Taking courageous action can be very lonely. Especially if you are surrounded by people who don’t really get what you’re trying to do. Whether that’s launching a new business, writing a new book, or just trying something entirely new, having a courageous group of women on your journey makes all the difference. That’s why the Courage Driven Latina coaching program was created and why Lisa Annabel is here to share her story with us today.

Lisa is a recent member of the Courage Driven Latina program and has launched her own coaching business. As a resiliency coach and author, Lisa is guided by the core values of equity, continuous improvement, collaboration, communication, integrity, and accountability. Through coaching and mentorship, Lisa empowers individuals to become the best version of themselves, fostering growth, and inclusivity. She works together with her clients to achieve their goals and live their lives with purpose and authenticity.

In this week’s episode, Lisa shares how taking courageous action and focusing on writing her book, And I Felt It All, was the best thing that ever happened to her. She shares the guilt that she felt leaving the education sector and the joy she felt when her readers shared that they came to a book event just to purchase her book. Listen to this Courage Driven Latina’s episode now and discover the beauty of taking mindful action. 

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Connect with Lisa Annabel:
Instagram: @lisaannabel_coaching

Website: https://lisaannabel.com/

Purchase Lisa’s book And I Felt It All here: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/and-i-felt-it-all-lisa-annabel/1143733650 

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Website:
www.theerikacruz.com

Follow Erika on:
Instagram @‌theerikacruz
TikTok @‌theerikacruz
LinkedIn

How to work with Erika:
Join the waitlist for Courage Driven Latina here.

Join the waitlist for the Magnetic Mastermind here.

Sign up for Erika’s Free Workshop here.

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Podcast production for this episode was provided by CCST.

Episode Transcript:

Erika: Hello, hello, and welcome to this week’s episode of Ch*ngona Revolution Podcast. I have a very special guest today, who is an author as well as a coach, as well as a former educator, and one of my incredible clients who I’ve had the honor and privilege of meeting in person because I just so happened to be in her city literally a few days after she signed up for Courage Driven Latina.

So I have none other than Lisa. Lisa, welcome. Can you please introduce yourself, tell the listeners who you are and what you do? 

Lisa: Yeah, so I’m Lisa, and I am so glad to be here. let’s see, where do I even start, right? we have so many things that we could just say, but I’ll say I am a compassionate and empathetic woman, who’s just, you know, gone on this path of healing to unlearn patterns that no longer serve me and discovering new paths that can…

really just connect with the version, a higher version of myself, so that I can find peace and joy. I think that in a nutshell is a lot. but yeah, so that’s, 

Erika: that’s me. That’s beautiful. Yeah. And you were a former educator. So I think it’s really interesting that what you just said was all about unlearning because I think in your life, what you’ve done to get to become a principal and do everything that you did in your traditional career trajectory was all about learning, learning, learning, and then you realized, Oh, what I actually need to do is, learn this.

So can you tell us a little bit about, Lisa, I don’t know, five or 10 years ago. And where were you then? Yeah. As in, you know, tell us a little bit about the career trajectory that you were on and where you were just a few years ago. So 

Lisa: the five or, well, let’s go back to 10 years, or 15. Oh my gosh.

Oh, yikes. so I was a bilingual teacher. for a good amount of years. And then from there, it kind of just felt natural to grow into a coaching path. so I became a teacher coach and just the biggest cheerleader that I could for the staff. And then from there, I wrote about professional development at the district level, and then I missed being around kids and them knowing my name.

and teachers knowing my name instead of that lady who is like about to present and get all touchy-feely. and so then, yeah, so I became a principal or an assistant principal and then principal, which took me to California. I was in Oakland for a bit as a principal and then realized that It just was no longer for me, with the person that I was becoming and, things that I wanted to change because education is just, it is one of the hardest fields to be in, it is one of the most rewarding too, I think when you’re in it, but I’ve always been a strong believer that sometimes we have to know when it’s important Come to an end.

And when there needs to be a shift and change and those shifts and changes can be so hard because we know that change requires work and effort to do something different that you don’t know, but I think everything in life is unknown. That’s what I’ve come to learn is that even what you think is like a sure path forward is the unknown.

