What are you waiting for? This week, I invited three amazing clients to the podcast to share their amazing journeys of self-discovery. They all knew that they needed to make a change, but they didn’t know how to do it or where to start. That was until they decided to get out of their own way and just start. 

Sunkin Duarte is a Mexican American, daughter of two immigrants from Michoacán, Mexico, who was born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas. She is a multi-passionate woman who considers herself a spiritual empath and yogi, a trailblazing scholar and professional, and finally, a humanitarian who cares deeply about the BIPOC communities. Growing up, Sunkin was very academically focused, earning two full-ride scholarships to obtain her three degrees, and then in more recent years, breaking into the international development and humanitarian affairs field. Now, Sunkin spends her time giving back to her community through the Latinas in Progress Program of Hispanic Women’s Network of Texas and her newly created business, Sunkin Yoga, a lifestyle and wellness coaching business. Her goal is to uplift BIPOC communities to live their most authentic, aligned, and empowered lives by practicing mindfulness, doing self-introspection work, and integrating healthy practices into their daily routines.

Jacqueline Torres is a wife, mother of four, RN turned real estate developer. After a hard year of financial uncertainty and having a new baby, she knew that she had to find a way to supplement their income. From Airbnbs to attending events, reading books, networking dinners, and listening to endless podcasts, she decided to take action, trust and believe in herself, and take a chance on new developments. Jacqueline partnered up with the right people, raised private money, and broke ground on her first new build!

Erika Padilla is a Mexican immigrant, a single mom of two, and the oldest of five children. She immigrated to the US when she was only nine years old and her world as she knew it turned upside down. She came to a new country without knowing any English and carried a whole lot of fear. She quickly became the kid who got picked on because she didn’t understand anything. That just made me stronger and ever since I have seen everything as a challenge instead of a problem. She became a young mom at 23 who only found out she was pregnant three months before the baby arrived. Erika knew she had to give her child a better life, one away from addiction and money issues, so she moved in with the father’s family. She made it work with her children’s father for sixteen years before she decided it was time to leave him and start fresh. She is now working on a new chapter in her life, one filled with resilience and self-confidence. 

In this week’s episode, these three amazing women share how they got out of their own way and started creating the dream lives they knew they deserved. With the support of the Courage Driven Latina Program, each and every one of them are leaving toxicity behind. Whether that be toxic jobs or toxic situations, they are moving on to something better. Tune in to hear all of these amazing women’s stories!  

Connect with Sunkin:
Instagram @‌sunkinyoga
LinkedIn

Connect with Jacqueline:
Instagram @‌ jacquelinetorres_builds
LinkedIn

Connect with Erika P:
Instagram @eliteproperty_boss

Follow Erika on:
Instagram @‌theerikacruz
TikTok @‌theerikacruz
LinkedIn

Website:
http://www.theerikacruz.com

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

Join the waitlist for the Magnetic Mastermind here.

Sign up for the 4 Proven Steps to Reinvent Yourself in Just 90 Days Webinar 

Episode Transcript:

Erika: Hello and welcome back to this week’s episode of Chingona Revolution podcast. This week is not a solo episode. I am joined by some amazing individuals that I’ve had the privilege and honor of working with over the last few months. And they’ve been invited onto the podcast because they’ve really done an amazing job of reinventing themselves.

overthinking to showing up imperfectly from really being in a toxic work environment, to leaving that, to not really knowing what they wanted to do, to starting their own business. And it is just, a handful of incredible stories that I wanted to make sure you all had a chance to hear and listen because this month the theme thus far has been allowing yourself to embrace change and allowing yourself to pivot and reinvent yourself.

And obviously you hear my stories, but I think it’s important for you to also hear these stories from individuals of different walks of life. So with that being said. Welcome, ladies. I am going to just kind of call on you and I’ll have you give us just a quick introduction as to who you are.

Jackie, welcome to the podcast. Can you please introduce yourself and tell us what you do? And 

Jacquline: Jackie, I am a mother, a wife, a nurse, real estate investor, and developer. Lovely. 

