The myth of being happy doing what you love | Monique Evelle | TEDxSãoPauloSalon

Monique Evelle is one of the voices of black feminism in Brazil. She talks about the entrepreneurship of Brazilian black women.

Monique Evelle is a student in the Interdisciplinary Bachelor in Humanities program at UFBA, founder of Desabafo Social (Social Outburst), a member of Rede Latinoamericana de Innovación Politica (Latin American Network of Political Innovation), and a columnist.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx

You don't have a boss,
you have flexible hours,

and you're happy doing what you love.

That's the three-pillar formula
for success - except it's not.

You realize that this
is what they always say

at major entrepreneurship events?

But when I got into the world
of entrepreneurship,

nobody ever told me entrepreneurship
is really just about getting by, right?

You get by trying to do
something you know and like,

often working 18 to 20 hours a day,
doing this, that, and yet another thing.

There's no time for anything,
much less a personal life,

and on it goes.

It's so common, too, at these big events,

and it's comfortable - I think
the right word is "comfortable" -

and easy for those who run
businesses and organizations

to start talking
about their big, grand ideas,

like they're instructing us:

what it is, what it does,
and what results it achieves.

And it's also comfortable and easy
for us who are listening,

to hook onto those ideas,

to hear about the three
pillars of success,

and to think that our idea
is going to be just as good,

just because someone's saying it.

And I was in this crisis, right?

For you to understand better,

"darken" better what I'm trying to say,

I'll share a few stories.

I was at an event in Salvador.

A guy about my age - I'm 21, he's 24 -

started telling his ideas,
"start-ups" and all that,

how he started
and the results he achieved.

And how did he get his start?

His father lent him
30,000 Brazilian reals,

and he was able
to triple the value in one year.

I thought, "Wow,
I'll never be able to do that."

But he forgot

that 56% of Brazilian black entrepreneurs

started before they were 18 -

child labor -

and even still, we're
not successful entrepreneurs.

There was another man there

who worked over 30 years
for big companies in Bahia

and decided ...

suddenly, after 30 years of work

and after building up his assets,

to drop out and become
an entrepreneur, right?

The tip from him was, "Be innovative.

Be creative.

But be creative and systematic.
Put it all onto paper."

But he also forgot that over half
of today's Afro-entrepreneurs

have no education at all:

only 11% completed elementary school,

and only 4% graduated from college.

Of course this data might have changed -

it's from the SEBRAE study
"Donos de Negócios no Brasil" -

based on affirmative action,

but that doesn't mean
it's different today.

The last person I heard there
turned to the audience and said,

"You're not rich,
because you don't want to be."

(Laughter)

Then I stopped and thought,
"I'm in the wrong place, folks."

I thought, "Wow ..."

"All you need is to have something
called 'financial resources'"

Then you only have to put in savings,
investments, financial reserves,

find a purpose, you find ... "

(Laughter)

"I found the purpose.

And then you can be happy
doing what you love."

This is the "being happy
doing what you love" myth.

I thought, "I'm totally
in the wrong place."

Right?

I thought, "Wow, how does a person
have the courage to look at another,"

or actually to an audience,
as I'm looking at all of you now,

"and ignore the fact that only 62%
of Afro-Brazilians can afford a house

and of these, 22% are married
and 17% have children?"

I mean, we can't give it up
when it's the only asset we have,

especially when we earn
up to 1,000 Brazilian reals

selling things in the streets
or working as manicurists.

People, don't think I'm a mercenary, OK?

This is to show that what
people call entrepreneurship today

is just what we black women
in the communities call "survival."

(Applause)

(Cheers)

It's all "extra income."

And speaking of money,

it doesn't mean that we're ignoring
that racism is what maintains capitalism.

That's not what it means.

Talking about this shows that "black"
and "money" are not incompatible terms.

"Black woman" and "power"
also aren't incompatible terms.

Talking about this shows

that we don't want only
to be political beneficiaries anymore.

We want to sit at the table
and make decisions too.

And so you don't get
too saddened by this data,

there are excellent ideas
from noted and anonymous people

around the world
that deserve to be shared.

An example is a fair called "Preta,"

"Black Fair."

It's more than an exposition
of products and services.

It's more than a show,
it's more than this.

We're talking about economic
and financial autonomy

for the black community.

Another example is "Outburst,"
an event of mine

that went from a personal level
to a societal level,

and it affirms that when we say,
"If a thing is black, the thing is good,"

it isn't only a print on a t-shirt,
it isn't only a talk,

and it isn't only a simple phrase
that's going viral online.

We're talking about self-esteem.

Not forgetting the "Kilombu" app,

the first application
and the only one in the world

made by black people for black people
to advertise their services.

And finally "Kumasi,"

the first "marketplace"
for black entrepreneurs.

Initially, it was from Salvador -
which is where I'm from -

the biggest black capital in the country

that understood that "black"
and "money" aren't incompatible.

More than a marketplace, it turned
into a support for black entrepreneurs

in the areas of marketing,
management, and business.

Incredible, right?
You can say, "Incredible."

(Laughter)

But I want to talk about something
you might not really notice -

you know, that person
who cheers us up somehow

when we leave the house for work,
go from work to the university,

to school, or wherever else,

convinces us to buy a product,
and makes us smile -

all in under a minute.

I'm talking about the candy sellers
on public transport,

who, for me, are the best entrepreneurs,

and it wasn't in those
entrepreneurship events

that they all learned what we call
the elevator "pitch," was it?

(Applause) (Cheers)

It wasn't there. For sure, it wasn't.

This only reinforces
what I said in the beginning: survival.

And best of all are the incredible women
who've come onto this stage

and the others who will come
onto this stage later today,

onto this red carpet of Iansã.

(Laughter)

(Applause)

They have such incredible
and inspiring ideas,

like Black Fair, Kilombu,
Boogie Naipe, and so on.

But, if I were to leave some advice -
me, a young girl, 21, giving advice -

(Laughter)

it would be to never compare
your beginning with anyone's middle.

It's all a process.

And thank you.

(Applause)

(Cheers)