Welcome to Soft & Strong, a *brand new* monthly newsletter that is a living experiment on bringing more softness into my life. How can we use softness as a superpower in business and life, without losing my edge and ambition?
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About me
I’m Valerie — a recovering workaholic, entrepreneur, a budding writer, a nature devotee by birth, and a dog mom by choice. Currently living between the mountains and the sea in Portugal.
As someone of German-Dutch-Lebanese descent, English is my third language, but the one that feels most like home to me. Writing has been my therapy since I was a little girl with untamed curls hiding her diary behind the loose slat of her closet.
With the launch of this Substack, I’m bringing my thoughts, fears, and hopes about being a woman in the 21st century—from the pages of my crumpled diary to the vast expanse of the internet (yes, I’m scared AF).
About Soft & Strong
Soft and strong, two words I once believed couldn't coexist.
For most of my life, I embraced the word 'strong'; a woman relentlessly pursuing her ambitions—ambitions that I'm not even sure were mine. I convinced myself there was honor in suffering, until the day my body decided it was done. Burnout #classic. Done hustling, done running, done being in vigilant warrior mode. 'Strong' failed me.
Marching in comes 'softness' (I share my unexpected aha moment in this first newsletter edition) and it’s been a whole new game since.
I define softness as the strength found in vulnerability. I am convinced that our authenticity arises from the beautiful interplay of both strength and softness.
As a woman in her mid-thirties with a decade of entrepreneurship under my belt and a (past) belief that more hustle is better, I share my insights, reflections, and the occasional (read: frequent) stumble on the path of embracing more softness. Together, we navigate the intersections of femininity, empowerment, and authenticity.
Join the Soft & Strong community for a monthly dose of inspiration, thoughtful musings, and practical ideas on turning softness into a superpower. It's more than a newsletter; it's a conversation, a celebration, and a reshaping.
Soft is the new strong 🤘🏽
