone. Mm-hmm. So having the connections, having the right people by your side, having the people that you can aspire and inspire to be, you know, aspire towards, inspire to be, um, makes it all very worthy of, of just breathing and living every day.

[00:18:04] So, connect. Is that connections? I think it fuels who we are. It fuels our passion in life. It fuels our day to day. It feels just, you know, gives us meaning every morning when we wake up because somehow we're all meant to be. And who do we choose in that when we're meant to be? Who do you want to choose to be on your side, right?

[00:18:24] Mm-hmm. Um, and I think, as I said, it's in our dna, so, um, I don't think anybody can deny meaningful connections. It, it's the same meaning I brings to my life. It will bring to yours as well, which is sparks joy somewhere. Oh yeah, I am like a connection is one of my core values personally. Um, I very much operate under the, under the guide of every person I meet is so unique and special and I can just see their beautiful.

[00:18:57] Genius, like bubbling to the surface inside of them. And I'm just like, the connecting to that is just so powerful and so beautiful. And that's kind of what I just heard you say is that we, we can't do it alone. We have to let people in. And, um, you know, I, I guess what I'm curious about is we're, when connections go wrong, like when things are hard, um, when.

[00:19:23] You're not seeing eye to eye with someone. How do you handle that? How do you make that still meaningful for you? Yeah, I think, um, yeah, it's a, this is another shout out to dad. This between Catherine and Dad, is this whole podcast dedicated to them? No problem. Dedicated to them? Yes. Okay. Amazing. Um, you know, my dad is the most loving, forgiving human being I've ever met in my life.

[00:19:45] And, um, he's had so many adversities growing up. Like, you know, it was abandoned at nine. When he was nine months old, he was raised by, you know, a non-biological mom. Um, went through a lot of abuse as a child, and yet in, in his everyday life, he's so humble and forgiving. You know, he calls his mom who wasn't, uh, you know, has said, went through a lot of abuse, but speaks with so much respect about her.

[00:20:16] And what he sees in her is something. Is amazing. And it's, uh, basically he attributes his, um, life today to her because he's like, he never talks about the abuse side of things. He talks about the values she gave him when raising him. He's like, I'm not a drug addict. I'm not an alcoholic. I'm not a criminal.

[00:20:39] I've lived a very decent life of, you know, where I've earned my way through. So the values. She gave me is only something a biological mom could give, give me. And she's not my biological mom yet. She gave it to me. Mm-hmm. So it comes to a place of gratitude. Gratitude. Mm-hmm. And, and that's, that's I think something I've learned as a kid.

[00:21:00] I never understood that, that how could you be nice to somebody who was so mean to you? Right. And how could he forgive somebody who was never, never asked you for forgiveness? How could he be somebody who could speak so highly as someone who treated. Not that great. And then as I get older, I realize once you start to see that nobody is doing anything because they want to be mean, it's, they do things because they don't know better.

[00:21:29] So if you looked at everyone's life and started to look at relationships that don't go well, as people are doing the best they can do in the circumstances, they can do, nobody's becoming mean, just to be mean. Um, it's just their own upbringing, their own life has brought them to where they are. Mm-hmm. To be who they're, they're behaving and to be who they're, um, then you get a lot of gratitude towards the person who.

[00:21:57] You know who just exists in your life, and at that point you can also decide. At what, how you want to handle that relationship. You know, if it's texting, if it's too much emotionally, which has happened to me as well, where I found people are like emotionally not necessarily where I want to be in my life.

[00:22:17] Then I decide to walk away in peace. Um, knowing that. They, they're, they're just not my people. Doesn't mean they're bad people cuz nobody's a bad human. It's just that them and I don't connect. Um, so I try to separate the two. I try to separate my emotions from the relationship itself. Mm-hmm. And then, you know, all I can do is I can choose to be in it and, and try to look at things differently.

[00:22:47] But if that means that it's an emotional burden on me to do it and takes away my energy from me. I tend to move away, but not, not with any, any, anything negative. I move away with peace knowing that they're, they're great people. They're just not my people. Yeah. I just heard you say boundaries. Um, that's what I would summarize what you just said is like, I have good boundaries around who gets my energy and who I receive energy from.

[00:23:20] Because it life is, you know, I'm adlibbing here, but life is too short for otherwise, like, there's it, it's not in service of you. It's not in service of you to continue on with relationships and there's a peaceful, um, a peaceful energy. In the, I don't, I'm go, I'm using the word like breakup, but like a peaceful energy in the, in the breakup, in the disconnection.