Erika: And when we had invited you onto the podcast, you talked about how before joining Courage Driven Latina, you were really stuck in like perfectionism, paralysis, and you felt burnt out, which then turned into a lot of inaction.

And tell us what happened whenever you did join Courage Driven Latina. Like, because you’re no longer there, right? You are a bad ass realistic developer. Somebody who’s showing up consistently on social media. You’re a nurse, you’re swimming, you’re like, do it. You have a, like a shed that’s being built, built for you.

That’s going to be your office. So like complete transformation. Tell us what happened. 

Jacquline: So I joined your program. I heard you through. You know, somebody else’s podcast, Wendy, and you spoke to my soul. And, um, I was like, this can’t be life. So I went in like thinking that, you know, this was actually going to help me take more action, right?

Like, why am I, why am I not making movement? Why am I not having momentum? Why am I not succeeding? But, uh, it was actually a lot more than that. Um, I think probably the most memorable thing was when I did your like guided meditation, visiting your, um, younger self. Um, I think I cried for like five days after that, just realizing that.

Like the way I grew up and the need to achieve and to be perfect and to be seen comes from my childhood and the lack of love and, you know, the lack of being seen and the expectation. So I think that was like the biggest moment for me out of all of the great things you offer. Um, it was something I didn’t even know was a thing.

And, uh, that led to the journey of, of, Realizing who I am, letting go of the things that I think I should be for everyone, getting to know who I am, and loving myself in that process and, realizing how perfectionism just hinders you. It like is the worst thing you can ever hold because you don’t even allow yourself to be or to create or grow because you’re just so stuck in that box.

Erika: Definitely. Oh my gosh, that’s so well said. And. Tell us about Jackie now, because you are no longer stuck in perfectionism. So what are you up to now? 

Jacquline: Um, so right now we’re developing our first new construction projects, which is not very common as a new real estate investor. Uh, we just purchased another project as well.

That’s going to be a fix and flip that we funded completely with no money out of pocket. Um, private investors and some hard money loans. Um, I’m actually a, going to be a co leader of the InvestHer, which is a big, uh, community of female investors in Atlanta. Um, so we’re bringing that back in July. So I’m a co leader and that came from putting myself out there and just asking like, Hey, can I do this?

And they were like, yeah, sure. Come on. I was like, Oh. Okay, um, I’m still working, um, my goal and job. I don’t care if you hear it. I am leaving by the end of this year. Um, you know, I just feel like I’m at the brink of my momentum and if I don’t open to myself to the unknown, I will never know what is waiting for me.

So, um, that’s what’s happening. 

Erika: And you are showing up consistently creating content and like still working on taking care of yourself. And I would not say that you’re stuck in inaction, like quite the opposite. I think the next courage project we gave you was like, can you just have some fun? Right. Cause you’re getting so much done so much done.

So it’s been such a beautiful journey. Even just seeing the way that you show up on the calls has been amazing. like changed, right? So you’ve completely reinvented yourself from being in your head about it and being in an action to showing up imperfectly and not letting perfection get perfectionism get in the way and look at all of the amazing opportunities that have come out.

And then I think the other thing that just stands out to me is like, you’ve sometimes we’re like, Oh, I want to leave a job. I want to leave a job, but you have now made a decision and given yourself a timeline and there’s so much power. In the simple act of making a decision, because I have no doubt that you might even leave before, because I remember I did something similar when I was leaving my tech job and I was like, all right, by the end of 2020, I’m going to leave, I’m going to leave by December of 2020.

And I hadn’t, I didn’t even have a business yet. You, you have a little bit of a headstart. So I’m, that’s why I’m like, I think you’re going to leave earlier. And then I think I ended up leaving in October. of 2020. I didn’t even wait until December. I was like, what am I waiting for? And I mean, the fact that you already have another project and it just goes to show that you’re definitely on the aligned path.

So congratulations. Thank you. Sunken. Tell us who you are and what you do. 

Sunkin: Hi, everyone. Um, Erica, thank you so much for having me. My name is Duncan Duarte, and I was born and raised in the Dallas Fort Worth area. Um, I think growing up as a first generation Latina daughter of immigrants, like, I was just such an overachiever.

