Nicole Cardoza - The Cultural Investor

Nicole Cardoza -

The Cultural Investor

Nicole Cardoza is an entrepreneur, investor and yoga teacher making space for all of us to breathe. Her nonprofit Yoga Foster equips schools across the country with yoga resources for their classroom, and her fund Reclamation Ventures provides early-stage funding to underestimated entrepreneurs closing the wellness gap.

What is your definition of freedom? What does it look and feel like to you? And how do you cultivate it daily?

Freedom to me is no fear, as Nina Simone aptly put. Specifically, the capacity to choose without fear of unwarranted consequence.

How have your thoughts, perception, and understanding of freedom evolved with time? What was it before and what is it now?

I used to think that freedom was a destination. Now, I realize that freedom can be found in every approach to each new experience. I also understand now that there are two types of freedom: the individual liberation we allow ourselves in our contained little universe, and the collective freedom that our society inherently allows to a small subset of people. We must reclaim our collective right to be free as we choose freedom in the experiences we can shape within our own bodies, minds and spirit.

Freedom can feel like something we’re all seeking, but may have trouble grasping. What's one piece of advice or some words of wisdom you can offer to this community as they look to "get free"?

As within, so without. Freedom is cultivated in the mind first, a thought that is then acted on to achieve the version of your reality you want to create for yourself. Freedom is found in self-worth and self-knowledge. But it takes discipline and sacrifice and requires unwavering faith.

Share an anecdote, memory, or practice in your life that embodies freedom in every way. 

I forevermore grant myself the freedom to respond to any challenge with the emotions that I choose – whether graceful or messy, angry or calm, or anything in between.