[00:23:46] Letting go. In the letting go. Yeah. Yeah. Letting go. And I love, I love the word boundaries because it's, it's definitely summarizes everything I've just said. Mm-hmm. It's just takes a long time. It takes such a long time. To build them. To develop them and to know that, how to set them. Yeah. You know, like I, and I can tell you about my upbringing, you know, as all the great things I just mentioned about mom and dad and how we were raised.

[00:24:09] We also raised to be, um, not be a should disturber, you know, like my mom would always say, maintain peace, always maintain peace. Mm-hmm. It's a good advice. It's also a really terrible advice too, because, And sometimes maintaining peace. We forget our own boundaries. But then a good way to look at it is choose your peace.

[00:24:30] Yes. Oh my gosh. What I like to say, or what I, I didn't make this up, obviously, someone else very, you know, in tune said it, but it's like making peace versus keeping the peace. Like keeping the peace is like a, Like a guarded, um, do anything that it takes to keep the peace. Yeah. Making peace is doing the hard thing.

[00:24:54] Doing the thing that you have to do in order to create real peace, not like a guarded peace. And it, it just sounds like you just said like making peace is a, is an internal, it's an internal thing, and you need it to protect your own self, your own boundaries. Yeah. How much do you love? Right. It's the hardest question to ask somebody, like, how much do you love yourself?

[00:25:16] Can you choose yourself? We, we have such a hard time because we're so driven by that. Those the things that, you know, you've, um, again, the peace side, but, but at compromising our own. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. And I think it's especially, I don't know, I don't wanna put words in your mouth, but it, for me, I especially feel like that is women.

[00:25:42] We are kind of conditioned to keep the peace and like mm-hmm. Make the everything serene and like, it's just like keeping a home or keeping a, you know, like kind of those gendered, um, old school gendered kind of vibes where it's like, well actually if you make peace, like if you really connect with making peace, then you are taking over that, you're going outside of that bounded role.

[00:26:10] You're like, okay, I'm gonna do the hard thing, or I'm gonna do. Maybe more masculine thing, like maybe that's speaking up or maybe that's taking a leap of faith or whatever the case may be. But there's something there that women kind of, or what I've noticed in myself and other women in my, in my life have been like, well, you're kind of taught to like stay quiet, stay small, um, not be just as you said, like not be a shit disturber.

[00:26:35] Like let, like save that for the men, like save that for the men. And, and so I think. A definite balance to be kind of found. And I would love to hear someone, your kind of look at being a woman in oil and gas like you were outnumbered, guaranteed all the time. Um, and I know I was, but also a woman in business, like a, a woman entrepreneur.

[00:27:02] How do you. How do you take your femininity or your gender role into those in, into those jobs And what, what was your experience? So you're still getting outnumbered. That doesn't change. Yes. So that's, we're 50% of the population we're outnumbered everywhere we go. Yeah. That, that always remains a constant.

[00:27:21] At least for now it has been. Right? Like, I don't know if it's going to remain constant or not, but um, it is, it is a constant. So, you know, it's, um, We all have a masculine side and a feminine side. Just cause we're women doesn't mean we're all feminine. And just because somebody's men, um, a a male doesn't mean they're all masculine energy either.

[00:27:43] And it's, it's, it's learning to balance that. When, when do you play what role? Um, and, and, and sometimes it's, it's hard because you are, um, you know, fighting to be seen. Ahead or to, to even, um, you know, earn a seat where you feel like, but I deserve the seat. I don't, shouldn't be fighting for the seat. Right.

[00:28:07] And, uh, so that, that's, that's, that's been a challenge. And I'm, I'm not gonna lie about it, and I never thought of it being a challenge. You, oil and gas, I'm not gonna lie, I didn't think about being a challenge at all. But in my own business I have. Mm.

[00:28:24] I, yeah. I've had a, a harder time running my business because, and, and balancing those just because of you realize that the world has a certain expectation of you mm-hmm. And that, you know, you're like, as I said, I was always raised that it's doable. It's everything's possible. You just have to work towards it and get it done.

[00:28:45] So in real, And in a world of, of, you know, where, uh, women have to fight for a seat does not, doesn't always translate. You working and doing and doing the right things and achieving the results doesn't translate into a seat for you. So it's, it's, oh, so annoying system, your own values. You're like, hold on.