I really resonate with Jacqueline. Like, I felt Like I was such a perfectionist. I was always like getting the best grades. I honestly I got two full rides to like get all my three degrees and if that wasn’t an indicator of success. I don’t know what wasn’t but I was just doing all of that to like please my family and You know, make sure that, you know, they felt like what they did for me, like was a value and that I was really, you know, trying to help them.

Um, but aside from that, I consider myself like a scholar, a humanitarian and Now I’m really tapping into my more spiritual side. And so I’m going through yoga teacher training and yeah, it’s been such a journey. I’ve left two jobs. I’ve been on a self development journey for the past few years. And I think Erica’s program and yoga teacher training has helped with all of that.

And now I, I have more clarity on what I want to do. I am open to a lot of things. I don’t think I’m completely like closing the door to my field, but I just know what type of role will energize me. And I also just am looking forward to rolling out my yoga business and helping people in that aspect. So I would just say that, you know, if there’s anything that’s connected and everything that I do, it’s either helping my family, helping my community or helping the world, which is 

Erika: what I’ve done through my career.

I love it. Thank you so much for sharing with us. And I think a lot of people resonate with what you shared at the beginning of sometimes we, we don’t really stop to ask ourselves if our accomplishments is something that we desire, we do it because we know that we The generation that came before us did so much for us to have access to these accomplishments, and we just feel like we have to take full advantage of all of them.

So I think you’ve had such just like a, almost like a self discovery awakening, right? Of like really coming home to who you are and the person that we are is going to keep evolving, right? The person you are now is not the person you’re going to be in 10 or 15 years. But whenever we had invited you onto the podcast, I know you mentioned that.

Whenever you were listening to the podcast before even joining the program, you left your first toxic job and city. So can you tell us a little bit more about that? 

Sunkin: Yeah, of course. So I was in Washington DC and I had, you know, this prestigious job. I broke into international development, which is really difficult for Latinas to break into.

And I was just living, you know, my dream, or at least I thought so. And I, I went to DC with like zero thought. I was just like, I am on a roll. Like I’m going to go like conquer DC and the world. And my parents were a bit like worried about me and hesitant, but they, they were like, okay, she’s so cute. Out there doing her thing.

She’s going to be so successful. And I went and during my time there, I just felt so empty inside and I couldn’t understand why. And then I reached a point where I was just burning out and I’m like, why, why am I feeling like this? That isn’t this everything that I wanted. And it was so funny because I came across your podcast.

I came across one of your episodes and it was around Hispanic heritage month. Then I was. Giving a presentation and I decided to give a presentation about your podcast and I was like, oh, there’s so much like to work with with what she’s saying here and a lot of themes. So I’m just, I’m just going to present like one of her episodes and, and, you know, talk about the Latino community.

And then I did that and I don’t know there was just a voice inside of me that kept telling me you need to leave this job and you need to leave D. C. and I was just going like back and forth and I’m like I don’t know if I should do this and I think about maybe a month later I left my job because it just it was too much for me and then I was just debating like should I go back to D.

C., should I not and, um, There is an instance where I went back to DC to collect some of my things because I was still on the fence and then as I was boarding the plane, I was listening to another one of your episodes about uh, I don’t know something about your intuition and it was like saying if you feel like uneasiness and you don’t feel like growth and expansiveness then that’s a sign that you shouldn’t be there and I felt that in my stomach and and I I asked my body like two things I’m like How does it feel if I were to stay here?

And I just felt so much unease and disgust. And like, I just wanted to throw up and I’m like, I don’t think I should be here any longer. And that’s wild. Cause I, I worked so hard just to get to this point and what I’m just going to go back to, to DFW and do what, what am I going to do there? And, and then I asked myself, but how do you feel about going home?

And I felt so much comfort and I realized. That’s what the decision that I needed to make. So I came back home and I took another job. Um, it was remote and it was a little different. It was more humanitarian. And so I felt like that would be more aligned to what I wanted, but I ended up realizing that the role itself wasn’t aligned to my personality.

Erika: Got it. And that you recently left, right? 

Sunkin: Yes. 

