Meet Michelle, founder of The Aspire Series, Aspire Societe, Aspire Summit and 55 Faces. We interviewed her at a time when she was focused on building a global empire, because, soon into her business career, Michelle realised some dreams have their own minds and are too big to keep confined to our human limitations.
When changemaker Michelle Gardiner first created her company, her intent was women’s circles and retreats—serving the individual woman and connecting her to smaller communities. Little did she know that she was giving birth to the beginnings of something special. Something global and more ‘big vision’ focused. Especially since the birth of 55 Faces, a movement that aspires women to share their stories. Michelle’s goal is to have those stories shared with the world.
With a history in social work, Michelle has had a great deal of experience connecting individuals to the community. Aspiring those who need it the most to share personal stories to create change. So it goes without saying that her contribution to the world would continue to run along the same lines.
It was simply a pleasure to interview Michelle for this issue. Her sweetness and kindness shine through, leaving no doubt that Michelle and her Aspire Series are meant for great things.
Kim: Michelle, can you tell us a little about who you are? As a changemaker, woman and human?
Michelle: I got excited the second you said a changemaker. Why? It feels like a cool space to be in, and I can claim it now. I really enjoy making fancy hats. I’m passionate. I am constantly evolving, changing, moving, and flowing, and I think that’s part of being a woman as well. Constantly tuning in and coming back to a few fundamental truths and reminding myself of who I am and who I am within what I’m creating. Then reminding myself to just let go of everything that’s outside of that and everything that feels misaligned.
Everything that I’ve wanted to create wants to be big. I want it to be contained, but it keeps deciding to be bigger. For what reason, I don’t know. But it’s just the way that it wants to be created in the world and the impact that it wants to create. I feel like my skin is being stretched. Something that I come back to is the hat maker journey, where I get to be a human and I get to be an individual. I get to be random and quirky, do my silly things, and just be me and aspire.
Kim: I’m curious about when you said the word ‘aspire’. We’ll talk about your business Aspire shortly, but as to the whole concept of ‘aspire’, how does this compare to the empire you are building and how it wants to be big? So how does that compare to who you are?
Michelle: Your medicine is your medicine for a reason. I was getting caught up in this headspace; I’m the leader of this thing, I need to keep growing, I need to keep expanding and blah. Then I went through this point where I became quite sick. It was like every layer was stripped away, and nothing was left. I’m just me. I’m just a little human.
When I initially launched Aspire, it was Melbourne-based, women’s circles, yoga classes, that kind of thing. But as soon as I launched that, I didn’t want to be that; I wanted to be something else. Aspire always wanted to be something bigger than what I intended for it. At one point, quite a lot of people said to me, are you going to let go of Aspire, and are you going to work under Michelle Gardiner? And for a while, I wondered, is that what I’m meant to do? But it never felt aligned. Everything about it has been channeled through me, but I still want to be me as a separate entity.
Kim: What was the first vision, and what is your overall vision for Aspire?
Michelle: Years ago, I started with a business coach, and she said, “Why don’t we create a business, an organisation that replicates your work?” because I loved my work so much. So that was where it started. Within a few weeks, I was playing with this idea of what my business was even about. Then I went to bed one night, and literally before I opened my eyes in the morning, the word ‘aspiration’ was there.
When you look at my social work background, I have spent years advocating to raise the aspirations of young people in our home care. So it made sense that it would be that, and the ‘Aspire Series’ sounded good. I wanted it to be a series because I wanted it to be a series of constantly evolving things. And I think by nature, the word aspiration is airy and constantly expanding. From the inception, that’s what it’s been like.
I’ve always wanted it to have structure and a framework, and as I said, it is something I exist within. Not something that exists within me. A few fundamental truths also came through from the start; that Aspire is about connection, expression, and leadership.
I also became passionate about rewriting women’s stories. This was before I contemplated doing anything around writing and the themes of social change and impact because, as a social worker, I can’t separate myself from them. Even after I studied coaching, it’s my core training, and I think coaches could learn a lot from social workers in many ways.
So to me, it’s always been an amalgamation of social work, coaching and narrative therapy. In more recent years, I have become inspired by spirit and universal law as well. And then, I did my yoga teacher training. So it’s an amalgamation of all those things, mushing together.
It’s big enough that there’s room for me to grow into it and for women to grow into it, but it’s also got its own identity.
Kim: I love it. Let’s talk about the book you are collaborating with 115 women on. It is an incredible feat to bring so many women together like this. Did you know what the hell you were getting yourself into when you first decided to birth ’55 Faces’?
