Pursuing a successful career can come at a cost. Many women have found themselves stuck in a loophole, working 24/7 and not giving themselves the downtime they deserve in order to feel like they are at their most successful and productive. This is a path that leads to eventual burnout, where there’s no motivation or desire to continue doing what you love, even when you know it used to bring you joy.
Sometimes, burnout isn’t caused by just overworking. It is also caused by proactively suppressing your core values and losing sight of who you truly are. As women, each and every one of us has a certain aura and a certain feminine energy that leads us. It is not in vain that we feel the most fulfilled and inspired when we are around fellow women, and through their energy, we get to recharge and regroup our thoughts and feelings. But this is the thing that is often missing in the world of business. Throughout history, business and entrepreneurship have been known to be led by traits viewed as masculine in Western society, such as strength, courage, independence, leadership, and assertiveness. But what about feminine traits such as being empathetic, kind, helpful, devoted, and understanding. In most business handbooks, and almost all entrepreneurship courses and programs, you won't find empathy cited as a positive entrepreneurial attribute.
This is where Kate Murphy noticed a gap in the way business is led first-hand. That is why she founded The Feminine Code Business School, a program dedicated to connecting feminine values with business and entrepreneurship, which Kate came to find out were not mutually exclusive but can build a powerful system of values that should be integrated into the business venture of your dreams. With this, you will not only lead with certainty, but with respect towards your inner truth. We are delighted to have Kate be our latest Cool Face of Bastet Noir, so keep on reading to find out more about this inspiring woman and how she managed to turn her life around for the better.
Who is Kate Murphy?
I always find this type of question hard, as there are two answers to it: there is the me that exists out in the world and there is the truth of who we are as beings. :)
That being said, if I describe based on the former, I am an entrepreneur, investor, and business expert, as well as deeply spiritual. I work with the divine feminine and nature’s wisdom as an initiated priestess. I’m also a trained yoga teacher, Reiki practitioner, and sound healer. I guess you could say I play on both ends of the spectrum.
What’s your morning routine like?
Mornings for me are slow and easy — I start the day by brewing up a big pot of a herbal infusion (usually hormone balancing or liver detoxing) and then sit for my morning meditation. I take my time in my morning and do not rush. I journal daily, check in with myself, give gratitude and sometimes even read a few pages from my current book selection. Movement also takes place during this time: sometimes yoga, sometimes a run, sometimes nothing. It just depends on my energy. From there I head towards getting ready for my day and begin work.
Your work is heavily based on spirituality and business strategizing, which is an unusual combination. With The Feminine Code, you have taken on femininity as a key point in turning ideas into a profitable business, which to some might sound like a disadvantageous quality. How has that mindset helped you overcome personal and career barriers throughout your life?
What happened to me while running a tech firm in the heat of a growth phase, is I burned out. I burned out because I didn’t listen to my body, and its knowledge. I burnt out also because I equated working crazy hours and accomplishing “more” with being successful. As my stress levels peaked and my body started to show strange signs of exhaustion, I realized I needed to change or my time as CEO would be over — after only 3 years into my nearly 8-year tenure. I started recommitting to my spiritual practices, listening to my body above all else and realized that I continued to deliver great results — without feeling like a zombie. As I delved deeper into this work and found ways to combine it, the company started to create more value. I finally had the energy to do strategy and creative work that before would never have been possible because my mind wasn’t able to go into the creative space.
To us, The Feminine Code looks like a highly curated representation of all the areas in your mind that spark creativity, thoughtfulness, business, and pursuit for receiving and giving knowledge. How did this business venture come about and did you have any doubts going into it?
Thanks for the kind words. The Feminine Code was created from exactly that — all the areas of my experience, my mind, and my truth. After spending the last 12 years in corporate and tech, I came out with the distinct sense that there was an absence of Feminine values in the companies I worked with and for. As CEO / Co-Founder of the last venture, I was shown that part of my mission would be to help other women get to the top of their careers, create and own businesses and create an impact while building real wealth. As I used my own spiritual practices and intertwined them with business, I started to understand its power and I needed to share it. Thus, The Feminine Code was created.
Three things you wish you knew before starting out?
You are not meant to do everything yourself - especially in business. You have to let go of some control and let others do what they are masters at, leaving you to do what you're passionate about and good at.
You don't need an MBA to be an entrepreneur.
In the traditional business world, work for companies that put diversity into action and aren't just paying lip-service to it.
Biggest failure/setback in life, and what have you learned from it?
If I look at failures in the traditional sense, there have been many — times where things didn’t go as I planned and prepared for. But my perspective on it has never been “failure” and always learning. As a result of each failure, you learn again and again how resilient you are, how capable you are of picking up and starting something new. I wish more women understood the absolute truth in this — that failure, even in the public eye, is only as powerful as we make it. If we chose not to see results as “failures” and only learnings and lessons, we’re a lot more capable of bouncing back quickly and pivoting our direction.
Books that changed your life
Where to begin… I suppose the first ones that shifted things for me were Anatomy of the Spirit by Caroline Myss and A Return to Love by Marianne Williamson.
Favorite female empowerment speech
Not so much a speech, so much as it is a sentiment:
“Feminism isn’t about making women stronger. Women are already strong, it’s about changing the way the world perceives that strength.” -G.D. Anderson
What’s in your Bastet Noir cart?
The Lampe dress, the Lucia dress, and the Gia mint sweatshirt and short set.
If you liked Kate’s story, there’s plenty more to come, just hit that sign up button to get in our inner circle of coolness and never miss a thang!