Erika: Because I remember like it was a toxic work environment and you followed your intuition, went to yoga teacher training and I remember whenever you made the decision to leave the job and just like how Relieved you felt. So where are you now? Like, how do you feel now after having walked away from these two jobs?

The one that like you should have been happy to be at and I’m using air quotes, right? You know, it’s just like the message we tell ourselves or the message that we might get from, from like the older generation or our parents or our family. Who’s like, Oh, like, why would you leave it? So how does it feel having walked away from those things?

One that was like a very prestigious job. Another one that on paper also should have been good. Quote unquote good because it was from humanitarian and remote and all of that. 

Sunkin: Yeah, um, gosh, I felt so many things I think at first. I was having like a battle between like my ego and my soul. I think that’s the best way to describe it.

Like my ego was like, what are you doing? And then my whole community and a lot of my friends, they’re based around like my nerdy, like academic achieving side. And they were also like, what are you doing, girl? And to this day, they, you know, They’re kind of still like questioning what I’m doing, but on the other hand, I joined this community and I joined yoga teacher training and I’ve never felt so like expansive.

I, I thought this didn’t exist. I thought I would always have to like repress like that. I don’t know, like feminine side of me, the one where I’m like intuitive and I, I listened to myself and I’m very spiritual. I’ve always have been, but I kind of always neglected that. And I, I thought that, you know, living in like, More of my masculine energy.

I had to neglect that and just ignore it for my whole life until I just I just couldn’t it was making me sick, honestly. And so joining this community and yoga teacher training. It’s like it was like reaffirming me that I’m on the right track and I need to do what what fills up my cup and what energizes me and not necessarily what.

You know, people think I should be doing because it’s just going to drain me and at the end of the day, you know, you have one life and you don’t live it in your purpose, then what are you doing? So now I am just open to so many things. I’m open to jobs that feel aligned to my soul. And I know What it, what kind of job that is, I know it needs to be something where I’m creative, where I can engage with like people, um, maybe coach them in some way, and I don’t know, something that involves like being intellectual, and I, I, I have all those things in me already, but I think I was trying to just, Compartmentalize that into a role that was just solely like intellectual and that’s just that’s not solely who I am.

I need something that, that just encompasses all sides of me, like the caring side, the nurturing side, but also like the creative side and the intellectual side. I need something that encompasses everything. And that’s what I’m looking forward to. And I’m looking forward to also being a yoga instructor because I have used my all of my talents through that.

Um, I’m still on the fence about whether or not I’m gonna do that full time, but I’m just open right now to a lot of things and I’m, I’m just seeing where the universe takes me now. 

Erika: I love it. So you went from feeling like boxed in and toxic jobs to feeling completely expansive, getting certified in something that you already love.

You’re able to make money from it. You get to decide if it’s full time or not, and then you’re just open to possibilities. That is a pretty damn good transformation. Yeah.

for sharing with us. Um, I am curious, do any of you have questions for the group? I didn’t, I didn’t have you prepare for this. So if you don’t have any, don’t worry, but like, is there anything you’d want to ask the other women in the podcast with you? 

Erika P: Well, I did have a question for Jackie that I would be totally interested in.

Seeing what her real estate investments are. I think that’s so exciting. I’ve always been interested in doing that myself. It’s just the state I live in, which is California. It’s quite a challenge. 

Jacquline: Yeah. Um, I actually have a, a lot of real estate. Um, I actually have friends, um, in real estate that they live in California and they would never invest in California.

Um, because California is a very, um, It’s not landlord friendly. It’s very tenant friendly. So yeah, um, I live in Georgia, um, and right now I’m doing projects to sell. So I’m not planning to keep these, but as I pivot into building to keep, um, Georgia is a very landlord friendly state. Um, so that’s going to be good for us, um, thinking long term wealth, thinking like, now, how do I put my money into projects so the IRS doesn’t tax me six figures at the end of the year.

So, yeah, 

Erika P: yeah, I think we’re going to connect Jackie because, um, yeah, I’ve always been interested. Like I said, I’m very in touch with real estate here. And I know I can’t really afford to do any kind of what you’re doing, but that’s what I’ve always been interested in myself. And just definitely looking forward to that.

