In this first episode of the House of Trust, I am sharing with you my story - my ‘why’- so that you understand the foundations of this podcast. 

This is a very personal story about my friend, the late Marcelo Yuka. He meant a great deal to me, and his actions have embedded a desire in me to continue doing what I do to enact positive social change. 

For decades, Marcelo put a lot of attention on researching and understanding the link between life purpose, life journey, and human connections. And he knew that everything fuses into one simple concept: love. 

So in this podcast, we are going to talk about love, trust and hope, and why the world will be a better place if we can all channel our inner Marcelo, just a little bit more. 

Highlights from this episode: 

(00:44) I thought this was a serious podcast? 

(03:21) An explosion of newness 

(05:34) The glue holding everything together 

(07:20) Deliver as if you cannot fail 

Connect with Servane:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/servanemouazan/

Website: https://servanemouazan.co.uk

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Hi everyone. I'm Sivan and welcome to this very first episode of Be and Think in the House of Trust. I'm really excited to share a bit of my work with Friends in Social Impact Ecosystem, and in this first episode, I thought I would share with you my why, the story that lies at the foundation of this House of Trust, the story of the house, just because it feels like the decent thing to do.

Before I invite you to step through the door, and I hope this resonates with you. I'm, I'm certain you have a why story that sounds a little bit similar.

I felt a bit anxious at first to bring this topic up in the open when it's supposed to be serious about serious stuff, investing in social change, impact finance, et cetera. It doesn't look like something you discuss in the lounge, right? But actually, if we can walk together for the next 10 minutes or so, I hope you want to drop off your code, settle in, pause, and have a drink, and take the time to think.

For decades. He put a lot of attention on researching and understanding the link between life purpose, life journey, and human connections. And he knew that everything fuses into one simple concept. Love. Why am I talking to you about that? Because in this podcast, I'd like to share with you some moments in and from a place that generally find to be full of love, and this place is called the House of Trust.

We talk about international politics, whistle blowers, capitalism, the north, the south, the west. What's required to influence change? It was a formidable thinking conversation, an endless, enriching exchange of perspectives with others or just two of. Sometimes we stayed like two years without being physically in the same room together.

But when we'd meet again, we would peak the conversation where we'd left it. Technology, yoga practice, and even some interpretation. His interpretation of Buddhism made his painful body a tad bit more comfortable, and yet, despite the constant pain he endured, he had such a hunger for learning and putting stuff in.

One day was gathering other musicians in Brazil and calling in the UN Rapporteur to raise awareness against abject policies against the poor or racials communities in the PAVs. Another day it was about launching a whole social enterprise campaign to support young artists in the community, or launching beautiful literacy and numeracy programs in prison.

When I first met him, I was 27. I could hardly take it all in. To me, it was like a, it was like an explosion of newness, alternative wisdom, and, and fusion of disciplines and topics that had hardly been exposed to so far. Thinking of it, there was an ease in surfing from one topic to another. Juxtaposing understanding and learning from various systems, seeing patterns, building complex relationships, and just be happy with it.

It did that naturally. I didn't know then that this had a name that's systems thinking and something that struck me. It called himself a sculpture of utopias. So I came to love the challenge and, and I took up to bring him stories from my various adventures in the social enterprise world and the campaigning world components for my, my life as a facilitator in the community and, and the network lead bitsy wouldn't have heard of necessarily, and there was always enough space for discovery and imagination.

It's like it was hungry for the material in a way. We had an implicit agreement with his eyes and legs in other parts of the. By joining thoughts, we were building new possibilities. Each conversation came back to the same contemplation around the complexity and the necessity of love. So let me talk about love a little bit.

Stay with me. Sit closer. No one else is listening. Far from being a fluffy concept. You think love offers the most complex platform from which you can gain insights into your power. Whatever you're working on in a farm, in a city, in a factory, driving a night bus, working in construction, structuring a fund or impact fund, designing t-shirts, minding children, it's through your love for work Well done and your love for.

You grow your capacity to make decisions that influence and change people's worlds. So why should people who invest in social and environmental change not talk about love and trust? Respect, empathy, positive values, especially when these are put into motion into action. These thoughts, beliefs and behaviors are the glue that holds everything together.

Beyond skills and competencies, I find that they end up in your capacity to make a positive impact. You see where I'm going? Thoughts, beliefs and behaviors are the embodiment of an organization's values in real life, and the litmus test of whether our strategies can be delivered and our missions fulfilled.

Marcella used to say love is a type of intelligence that can't be confined soly to a form relationship among family members or significant people, but rather it's a way to see the world. It's the greatest of all human potentials. It's traditional wisdom, and at the same time, it's the most modern one.

The way I translate love into my work is as follows, all my focus is the turn of the century. When I first met Marcello has been on amplifying single acts of generosity as well as demonstrating the ripple effect and, and the power of independent thinking. Especially for people who work in community and social projects.

For example, through my support to women in social enterprises or new angels, investors or young and older campaigners in the community have been always deeply interested in, in what's behind people's technical skills and competence competencies. I want to find the love within and and how it could help them drive change.

And I wonder what is more powerful than love when it's inspiring and replicated. I wonder actually if you've experienced such a relationship with someone, their work relationship, something, a relationship that mixing with mountains where we can easily shape dreams together, where we can express naivety, maturity, fears, expectations, successes, pains, intimacy, and crazy.

Hope without judgment and without being interrupted, especially in times of turbulence. Being wheelchair bound didn't stop myself from driving many citizenship movements and multidisciplinary initiatives mixed with the artistic language. He knew so well how to express he had to go at everything as if he couldn't fail.

It was restless, but he knew he didn't have much time and therefore there was always this urgency in him. So my biggest challenge was to make him slow down to go. I really trust that extra stretch of time would amplify his work and not make him waste any opportunities. That wasn't an easy feat to make him understand that his body was hurting badly and he felt he didn't have much time.

So a few years back, I supported Marcello and his small team to capture the essential values and behaviors that were, and depending their work. Marcella believed that love always has the possibility to be a political act. And it was important for the team to understand what is it they were actually doing that was making a difference?

What was making their work a political act and how they could translate that dramatically in their own language. So we slowed down time. To save time and through a process of listening, it was a short session. They collectively found that the pillars of their work of love were supported by this triangle of determination, generosity, and creativity.

It seemed simple at first sight, uh, but there was a lot of listening and a lot of thinking around this, and equality among the team members. They realized also they were the guardians of other people's ideas and hopes, and they were helping people to bring these to life. This type of exercise is useful for any group.

It enables people to develop a vocabulary that helps them connect and bond, uh, with each other, with new supporters, donors, or the press, even political, you know, people. So I hope you have someone in your life that is a bit like Marcello and then Steam, maybe you are a this person. I've been inspired by his relentless efforts to make life for people.

And it was contagious. So I am determined to continue the work and keep growing this economy of love, trust, and connectedness. I'll never thank him enough for the impact he's had on our lives, for his personal love and support and for letting me love him back. So if you are that person who loves to invest in Ignite a positive social and environmental impact, I'm opening my humble house of trust to you and I'm offering you a seat at the table.

You may or may not agree with all that is being said in these episodes. It's fine if, if it can sparkle a conversation or bring you to do your things, you know better or differently, or with even more determination than love has been making. Its way. My name is c. And I'll warmly welcome you to the House of Trust.