Getting a live TV segment on Telemundo was a huge life lesson for me. I am a confidence coach, and I teach my clients to have courage, but I was also so freaking scared when this opportunity came to me. For one thing, it was completely in Spanish, and Spanish is my second language; it was live, so I couldn’t ask it to be edited in any way, and I only had a few hours to prepare to be on national TV. The universe was giving me what I wanted, but I was so scared of messing it up, I thought about saying no. 

In the end, I did the interview. And if you saw my post about it on social media, you know I am so glad that I actually went through with it. But the hours that led up to the interview taught me a few things: that I have an incredible community around me and that I can take my own advice.  

In this week’s episode, we’re talking about the behind-the-scenes of my Telemundo interview and lessons in courage, confidence, and doing it messy. As soon as I got off the call with my point of contact at Telemundo, my perfectionism started filling my head with so much doubt that I almost threw up. But by following my own coaching methods, I was able to calm my nervous system down, reach out to my community, and have the best interview I could. Tune in to hear the ups and downs of these crazy 24 hours and what valuable lessons I learned that day. 

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Website:
http://www.theerikacruz.com

How to work with Erika:

Sign up for the FREE webinar, Make 2026 Your Main-Character Year, here!

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Podcast production for this episode was provided by CCST, an Afro-Latina-owned boutique podcast production and copywriting studio. 

Episode Transcript:

Erika: Hello, friends. Welcome back to this week’s episode of Shingo Nat Revolution podcast. This is your host, Erika Cruz, and today I have a fresh story for you about starting before you’re ready about overcoming perfectionism and showing up. Messy and imperfectly, as well as what it really means to be courageous and the different tools and aspects that are required for us to step into courage.

Because remember, courage doesn’t mean that we don’t fear anything. It means that we feel the fear and we still [00:02:00] do it. So let’s talk about what has happened over the last 12 hours. It has been actually 24 hours at this point. It has been a whirlwind, but yesterday I was working on my webinar. I was getting my slides ready. I had all of this content planned and, and around 1:00 PM I receive a phone call and I received a phone call from a number that I already had saved, and it was Telemundo, Telemundo National from Miami, and I’ve spoken to this person. Three times before.

Okay. They reached out to me not long ago in August when I was in Mexico. I actually shared this on my Instagram stories, but I was at a workout class getting a workout in, and I saw that I had a message. The class was over in about five minutes. I actually, I apologize. I actually had a missed call, not a message, and I was like, oh, as soon as I get out of this workout class, I am going to give her a call back.

I don’t think five minutes will make a difference. So I call her back even faster than five minutes, [00:03:00] and by the time I call her back, she sends me a message and says, Hey Erika, sorry I missed you. We already found somebody for the segment. Thanks anyways. So in other words, she was looking for an expert to come and speak on the news about a specific topic and I didn’t answer right away.

And I’m sure she had reached out to a few other people and in reaching out to a few other people, it worked out for somebody else. And I remember. Having a moment. I even shared this on my Instagram stories about how when something is meant for you, it’s going to work out for you. And if I got back to her as quickly as I could and somebody else already had the opportunity, then that wasn’t my opportunity, right?

It wasn’t like I didn’t make an effort. It wasn’t like I didn’t show up, but I showed up and it still didn’t work out, and I got back to her as quickly as I could. And I remember feeling really at peace with the way that I handled that situation. The first time I spoke to her, [00:04:00] I didn’t handle it that well, and I think the first time I spoke to her, it might’ve still been 2025, but it was maybe in February or March and she called me and I was working as well. Every time she calls me, I’m, I’m, oh no, nevermind.

I was working out the last time. I’m either working out or I’m working. And she was like, oh my gosh, we’d love to have you. But just so you know, my colleague was also reaching out to somebody else, so she may have already secured somebody else for the segment, and they ended up going with the other person because they had already secured somebody else for this segment.

So she’s like, save my number. We’ll stay in touch. So I mean, I’ve been back and forth with this person many times and then. Yesterday we finally connect and she’s like, Hey, we are looking for somebody to come and speak on what Latinas can do after they have been laid off. I was like, oh, okay. Yeah. I mean, I have so many clients who have been laid off and they’ve pivoted either into a [00:05:00] different industry or maybe started their own business.

