We tend to think of cycles in a negative light, like the cycles of abuse or the cycles of complacency. But there are also good cycles that can lead to even better outcomes than the ones you have now. Once you make a positive change in your life and stick with it, you create a new cycle that’s in alignment with what you want. The more you bet on yourself, the more results you’ll see and the more motivation you’ll have to show up for yourself. This is exactly what happened to this week’s guest, and we’re going to share her story with you on the Chingona Revolution Podcast. 

Jazmin’s name is pronounced “Yahsz-meen,” and she goes by Yaz. She was born & raised to Mexican immigrant parents, in Chicago’s Gage Park neighborhood, and has a deep commitment to social, economic, & racial justice for BIPOC communities. She works in data & evaluations at a nonprofit that prioritizes the organizational health and sustainability of small Black and Latinx-led organizations. She values mobilizing others to embrace their holistic selves & take action towards more aligned and empowering changes. She loves all things health & wellness, and inspiring others to explore their version of that for themselves. She creates social media content about her health and wellness journey, which currently includes yoga, caretaking of her 75+ plants, strength training, salsa dancing, getting out of her comfort zone, meeting new people, testing out simple and healthy food recipes, and connecting with other community-centered content creators in the city.

In this week’s episode, we’re talking to Jazmin Ocampo about how she went from perfectionism to purpose-driven. Through the Courage Driven Latina program, Jazmin was able to use the “Ghetto First Draft” to take messy action and launch her dream business. She knew she had to break the cycle of perfectionism to achieve her dreams. But she couldn’t do it if her perfectionism was going to keep getting in her way. With some coaching and commitment, Jaz has accomplished her goals and is on her way to setting new ones. Listen to Jaz’s episode to hear how she broke the cycle and started a brand new one. 

Follow Jazmin on:
Instagram: @yazzy_yayy

TikTok: @yazzy.yayy 

LinkedIn: Jazmin Ocampo

Follow Erika on:
Instagram @‌theerikacruz
TikTok @‌theerikacruz
LinkedIn

Website:
http://www.theerikacruz.com

How to work with Erika:

Sign up for the free webinar “ The 90-Day Manifestation Path” here!

Join the waitlist for the Courage Driven Latina program here.

Join the waitlist for the Magnetic Mastermind here.

Podcast production for this episode was provided by CCST.

Episode Transcript:

Erika: Hello, friends. Welcome back to this week’s episode of Chin at Revolution podcast. I have a great episode for you today. If you have ever been waiting for clarity before you can start. Taking action or if you’ve been thinking about something for a long time, then this episode is going to resonate with you because I am sitting down to speak to ya.

Pel Yasmin, who is inside courage driven Latina, and when she came to the program, she was unsure of her next step, yet she was deeply aware that she was meant for more. She didn’t know exactly what that was. She knew she wanted to start a business. She knew she wanted to create content, but more importantly, she knew she wanted to impact and uplift her community, but she didn’t know how.

And six months later, Yaz has not only launched her [00:02:00] own coaching business, but she’s also leaning into her voice. She’s landed collaborations. She is building this wellness brand. and she’s living her mission to uplift her community with joy and resistance at the center.

Yaz works in the nonprofit world. She’s a nonprofit leader and like so many of us was great at showing up for others, but struggled to prioritize her own dreams and herself. And in this conversation we talk about breaking free from perfectionism. Trusting yourself through pivots and also showing up before you feel ready.

So whether you’re stuck in indecision or waiting for the perfect idea or just need a reminder that you are not alone, then this episode is your permission slip to start messy and trust that alignment comes from movement.

 Ya’s Story is a perfect example of what happens when we give ourselves full permission to be the most aligned, the most courageous versions of ourselves. Alright, let’s get into the interview. I.

 Ya. [00:03:00] Welcome to the show. How are you? 

Jazmin: I’m doing so great. Like, honestly, thank you for, for inviting me on the show. This is really exciting and it’s like super official, so, I love it. 

Erika: Yeah, and you’re one of the few clients that I’ve had the honor of meeting in real life. We even went to a salsa class together and went social dancing in Chicago.

So fun. I cannot wait back. because yeah, I’ll be back. This year. This year. But for the people who are listening and may not know who Yaz is, can you tell us a little bit, a little bit about yourself? So like, you’re from Chicago, you work in nonprofit. Mm-hmm. Go ahead, tell us your background. 

Jazmin: Yeah, so I, I am from Chicago.

I’m from the south side of Chicago, the southwest side. Um, I’m, both of my parents are immigrants and so I definitely relate to the whole, like immigrant, like growing up with the immigrant experience of like my parents, seeing my parents consistently work very hard. I think recently I’ve been having reflections about that, about like really, really what does that mean for me now that I, am focusing on [00:04:00] health and wa as a health and wellness coach and really, really leaning into that and being able to draw from my experiences growing up, um, with immigrant parents, you know.

 in that process of like Gage Park. So Gage Park is a predominantly immigrant, like enclave neighborhood. And so I grew up, really, really like connected to just a bunch of other Latinos in the neighborhood. 

 So growing up in that neighborhood and having that experience of my parents being immigrants. It really, like, I, I didn’t realize it until later on that like a sense of belonging was really important to me because I feel like similar to so many other Latinos, it’s like, you don’t feel a hundred percent American.

You don’t feel a hundred percent Mexican. And so you’re just like trying to figure yourself out a little bit. and so I think that also, like growing up I realized like I. I realized later on that I’m actually a pretty, like a big [00:05:00] empath too. And so what was my safe space became school like I geeked out on school and I was really into, not just like the academic side, but really like the extracurricular activities and the programming.

 all of that I think became my safe space from. This confusion that I think I was experiencing. And then also just different challenges at home that I was experiencing growing up with, like my parents’ relationship. I think all of that, like as a kid, you don’t really feel like you have a voice and you don’t really always feel like you are part of these conversations that are happening around you that directly impact your life, such as, your parents’ relationship or, finance.