[00:29:06] But I was told, I've always been raised to with that, that if I walk towards it, if I go after it, it's mine. Then why is it that somebody's denying it? Because I'm a girl, I'm a female. Why am I being denied that? And that is a really, really hard thing to digest. And um, and it's tough to overlook because you know, you're not doing this because you are excited about nothing.

[00:29:32] You're doing this anything in life because you want to, to leave a mark. You know, and then you realize that, that mark can may never happen just because of my gender. How do you deal with it? How do I deal with it? I push through. Mm-hmm. Cause I don't, if I'm not gonna be the change, the person after me won't be able to do it either.

[00:29:51] Mm-hmm. So what I do is I've, I've learned that I'm going to ask for my place. I'm going to ask for my place, and I'm gonna prove myself worthy of the place as well. But I'm going to ask for my place. Um, I don't hesitate. To take, um, to stand up and speak for myself. I've decided I'm my voice. Mm-hmm. And I'm not gonna back down because I, I have to because somebody expects me to.

[00:30:17] And it's, it's a, it's a little bit, it's not an easy thing to do, but it's a, it's a role you take in leadership because I realize that this is not just me, I'm, it's, I'm changing somebody for the two other women that's gonna come behind me, or maybe 20 or hundred. However many, but at some point, like, you know, if you don't, if you, if you've worked towards it and you don't, can't get it, you gotta fight for it.

[00:30:42] Somebody did. You know, somebody fought for us. So we could be, that's right. We could and be persons, you know, recognized as a person. Um, in this damn country we call home like how people live in this place and think that it's OK to think that neither woman is not deserving. A, a man deserves right. So it's, it's, it's, it's, I think the sad thing is there's a generation of us, which is my generation and yours, that I think we will have to fight for it to create space for the next generation.

[00:31:10] Mm-hmm. And I'm hoping the next generation will have an easier time because they won't be looked as a agenda that be looked as idea. An idea They'll be looked at as somebody who's contributing their ideas will be given validation because they're great ideas. Mm-hmm. Not because, you know, How you, what you call yourself.

[00:31:28] Yeah. Not because of what the sex you were born with. Like, it's just a very odd, um, especially when you look at it objectively. It's just a very odd concept. Like it we're all the same. We're all the same, and there's. Just different privileged hierarchies that we've created in our society and every privileged hierarchy exists because someone's benefiting from it.

[00:31:52] Like that's how it works in my eyes. Like, yeah, I have an easier time as a white woman because women of color are actually, I'm benefiting from them not getting. As far as they've been like, that's like that privilege needs to get checked and do what you can with it. Do what you can with that privilege to change that really weird dynamic that is not real like it's real.

[00:32:22] But it doesn't make sense. Yeah. And raise your, raise your children. Raise your sons Raise. Yes. Who have sons? Raise your sons to, to recognize, you know, for every woman who's married to a man needs to speak to their husband because I deal with husbands, you know, most of them are husbands, to a woman and father to a daughter.

[00:32:46] And you want to tell them that, that, you know, would you want to see your daughter fighting in the same space as I'm? Yeah. Wow. Why are you okay if your daughter do not have a seat? Like, so why don't you be the change? Yes. That's, that's the dialogue we haven't had with people. You know, like be the, be a dad, get up and be a dad to be a father.

[00:33:06] Yes. And like you are doing something really special in your, in the path that you're trailblazing here. Um, you are creating. Uh, a pathway that others can walk behind easier than you had. And that's a lot of emotional labor. That's a lot of, well, from me to you, from what I can see, that is like a huge amount of energy.

[00:33:36] Emotionally, physically, um, even just in your own life force, like your own life bubble, like that's a lot. That is a lot. And mm-hmm. I can just say myself, I'm so grateful because I'm raising two daughters. Mm-hmm. And I think about them and what they're gonna be like in the world every day, every day That thought passes through me, where I'm like, what am I doing?

[00:34:01] What am I doing to make this harder or easier? What are, what are their, what is their dad doing to make it better, not better? Um, so on and so forth. And it's the work that you're doing, um, that really creates a path that my daughters can walk down easily and we need, we need that, right? Like, it's funny, like I've, um, I followed two people on LinkedIn and this is an interesting, like I did a little bit of, took a moment to kind of do.

