Leah Steele: Why The Post-Pandemic Economy Needs Wealth Warriors to Kickstart Growth

It’s no secret that women bore much of the financial brunt of the lockdown in 2020–2021. Recent studies have corroborated the fact that the economic fallout disproportionately affected females.

Traditional gender roles kept women occupied with childcare, while schools were closed, or looking after parents and family members. Female-owned businesses—the majority of which are in the consumer-facing sectors— also sustained greater losses during lockdown. Figures suggest all of this additional work and stress took its toll on well-being.

It’s time for ‘Radical Self-Care’

One magazine ran with the headline, ‘The year of radical self-care‘, in response to the increasing pressure that women worldwide were facing. Spearheaded by several well-known celebrities, it featured Simone Biles, the Olympic gymnast who became a symbol of a woman’s right to prioritise her health. Biles famously withdrew from the Olympics amidst fears for her own emotional and mental well-being. Despite some protests and accusations, the majority supported her bravery.

According to holistic wealth strategist and thought leader, Leah Steele, now is the time for all women to invest in themselves. She endorses a holistic approach, which involves diversifying one’s financial assets, as well and focusing on emotional, spiritual and physical wellbeing. Steele has devised a program entitled the ‘Wealth Warrior’, aimed at spiritual entrepreneurs who aspire to thrive in all areas of life.

As well as practical business advice, like how to manifest your business goals, scale up and avoid common mistakes, Steele caters to the whole being. She comments: “Women are the spiritual and emotional caregivers in their families and communities. We have endured a lot during the last 2 years. I aim to help women come back to center, rediscover their dreams and manifest them.”

To ‘elevate’ every area of life, Steele recommends: “Focus on your key connections—to your friends and family and, most importantly, to God and the universe. That’s where we can become the highest version of ourselves; it’s the source from which everything flows. Next, look at the health of your physical vessel. Are you taking care of fitness & nutrition? Finally, assess your financial wealth. Remember: you are the most powerful creator in this reality…”

Our external landscape will always mirror the internal

It was psychologist and renowned speaker, Dr. Guy Winch, of the famed TEDx talk ‘Why we all need to practice emotional first aid’, who emphasised the primacy of being healthy on the inside. Whilst we routinely treat physical ailments with medicines, and other interventions, many adults reach mid-life with untreated emotional and psychological scars.

Steele has witnessed the devastating effects of those who continually ignore the condition of their inner being: “Your external landscape is always a direct reflection of your internal landscape. So you have to keep coming back to truth and integrity; are you in alignment? Is the way that you’re conducting your life, or business, violating your values and beliefs? If so, it will have an injurious effect on your soul. Cultivate your inner life until you start to see it reflected in your daily life. It will happen; it’s one of those natural universal laws.”

Alignment also means having the integrity to ‘stick to your guns’ when everyone else may feel pressured into taking a certain course of action. Steele warns that often women are “positioned on the ‘chessboard’ in ways that only benefit the ‘global elite’.”

Open up new revenue streams

Having integrity can be tough when you are under financial pressure. A key area of concern for many households, entrepreneurs and business people, Steele advises everyone to open up additional streams of revenue, whether that’s affiliate-marketing, a home-based business or a second job.

Traditional financial planning has long endorsed the wisdom of multiple incomes, as well as the superiority of investing in a ‘spread’ of assets. Whilst traditional wealth advisors will prescriptively define where people should invest, Steele sees it more as a matter of personal alignment: “Is what I’m investing in, in keeping with my beliefs and values? Does it feel right to me?”

Recently, some of her friends had been investing heavily in items like Bitcoin and crypto. While she intellectually understood the logic of their decision, she noted that something deep inside of her did not feel comfortable. Instead, she invested in items like gemstones, precious metals and international currencies. In her own words, “If the apocalypse comes at least I’ll have something tradable. I will be able to keep my family going.”

As Steele emphasises: “Properly resourced women are the future of humanity. When women are financially stable, the whole family unit, and ultimately the community, thrives. It is important that we keep coming back into alignment with our highest values and fully, energetically, and financially back those values. The next wave of ‘financial thriving’ will come from resourced women who support other women, to achieve success in business. This is what is needed to truly inject life into our post-pandemic economy.”