Right? And whether you take a left or take a right, Okay. Either path is unknown. So, yeah, so professionally, that’s where I was. and it was, I think also education is 1 of those hard careers to say goodbye to, simply because you just. You hear so many, there’s so much guilt that comes from it of, you know, you’re leaving the kids, you’re leaving your staff, you know, but I think that’s when you lean into that discomfort of choosing yourself, and choosing what’s right for you at that time.

Erika: yeah. Can you tell us about that moment when you decided to pull the trigger and walk away? And actually, first, can you tell us were you doing the dance of yes and no for a little while, and then if so, what was that like, and then what was the moment when you were like, okay, this is it? I’m, I’m leaving now.

Lisa: Yeah. Okay. So the dance of yes and no was. I think it was in the back of my mind, like I felt it coming, but I never voiced it to a lot of people, so I, I think that’s another thing, right? voicing it to the right people that have your best interest is so hard in those moments, because people put you in boxes, and you put yourself in those boxes too, right?

For somebody else to receive that, I don’t want to do this anymore, it doesn’t fulfill me, is hard. So I kept a lot of it to myself and reflected a lot of introspection of what’s going to be good for me? Why do I feel the need to leave this career? why now? Right? Because I left in the middle of the year and that is something that is just rare.

especially as an administrator. And so, I had asked for support, I had, you know, reached out and the support wasn’t coming. And I think. One of the things about being a person who takes care of her shit and, just goes all in, if you are not the squeaky wheel, people will not help you sometimes.

Because she can handle it, she’ll be fine, she’ll stay till the end. And I think it’s when I realize, like, when people are so sure that you’re going to take on the grunt of a hard job, it’s you have to really reflect on, is this in the best interest of them, or is this in the best interest of you? And if this is no longer aligning to me, like, why is it not aligning?

and I think one of those things was, it was a really hard decision to come to and say, this is not what I want to do anymore. Because

It didn’t fulfill me the same way. Like, I felt very disappointed, I felt angry, I snapped at people that, I mean, yeah, they weren’t doing what they were supposed to be doing, but at the same time, it was like, that’s not who I am, that’s not how I wanted to show up in my life, right? And so it was at that moment that letting go of other people’s expectations of me, And doing what’s right for me without explaining why, you know, I was letting go of this career path.

And giving myself permission to do that. that took a lot of moments alone, moments with, really close friends that could support me in that decision and let me make the decision for me. So I never really had anybody tell me like, yes, you should do it. It was more, if it feels right. Go for it.

And I did have a really close friend that told me like, you don’t owe anybody anything. You don’t owe the school anything. You did the best you could. And if that’s how you feel, then you should let it go. So it just, it was in that moment that then I had the courage to write my letter of resignation and talk to my staff and let them know.

That it just, you know, I felt burnt out. I felt like it just was no longer, a career I wanted to continue. And they were actually really supportive. I mean, they were sad. They were really supportive, but I also felt like I gave them leverage for change that needed to happen. And I even told them like, yeah, you don’t have the leader anymore.

Like you guys can step up and ask for whatever you want. that’s the beauty of this, right? And it’s hard to walk away knowing that, you know, you could have always done more. But was that going to be best for me? That was like a really long. 

Erika: No, there were so many good pieces in there. I love what you talked about when you said, you know, giving yourself permission to not live up to anybody else’s expectations without giving them an explanation.

And as women, especially women of color and Latinas, where we’re constantly taught. To care for other people’s emotions and feelings and base our actions on how other people will react. This is such a huge realization and that advice your friend gave you of you don’t owe anybody anything that is so true for everybody listening, right?

We don’t owe anybody anything at work in relationships. In so many times we put these heavy expectations on ourselves to please other people. And then you said something else that I was like, Oh, I have to come back to this. Hold on. Expectations, giving yourself the permission. Okay. I think I was just, yeah, I was thinking about, I want to say a couple of calls ago, I introduced a new concept to the group called the courage ladder.

And I think when people think about courage, they think they need to go from the bottom of the ladder to the top of the ladder. Right? So as I hear you describing this situation, you thought about it, but it wasn’t like you thought about it once and you just, Submitted your letter of resignation, right?