I think I was always keen to like the financial. sacrifices that my parents were making at the time too. They both, worked really hard and I went to Catholic school for elementary school. and so I was very, like, I knew that, you know, they had to pay for that. And because their relationship really took a [00:06:00] rift, the older I got, like I saw how money became a big issue within, within that relationship.

 and so I always kind of felt like in the middle and didn’t feel like I had an outlet, an outlet to express how I felt an outlet to, To just feel safe. So it wasn’t until like, you know, I became to step outta my comfort zone at school. I got involved with different programs, like the drama club and sports, and I was like really, really heavily involved.

 and that took me through high school. I went to high school, CPS, Chicago Public Schools and went into getting like, again, like involved in leadership programs, programming and all of that. And from there. I really became invested in my community and feeling like that was another one of my safe spots because I, I feel like it unearth this.

Intense love that I had for people, for all people to feel like they had that sense of belonging. and not only that, but like a voice to be able to share their stories, to be able to voice their concerns and to be able to like [00:07:00] actually make a difference in, in the community and in their schools. So that was the, the main thing in high school was.

In, in our school system. So that took me through, my full-time job, which was a nonprofit. I knew I went to college out in California and I was actually really homesick during the whole time I was over there. I love it now. I love California. I think that it was just a, a shock for me because I went to a small liberal arts college, predominantly white and to me, because I had commuted through.

Public transportation here in Chicago for so long. Like I was so used to just getting around easily and being all over the place. And in LA it’s like everything’s kind of like far from each other, right? You need a car to get to places. So I was really homesick and I knew I wanted to go back to my community and do the work that I was pretty much doing out in California.

 being a student activist and also. Being rooted in the neighboring town, which is predominantly a [00:08:00] Latino, community. I volunteered at the local elementary school and high school, became part of a transnational like solidarity for black and indigenous groups across la Latino medica. And so I was just very, very driven to like root in community.

 I did after college, worked in a school in my neighborhood high school, shout out Gage Park. And then I transitioned into a nonprofit that focused on civic engagement and really, I launched the council on Gage Park in North Lawndale to, help students in addressing the issues around violence in their neighborhood.

And so fast forward to the pandemic. all of our programming had to transition virtually, and it was really difficult because the purpose of that work was to have students connect with each other and to build their confidence and to build their, like, sense of self. And it’s really hard to do that virtually, right?

Especially when they’ve been on the computer all day long, for school. And so it just, it, it was a burn. Like [00:09:00] I, I started. Kind of like burnout during that time. And I also started realizing that I, for so many years, I was so driven to like, I was pouring so much into my communities and I started realizing like.

What, what about me? What about me? I haven’t, I realized that I was also going through a lot, um mm-hmm. Personally with the relationship with my dad and, um, and, and just in general. So I, I started starting, I started pouring into myself. I started doing therapy and that was really an effort to rekindle a relationship that I had with my dad and that I’m like, I need, like, I need professional help to help because I already know this is gonna be like difficult.

So that was pretty much the reason why I started therapy, but then realize like, hold on, everybody. Like this is like general maintenance. Like it helped me through that process, but I realized it helped me through so many other aspects of my life as well. And I just kept going with like, [00:10:00] I just. I’ve taken therapy forever because it’s just like a way for me to help navigate, like me navigating life in general.

And as I started just building out my career professionally, I’m still a nonprofit now. I’m more around data and evaluations and nonprofit. We help, at an at amp, shout out, AMP advancing Nonprofits. We support black and Latina nonprofits. And so they’re typically, people who wanna start a nonprofit and they started a nonprofit because they’re passionate about the work, but then they realize they gotta navigate all these like, operational administrative aspects of running a nonprofit.

’cause at the end of the day, it’s a business. So we support in that capacity building around building your board or filing your taxes or just developing the confidence as a black and Latina executive director who’s like running a business and who’s also very mission driven. So all of that combines. has led me to realize that I wanted [00:11:00] to incorporate all these different, like, skills that I know that I’ve already developed and my professional, career, but also these passions that I have to be able to help others in figuring out what’s most aligned to them and doing it in a way that is also though centering and leaning into joy and leaning into gratitude, because that’s what helped me.

Get out burnout. That’s what helped me, really just like reground myself and. 

Erika: Yeah. Damn. We could literally spend the rest of this podcast episode just asking follow up questions from your journey thus far, because, well, first, I didn’t know you went to school in California, and I didn’t know you were as involved in your school as you were, but it makes so much sense.

I think a lot of people felt so seen. Story, especially what you said with, as a kid, you feel like you don’t really have a voice. And I think it’s just you’re, you’ve always naturally lean towards creativity and community, [00:12:00] which is Yeah. What you’ve done literally every phase of your life. You’ve always gone back to that and even now, right.

With like creating content and whenever you and I met that was, that was a desire that, that you had so. Let me ask you this. Whenever we cross paths, which was in December, I mean I’m sure maybe you had like found my page before, but when did you decide that you wanted to start creating content? And then we’re gonna get into like what you’re doing right now because it’s awesome and it’s very connected to your story.

But it all started with the desire to create content. 

Jazmin: Yeah, so the story of creating content, content actually starts when I decided to get off of social media and I was off of it for like seven years. during the pandemic, I had watched the social dilemma, or actually it was right before the pandemic.

I watched the social dilemma on Netflix, and at the time I had already considered like realizing [00:13:00] that I was spending a lot of time on social media. I, I already started feeling like this drive to wanna just do something outside of my nine to five. And after watching that documentary, I’m like, hold up.

Like all these corporations are making so much money off of our data scrolling. And this time that I’m spending doing that, making other people money, I could be exploring what my passions are. Like figuring out how I can make myself money too, right? So I got, I’m like, I’m gonna take a break for a month.

