Christine Amour-Levar wears many hats, including NGO founder, philanthropist and adventurer who organises all-female expeditions to some of the world’s most remote locations to raise funds for causes supporting women (Photo: Darren Gabriel Leow)
Cover Christine Amour-Levar wears many hats, including NGO founder, philanthropist and adventurer who organises all-female expeditions to some of the world’s most inhospitable locations to raise funds in support of women (Photo: Darren Gabriel Leow)

The social entrepreneur opens up about how her divorce reconnected her with nature, why she believes in the power of taking small steps and how she’s uplifting other women through her NGOs, Women on a Mission and Her Planet Earth

“With privilege comes great responsibility.” This was what Christine Amour-Levar’s mother told her when she was a child—and the words continue to inform her choices as an adult. “These are values that I try to live by today and pass on to my four children,” shares Amour-Levar in this week’s episode of Gen.T’s Crazy Smart Asia podcast

An entrepreneur, philanthropist, investor and adventurer, Singapore-based Amour-Levar has built a reputation for herself as the woman empowering other women to reach their highest potential, literally. Through her NGOs, Women on a Mission (WOAM) and Her Planet Earth, she organises annual all-female expeditions that sometimes involve climbing some of the world’s tallest mountains and other times, braving the harsh conditions of the most remote environments.

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And these are for a good cause: funds raised from WOAM’s expeditions goes towards helping female survivors of violence and war, while those from Her Planet Earth are directed to underprivileged women impacted by climate change.

In the episode, Amour-Levar also shares candidly about the lowest point in her life, the important leadership lessons she’s gained from these expeditions and why taking small steps is better than a giant leap forward.

Below are some excerpts from the conversation. Click the audio player below to listen to the full episode or subscribe via Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

On what she learned from leading expeditions

“One of the biggest lessons for me has been that leadership is not just one person in front. You can lead from the back in many ways.”

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On startup life

“You think that sometimes when you try something, it’s going to work. It doesn’t always work. It takes perseverance and working at it every single day.”

On the journey of life

“I really feel that life is a connection of dots. It’s not about success or failure, [that’s all] part of the journey. There are moments where you’re [feeling] low for sure, but maybe it prepares you for something else, [like how] my love for the mountains came when I was at such a low point in my life [during] my divorce [to my first husband]. I got strength from nature.”

On doing what you enjoy

“Choose something you love in your career because you’ll be more successful.”

On how she guards her time and energy

“As you get older, you realise you want to stay away from oxygen thieves. [These are] people [who] when you spend time with, you don’t feel great after. You have to be aware of that because if you want to achieve your mission, you need to put that energy there.”

On the power of taking small steps

“My mom calls me a little ant, who works every day, little by little. I don’t just talk about ideas, I execute them and follow through. And I realised over time that it doesn't have to be one huge step [that I take], it can be little incremental steps.”

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