And this is for leaving a job, but we can even use the example of me calling off an engagement. It wasn’t like I considered, Oh, I want something else. And then I just called it off. It takes steps. And I think sometimes as women of color and as Latinas, we have this all-or-nothing mentality where we think, Oh, we just have to go to the extreme or else we can’t do it.

Right. But it does require steps. And this courage ladder, I think is such a great analogy because. For you, it sounds like you took this job and you were at the bottom of the ladder. You started to ask for what you needed, and that was taking a step. And then, whenever you weren’t getting what you needed, you voiced your opinion.

And when that wasn’t being heard, you then went to talk to friends that you knew had your best interests in mind. And it’s each different step, you finally got to the top of the ladder, and you were like, You know what? This isn’t for me anymore. And… With, for people listening that feel, Oh, I’m not a brave person.

I don’t think anybody’s naturally a brave person. I think you slowly begin to take the steps towards it. And I, you know, sometimes I think even the way that my messaging comes off is it can come off sometimes as Oh yeah, Erica’s so courageous and she’s done all these things and walked away from a tech job and left engagement.

But there’s so many, the dance of yes or no is always there. And we rarely see that. So thank you for sharing kind of some of that back and forth that was happening for you. So this was a major decision of yours. 

 I love 

Lisa: how you did bring up that analogy of the ladder because. We don’t we see the end goal, right? And it’s with everything in life, even when we see others, you know, rocking it, killing it and whatever they’re doing, right?

Putting themselves first. We only see that piece, right? But we don’t see all the incremental pieces in between that build-up to that moment, right? Because those moments are like pivotal moments that shine, right? Or that are in our face. The others are like these small pieces that happen within us, right?

And it is in everything that we do. But I also feel like in life, everything is about relationships, the relationship you have with yourself, the relationship you have outside of yourself with work, with, friends, with family. Right. And so I think one of the bigger things that I’ve come that I, that took me to that point.

Of actually resigning was, I reflected back on, you know, I had just gone through a divorce like a year before, and a weight loss journey, before then, and I think it was like seeing all these relationships that were needing attention in my life, and one of them was my career. I was doing what I needed to do in survival mode and not in that thriving mode.

And so, I felt like the only way I could change was by making a change for myself. And I was trying to do those small changes in between, right? To make it fit, it’s gotta work, my job has to work, my career path has to work, I got a master’s degree in it, I’ve done all these things, right? And then when I just was like, it’s not working.

I have to learn how to let things go. I think that was like the biggest piece of ugh, like everything in life is a relationship, and how I nurture those relationships is important, and when to know to step back, when to lean in, when to ask for that support. It’s just, it’s in everything that we do.

So I, yeah, I mean the latter is like, all of those things intertwined to help us take that next step. 

Erika: Yeah. I love what you said about everything is a relationship because it really, it really is. 

 And, you know, I think it’s also as Latinas, we’ve been taught to be these hard workers and there’s almost so much, some shame that comes with letting things go, but as you begin to do the work and the inner work, we realize how important it is to let things go. Because when we let the things go that aren’t for us, we make space for the things that are for us.

And if you had held on to that job, you probably wouldn’t have read, written your book. You wouldn’t be where you are now. And you’re, you’re on your way to amazing things. I’m so excited for you. But that was one of the points I wanted to make about, you know, we, we almost shame ourselves for. Quitting when quitting can actually be really powerful, right?

Because it’s not necessarily quitting. It’s more of letting go and letting go of the things that are no longer serving us. And we do evolve. We’re not going to be the same people. And while education filled your cup for a very long time, it’s not what continued to 

Lisa: fill your cup. You know, it’s understanding that and being able to push through the discomfort of a different path.

Discovering a new version of yourself, because in those moments of doubt, when things seem so cloudy and foggy, you start to question like, Did I make the right decision? When it gets hard, right? Like you don’t question it when things are falling into place But it’s like when you see those barriers and then you’re like, well, did I make the right decision?

Is this what i’m supposed to be doing? What am I supposed to be doing? Right? And it’s going off the written path that has laid out before us, especially like first-gen Latinas like I think want what’s absolutely best for us, right? That’s why they came, they sacrificed and came to this country. But then I had to always remind myself, like my parents also sacrificed too.