That month turned into a year and then seven years. but during that time, because I was still working with young people, we had a project to promote COVID safety during that time. And so we were like, let’s do videos and TikTok, TikTok. TikTok started like blowing up. So I didn’t want to, but I was like, fine, I’ll make the TikTok account so we can do these videos.

 I got hooked on TikTok [00:14:00] because I realized, I saw this other side of social media that was more about creation and it was more about, I. Like being engaging in the camera. Not necessarily sharing about like your life necessarily, but, or trying to feel like you had to portray a certain part of your life, but it was more about just expressing yourself and like learning about people through that.

And so I, I did like a video. I went to a music festival here in Chicago, Swenos. And we, I had these white Converse and like, they got really, really dirty and then I was like, okay, I wanna do the before and after and I wanna make a video out of it. Just like. Just for shits and giggles, you know? And so it actually like popped off, that video popped off and I was like, oh my God.

Like I had so much fun doing this. Um, like, you know, this was fun, but I didn’t pursue it. I just kind of. Like, thought it was like a, a fun, like passion. I didn’t really take it seriously. And then I also felt like I had so many other priorities. I didn’t see the value of creating content at the time.

Mm-hmm. I just thought it, it lit [00:15:00] something in me that I hadn’t felt for a long time since being a, like a young person myself. of that like creative expression, like my own creative expression, right? I put that on pause. I was in a four year, like pretty serious like relationship. and so just life happened and it wasn’t until, 

Through my employer and like my supervisor at the time who was so supportive about like, you should, you know, figure out how you wanna grow professionally and like we were gonna invest in your professional development. She was like, yeah, check out different programs that you might be interested in. And so I was always kind of like looking for different programs that would help me out.

Coming from a space that, like I did a lot of work trying to help like other people out. I like, this was my first time kind of being on the other end of that, well, since I was a young person myself. 

Erika: Right. 

Jazmin: And so I did, I was just looking and I, I, I did like another coaching program and like that was really great.

It was about showing up [00:16:00] authentically and um, with more time that passed. I was still like that had finished and then, you know, life was happening and at some point I like, because of my trajectory, like I always just in the back of my mind knew that I wanted to start a business. I wanted to kind of just pour into myself.

I just didn’t know what that looked like or what that was. I remember explaining to somebody I like started joining different groups that. We’re like community, you know, center, like different groups that, I joined this group that focus on entrepreneurship within Latinas. it’s called Amiga Hood here in Chicago.

And just in conversations with people, this like fire in me to pursue something like this just started growing. I just didn’t know where I was going. And come 20, 24, December. I was talking to one of my girls about like, you know, where I was at and how I wanted to like start, you know, like, just do something.

I just didn’t know what, [00:17:00] and she told me about you because she had a friend who had done, who did your program, and then she started like a run club in LA or in the bay. and so she’s like, yeah, maybe you might wanna try that, because I was telling her I’m looking for like, some sort of coaching program.

And so I, I listened to one of your podcasts and I was like, oh, cool. Like, I, you know, I was like, really the whole podcast and like topics and everything. and what really stuck out to me about how you talked about your work was that it, was really grounded in like a framework of actually taking action.

And that really spoke to me because I was really ready to just tangibleize like my, what my ideas were and mm-hmm. I just didn’t know how to get there and yeah, I checked that out and I just called the shot and I went for it. 

Erika: You did. And so I was, before we started recording, I was looking at your entry survey, so what you filled out in December.

And one of the questions that we ask is, tell us about what you’re currently struggling with. And you [00:18:00] said pretty much what you’ve just said right now. You said, I feel a drive to do something more in life. I love what I do for work, but I also wanna create and have a creative outlet. I wanna help others and share my story.

However, I don’t know. What means to use? I wanna have a business one day, but I don’t have clarity as to what kind. I have a lot of ideas, but can’t seem to decide or feel a hundred percent on one. So that’s been causing an action for a few years. Other things like perfectionism have become barriers to actually to take action fully.

And I’ve taken some action, like connecting with people, but pretty much like you have more, more to do. So how does it feel listening back to that six months later? 

Jazmin: No, that’s wild because seriously, six months is like not even that long, and I’m just like, wait, what? That’s wild. Like I literally was in a moment of like, I told some, somebody had, I don’t know if somebody gave me this.

Yeah. Somebody gave me an analogy of like. When you’re pregnant, you don’t know what your, what, [00:19:00] who your baby is gonna be, but you already know you love whatever. You know, whoever is inside of you, like you already know that and you are taking care of them and you know, but you have no idea how they’re gonna be like or who they’re gonna be.

And that’s how I felt. Like I felt this love for some business that like I, you know, was coming and like. Wanting to pour into that and, but just not knowing what that was. Um, and so, no, it feels amazing to kind of see that I was in that, that I’m not in that place anymore because I do feel that I was in that place for a long time, like a few years for sure.

And it, I think what, what I’m really proud of myself is that that always was in the back of my mind, but I was always prioritizing like. Other things that I thought were more important, right? I was prioritizing my relationship with my family, with, uh, my romantic relationships, my professional career. And granted, those are all really, really, really important.

 but I [00:20:00] think that they are also. All the areas that we’re told are really important and that we’re told to spend a lot of time, and like, how often are we told to really pour into ourselves? We don’t even know what that looks like a lot of times. So I think that because I had spent years like pouring into community and helping like young people develop and helping, helping like others, you know, like.

In, in the nine to five that I was having, like helping others also with, their organizations like capacity building, all that. This was like the first time that I’m like, I’m gonna commit to actually pouring into myself. And I don’t know what that looks like, but I’m just going to go into it. so I’m just proud of myself that I did.

