We had the good fortune of connecting with Cindy Hassan and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Cindy, can you tell us about an impactful book you’ve read and why you liked it or what impact it had on you?
I would say there are two books that have had a significant impact in my life so far (besides the whole Harry Potter saga which marked by childhood). Almost two year ago in 2018 I read a semi-autobiographical book written by John Perkins called The New Confessions of an Economic Hit during a breaking point in my life. This book was very eye-opening as the author shares information on how the world works from his own personal experience deceiving countries and people. Towards the end of the book Perkins also shares some action steps we can take in order to transform the system into a more sustainable paradigm. After reading this book I realized I became fascinated with the topic of sustainability and started to do more research on it. This was not on my radar before at all. After that, I became a lot more conscious about my personal behavior and started to make gradual changes in my lifestyle including shopping habits! That’s how MODE REVOLUTION was born, a project to promote sustainable fashion and support independent conscious brands that want to make an impact in their community, As an e-commerce platform we connect these brands with the final consumer in one place. The second book which I’ve read earlier this year is The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment. by Eckhart Tolle. I find it funny how Eckhart Tolle mentions that some people find the book brilliant and others think of it as “mumbo jumbo”. If I would have read this book two years ago it would have definitely been the second case for me. However, in the last two years I’ve been ding some internal work which allowed me to connect profoundly with this book. Eckhart Tolle brilliantly puts in simple words how there are no problems in the present moment, all the magic lies here in this moment right now. Our minds play tricks on us constantly trying to take us out of presence. There is a gap between our mind and our inner-self, and being aware of that gap is huge. Basically, If you can listen to your thoughts, whoever is listening the inner you, and the inner you shouldn’t pay too much attention to your thoughts, We shouldn’t identify with our thoughts too much. This book brings me peace and calm as I definitely take things very seriously sometimes.

What should our readers know about your business?
MODE REVOLUTION is an e-commerce platform for sustainable fashion addressing the needs of conscious brands and consumers that are not being met by traditional retailers. There has been an emergence of independent brands in recent years giving the low barriers to start a direct-to-consumer business nowadays. Before many small brands depended on big retailers in order to reach consumers but with social media and other tools they can now reach consumers directly and tell their own story, following their own standards of social and environmental responsibility. This being said, there isn’t once place where consumers can access all of these brands which are not that easy to find but have tremendous value to offer both on the quality of their products and the impact they have in their communities through fair employment and empowerment. It definitely was not easy to start this business and it is still super challenging. We launched in September last year with the idea of building a community of conscious people through pop-up shops and events to raise awareness on sustainability and other relevant topics. We hosted two events and then came COVID-19 so we’ve had to rethink our strategy. Luckily we were always a digital platform but physical presence and connection is very important to us. It is a very slow process to get your name out there as a new business. A big lesson is to be flexible, I think we learned that before the pandemic and we’ve been very reassured. We want people to know that we have a lot of power as consumers and we really do need to think before we make a purchase since we’re casting a vote.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Definitely my brother deserves a huge shoutout. He’s the strategic co-founder for MODE REVOLUTION and he’s always there for me personally to help me grow and giving me advice. He also introduce me to an organization that also deserves a big shoutout called Uplift, giving people the tools for a more joyful life and promoting wellbeing. The mindfulness classes have helped me tremendously.

Website: www.moderevolution.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mode_revolution/

Nominate someone: ShoutoutMiami is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.