And you go girl. I thank you. You go too. So, Sanquin, you and I have spoken before, so I’m very happy that you finally are moving forward with all these changes. I know we were in a breakout room for Chingona Revolution, um, no, for CDL, I’m sorry. Um, and it was, it’s really nice to hear your progression, so I’m really happy to hear that.

So congrats. 

Sunkin: Yeah. Thank you so much. Likewise. 

Erika: This is literally what happens inside of the program. You just connect with people and then just like Erica and Jackie, you’re going to connect, right? Or just like Erica witnessed whenever Sunken was like down in the mud and not sure what she wanted to do.

And now she’s like on the other side and glowing. It is, it really is a beautiful community. Does anyone else have a question for somebody in the group? Yeah, go ahead, Jackie. 

Jacquline: So for sunken, um, what, or like, what are you doing to tap in into like your more spiritual side or your intuition? Like what are some action or what are you doing?

Sunkin: Yeah, I love this question. I would say I’ve always done a number of things. So I think I started with yoga because. Um, when I started my second job, I was like, I, I need something to ground me. So I, I just started with yoga and then somewhere along the way, I started realizing maybe I should become a teacher.

And so through my teacher program, I learned about Ayurveda, which is like the sister science of yoga. And a lot of people don’t really know about it. So I looked into that and I realized, Oh, this is how my body works. These are like the type of like dominant elements in my body. These are like the things that I need to like, kind of put my body, my body more in balance and just feel more grounded.

So I’ve looked into that and that’s helped me, um, live, uh, like incorporate like more practices into like my routine or into my diet that helped me stay more balanced because I actually have like two dominant like doshas is what they call it and that’s really interesting because I have to learn about both and learn, you know, what types of things I need for like to manage those two doshas.

So I do that. Um, I guess other things are like spending time in nature, journaling, feeling just grounded. And then, um, through my yoga practices, like, you know, incorporating like music and meditation and just, Having that time for like introspection and self reflection helps me like connect to like my energy and helps me realize you know what’s draining me and what feels like more aligned to me and that’s just like my my guiding compass to you know live life.

I love it, thank you. 

Erika: Yeah, thank you for sharing. Okay, so I think the last question that I have for you all, um, is, and actually you all joined the program kind of at different times, so sometimes you see each other on call, sometimes you don’t, but I think this podcast episode is a great example of how there’s just so Even if everybody’s in different walks of life and doing completely different things, there’s still something that bonds the group together, and it’s the desire to be the best version they could be, the desire to see other people win, and having a supportive community around you who believes in you, even if they’re in a completely different industry than you are.

So, with that being said, If you, I mean, I know that actually, I know a few of you that I’ve spoken to. Um, Jackie, I think you heard me on Wendy’s podcasts and you were like, I need to join and you joined right away. But I know that some people sometimes like have been thinking about joining courage driven Latina, but they delay it.

So what would you say to somebody who’s thinking about joining, but maybe they’re like, how do I know this is going to work for me? Like, what if it’s just a waste of time and money? And you know, like all of the normal objections that people have when they’re going to make an investment that feels like a big commitment.

So, um, Erika, I’ll start with you just cause you’re the first one on my screen. So like, what would you say to somebody? 

Erika P: I say that time is divine. If you have that mental like, just that at the pit of your stomach, like I’m ready to do something else. Just do it. Like if we stop and think sometimes, I feel like we overthink stuff that we’re being led to just follow.

Like, just go by your intuition, go by what your body tells you. Just do it. If it works out, it all depends on you, right? You give us the, the layout and the guidance and the support, the community. But at the end of the day, it’s really on us, but if we’re already considering it, just do it. You’ll see the upside to it.

Erika: I couldn’t agree with that more. You don’t get time back, right? Time is the one thing we don’t get back. Like we can always make more money. We can always make new friends. We cannot get time back though. Um, Jackie, what about you? 

Jacquline: For someone that is on the fence about joining, um, just do it. I mean, I feel like for some people, the need to want to change has to be bigger for them to take action.