Do that. And now I’m in this position where I, again, I don’t have like this craving like clarity about everything. I still don’t necessarily know the end, point. But at what I realize now is that it’s not necessarily like, that’s [00:21:00] not necessarily like the goal. It’s really the process and it’s the process of.

Stepping into the unknown, and it’s the process of like exercising, like your courage to do those scary things and to like advocate for yourself and to do all of that. That like is the, is the unknown basically. 

Erika: Exactly. And as humans we’re so. Condition to want to control and want to know everything, but it’s impossible to know.

Right. Nobody knew the pandemic was coming. No. There’s no certainty in anything. The only certainty we have is that things are going to work out in the best way for us, but I think so many people can relate to what you’re saying and you, you said. You were in that space for a few years of like, I know I wanna do something, but I don’t know what I wanna do.

And I was in that place as well, six, seven years ago. I was like, I know I don’t wanna be in this job anymore. I don’t know how I’m going to get out. And it took me just taking the first step and starting to take action. That led to [00:22:00] more clarity. And that’s exactly what happened for you as well. So I remember.

You joined, you knew you wanted to do content. We, I remember you even getting coaching about the, the social dilemma. Documentary that you watched, you were like, I, I don’t know if I wanna contribute to this. And, and we coached on that with like, okay, well, do you have an important mission to share with others?

And you were like, I do. And I also think it’s interesting that you talked about your parents and pretty much them, like self-sacrificing and not always prioritizing themselves. And how you leaning into that has been an act of like, it’s been revolutionary. And that’s essentially what’s led to what it is that you’re doing now.

But when you first got started, you knew it was wellness, right? You knew you wanted to do wellness, you knew yoga was something you were interested in. Healthy recipes, healthy habits, like that was your, your thing. So first, I remember you saying you were having a hard time showing up consistently, and then you started showing up consistently, and then [00:23:00] that led to more and more things, right?

You then. Started landing collaboration. So tell us like what happened, because a few things, right? One, you were now presented with the structure, but you actually also took action. I could have given you the structure and you could have just sat on it and been like, I don’t know yet, but you actually took action.

So tell us like what was the first iteration of your, what we call your courage project and the program, but like the first goal, and then how did that evolve? 

Jazmin: Yeah, I think that when it first started, I like. Since I didn’t know, so I know you said that like, oh, I knew I wanted to do wellness and actually, like, I really didn’t know, like coming into the, the co, like CDL, courage driven Latina.

I didn’t have a label for it yet. I just knew that I had different interests. I liked plants, I liked working out. I liked yoga. I, I didn’t even eat, like, I really didn’t even realize that I, I had like this healthy eating, um. [00:24:00] That I did like a lot of healthy eating recipes. To me, it was actually a struggle because I, you know, grew up eating Mexican food and when I started living on my own and when I was cooking and I was like working out, I wanted to like eat healthier, but it was also like.

This cognitive dissonance, because I felt like I was like moving more away from the cultural food that I, that I grew up with. And that was like, I saw that as like a difficult, like I didn’t see that as like, oh, I’m cool, I’m eating healthy food. It was more like, I felt kind of bad, like a little guilty of like mm-hmm.

You know, like feeling like my food maybe wasn’t good enough for my family, you know? Or like, or like, you know, like things like that. Or like, I eat. Um, I just feel like it wasn’t really, I didn’t see the value in that as much as I do now. because I didn’t have that purpose of actually seeing that me cooking healthy recipes in conjunction with like them still being rooted in my Mexican, like culture [00:25:00] is super valuable.

Like, it doesn’t have to be the either or, right. Like I can, I, one of my, the recipes that I have is like. Air fryer, you know, and that is something that like, I realized, like as I started doing content, I started kind of seeing for myself these different perspectives or like how I can interpret what I, how, how I am living my life.

 and so content creation became a mirror to like, for myself in a lot of ways, and I think it still is, which I love. And, when I first started, I think that I was. I wasn’t showing up cons. Like I hadn’t been on social media. I actually didn’t even have Instagram anymore, like still since 2000, um, 18 or 2019.

So I was only on TikTok and I wasn’t really creating, I had created like maybe like six videos in the course of like four years or something. And so I just kind of just thought like, when I decided to join Courage Driven Latina, I decide like I chose and I made the decision to go [00:26:00] all in. One, it’s a financial investment that you’re making, right?

And so I’m not gonna like spend this money, I don’t got that budget to spend this money and then not like, you know, be all in. But two, I think my own experience working as like a facilitator and like kind of managing programs, um, I know how much engagement is important to that aspect too. So I think that also like.

Like pushed me to just be more present and be more engaged in the whole process. and so I just wanted to take all of the different like frameworks and tools and materials that you were offering and really, really take advantage of them and, and just try them out and test them out. One of, one of the tools that has really supported me has been the ghetto first draft because like you had mentioned, I was really.

In this, caught up in this perfectionism mentality of, you know, like if I create a video, I have to, you know, spend all this time, it has to be like really, really great for me to even put it out there. it needs to be like worthy for like, [00:27:00] you know, other people. And I think that the ghetto first draft, idea is that like, just put, like, just be okay with the fact that it’s not a hundred percent, and know that you’re gonna iterate on that and eventually it’ll be to a place that you’re really, really comfortable and that you love.

So that’s something that I continuously like work on today. Like it’s still a challenge sometimes when I realize I’m spending like hella time on, like, editing this video and I’m like, okay, girl, I just posted already. it’s still hard, but that’s what really helped me get out of this perfectionist mentality and into showing up consistently.

 my first project was post, I think it was three times a week or once a week. I think I had just set it at once a week, was create and post a video on social media, and I set the bar kind of low for myself because I mm-hmm. I think it is important, like coming from the background of, you know, setting smartest goals and all of that, like it is really important to just kind of start little by [00:28:00] little because.