Like they left people behind to move ahead. I’m doing the same thing, but it looks different and maybe nobody understood them coming, but now. They have to make things work because it’s the choice that they’ve decided to make, right? Yeah. somewhere within them. So I had to, trust that, you know, I didn’t know what came next and what felt right was just my writing.

And, you know, people would always ask me, if Lisa could do whatever she wanted to do, what would she do? And my therapist always asked me that, right? And it was like, I just want to write. that’s all I want to do right now. I just want to… Sit and write and let it all pour out.

And so going to like my book, I already had a lot of the writings beforehand. It was like three years in the making. And then once I got to that space of actually being able to think differently and knowing that I acted differently on those thoughts was what led me to actually. Having the courage to publish my book because that in itself was also a courageous thing like I knew I was putting myself out there And I was putting myself out there in a way that Again, I couldn’t worry about how people were going to Receive it like this is for me and not and and others will resonate with it And that’s powerful, but at the end of the day, they were my writings, my reflections that I’m sharing with others, and they can take it or they can leave it, you know?

Erika: Yeah, exactly. creativity takes a tremendous amount of courage because you are putting your art out for the world to see, but you’re right.

Our art needs to be something that we create and the people who will resonate with it resonate and the people who don’t, don’t. And not everybody’s going to resonate with what we’ve created, whether this is a piece of social media content, whether this is writing a book, a movie, a video makeup, right?

Anything that requires creativity, everything that is creative requires courage for you to create it and put yourself out there, but it’s also. healing, right? Creativity is one of the biggest ways of healing. So if you are, feel comfortable, can you tell us a little bit about what caused you to write this book?

And you mentioned your divorce before taking on that job. So obviously Lisa was already like an onion that was peeling different layers, right? You were, you were shedding and becoming new versions of yourself at this point. And where did the book come about and how did this idea come? I mean, obviously people had been asking you, what would you do if you had all the money in the world and if you could do anything you want, and obviously it was writing, but tell us a little bit about that moment when you were like, you know, I’m actually gonna, gonna write a book and how did the.

The divorce and heartbreak and all of these different transformations that were going on in your life lead you to this 

Lisa: point at the time. So back in 2020, right during the pandemic, every, like my relationship with my ex-husband was just coming to a very challenging place of where I had to determine whether I wanted to continue or I wanted to let go.

And I felt like I saw a glimpse of my life in 10 years. And thought, if nothing changes, am I willing to accept this person and this life that I’ve created passively or intentionally, right? Am I willing to do it another 10 years, right? And then at that moment, it was like this overwhelming feeling of no.

And the sounding alarms came off and I literally left my house. I put my tennis shoes on, I left my house to go run. And I was like, I’m not stopping. My run today, like I used to like just run and then walk and then run and then walk. And when I felt tired, I would just walk. Right. But this time I was like, no, I’m just going to run.

And so I take off running and I just start to unravel all these thoughts and feelings and emotions. And at the time I hadn’t shared anything with anybody. I wasn’t going to therapy. I knew I needed support and I knew that therapy would be that support. But at the same time, I just couldn’t wrap my mind around what was happening in my life, right?

Yeah, so I ran, and then while I was running, I had, like, all of these thoughts, so I ran my three and a half miles, and then I stopped, and I was like, oh my god, I ran three and a half miles, without stopping, this is amazing. I can do hard things! And then, I just took my phone out and started making notes on my phone.

that’s literally how it started, and then I felt better, and then I ran some more, and then once I got back home, I I just wrote my thoughts, and so I kept a collection either on a Word document, in a written journal, and on my phone. And so I had all these, just little essays and, you know, things rhymed in my mind, so I just wrote.

poems and all of these things, right? And it just, it was a way for me to support myself during, during a very difficult time when I didn’t have that therapeutic support. So it was there, but I didn’t use it intentionally in the sense of this is going to be a book. I did think sometimes though, is this really happening to me?

because everything that was happening in my life was like, What the hell? Like, how did I get here? Right? And I just, I would write it down and I wouldn’t believe what was going on. so I put these collections together. I went back and re-read them.

And slowly I was like, you know what, I’ll put it into one document. So I started to compile everything, and I started a blog, and from that blog, I only shared it with my close friends. They liked it. Then I went to therapy, and my therapist was like, I shared my writing with her, and she was like, You need to share this with other women if you are open to it.