Of course, like I’m, I’m a coach, I can totally talk about this. So we discussed some talking points and. We hang up and she was like, okay, let me get back to you. And then I saw that my good friend Gigi, who’s the author of Cultura and Cash, she’s known as Gigi, the first gen mentor on social media. So she actually had sent me a message, but I didn’t see it because my phone rang.

So I answered the call and Gigi was like, Hey, just so you know, Teleo National was going to be calling you. I don’t think it was a good fit. For me, so I gave her your name and I was like, that’s so wild that the third time I speak to her, and thanks to Gigi right, because she didn’t even think about calling me the, the contact that I’ve already spoken to, thanks to Gigi.

I get this opportunity. And, Gigi says in her message, yeah, they’re looking for somebody to talk about personal branding and making money online. And I was like, ah, that’s my jam. Of course, I help, I’ve helped myself do this. I’ve helped my [00:06:00] clients do this. This is exactly up my alley. But then I get on the phone with the producer and she’s giving me just like very mixed messages and isn’t really sure exactly what the talking points or what the questions are going to be.

So I write all these different talking points and long story short. She ends up saying, Hey, we’re confirmed. I’m sending you the Zoom link. Just so you know. This is 7:45 AM Eastern Time, which will be 4:45 AM for you. Is that okay? I was like, we’re not gonna say no, we’re finally getting an opportunity at live tv, but do you want to know what came up for me the moment that this was secured?

First I wanted to completely throw up. I couldn’t stop sweating. My palms were sweating. My underarms were sweating. I had to go take a shower because I couldn’t get myself to calm down or even think about talking points. I immediately was like, maybe somebody else is better qualified for [00:07:00] this. I don’t know if I speak good enough Spanish.

What if I don’t say the right thing? I’m confused about exactly what they’re going to ask me. What if I drop the ball on this? I mean, literally all of the intrusive thoughts. So you might be thinking, oh, of course Erika can do this, and maybe you’ve even seen the clip already on my Instagram, so maybe you’re like, oh my gosh, she killed it.

She did so great. But this episode is all about what really happened behind the scenes, not just logistically, right, but what was happening for me internally and what. I had to overcome to show up for this opportunity because this was not a podcast interview that was going to be edited. This was live television, speaking Spanish.

I speak Spanish to my mom. My mom has a third grade level education in Mexico. My, if you’ve listened to the podcast episode with my mom, I think she’s one of the most intelligent people I know. I think she’s very smart, but she’s not educated in the traditional way of education. [00:08:00] And while I do speak with her, I don’t speak to her about these topics.

We don’t talk about. Building a brand. We don’t talk about showing up online. I mean, we’re talking about when are we gonna go visit my brother and the kids and what do you want for dinner? Or we’re like, do you want me to make this thing? Or where are we going for the holidays? Right? We’re talking basic things like that.

I’m not using big words with her. Even when I do sometimes, because I’ve obviously done a little bit of traveling in Mexico. I’ve read some books. So even when I’ve used certain words with her, she’s like, what does that mean? So she speaks very basic Spanish, which is the Spanish that I grew up speaking and that I, that I know, and I don’t speak Spanish.

All the time. My podcast is in English. I coach in English. I read most of my books in English, almost all of my books in in English. I listen to some Spanish music, but that’s not the same as being on live television, being interviewed, and you don’t even know what questions they’re going to [00:09:00] ask. So in this moment, I’m sitting here.

Just accepting the opportunity. Setting my alarm, right? That’s the first thing. I did set that alarm for three 30 in the morning so that I could get up and went to go take a shower, decided to go walk Paloma, and as I was walking Paloma, I started practicing out loud and I was still convincing myself that I made the right decision.

And I end up phoning a friend. I messaged my friends because I was totally freaking out. So let me tell you what’s going on as I’m, I’m telling you the story, right? But let me tell you what’s really going on. When I went to go take a shower, and then I went to go walk Paloma on the trail. Being out in nature is something that’s very regulating to me.