Those small triumphs will be what, like boosts you into the next like phase. And so I love that that was represented in your like, ladder, the, the whole, like the ladder that you provide. and I’m like, yeah, I feel that. Like I feel like a lot of your tools, I’m like, it, it was putting into visuals kind of how I, how I understood navigating, like things like that.

 so yeah, I was like, lemme just post once a week. But in my head I’m like, I’m gonna go for it like three times a week, you know? So I like did that. And as I, the more I did it, it became, like a challenge and it became fun to just see like, how many times, like, can I just put myself out there? And it was less about the content itself and more about.

That getting through that, those emotions of the anticipation or like the feeling of like hitting that post button and then like it being out there. So that became kind of exhilarating and it [00:29:00] became just more about that, to the point that then I started just being so consistent that it became like every day.

So now I, I post for the most part almost every day, because like you said, it started opening up the doors to. Just discovering more about myself to be honest. And the more I discovered about myself, the more I was able to like project that back out. And when I projected it back out, I think that it attracted like the right people.

And so I’ve been just attracting like really, really dope people. I’ve been attracting really, really dope like opportunities, Then it becomes a, a cycle. And sometimes, we talk about cycles in like a very negative light of like, you know, you start spiraling down and it’s true.

You know, like sometimes cycles are just repeating the same thing. But I think you can also get caught in like positive cycles where you like, the more you lean into yourself, the more you lean into your purpose and the more you just like have that integrity with like what you, what you’re trying to do.

You start, that starts coming back at you and then it just creates like this really [00:30:00] beautiful cycle. And I feel like that’s what I’m caught up in right now, which is, which is amazing. And that’s not to say that it doesn’t come, like there’s still definitely a lot of difficulties, but I think that when you’re caught up in those cycles, those difficulties feel less overwhelming.

Like they feel more manageable. so yeah, that’s, that’s where I’m at right now with that 

Erika: conversation. Yeah. You, I love what you said about the cycles. It’s like you can cycle in alignment or you can cycle out of alignment. Exactly. And when you’re cycle in alignment, you keep attracting more things that are in alignment, and that in itself also gives you more, more motivation to keep showing up.

To keep doing.And for the people who are listening, who are like, what tools is she talking about? I’m just gonna give a little bit of context. So in the, in the program. It’s. The ghetto first draft is pretty much testing out your idea. So what’s the cheapest, fastest way of testing your idea? Just to make sure you like it.

Because what I’ve seen happen over and over is people are like, oh yeah, I’m gonna do a podcast, and [00:31:00] then the first thing they do is they go buy all the equipment. And then they like go spend all this time on the design work and then they never actually get to an episode. Or maybe they record one episode and they’re like, Ooh, this actually isn’t what I wanna do.

I think I wanna do something else. So the point is like trying it in the most basic way just to make sure you like it. And the thing is, when you like it, you start upward spiraling. Like we said, you start spiraling in alignment and then you’re like. Ooh, I really like this. Okay, now I’m gonna go buy the mic.

Now I’m gonna go buy this. Now I’m gonna go buy that. So, or like, you know, invest in, in a course. And then the other thing you talked about was the Courage Ladder, and I actually just recorded a reel on this. I think sometimes people don’t believe they can manifest their goals because they’re thinking about their ultimate end goal and it feels so far away.

But the Courage Ladder shows you how to just focus on the immediate next step. And once you get to that next step, the next step doesn’t feel. Super far and you eventually get to this place where you’re like, oh yeah, of course I can reach my goal. [00:32:00] [00:33:00] [00:34:00] So, um, not to completely jump ahead here, but yes, you ended up like manifesting collaborations.

You’ve been paid to go to events, you have hosted your own event, and you also started a coaching business, helping others prioritize their wellness. And at first it was complimentary clients, but at this point. Girl, you’ve made some money. Yeah. How does it feel that only, you know, just. Six months in, you’re still in the program for another six months, right?

How does it feel to like be halfway through and I read your part of your entry survey to you, [00:35:00] you pretty much have reached all your goals and you’re not stopping here. So tell me, how does it feel, 

Jazmin: girl? It’s crazy. Like, no, it’s honestly, it’s wild to think that I was off the grid in a sense. For so long and then I came back and like six months into it, I feel like I’m really, really benefiting from what social media, like the positive side of social media.

 I had so many criticisms of it and I still do. but just like anything else, it’s a tool and it really depends on how you use it. It depends on what, what your purpose and what your intentions are. and just being mindful of, of that, how you’re showing up. and so once I came to the decision that I wanted my social media to be more about my creative process and exploration of self-discovery and of investing in, in like my desires and all of that, it, it shifted the game for me.

 then it allowed me to show [00:36:00] up more authentically myself. And, and to me that is important because. You are doing it regardless of like it being something that is really scary and that is very like vulnerable in some ways, and you’re just like, that is part of my process, so fuck it. Like I’m gonna show up regardless because that is just part of my process.

And like no one could really tell me anything about like. Give me like, like put me down about it because it’s like they have no idea what I’m doing this, like how I’m doing this and like how I’m moving. So it just changes like the whole rule. Like it’s crazy because I feel like a lot of times we keep ourselves in like a certain, like certain boxes and in certain places because of certain rules, but we don’t realize that we can actually change that, like change those rules up.

Once you change that up, you, like, you’re, you essentially create your, you’re creating your own reality and then you become like, you can determine how you wanna like, move, and all of that. So, [00:37:00] so yeah, when I, when I started the con like showing up more consistently in all of that, I don’t know. I guess I, I think that like people, like, what I really appreciate is that.