These are really good. So I submitted some entries to Thought Catalog, they accepted them. And then I was like, Oh, maybe I can write, maybe I am an author. So even that, like accepting that I was a published writer, was hard for me. So even articulate to people and to share with others. It was so, it’s just, it has been really a self-discovery journey, and so that is what my book is.

It’s my healing journey through poetry and poetic essays, that just really have resonated with other readers that have either experienced loss, because I felt like my divorce kind of opened all these unhealed wounds and grief that I had not addressed. because I was always the positive person, oh, there’s no way Lisa’s depressed.

Erika: I was like, nope, I am. And so, and that’s the thing, right? It’s in those moments we discover parts of ourselves that we didn’t even realize needed, support and needed, healing. Yeah. And so now tell us. this work of art is completed and now it’s available.

Lisa: you can find it on Amazon. you can find it at Barnes and Noble, Enneagram, like all the major book retailers. And it’s a short read. So it definitely is not anything that’s, the emotions are heavy. I will say that I do have to tell my readers sometimes, It’s a lot, but it’s a good a lot, like it’s, it might trigger, it might not. And I just want to put that disclaimer there for you. So…

Erika: And now that it’s out in the world and people have consumed it and read it, and tell us like maybe a highlight moment. 

Lisa: 

Lisa: my first event, like book event, there’s all these other authors, they had like multiple books, and this, this group of Latinas come to the table, right?

And there was this gentleman right next to me that had the cutest setup ever, right? So I just have like, my book, a little bouquet of flowers, like something really simple because it’s a whole new realm, right? And one of the girls picks up my book and says Oh! This is really nice. And so then she reads the back, she goes, Oh, this is really deep.

So then I said, Yeah. She’s so tell me a little bit about your book. So then I explained to her, said it’s like my self-healing journey through poetry and essays. And then she calls out to her friend right next door that was like admiring this other author’s book, right? And says, And I was like, and I’m standing there like watching and hearing them, right?

Oh, Veronica! This is that healer girl! And she came to my table, And she said, Yes, this is the author we were coming for! And I was like, And I’m standing there like watching and hearing them, right? And I’m thinking, She came for me, and then I even asked her, like, how did you know? And then she goes, oh, I saw you on a website.

And I was like, I’m on a website?

trying to backtrack, right? But then I realized… Who cares? this person came for me, like out of all the authors that are here and here I am making myself small, right? Because it’s an unknown space and I think that’s what happens, right? We don’t step into our power until we have that external validation.

But at the same time, we never really needed that. We’re already creating magic outside of ourselves and we don’t even know it. 

Erika: thank you for sharing that story with us because inside of courage-driven Latina, what I always tell my clients is the first version of your courage project has to be. a shitty first draft. It’s going to be the most ghetto version. It’s you know, Latinas are resourceful. Like it has to be like from El Rancho type of just initial first round.

And that’s exactly what you did at that event, right? You brought some flowers, you had a table and your books were there and we never know who’s watching us. 

Lisa: replayed afterward. Like if I had only sold books just to that little group that like, they didn’t even have to buy it. Like, I honestly, like, it was just this immense feeling of this feels right. This is why I wrote it. so that other people can feel related to.

Because that was another thing, when I read poems I felt like I had to think a little bit into the in-between-the-line phrases like what was inferred to see myself in it. And then when I wrote, I just felt there’s like that famous quote, and I don’t know who wrote it, but they said if you’ve read something and you don’t see yourself in it, then you write your own, right?

And so it’s that’s really powerful, and it’s hard to do, and that’s what I have to also recognize too, because sometimes I’ll think to myself like, oh yeah, I mean I wasn’t that big of a thing, right? 

We do make ourselves small when we don’t know instead of really stepping in and realizing that we all have this opportunity to just be ourselves, but also embrace being fully yourself. And the right people will come to you, 

Erika: Thank you for sharing that. So on that topic about attracting your right tribe, obviously you are inside of Courage Driven Latina. I’m wondering How that has felt for you being around other women who are driven, who are, who can relate to your story, to your background.