[00:34:30] I don't know, digging, I guess, let's say, and I know two people on LinkedIn, both are entrepreneurs. Um, one is a, they're both, uh, Caucasian. Um, one is a male, one is a female. And this has nothing to do with racial diversity or anything like that. This just has to do with purely gender diversity. Um, both entrepreneurs.

[00:34:50] One is a first time entrepreneur, another one successful the first time, and is now starting a second business. You know, had some mishaps on the first time. Nonetheless, they both share learnings. They both share a lot of learnings. LinkedIn, they both have based on judging by the mutual connections that I have with both of them.

[00:35:06] Um, I'd say their connection level on LinkedIn is about the same, like the, you know, how many people they know. Yeah. When the gentleman posts something on LinkedIn, the interaction is unbelievable, even though the same people exist on the other person's LinkedIn account as well. Hmm. And the stories are very similar, very similar about struggles, who's an entrepreneur, um, you know, about, um, day-to-day life as an entrepreneur, but not sleeping about not doing, like, the typical things every entrepreneur goes through is what they go through as well.

[00:35:37] Um, but they, you know, want to journal it and wanna discuss, like, have a way of storytelling and, and the interaction the, the male gets versus the female gets. It's crazy. And they both have the same connections and the same men who comment on the. The guys never, ever leave a remark in this girl's LinkedIn.

[00:36:00] Oh, gross. Fuck. That's so gross. Why is that?

[00:36:11] That's a good question. Um, I think there's something around still associated around, um,

[00:36:24] Who we support, right? Like we still, we still choose the, um, the brotherhood to support. Men are very driven by men. Men have traditionally, and to this date are great. It's supporting men. Mm-hmm. They do it way better than, I'm kind of, I, yeah, I'm kind of speaking out at a turn a little bit here. Like don't at me, but like I, when I see males supporting males, it's actually usually a little bit better than the way I see women supporting women, my father, because women are the worst.

[00:37:03] Women don't champion women. It's, we don't champion women. We hold women to a very different standard than we would hold a men to, you know? A woman like I, I'll give you an example. And, um, this is turning into a very feminist, uh, podcast. Whoever bring it on, it's my podcast. You know, like guy who started, um, who started WeWork mm-hmm.

[00:37:27] But he started WeWork. He, uh, fudge numbers quite a bit, was Bob's billionaire, and then dropped to Forbes. Back on the street status. Yeah. Yes. Just, just to shy, stop a human being. Um, then decided I'm gonna start this real estate company called like Flow or something in US and um, some kind of real estate group.

[00:37:52] Raised so much money. Raised so much money. If the same thing was done by a woman, she'd be tarnished. Mm-hmm. No one would ever give her capital again. No one would ever like, and, and, and you can see that the Theranos lady who's in Yes, yes. I'm excited to see when her, wait. Yeah. What comes out? Not because from the, not because of the, I don't want her to suffer any further, not from that sense necessarily, but I wanna see if the world will give her another chance or not.

[00:38:23] Like we've given mm-hmm. Like Donald Trump. Donald Trump. Whereas Hillary Clinton was crucified. The things she far less than what he had done, but she was crucified for it because somehow she was supposed to be the better of the two. Yeah. Why, why was she supposed to be the better of the two? Mm-hmm. She was the better of the.

[00:38:44] But we thought he, but she didn't win. Surprised weren't she like, oh, hers were so bad. Like, so it's, it's, it's the standards we hold men and women to needs to change. That's what needs to change. Men are more forgiving of men. Women are more forgiving of men. Mm. Not forgiving of women. Yeah. Oof. That sucks.

[00:39:10] It feels true. I to see what happens to, as we be, you know, um, Friedman dude. Yeah. From, I'm, I'm interested to see, and even like things like you look at, um, uh, you know, who was a cyclist? What was his name? Um, oh, um, France guy. Yeah. Oh my gosh. The name is like, It's in a filing cabinet, but I can't find it.

[00:39:33] But yes, I know who you're talking about. Right. Like was making money, publishing books and writing things. Who was a female athlete who would've done that? He was actually cheating. Like he was literally cheating. The whole thing was a lie. Yeah. Doping and cheating and you know, and a female would've never be able to sell a book afterwards and have like podcasts and stories and like, I'm, I'm sorry that I was chilling the whole time.