Um, and so that’s like a big hindrance, especially when you’re not used to investing in yourself and you’re used to pouring into others. Like, you have no idea who you can become if you, Pour into your cup first and be the best version of yourself. You can become a better mother, a better partner, a better everything.

And so taking a chance of like, you know, what would that look like? Like, what would that look like if I was in tune with myself and was my happiest, best version does, you know, is that worth it? Yeah. Take my money, please. 

Erika: I love it. Thank you so much. And something, what about you? So like, let’s say that.

Cause you were listening to the podcast way before. So you probably were considering the program a few times before you actually joined. So like looking back now, what would you say to somebody who was like in your shoes? 

Sunkin: Yeah, of course. I would say, I totally resonate with what Erika and Jacqueline have said, like listen to your gut.

And if it feels like it’s going to be something worthwhile for you, if you feel called to it. And even then, if you feel like there’s a part of you, that’s. repressed and you aren’t connecting with it. Like you can’t be your higher self. And if you’re looking for a community that’s going to validate you until you, you know, you should really tap into that because it’s who you are and you’re without it, you’re not going to be like your happiest, most empowered self.

And I, I’ve found that through this community. Um, like one of my accountability buddies. She, she was so great with me. Um, we both like validated each other’s experiences. We were, um, feeling the same kinds of things. And then eventually we both came like to the same conclusions about like our jobs and, and that led from one thing to another, to another, and she like would always hear me out and, and.

If anything, you know, there’s someone there that’s going to validate like your experiences And as you’re figuring out like who you want to become in the process They’re still going to be there and they’re going to be telling you Hey, like I see you becoming like more radiant. I see you like becoming like more Just this higher self that you weren’t like when I first met you and just seeing that growth is like, you know, your sign that you’re on the right path and you get that validation here.

So I really appreciated that because I don’t think I was going to get it elsewhere because you know, everyone else has their expectations of you. So if you want to break out of that and. Really seek fulfillment. I say you should join. 

Erika: Beautiful. Thank you so, so much. And to end, where can people find you all so that they can stay in touch?

Obviously we will put your links down below in the show notes. Um, Sunken, we’ll start with you. So tell us where people can find you. 

Sunkin: Yeah. So you can find me on my Instagram page, sunken yoga, and it’s still in the works, but I promise you it’s going to be life changing. So many people are like already excited about what I’m going to do because there’s a need for like Latina yogis in this world.

So if you. You know, want to learn more about yoga and wellness, please connect with me. I’d be so happy to like take you on and you can also connect with me on LinkedIn. 

Erika: Beautiful. Thank you. And then, um, Jackie, where can people find you? 

Jacquline: Um, so I’m mostly active on Instagram. It’s Jacqueline Torres, uh, underscore builds.

Um, and semi active on Facebook. It’s Jackie Torres. Um, you can follow me for more tips about investing and, um, or actually. Creating a community in Metro Atlanta as well for all Spanish speaking investors. Um, immigrants, most like more like immigrants. So teaching them, you know, going from being the worker to actually being the investor.

So it’s been a big movement. Um, and I’m really excited to be here. I 

Erika: also need to connect you Jackie with a girl named Clara who’s in my mastermind. She was encouraged driven Latina like a year and a half ago, but she is based in Texas, but she’s a real estate broker and she’s really targeting the Spanish speaking community and leading workshops and different things like that.

So somebody else that I need to connect you with. 

Jacquline: Yes. Thank you. I’m actually texting Wendy right now 

Erika: about having lunch. Yay! How exciting! Yeah, so Jackie joined because Wendy was Encourage Driven Latina like a year before Jackie. So I love all of these little connections in the community and the little web.

Love it! Okay, well I know that you can follow Erika because I started following her new page this morning. Okay, her Instagram is Elite property underscore boss. If you want to stay in touch with Erika Padilla. And again, we will link all of these in the show notes down below.

Thank you all so, so much for coming on. I appreciate you sharing your transformation and sharing where you are and overall, just your experience in the program. I’m super excited about us doing our change 30 challenge right now. At the time of recording, we’re only on day two, but I feel like there’s already So much activity and so much change going on just in the first two days.

And I will see you all on our call later today. All right. Thank you everyone. Bye.