Lisa: I’ll say, like, your page came across like, randomly, right? And then when you shared that people were working on their courage projects and that you supported that work, you know, I thought, hmm, well, what is.

What is a pro like a passion project of mine? And then I was like, well, I don’t know what I’m doing with this book. One, I know I want to share it with the world. How do I do that? That was like my biggest question, right? And then Once I went into the first session, it was just so powerful to hear other women’s, other Latina women’s passions of their own career path, of, you know, PhDs, of leaving therapy to become a coach, of just wanting to step into their own life.

And that’s what I felt like when I wrote my book. Like I am. Stepping into my life like I’m no longer a bystander in this arena. I’m here. I’m front and center. What can I do from here? You know, and so seeing that in other women is so encouraging and just it is it’s encouraging. It’s empowering. It is beautiful to see them show up, you know, once a week.

And sometimes we show up discouraged. that’s, I think that’s something that we need to really be open about is that you do feel discouraged. but to have a community around you when you feel that discouragement, like I honestly feel like on Tuesday nights when we come together, I gain some fuel to carry me through the next week, and it’s like when I have these doubts, I think it’s finally, so Tuesday’s coming up, and you’re gonna get your cup filled, and you’re gonna be fine, yeah, so it’s just, you know, because you’re friends, Bye, guys.

You know, are your comfort zone sometimes, I feel, and it’s a beautiful thing to have them, but sometimes it’s hard to surround yourself with people who are pushing themselves beyond the comfort zone and remind yourself that you decided to do this, it’s okay to do this. You were called to do it, so let’s push through it, right?

Yeah, exactly. Exactly. So obviously we talk a lot about courage projects. and everybody’s working towards something. And the reason that we even implemented something like a courage project is to give people something to practice courage towards almost like a, it’s almost like the courage projects, the top of the ladder.

Erika: Right. And they’re like taking the steps, but. I do think that the program is so much more than just a courage project. I think taking those steps comes with so much more. And a lot of it was what we were just talking about earlier, where we are releasing expectations of what others have of us. We’re stepping into our authentic self.

And then also you mentioned something at the beginning and I. The question totally slipped my mind, but you mentioned that you had your master’s, you had pretty much done everything that you needed to do. Like, why wasn’t this career working now? And I think a lot of people in the program feel that way where they’re like, wait, I already did one plus one.

Why doesn’t this equal to, or I did what I was supposed to do. Like I followed the formula and why doesn’t this feel right. And I feel like a lot of people in the program are going through. Either major life transitions or have been in that exact position where they have done everything that they needed to do to get to where they wanted, but then they got there and it wasn’t what they thought.

So can you tell us a little bit about what kind of, what goes on inside of a program? Cause I could talk about it, right? But for people to hear from your perspective, it’s not just about the courage project, but what else goes on in these rooms?

Lisa: You know, when we get into the, into the call and you know, one, it takes one person to just open this like path of okay, who needs to be coached? Right. And then, you know, it’s you’re stepping into this realm of safe vulnerability. that’s the best way I could put it. And we are able to ask our questions that cause our insecurities and then troubleshoot them through like Either, you know, the thought process of coaching yourself.

and then while you’re hearing somebody else go through that process and being questioned and, you know, you’re kind of reflecting on your own, or at least that’s how I, I take it is I reflect on my own insecurities and my own thoughts that stopped me from taking that next immediate step. And then being able to just know that I’m not alone.

I think also it’s been really powerful to have the small breakout rooms where we support each other in like these smaller spaces. because you hear another person say well, I thought it was this courage project. Now it’s this right. And then we talk about, we give each other the perspectives that we see in it.

And so that’s able to. Just really build this self assurance of it’s okay to change your mind too. Like it doesn’t matter. And so I think that’s why I say it’s a space of safe vulnerability because we can be vulnerable and we can be in a very unsafe space. And that matters so much. And so, it’s just, it’s really nice to be in a group of women who are not giving up on themselves.

that’s the other thing, is that we show up every Tuesday, and we’re not giving up on ourselves, and therefore we have enough space to not give up on others. And so, I don’t know, it’s just, it’s really great. And I mean, I told you this at the very beginning when we did meet. You know, that I’m grateful for the work that you’re doing, right?