Just like going for a walk around the block, maybe regulating to somebody else or just like working on a puzzle can be calming for somebody else, or maybe doing breath work. For me, it’s walking outdoors, meditating, journaling. Those [00:10:00] are the things that work really well to regulate my nervous system. When we are in survival, when we’re really anxious, it’s hard for us to be creative and I needed to be creative to think about talking points.

So think about all of the work that’s going on here, and I haven’t even started doing my talking points, right? So I messaged Gigi. I thank her. I spent a little bit of time journaling, as I mentioned. I took a shower and then I went for this walk. When I was journaling, I was literally convincing myself that this was the right opportunity for me.

Once I went on a walk, I started to feel so much better. One of the things that I shared on my stories that I think is important for me to share in this episode, I have had many clients who have wanted to manifest opportunities and maybe they have a goal to get on a specific podcast. And the moment that they land the invitation for the podcast, they just let it sit in their [00:11:00] inbox.

So the thing is, we all want things, right? I desire to be on national news for a long time, and then when we get the opportunity, fear can set in. And fear is what causes us to play small. And a lot of times we convince ourselves that we’re not ready yet, which is exactly what my brain was trying to tell me at the beginning, that I wasn’t ready, that my Spanish wasn’t good enough.

But what I shared on my stories is that very rarely is it the most prepared person who lands the opportunity. I guarantee you there was hundreds of other women that run coaching businesses in Spanish who could have maybe done this segment and spoken more fluently than I did. But it’s not about the most qualified.

It’s about who feels worthy of the opportunity and who can handle the opportunity. Because you are listening to my podcast. If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve seen a lot of different accomplishments, [00:12:00] and yet I’m sitting here doubting myself because of this opportunity. So I want you to know how normal this is, and your success is directly correlated to you feeling worthy of opportunities.

Worthiness isn’t just, oh my gosh, I’m conceited. No, no, no. Worthiness comes from doing the inner work regulating the nervous system preparation experience. This wasn’t my first TV segment. This was my first national live TV segment, and that’s what made it so scary, especially at that time in the morning with such short notice.

So, as I was sharing in my stories, it’s not the person who is the most qualified. It is the person who’s willing to show up for the opportunity and feels worthy of it. So I want you to think about whatever goal it is that you have, whether it’s starting a business, creating [00:13:00] content, maybe launching a podcast.

There is somebody out there that’s less qualified than you, but they have the courage to start. They felt worthy of the opportunity, even if they doubted themselves, right? Even if they still had some doubt, it doesn’t mean, oh my gosh, I’m a hundred percent confident. And feeling worthy just means that you know that you deserve it even if you’re scared, even if you still have some fear.

[00:14:00] [00:15:00] 

Erika: I come back home and I start peeling a pomegranate because I was hungry. But you wanna know what I was really doing? I was procrastinating. Why was I procrastinating? Because I was terrified. So when we procrastinate, if you have a goal and you keep putting it off, very rarely is it because you don’t know what to do.

It’s typically because you’re avoiding an uncomfortable feeling. Maybe it’s overwhelming. Maybe it is. Not very specific. It’s too general and you don’t know exactly what to do. You’re afraid, maybe. Afraid of failure, afraid of judgment, all the different things, and you’re avoiding this uncomfortable feeling.

And that’s why sometimes we just scroll. We say, okay, today I’m gonna create content. And we end up scrolling and that’s why. So pretty much the purpose of this podcast episode is for me to story tell [00:16:00] this opportunity, but looking at it from a lens. Of courage and as a coach and how I’m, I’m pretty much coaching myself through this and I’m pointing it out for you, so I hope you’re enjoying this type of podcast episode.

And then I ate my pomegranate and I said, okay, Erika, sit down and get this done. So I sat down, I started writing some, some talking points. I translated them. I had to ensure that I could read them. Then I ended up phoning a friend. I have a friend named Liz who lives in Mexico City. You’ve maybe seen her on my Instagram stories, if you follow me.

She is one of my business besties. I’m so grateful for her. She’s been living in Mexico for about three years now. She’s married to somebody from Mexico City, so her Spanish has improved so much over the last few years. We role played. I talked to her and talking to her and role playing allowed me to. See where I was naturally going to go on rants and [00:17:00] completely eliminate that.

