Leveling Up: Welcome to my next (r)evolution
For the last few years, I have been guided to make some of the most important decisions of my life during the month of August.
In August 2013, I was guided to make the decision (after several previously failed attempts) to quit my job for good when the timing felt right, and start my own online business.
I sent an email titled ‘SOS!’ to two of friends at the time and it read:
“My Dear Partners in Crime ;)
I need your help to break free from the fortress (aka employment!).
After a few days back at work I've realised I can no longer do this. 'This' meaning continuing to be out of integrity with myself by living the rest of my life working for someone else. It just isn't who I am and I've come to a cross-roads where it's like - Ok Layla, you either go for your dreams NOW with all that you've got, or you live the rest of your life in mediocrity, passivity and regret.
I think you know which one I'm choosing ;)”
After having my second child in 2014, I finally quit my job and started my coaching business.
Then in August 2016, after having run the coaching business under my name for 2.5 years, I was guided to make the decision to close that business and pour all my energies into WildMysticWoman.com, a website that I initially started as a personal blog to document my spirituality and womanhood journey.
In August 2017, following the horrific events in Charlottesville USA, I was guided to write the viral open letter - ‘I need to talk to spiritual white women about white supremacy’.
And now, in August 2018 after, I have been guided to retire the WildMysticWoman name, and re-brand once again under my own name.
Each of these decisions over the years scared me to death, but they also felt like the absolute right thing to do. Each led me to the next stage of my evolution as a writer, a speaker, a teacher and a leader.
As many of you know, I took what felt like a quantum leap forward with my work last month with the #MeAndWhiteSupremacy challenge. During my time offline I took the time to rest and re-calibrate. I also took the time to do what Oprah calls ‘listening for the next right move’. Anytime I make a major shift forward, I take the time to draw back inwards so I can re-align and stay grounded with my own vision. During my time offline I listened deeply, and this change of my business name and brand is what came through very strongly. It’s my next right move.
To that effect, I have re-branded WildMysticWoman.com to LaylaFSaad.com.
While I will always be the Wild Mystic Woman, it is time to move to the next stage of my evolution.
What does this next evolution look like?
I am a Black feminist, and I will continue to center and uplift Black women
I am a racial justice advocate and anti-racism teacher who is helping people with white privilege examine their white privilege and dismantle their white supremacy
I am a spiritual thought-leader and sacred activist who is supporting people of all races (myself very much included) to heal their internalised oppression, and dismantle their externalised oppression
I am a writer who is writing articles and books to help us all become better ancestors
In addition to re-branding the name and look of the website, and clarifying the focus of my work, I have also made the following decisions/changes:
I have changed my Instagram handle from @wildmysticwoman to @laylafsaad.
PODCAST
The Wild Mystic Woman Podcast has been one of my absolute favourite parts of my work. Since 2016, I have hosted powerful conversations with women who are doing important work in the world. However, I have made the decision to publish the final six remaining episodes and then the Wild Mystic Woman Podcast will be retiring. But don’t worry! We will be launching a brand new podcast series with a new name and style within the next few months. I am so excited to share that with you when ready! And all episodes of the Wild Mystic Woman Podcast will be archived and available to listen to even after the podcast is retired.
BOOK
Following my 28-day #MeAndWhiteSupremacy challenge on Instagram, the first book I am going to be publishing is a self-guided #MeAndWhiteSupremacy workbook for people who want to take themselves through the work of uncovering and dismantling their white privilege and their internalised racism. Click here to sign up to be the first to be notified when the book (which will be a physical book!) is available for purchase.
PATREON
I have made some important changes to the way I use Patreon. Patreon is an incredible platform for people to sustainably support creators like myself for a small monthly fee. However, unlike many Patreon creators, most of the content I produce and work that I do is not exclusively on the Patreon platform. And though I’ve tried to fit myself to use Patreon in the way it’s intended (i.e. creating ‘patron-only content’), it just doesn’t work for me. The places where I share the bulk of my work are Instagram, my podcast, my blog (and in the future - published articles on other platforms). For that reason, I have changed the way the membership tiers work on my Patreon page. Going forward, when you choose to pledge as a patron of my work, you are making a monthly contribution to support my work:
Writing articles and books to create change at the intersections of race, feminism, spirituality and leadership
Hosting a podcast that produces 75-90min long episodes with thought-leaders, change-makers, artists, advocates, teachers, mentors, authors and speakers.
Providing daily education, activation, inspiration and emotional labour through my Instagram platform of tens of thousands of followers.
If you find value in the education, activation, inspiration and advocacy work that I do through these platforms and would like to financially compensate and support me in my work, then I encourage you to support me on Patreon. Membership tiers start as low as US$1/month and you can pledge as little or as much works best for you. The content that I will be sharing on Patreon will be content that is shared from my other platforms (ie relevant IG posts, new podcast episodes, new articles, etc.).
Please note that if you had previously pledged under the US$30 ‘I can’t wait for your book!’ tier, I will be adding your name to a Thank You page in #MeAndWhiteSupremacy workbook. Thank you for supporting my work.
Lastly, I just want to say thank you to those of you who have stayed with me and supported me through all my many evolutions. The last 4 years have been quite a ride! Thank you for your constant patience and support of me and my work. I am looking forward to seeing what the next 4 years bring.