People often ask me where the secret lies in our very close, collaborative relationship and business partnership of 25 years and our marriage of 30 years.

Well, I often start off by saying I married a saint – whose values are rooted in unselfishness, always helping others, humility and contribution.

But the truth dissected is this:

 Find someone who shares your common values of generosity, coupled with financial discipline, fuelled by the mission of building a legacy, a life of creating beautiful memories, meaningful projects, a life of joy.

 We are both creatives.

We don’t regard work as “work”. My husband always says “I am not working, I am creating”. That is the mantra we live by – to create a life of contribution and meaning. We are both artists in different forms. My husband creates new products, builds factories and renovates to create extraordinary homes and extraordinary spaces. Over time. I paint with words and images. We both collaborate constantly on multiple projects.

We balance one another out.

He is the calm rock in my life. I am the intense emotive of fire, I dance with intensity. He has taught me more patience, a lesson I am still constantly learning. We complement one another, like twin tracks on a meandering adventure of the soul.

 We are both peace-loving.

Neither of us enjoys conflict. If we do want to negotiate an issue, we do so with curiosity, compassion and collaboration to arrive at a shared solution. We try and live out the same values with our management team. We choose to live in harmony. That fuels our purpose and our contribution across all our ventures and partnerships.

We do not hold grudges or bring up past history, except in humour – the best way to celebrate our past!

 We are romantics.

Our lives have been guided for 30 years of “Creating Beautiful Spaces” – the slogan of our company. Beautiful spaces that allow for the celebration of family, friendships and fun. Where we dip into deep and meaningful conversations. Romance is a vehicle to experiencing a life of passionate intimacy, of deep and meaningful connections of Seducing Life.

We play complementary non–traditional “roles”

My husband is the travel agent, I am the social organizer. He loves cooking. I love cooking healthy delicious meals, when I have the time to enjoy it as a language of love. We dance in our destinies. We are don’t sweat the small stuff. We are too busy playing big, playing full out.

We are both financially independent, yet have a fluid supportive relationship towards all our assets. Its not “mine” and ours, but mine and ours. Embracing paradoxical thinking, brings remarkable peace. We both see money as an energy and not a goal.

We focus on our unifying aspects, not our differences. We both have very different gifts as creatives. We don’t tolerate one another’s differences. We celebrate them.

I am constantly apologizing with ease and grace; it makes life so much easier. It was not always so. I now live in grace. I am clumsy; I burn things; I am technologically challenged, but achieve with support, whereas my husband is a technical genius. Kindness is the root of our union. We adore one another.

We are the privileged parents of deeply contributional children. It’s a blessing that guides our lives. The greatest wealth of all.

We love travel and new adventures.

We love going to rustic unusual places, the road less travelled. It mirrors our curious spirits. About people, places, cultures. Our common humanity. My faith guides all that I do. We both are guided by love, the love of making a difference. We both love growing people.

We both collaborate, it makes us exponential. We both manage, contribute and collaborate independently and together on several companies and ventures that allows us to live a multi- faceted life. It has made our lives extraordinary through the people we are constantly encountering.

Against the buildup of so much complexity and sorrow in the world, we choose to celebrate the joy of living in an extraordinary land, being surrounded by extraordinary friendships.

We are living in fun, in friendship, in faith, in purpose and in meaning.

The Art and Science of everything. Alone we are just two people, but together we live as a ten.

Conclusion

Imagine celebrating all that your partner is – not what they are “not”.

Imagine finding someone that celebrates all that you are – not what you are “not”.

Imagine finding tribes that grow you, believe in your unique talents or voices.

Imagine celebrating all that you are – not what you are “not”.

Imagine stepping into the truth that you came here for a reason.

Exponential living

That is Identity Intelligence.