I had already built such a strong like community in like different places and so I think that it, people were very like supportive. Like I remember getting back on Instagram and like people. I missed you on here, or like, oh, it’s good to see you. And I did connect to a lot of like different people that I hadn’t like, talked to in a long time, which was really great.

 and it also though, like I also wanna be real about the fact that if you are doing content creation and you’re kind of getting back to it, or you’re trying to shift those rules that you do gotta do a little little cleaning up. You know what I mean? Like, you, you do gotta do a little like, now that you have this specific, like this other purpose.

You do wanna be mindful and intentional about like your space. And so that did mean me going through my followers and or what, who I was following. and ma changing that up, right? Making sure that like, okay, is this [00:38:00] person or entity or whatever, like is, are they, do I feel like currently they’re aligned with like where I’m trying to go, right?

Or is it somebody that I just kind of like randomly met, which is great, but. Now I have, I felt this sense of like empowerment to like, this is my space, you know? And you have the right to like invite who you want and who you don’t want. And it doesn’t mean that there’s no love there. It doesn’t mean that you’re like.

Fuck you. Fuck. You know what I mean? Like, it, it just means that like you’re just, this is one aspect of my life. Social media. This is one account, one platform. And like I get to decide who I want on here and whose content I’m viewing and who I’m engaging with. So that is actually a practice that I’ve taken on, since I first did that, where periodically I will kind of just check in with myself of like, okay, what’s the content that I’ve been.

That I’ve been like, that’s been coming up on my feed and has it been continuing to encourage me and to help me grow in all of this? Or has it [00:39:00] kind of been like, you know, sometimes content can bog you down. It could be a little heavy, or it could be, you know, this or that, or it can just be completely disconnected to where you’re at or where you’re trying to go.

 so that’s just a practice that I do consistently. 

So ultimately, how it feels like six, being six months in and having accomplished so many of my goals. It feels really great and it feels very empowering and I don’t feel like I’m done. Like, I don’t feel like I’m like, oh, like I, I finished. I’m good, you know, I’m done. It kind of just became like a stepping stone and it’s opened up so many more possibilities and it’s opened up so many more learning curves and opportunities and so.

It. I don’t feel like I’m done. I’m just like, I’m just getting started. So it feels great. Totally. 

Erika: Yeah. And you know what I think is so interesting? Like when you were just getting started, you probably were like, I just need to know where I’m headed so I can go there. And now that you are where you’re where you are, it was impossible to know that this is how you were gonna get here.[00:40:00] 

And I mean, like as your coach, like I’ve witnessed the iterations of different things and how we’ve like pivoted different things, but. For people who are like waiting to have a hundred percent clarity before they take action, what would you say to them? 

Jazmin: I would say to lean into the messiness, like lean into when she gets messy because I’ve learned so much with like collaborations, for example, I did like my first collaboration.

The first collaboration that I did was decent, and it also was one that I wasn’t aligned with at the end of the day. But I wouldn’t have known that if I didn’t go for it. Exactly. And so like it, there is no, I think for, and me too, like I was guilty of just like wanting to get the right answer. I wanted the right answer and I wanted the best possible path into like the beautiful like ending, but.

It’s not like that. Like it’s really, there isn’t one path, first of all. And second of all, whatever path you do end up taking, it’s probably not gonna [00:41:00] be like this. you know, beautifully paved, like easy path. If it doesn’t have issues. And if there aren’t any like challenges, then it’s probably not a path you wanna be in because you’re not gonna be growing, you’re not gonna be, you’re not gonna be like, flourishing into your potential that you can.

So. I love that that first collaboration kind of like raised that for me and made me realize that, very tangibly. And then when it comes to like the content creation saying like, it was really difficult to start, thankfully, like I, you know, there’s accountability, like kind of just figuring out how you can hold yourself accountable, how you can make the process.

So I have a quote on my whiteboard that, that says. The fun is in the creation, not the validation. And so like, I haven’t, like I’ve kept that since I started the process. And so it’s just about also like once you like take that time, you need to pause and find alignment with yourself of like. Just a general [00:42:00] idea of what you want, right?

It doesn’t have to be a specific, like I wanna start a coaching program. It can be as simple as like, I wanna feel good about showing up as myself, or I wanna like, I wanna pour into others, or I wanna connect, like stay connected and rooted in my culture. Like, just figure out what you care about. And it could be as general as that.

And then from there, root yourself in that and let that take you into the direction, like trust that process. and so that’s essentially what my coaching is really about. Like, yes, it’s health and wellness in the sense of like, for sure, like eating healthy or like working out and all of that. But at the end of the day, it’s really about finding alignment with your, with yourself.

because again and again, it’s like people are like, I wanna be healthier. Like I want to, you know, like. Do this and that, but you realize that there’s all these other components to it that has to do with our like social emotional wellbeing that has to do with our spiritual wellbeing in some sense.

That has to do with like our [00:43:00] relationship to ourselves, and that’s the type of work that is like that. My coaching is really about, it’s just being able to have. Me as like a mirror, as a supportive safe space where people can explore and kind of just like shoot the shit and like figure out and like thought process and, you know, do things that may feel a little risky, little by little, but you have somebody who’s like helping you through the process and then ultimately in hopes that that’s gonna create a snowball effect.

Erika: Definitely. So for people who are like, oh, that sounds like what I’m looking for, where can they find you? Where can they connect with you, and how can they work with you? 

Jazmin: Yeah, so I, all of my content is on TikTok and Instagram, so definitely hit me up on there. On my, in my bios, I have a bio site link, and that is basically like the same thing.

It’s a link tree where it lists different, like multiple links. one of those links is my coaching intake [00:44:00] form. and so this form is just, it’s actually a really great tool because one, it lets me know like you’re interested, you know, you want me to hit you up about like this potential, this, uh, it’s an opportunity to, for us to schedule like a 30 minute chat, just to get to know each other, see where you’re at, see what interested you about coaching.

 but it’s also cool because like this. This intake form is an opportunity for you to pause and just reflect on your overall, like, kind of wellness in that moment. Mm-hmm. And your challenges and like what you wanna gain out of coaching and what you, how you envision your thriving self to look like and to feel like.

 and so I encourage everybody to just like spill out that form, because it’s just an opportunity for you to like, take a minute and take a breather and focus on you. and then we can also, and then from there we can have a 30 minute chat. And then from there, like figure out we do wanna, like with coaching.