That you took courage to say, I’m going to try this and bring these women together because it created a path that other women, again, we only see the tail end of it, right? When it’s shining, when it’s bright, but we get to also see there was a trajectory to get us to that point. And now you’ve paved that path through Courage Driven Latinas for other women to 

See their goal, but also build the path towards that goal.

Erika: Yeah, and you know, it’s Thank you for saying that because I don’t even think I realized what I was creating when I started this just like I don’t think you realize that you were creating a book that was going to change people’s lives as you were writing it, right? It was just healing for you. And I feel the same way for this about this program where I was just looking for more meaning and I had done everything that I was supposed to do.

And I was like, why don’t I feel fulfilled? And then I felt guilty because I wanted more. And I was like, I can’t be the only Latina who feels like this. And it has turned into something beyond my wild imagination, but it’s not just me. Right. All of you and everyone who’s in the, in the program. I mean, the number one thing I hear about the program is the community.

It’s not like Eric is a great coach. It’s like the community is great. I love the people here because now you have a network of people in New York, people in Texas, well, you’re in Texas. People in Texas, people in California, right? Whenever you go travel somewhere, you can meet Courage Driven Latinas all over the country, which is such a beautiful thing.

And I mean, even you and I got to meet when I went to Texas. And I think that that, your network just becomes this beautiful web of like-minded, and when I say like-minded, I mean people who get it, people who are going to cheer you on. But everybody’s coming from different backgrounds, different age groups, different career paths.

Right. There’s, there’s so much diversity within the group, but there’s this commonality of everybody striving to become the best version of themselves and give back to their community. And I think that that’s what makes the program so beautiful that everybody doesn’t just care about themselves, but they care about helping the community move forward as well.

Lisa: I think that’s the other piece to it, right?

It’s like the community that we have outside of just Tuesdays. It’s through our communication on the Slack channel and being able to just celebrate each other’s wins. Because sometimes we do have people who don’t know how to celebrate us and our successes, right? And to know that you have a group of women do and that see you is, it is life-changing.

It is changing, right? Because it encourages you to do the same for others. but yeah, it’s, it’s a great community.

Yeah. 

Erika: sometimes we even have a hard time celebrating ourselves.

Lisa: I mean, you know, it’s just, I think it’s partly the, that I will say is the unlearning too, right? Is unlearning that it’s okay to take up space. you don’t have to be small. And part of that is celebrating who you are and what you’ve accomplished. That is not showing off. That is not being better than another person.

Like it’s not a competition because there’s enough for everybody and everybody has their own path, right? Like it’s like wearing glasses. Only I can see my vision through my glasses and I have to celebrate those wins because nobody sees how hard it was to get to that next point. And so, yeah, that’s why Tuesdays fill my cup, because by Friday, I’m like, worn out, you know, cheering for myself.

But then sometimes I’ll pick up my phone, and I’ll like, call one of the girls in the group, or I’ll check in with them, hey, how’s it going? You know, and. If somebody doesn’t show up in the call, like these are things that you don’t see, but, you know, we’ll message each other and say, Hey, I didn’t see you on the call on Tuesday.

Is everything okay? How are you doing? Or I saw you, but everything okay? I’m like, Oh, I didn’t have to make a lot,

but you know, it’s just great to have those kinds of people in your life. 

Erika: Yeah. Yeah. I still get tagged. I mean, people who were in the program a year ago that are doing like a book club and different things like that, I still get tagged in things or people will meet in real life, and then they’ll tag me and I’m like, that is so beautiful. I can’t wait for the Courage Driven Latina Conference.

I’m like one thing at a time. I’m in the middle of moving my life, but I’m just so excited for everybody. Cause this is all virtual, right? How cool that all of these connections happen and you haven’t even met most of these people in real life. I can’t wait until we do have the in person, in-person retreats.

I think is the last thing that I want to ask you and then we will start to close it out. Is, can you share something that maybe surprised you from joining this group or maybe a piece of coaching that will, that you won’t forget something that really stuck with you? It could be something that you received or something that somebody else received because even if somebody else is getting coached, I find that you all like will write in the chat.

Oh, I really needed to hear that, right? So even if somebody else is getting coached, it’s almost like you’re getting coached as well. 