[00:39:56] Right. Like, Standards we hold is very different. Very, very different. And that those, that's what needs to change. The standards need to change. Can you give us some advice about that? Can you, can you leave us with a bit of a idea of what we can do? What, what salon would you say is the next right thing to start making a difference in that area?

[00:40:27] Give a woman a chance, give a female a chance. You know, and I'm not saying because give them a chance when they don't deserve a chance. Like women, sometimes we don't deserve a chance. If there's a better candidate who's a male, it's a better candidate. Mm-hmm. But don't hold another woman to a different standard, right?

[00:40:45] Mm-hmm. Like before you judge, let's not judge. Let's, before we judge a female, before we judge another woman, let's ask ourselves if the same crime was committed by men. Where would they stand in our lives and what would we say about them? Yeah. If all would say about them was like, oh, that was a bummer.

[00:41:08] Then let's just say the same about the female too. That was a bummer and move on. Mm-hmm. Let's, let's just, we cannot ask for someone else to level the playing field for us. We need to do it for the others. Mm-hmm. That share the same struggles as we do, and until we make the change for, until I make the change for you.

[00:41:29] I can't expect your husband to make the change for us. Yeah, totally. Yeah. I love that sentiment. It's like mind your own garden. Yeah. And pull the weeds and let that garden grow before you go, like telling someone how to deal with their field. Um, and I, I really appreciate that. And what I, the practical.

[00:41:50] What I heard you practically say there is when you are invited, like when you feel judgment entering into your ethos, when you feel it, um, creeping up into how you ju how you experience somebody, there's an invitation to shut that judgment off and try a different way. Ask a different question of yourself as to why am I experiencing.

[00:42:12] What, what's coming up for me? What is the, what are the beliefs that are ingrained in me that's making me have that judgment moment? And I like to say like, every time you make a judgment on someone else, it's just truly a judgment on yourself. It's just a fear that you have about yourself. So one thing I do in my life is that I don't, um, I judge people in the sense that I'd say, oh my God, that was so dumb, right?

[00:42:34] Of something, somebody doing something, cutting me off on the road or like trying to, like, while I'm driving or something, I'd be like, oh my God. Such an idiot. Why would you do that? I'd say that, and I leave it to that I don't attach my energy to anybody's behavior. Mm-hmm. So any judgment I have, I have it in the moment while I say it, but I'd never attach energy to it because it's not worth my time.

[00:42:58] Mm-hmm. Everybody needs to start thinking the same way. It's like you, it's not worth your time to attach your energy to what somebody else is doing, and by judging through judgment, and that's. That's when things get outta hand, because when we start to attach an energy to it, we start to, we start to categorize people.

[00:43:18] We, we make up our minds that we are never going to. Give somebody a chance instead of just saying, this particular incident doesn't define the person. Mm-hmm. You do that with men, right? Yeah. You don't fail to promote them just because they're liar and cheaters and you know, take money and, and leave them hanging.

[00:43:37] We don't, we just look at that like, oh, well you know what? Here to bad financial decision he made, we've got all these excuses around it. Mm-hmm. Instead of saying, oh my God, I'd never give my money to that person. We don't do that so, We need to do the same thing. We need to reserve our judgment for the incident and not for the person.

[00:43:55] Yeah, yeah. Oh yeah, totally. Because that creates an environment, like it's creating an environment where it's possible to give people the chances that they deserve, as opposed to not giving them the chances they deserve, because you're attaching. What they've done to who they are in a bad way. Like I think there's a good way and a bad way like that that exists.

[00:44:20] It's, we all need to take responsibility for what we do, and we need to own our stuff. And we are not our stuff. We are not the, I even say sometimes. To clients or like whatever, just in conversation where it's like we're not the feelings we're having. Yeah. We are the person observing the feeling. That's who we are.

[00:44:42] Yeah. So we need to apply that into the outer world as well, not just the inner. Not just the inner world. Yeah. And how many times do we, like I do dumb stuff all day long because I haven't thought of something or I make a mistake, or like just I'm so consumed with something else that I overlook something.

[00:45:00] Mm-hmm. And in doing so, you've done something that's offensive to somebody else. Right. It's, it's, it's human nature, whether I've cut somebody off too while driving or Yeah. You know, said something to somebody that didn't necessarily, um, what my intentions weren't clear and what I said, and I may have used something or said something that may have actually offended somebody.