Erika: Amazing. So we will link below your Instagram as well as your TikTok so people [00:45:00] can check out your stuff. So what’s next for Yaz? Like what do you want your next courage project to be? Sorry to put you on the spot with that one, but I feel like you’re, you’re due for like a revised version of your, of your current project.

I’m, so what are we working on for the second half of your time in the program? 

Jazmin: No, I am. yeah, so I just, I just like, since I just launched my coaching business, I am trying to figure out how to consist, like show up through that lens a little bit more. So I think that there is this like level of like.

Identity work, right? Like really seeing myself as a coach. And I’ve been practicing that. ’cause like the more you know, the more I say like, yeah, I am a coach and I already launched my business coach. ’cause I think before I was saying things like, oh, I kind of like wanna do like a little business or something like that.

That start that you kind of undermining like Yeah. The prospects of that. Right. And it’s, it’s fine because it’s still like, you’re inching into [00:46:00] it. But ultimately, like the more you explicitly say, like, I started a coaching business, it you, it feels a little like, ah, but it does, you start, the more you say it, it like it, the idea is that it will settle in and that you start kind of feeling like, okay, yeah, this is, this is what I’m doing and this is like what I’m, what I’m leaning into.

So. I think working more on that and also just navigating like the operational aspects to that, right? Like thinking about, how like developing like a contract for client, like, you know, the agreements between the client and the coach. Like all these administrative aspects that I have no clue about.

To some extent. So I would love to work on that. And then I’m also gonna be training to get my yoga certification at the end of this year, which I’m really excited about. and so I, I think that I’m continuously thinking about how I can continue to like, integrate these different aspects of [00:47:00] my life that are all connected into health and wellness in general.

 but I would love to step more into a event like we, two of my friends and I put on this event that was focused around like setting intentions and, leaning into abundance, having abundance mindset, using movement to really help that energy flow through your body. And it was a really successful event.

So I would love to do, to collaborate with other people too in Chicago who are. Center wellness, but also like doing it in a way that is fun and, and.

The social political climate that we’re experiencing, um mm-hmm. Within, you know, what’s going on in the world right now with the raids and like immigrate. And these are, these have been ongoing issues. Like it’s not just now, right? But black and brown people have continuously been, targeted and like suppressed in so many ways.

And so always interested in [00:48:00] creating spaces of joy and resistance and resilience. so I’m excited to lean more into that as well. 

Erika: Beautiful. Well, we have our business coaching call this week, so definitely come to get coaching on all of that because you are a CEO now, you are a business owner. So exciting.

 I just have a couple more questions for you about courage driven Latina. So, I, you found the program and you joined, but there’s a lot of people who’ve been eyeing the program and they’re like saying things like. This looks like a great program, but I don’t know if it’s gonna work for me or like, it worked for Yaz, but is it going to work for me?

Or you know, I, I trust Eric. I don’t know if I trust myself. What would you say to somebody like that, or like, who do you think should join this program? If somebody’s afraid, what situation or what circumstance would you recommend? Like, oh yeah, you definitely need to join. 

Jazmin: there’s no, or there is an, and so if you’re thinking [00:49:00] about joining any type of program and you are worried about like, oh, is this gonna work for me or not?

It’s, it’s really about that gray area. It’s like, how much do you want this to work for you? and how willing are you open to, How open are you willing to explore that? And so I think ultimately, like if you want things to work for you, they’re gonna work for you as long as you put that energy towards it.

Granted not all things like work to the extent that maybe we had expectations for, but that’s another lesson around expectations. That’s another lesson around like. The standard that maybe we’re setting things to. It’s really about taking step, step by step, allowing yourself, giving yourself permission to like have that patience of like trying things out little by little when I.

Thought or considered this program. I was comparing it, with other programs. I had like two other programs that I considered. So that makes me like, figure out what makes you feel, figure out what your decision making [00:50:00] process looks like and like how you feel more comfortable. For me, I really value research and just kind of like making sure that there are, like, I’m considering different options, but don’t get stuck on that.

From there, like get like be committed to actually following through and just choosing one and knowing that like, okay, now that you have this information, just go with one and know that like they’re all gonna be helpful. Any coaching program, I think that you do will always be helpful. Even if it’s a shitty experience, you are gonna get something from that experience and that might even make you become a coach later on because you realize that, you know, there’s all these other areas that you didn’t get that now you wanna like pour into for others.

Yeah, so just make a decision about like make the decision to make a decision and then go with that and then just see kind of like. How, how that comes out to be, 

Erika: that’s really good advice because people get stuck in the indecision, and I don’t think they realize that not making a decision is a [00:51:00] decision, and that decision is to stay where you are.

So even if you make the wrong decision, it moves you forward and moves you towards a different decision, and you learn from it, you grow from it, you know what you don’t wanna do anymore. you mentioned you were looking at a few different programs. What, what made you decide on the Courage driven Latina program?

Jazmin: I had to really assess my needs and, and my, like, where I was coming from in terms of the spaces I had already felt. I like explored a little bit of, so like I mentioned, I was part of a previous, a cohort shout out to authentically me. They really support women of color to show showing up authentically to their workplaces or just in general.

