Advocating for mental wellness and empowering through stories and words

Introducing Toffy, a mental health advocate who strongly believes in social justice. As part of the special projects team at Potato Productions, Toffy helps Potato Production companies tell their stories and plan their company strategy, among other things. But on her end, she also started her own initiative, MindTerra, which is centered around building mental strength resilience and empowering women.

Read on to find out more about her exciting journey and experiences.

1. Tell us a little about yourself!

I’m a social justice warrior, mental health advocate, semicolon enthusiast, metaphor lover, and polyglot who enjoys reading, doing yoga, and discovering new cafes. I’d consider myself a good listener and a curious person and I think most things are worth trying at least once.

2. What do you enjoy most about working at Potato Productions?

I’m grateful that my unique position enables me to interact across various Potato companies and create impact across sectors. I enjoy that each day is different and is an opportunity to continue to learn and grow.

3. What led you to this career of writing and content creation?

That’s an interesting question because I don’t consider myself to be pursuing a career of writing and content creation. I see myself helping companies align on where they want to go, craft a strategic path of how to get there, and share their story and impact along the way; sometimes writing and content creation is a way to do those things and working with words happens to be something I enjoy doing.

4. Are there any interesting projects which you are currently working on at the moment?

There are always interesting projects, and one I can highlight is Borderless360’s inclusive education initiative. The vision is to build an inclusive Waldorf school in Bangkok that will have affirmative action towards refugees. The opportunity to create much-needed change in the education landscape in Thailand is promising, and I’m a believer in meeting each child where they are.

Many at Potato also know that I also work on my own initiative, MindTerra, which is dedicated to helping people build their mental strength and resilience and also empowering women. MindTerra has gone through various pivots and iterations, and I’m appreciative that I can apply the skills and knowledge learned at Potato to continue to build and evolve MindTerra into a community that supports and unlimits each other. We also usually have a component of expressive writing and journaling in our work, since we’re advocates of writing as a tool to reflect and introspect.

5. What is the most common misconception others have about writing?

Hmm. Perhaps that you have to be a “writer” to write. Like, what does being a writer even mean? If you write, you’re a writer.

And also that “writing is difficult”. I mean, everything is difficult - coding, marketing, designing, yoga, surfing, playing the piano, and the list goes on. Writing is only “difficult” because people are not willing to put in the time to improve at their craft, and like everything else, it’s going to remain difficult unless you come at it with an open mind, curiosity, and put in the work.

6. What are some important learning points you have gained throughout your career?

• If there’s no space at the table, create your own table. Don’t pull up a chair and sit on the outside.
• Stop saying sorry. (Ladies, I’m looking at you. Stop apologizing, you don’t need to.) Which brings me to -
• “Men apply for jobs if they meet just 60% of the requirements, while women only apply if they meet 100% of them.” So the next time you’re feeling unsure and not confident, think to yourself “what would a white man do?” And then go do it.
• It’s okay to say no. In fact, you should say no! It’s uncomfortable, scary, and all those other things, but here’s the thing: when you learn to say no to others, you get to say yes to yourself.
• Money isn’t everything and your health and well-being are more important than that.
  

7. What advice do you have for individuals who want to start a career in writing professionally?

Read a lot. You become a better writer by reading. So, read!

8. Walk us through what a typical working day at Potato Productions looks like.

There really isn’t a typical day and it’s highly dependent on my current project workload. Usually it’s a smattering of meetings, and then individual work time on things like research, creating marketing materials, thinking critically about strategy, editing and yup - working with words.

9. If you could be a character in any movie, what character would it be?

Hmm. I’m not a huge movie person, but sloths are my spirit animal, so I’d be any sloth in a movie so I could sleep all day.

If you want to have a chat with Toffy to find out more about her experiences, click here!