[00:45:21] We do that, and it doesn't mean that you're a mean crude human being. It just means that, There was a moment you've had and that moment doesn't define you. So if we can start doing that for ourselves, it's easier to do it on others as well. Right? Yeah, absolutely. Start with your garden. Start with yourself.

[00:45:39] Yes. Um, cuz I think that's powerful. Like if you can just. Manage your own shit. Um, that's, that's the probably the best gift you can give. Totally. Stop judging other women. Stop judging other women. Just boom, across the board. Just stop it. Hmm. Um, so on. You're an absolute delight. Um, can we wrap up our conversation today with you telling us what happened in our talk today?

[00:46:07] Like what, what happened in this conversation? Holy smokes. A lot happened in this conversation. It was, um, meant to be something that was going to be, um, you know, about me sharing my journey and talking. What we did was talked about like, how can we be better women? Yeah. So, you know, what happened in this conversation was I think something that we all feel very personally towards about, um, you know, lifting.

[00:46:32] Other people around us. And I don't think it is gender driven because someday the pendulum's gonna swing on the other side and our poor little boys at home wouldn't know what to do with their lives. Yes. Not let that happen. So everything with balance and with, you know, um, coming from a good place without creating more diversity 20 years from now and more division 50 years from now.

[00:46:50] Right. Yeah. So it's, it's, it's, um, it's sort of, it's, it's doing that and I think it's a near and dear conversation to both of us. Mm-hmm. Clearly. Um, But, uh, you know, there's, there's a field here that needs to be leveled out, and that's something I think our plea is that let's, let's be better people and, uh, and do just that.

[00:47:12] And to me, like honestly, what I really wanted to share with everybody today was something that, um, Meant the world to me, which I've been asked before. And I thought, well, you know, if I were to summarize everything in my life and everything that I'm doing, and if I were to leave anybody with inspiration to do anything else, what would it be?

[00:47:32] And it would be, you know, very simple words from Joseph Campbell, right? Which is, if your path in front of you clear, you're probably in someone else's, Ooh, so poof, hit you right in the heart. Yeah. So everything we do, whether, you know, whether we're women entrepreneurs or just people, individuals, um, it's, it's a lot of roadblocks and, you know, gender is one roadblock.

[00:48:04] There's so many other things in, in the mix as well. Mm-hmm. Um, nothing goes your way. Your plan's always changing. You. But if you had a very straightforward one shot and you could see where you're going and you went there and you knew there was nothing else coming away, it's not your fun. How fun is that?

[00:48:25] What fun is that? And I think, you know what I just heard you say is we can pave the way in a way that also leaves the mystery of. What is ahead? Like we can do both. We can forge ahead for the little girls and boys coming behind us, and we can also forge it in a way that leaves a mystery for them to solve as well.

[00:48:53] Hey. They have to be excited in their own lives too. Yeah, exactly. Got some water problems for them. They'll have new and bigger problems and more exciting problems, but at least they'll have northwater. At least they'll have northwater they'll have that they can be proud of around the world when they I know that bread.

[00:49:09] That's Canada. We Canada. Well, Saawan, thank you so much for putting us on the map. Um, I, yeah, like your, your a trailblazer. Just amazing. And we're so grateful. We're so grateful that you're doing this good work in the world. And you know, I I, I'll just encourage the listeners just to go Google Northwater, read your story, buy the product.

[00:49:36] It's in, it's in coffee shops, it's in places. You get water from coast to coast, and hopefully, Even further. Yes, that's the goal. And thank you so much for having me. This is such a great, um, opportunity to showcase our story, uh, but also to kind of, uh, connect with you obviously. Mm-hmm. Connect your listeners and, um, I hope somebody found some inspiration somewhere.

[00:50:02] You're never alone. It's lonely. Feels lonely. You're never alone. Um, you know, if you worked there at night and found that things don't go your way, you're not alone. Yeah. So just remember that. A beautiful message. You, listener. You are not alone. You have saan, you have me, and yeah. We are championing you. We are cheering you on and.

[00:50:24] It's proof. It's proof right here that we want you to do good and we want you to feel supported. So thank you so much for listening. Saawan, thank you so much for coming and we will see you again soon. Thank you so much for being here and listening to this episode. I love having you and sharing these stories with you is just giving me life.

[00:50:46] If you like the podcast, please go find positively charged wherever you get your podcasts. Great review Center friend, like, share, follow me on Instagram, check out my website. Your support means everything to me. Thank you so much for being here and can't wait to see you again soon.