And that was a great coaching experience because it allowed me to connect with other women of color. Really be able to like, discuss the issues that we were dealing with, talk, talk about how white supremacy culture does seep into our everyday life and figuring out how we can show up authentically amidst that.

 and so I think [00:52:00] that put me into a space of like, I felt that that gave me a lot already in terms of like feeling like confident, like trying to feel like confident and feeling supported and connected with community. Mm-hmm. Felt. Thinking about how does that look like tangibly and how does that show up outside of my nine to five, outside of my workplace?

 and so the other programs that I was looking at, I think were a little bit more similar to experiences that I thought that maybe I had already, kind of like, that were just too similar to the spaces that I was already part of. and so. Listening to your podcast and like you sharing some of the resources that, like the tools that you, that you do and like the different frameworks that you present and that you provide.

 and the fact that there is like this set plan. I love a plan, like I love a good plan. I definitely love checking things off and which has its own detri.

What I felt [00:53:00] was that this one, like this one was gonna, provide this structure that I think I really wanted to, make sure that I have in the process. So that was kind of like the deciding factor for me where that actionable. tangible like resources that I felt like were presented. That makes 

Erika: sense.

And I ask this because you didn’t book a sales call, so I, it’s, I didn’t even like have a consult call with you. So I was wondering like from just, you know, your outsider perspective, what there was, there must have been something either on the sales page that convinced you or, but now you, you’re mentioning also the podcast.

And then for people listening, I also want to to mention like, you have been successful because you’ve shown up and you’ve. Use what’s provided, right? Like you get coaching, you get coaching in Slack, you get coaching on the calls, you then you get coaching and you actually implement it, right? You’re actually taking action even if it’s imperfect.

And then you come back and then we re [00:54:00] reiterate and I feel like. That’s really what makes the difference. If you show up and you’re willing to take the action and be coachable and you’re there to show up for yourself, then you’re going to get what you need outta the program. But obviously, if you just sign up and never show up, like I can’t help you if you don’t look at anything.

But for you, you looked at the, the structure of things like you’ve always participated. And I really feel like that makes the world of a difference. So it’s not necessarily of like, you know, there, I don’t think there’s so a such thing as like a perfect program. It takes, it’s like a relationship, right?

Like I do the best thing I can to implement the improvements to the program, but then it’s also the client, like the client also has to want it and also has to ask for coaching. And if they feel lost, I don’t know if everybody’s feeling lost. So I feel like you’ve just done such a good job of that. And yeah, you’re just.

And killing it. And you’re going to keep killing it the second, the second half of the year. [00:55:00] 

Jazmin: Yeah, no, thank you so much. And, and that’s so real. I think that there’s also something to be said about that. if you do kind of like. Commit or join a program and then you don’t show up consistently. Like I think that, that it’s not necessarily like not to, it is not to feel guilty about that or to like put shame around that.

I think it’s just another like opportunity to assess like where you are and like maybe you’re not at a point where you’re ready to take action because you have all this other work to do around like yourself. Or your self-esteem or your self, love that before you like put that into a like course of action.

A thousand percent. Like I feel that, you know, if, if you are ready to take action, definitely like put your best foot forward and like go at it with as much as you can, um, with all the energy, as much as you can. and if you’re not sure, also you can chat about it with somebody. I think for me too, I had, you know, my, my friend who [00:56:00] had.

Shout out to Ada who had recommended this. She also hasn’t even done your program. Right. I don’t think she even knew too much about you either. She just knew of someone who benefited from the opportunity. Mm-hmm. And she just shared it, which again, I think like that is just fate a little bit to me. Like for me, that just feels very like the stars aligning because she told me about it one day and I just thought about it.

Like it took me like a, I had never heard of you. And then like I just made the decision like in a few days to just. Fuck it. Like do it. It was like in December, so I’m like, new Year’s devolution. I was about to go to Mexico and I’m like, let me do this now. So I think it’s also just depends on where you are.

Right. And if you’re ready, like for sure. I think I was at a point where I was like already just, I just wanted something and I wanted to move forward with something and so I like made that decision. 

Erika: You’re right. We have to be at this place where we’re like, we’re so tired of where we are that we’re ready to take the next step.

And that’s usually when I find people benefit the most. Well. Mm-hmm. [00:57:00] Yas, thank you so much for coming on the podcast and sharing your journey with us, as well as like just sharing your, your early childhood journey, but also even more recently, the, the honest and raw journey. Right? How it wasn’t all perfect, but.

It’s led you to where you are now. You’re obviously full of wisdom. Your clients are so lucky to work with you. We are lucky to have you inside of courage driven Latina. Is there anything I didn’t ask you that you want to leave the listeners with? 

Jazmin: well, I, I do just wanna name, I know I give the analogy of like feeling pregnant and like, and then it coming to fruition.

I wanna shout out Melanie Foot Davis. she has a podcast on, she chose Joy and she invited me as a guest on that podcast one time and it was really, really great. And so I just, I wanna like, I may not have mentioned like people’s names, but I do wanna name the fact. Even though, like I’ve had, I’ve, I’ve had so much success in these six months, but I don’t wanna, I also wanna call [00:58:00] attention to like all the, like, the communities that have I felt really supported by, and like the people who have also like, motivated me or like giving me just like a lot of encouragement and support and love and like, like even just words of like.

 like, you know, you got this or whatever. Like, I feel like all of that, um, there’s so many people who I do feel have poured into me and I wanna, I wanna continue that and like continue to help and support others as well. Mm-hmm. So I do wanna just name that. so yeah, I think that, that, that is pretty much it and I hope that we can connect because.

Continue to connect with other people who are, who are just like, even if you just felt something that I shared during this podcast, or you made something resonated with you, or you have a question like, hit me up, I would love to chat. 

Erika: Beautiful. So if you took anything away from this podcast episode, take a screenshot.

Tag us both. Make sure that you follow Yaz. Send her a dm, connect with her. [00:59:00] Yaz. Thank you so much. I will see you on our next call. I’ll see you tomorrow. Thank 

Jazmin: you. I’ll see you. Take care.