So courage doesn’t happen in a silo. Courage happens in community. And speaking to Liz not only gave me the preparation that I was looking for, but I was also able to share some of these doubts with her, and she was able to support me with reframing my mindset and reminded me that me showing up.

Imperfectly is literally part of my brand. It’s part of who I am. And even if I stutter a little bit, I’m Mexican American. I’ve never lived in Mexico, and the fact that I’m doing this with such short notice was such an act of courage. And any other person that like could be in my situation, could justify saying no, and I could have justified saying no, but I chose to say yes, and that conversation was everything I needed.

Right. So. Between Gigi suggesting my name, Liz, getting on the call with me, me regulating my nervous system, me, doing a little bit of [00:18:00] journaling and then doing some preparation. All of that combined is what got me ready. For this interview. I tried to go to sleep early, but of course you can imagine I was still nervous.

I’m still human. It’s not like I’m just never gonna be nervous with these things, especially live TV when you don’t know exactly what they’re asking. So I maybe got five hours of sleep if that, which is actually pretty good for getting up at three 30 in the morning. I got up. I felt energized. I did my makeup and I get a phone call from them because they asked me to be there at four 40 in the morning because I was going to go on at four 50 and at four 30 I started getting phone calls from them telling me to log on.

I’m so glad I started getting ready before I thought I needed to be ready because luckily, I was camera ready and ready to go. I log onto Zoom. They do an audio check and y’all waiting to go live, even if it’s Zoom, even if you’re virtual, but watching the news go [00:19:00] live and then seeing your face on there, it’s very intimidating.

And they started off by asking me about my journey and that I worked at a traditional company, and I ended up becoming an entrepreneur. So I shared, you know, how it was. Because of my personal brand that I was able to do this, and then they completely switched the direction. I didn’t end up sharing any of my talking points.

I had all of these statistics ready to go. I couldn’t share any of them. They didn’t even ask me about layoffs. They started asking. They very much pivoted. And it wasn’t like they asked me something completely out of left field, but I was going to give them three tips and I gave one tip and then they cut me off and asked me a different question and I was like, oh, okay.

Like maybe my tips weren’t going in the direction that they thought and It was such an act of courage to show up imperfectly and then to still share this on my social media. But when I got off of that interview, I did not feel like I was on top of the world. The [00:20:00] fact that I was cut off, the fact that they asked different questions than I anticipated, I just feel like I kind of missed the mark, and that was me being really hard on myself.

And even though, yes, this was a win, I didn’t completely fumble, I didn’t say a bad word. My Spanish was actually pretty good. I felt like I, it was not up to my own standards and I was beating myself up. I was having a vulnerability hangover. And you know, whenever we are courageous, we can’t have courage without vulnerability.

 you are vulnerable whenever you’re taking an act of courage, posting the piece of content on social media that is. A vulnerable thing to do. You’re putting yourself out there to be criticized as creating a business and having it possibly fail that is vulnerable. Asking for a raise at work, you could be rejected.

That is very vulnerable, so we cannot have courage without vulnerability. And I was feeling that vulnerability hangover so deep. [00:21:00] I was like, I couldn’t even get any work done. I couldn’t go back to sleep. I couldn’t get any work done. Now it’s 2:00 PM and I’m recording this podcast episode. So my interview happened the morning of today, so I am recording this podcast episode same day, and I just thought it would be really cool to walk you all through a courageous act on my behalf.

From my perspective and how I still feel the fear, how I still rely on community and exactly, I follow my process exactly like I really do live and breathe what my program is. 

If my story resonated with you and you are looking for more courage in your life, whether that’s to start the business, post the content, negotiate your salary at work, literally anything that requires courage, then I invite you to join us inside of Courage driven Latina. The doors are open, but they are closing very soon.

They close on November 19th, so [00:22:00] don’t delay. Watch the training if you are looking for more clarity or check out courage driven latina.com

Because the decisions that you make today are going to dictate your 2026. We don’t start in January for the new year. We start right now. So don’t let another year go by where you’re waiting to feel ready. We must start before we’re ready, just like I did for this tv. I.Thank you so much for spending some time with me and I’ll see you next week. [00:23:00]