Lisa: Something that was very affirming and just reassuring was that we all have doubts in whatever we’re working towards.

And when we have those doubts, communicating our doubts. we can only get out of our head when we get out of our head. Right. And so having an opportunity to hear other women, be vulnerable and share, I can’t manage working in the lab and also doing my PhD, like completing their right, completing my, my thesis, to me, that, that moment was very powerful, because I thought, she’s so close to this finish line.

Right. what small incremental steps does she need to make and changes does she need to make so that she can make this happen for herself, right? And to see that whole unraveling of coaching, right? To get to the, Oh, this is what I need to do, made me also reflect like, Oh, that’s, I also need to do that for myself, you know, so I think like being able to have those.

reaffirming thoughts of you’re not alone in this. It is a hard journey and you can celebrate those small moments in between, but you can’t celebrate anything you don’t do. Does that make sense? So, like, you have to take action. You have to do it. And it’s like, we know that, right? We know that that’s what has to happen.

But being in a space where you’re constantly reminded once a week, that’s really powerful. But, you know. It’s needed.

Erika: Yeah. Mm hmm. And I think the, it’s also important for me as the coach in the program to also show up and tell you all when I’m feeling down as well. So you all get all the cheese man from my life

because it’s important or sometimes I’ll just start recording myself where I’m like, okay, I’m really struggling right now. Let me document this so I can share it with my clients on how I’m getting myself out of my hole. But it’s sometimes I’m digging myself deeper in the hole and it’s just. It’s human nature to doubt yourself.

And I think these spaces are so important because it allows you to call yourself out in the most loving way. Right. And to take that action. Okay. So we’ve had such a beautiful conversation about. learning about releasing others expectations about the importance of community, about your book and how creativity requires courage.

Is there anything that you would like to share that I maybe didn’t ask you about? 

Lisa: Yeah, I think one of the most powerful pieces is that sometimes we have to work on trusting ourselves and listening to our inner voice. we hear it and we’ve been taught to quiet that voice because that voice usually requires change or something to, you know, gain momentum.

And I think when we trust our intuition when we lean into that discomfort, we are able to just go so much further because we then learn how to communicate with ourselves. And I think that’s like the most powerful piece. because if I can effectively communicate with myself by trusting my intuition, then I can communicate that outside of myself too.

 I didn’t notice this,cause this is another thing, right? so I’ve only read my book to front to back like once. I’ve never read it all together, even when I submitted it, because I just felt like, oh man, it’s a lot of feelings in there.

But a friend of mine shared with me that when I’m writing, when she reads my writing, she can see the transition from self-doubt to courage at the end. Oh, wow. I didn’t even know, but that’s what writing does for me. 

Erika: I love it. I love it. Yeah. So working out helps with my intuition. I actually get a lot of, I came up with a pizza analogy and the four M’s during a workout class. Which is so crazy because it wasn’t like I was sitting there thinking about work. It just came to me. And so movement I think helps, which is why the first Emmy movement.

So I think whatever movement you like, for those of you who are listening, and writing doesn’t mean you have to be a writer, right? Like Lisa’s a published author. I just have scribbles inside of my journal, right? so writing could just be for you just to connect to your intuition. But I do find that some people, obviously meditation is really good to helping to have to help you tap into your intuition.

And then I’ve even heard of other people, with puzzles, like using, doing puzzles, cause it gets them out of their head and into doing something and going out in nature and just spending time in nature is usually really helpful and spending time alone, I think more than anything, because when we’re around a lot of people we’re here, we’re taking in other people’s energies, other people’s thoughts, and it’s hard to listen to that.

Slitter inner voice because the inner voice is a whisper. It’s not allowed. It’s not your mama’s voice. It is a very little whisper and you almost have to get quiet to listen to it. So for all of you listening, find your, your little recipe, your success recipe. Lisa and I already shared ours, but Lisa, thank you so much for coming on.

For all of you listening, Lisa received a one-and-a-half-hour notice. about this podcast interview and she killed it. 

Thank you. I told you, I was like, you’re going to do great. We’re just going to talk like we were having dinner in Texas. So thank you so, so much for coming on. So last minute you killed it and I will see you on Tuesday.