Michelle: In August 2021, I was looking for 55 women who wanted to share their stories on social media, and even at that point, it felt enormous. Then it turned into a book, and then it turned into two books. The first half year was insane and a crazy initiation into many things and an initiation into business. It was also the first time I took myself seriously because I worked full-time when I launched Aspire.
That first half of the year was, okay, where do I find my women? How does it begin? Where does it start? For both books, the first 20 women were simple, and it just happened. Then there was this in-between place where it was happening, and then it was not, it’s moving, it’s not and then once we got past that, something shifted again and boom, finish it off.
It was a sense of when the energy is there, go go go, and when the energy is not there, take a breath. Swim in the ocean, or recharge and reset and then trust an opening somewhere will shift and move in some way. That was one side of it. The other side of it was putting together the books.
Kim: What I love the most is that the second book is about Balinese women, which I think is incredible. What drove the decision to support Balinese Women?
Michelle: When I landed in Bali, I wasn’t starting a book. I was just a tourist and meant to be there for five weeks. Then I met a young Balinese woman, and I just loved her and knew that I would end up doing something we Balinese women in some capacity. I didn’t know what, how, or when. I just knew that I was.
I started asking questions and trying to get a gist of the landscape. Who were Balinese women, and all these kinds of things? I met a Balinese priest during COVID. He asked me, “What do you want to do?” I said, “I want to empower women around the world.” He said, “Our women here need empowering.” And I thought, but how? I am one white woman who’s popped up and is stuck here in Bali. I had no idea what to do with that, and I struggled with that for quite some time.
It wasn’t until around the time that I started the 55 stuff last year on social media that I mentioned something similar to another Balinese man that I am friends with. He said, “Well, if you don’t do something, then you’re just as much as the problem.” Which is true, right?
Kim: Ouch.
Michelle: So he connected me with another woman, and we spoke to some Balinese women. We made a tiny bit of traction, but really, teasing out ideas. And in January, she couldn’t help anymore. I didn’t know what I would do, but I knew I was meant to do something. I knew I put all this work and energy in for some reason, so why not just do two books? The profit from your first one can go towards the second one. It was just decided.
The purpose of books is to start a conversation. It’s to have the words out there. But then, it allows the world to respond in some way. It allows something to come of that. And it starts to build momentum. It’s interesting because some people have said, “Oh, cool, you’re doing books. But what for?” I still don’t have all the answers to that. I don’t think they will come until, I said, you have that response from the world, and we see where it goes.
Kim: Why do you feel this work is essential to the world?
Michelle: There are so many different threads to it and 55 Faces is part of it as well. I feel like there are three different layers, from the individual to the direct community and the global society. I’m interested in all of them. I don’t feel that change at any one of those levels is more or less significant than the other. I think they’re all just as relevant, and they all impact and influence each other as well.
There should be an opportunity for all those different spaces to be changed and for each to be connected. My primary background is social work, but I was directly working with young people around their stories. I was doing leadership and empowerment training with them, and putting them in front of ministers, commissioners, and CEOs and saying, “This is what is happening in my life, and this is what I want you to do about it.” This is what needs to change in the sector.
This is important on that political level, but also in terms of who’s watching as well. We can miss the power and influence of the audience, who aren’t directly involved in these interactions.
Kim: Do you believe that Aspire threads all that together?
Michelle: Yes. Absolutely. It needs to touch on so many different layers and in so many different ways and be available and accessible to people at different points. Are they focused on the individual? Are they focused on the community? Are they focused on the global entity? I think these are ways that people need to be thinking and operating.
I’m just excited about this. I love creating opportunities, and I love creating experiences. And I think when you marry those three things together and get a bunch of people who care about important stuff in the world, in spaces like that. And just go… create. Then turn it into something.
Kim: The potential and the possibilities that will come from the opportunities you’ve created for these women are limitless.
Michelle: Yes. You don’t know where your story will end up; Florida, Haitian, Australia…
Kim: I have one more question for you. What is your fierce truth?
Michelle: I will say two things. One is something that I’ve come back to over the last few days, and I feel like I’ve just come full circle.
Just very simple, the essence of life, love, and humanity and just attuning and reaching that deeper level. I think every time we come back, we come back to the same themes right on a deeper level. The other thing I keep coming back to, I’m just one human, and I’m going to enjoy being one human rather than trying to be the entire thing.
