Today’s guest is Bren Varela:

Licensed Esthetician, and founded The Bar as an effort to change the worldwide stigmas that skincare is a luxury, that is solely restricted to one gender. The Bar is a Latina-owned small business in Brooklyn, founded & self-funded by a first-generation Ecuadorian-American woman with a dream.

The dream of combining activism, her degrees in Mental Health, her passion for skincare, and the importance of inclusivity and diversity seemed like a random concoction, but the truth is they are all interconnected. Bren and her business focus on more than just skin & community is what keeps us going. 

Bren has made it her mission to make giving back, a part of her business. As she says in the episode, "no idea is wild enough." I left feeling so inspired by this episode, and I know you will too!

This episode is a special one - let's dive in!

• Follow Bren & The Bar: The Bar IG || The Bar TikTok || Bren's IG || Email || Website 

Today’s guest is Melissa Guller: founder of Wit & Wire, where she helps creators turn their skills and passions into profitable online businesses. Previously, Melissa was the Director of Marketing Engagement at Teachable as well as the Sr. Launch Manager for Ramit Sethi’s 8-figure course launch team. 

To date, she’s taught thousands of students through General Assembly, Skillshare, and her own business Wit & Wire, and she’s on a mission to help more creators to earn money online doing work they love.

This episode isn’t just for online course creators but really for every creative out there! We don’t just talk about course creation. We talk about an array of things such as: the importance of not letting your major keep you from pursuing something you really want, the magic of just getting started, and how to deal with the different social platforms out there.

There is so much in this one - can’t wait for you to dive in!

• Follow Melissa: Instagram || TikTok ||  Website 

Hi Amigos!

Welcome back! Today’s guest is Anela Malik: an influencer and writer who focuses on embracing nuance, imperfection, and joy through food, travel, and the mundane on her platform Feed The Malik. She's also working on a book about the deep and enduring contributions of Black peoples to American cuisine for National Geographic and runs a thriving subscription community called “Magic at the Margins”, where members explore food and beverage on a deeper level through original content, events, and more.

Anela is such a force and leaving her mark on the world in more ways than one! Her subscription community has 600 members and growing everyday! Let’s dive in!

• Follow Anela: Instagram || TikTok ||  Website 

What if what we can’t see ahead is greater than anything we could've imagined? What if we just leap and have faith? What if we have no idea how big that opportunity can be on the other side of that fear we hold so tightly? With a little help from one of my favorite authors and IG accounts (@briannawiest), in today's episode I give you a little reminder of how obstacles can actually turn into amazing experiences for us.

• Instagram:  @drealopz / @thejourneyofpursuit

Hi Amigos!

Today's episode is a tad bit different! It's an episode in Spanish!! I thought it would be cool to play with this idea of a few Spanish episodes now that I'm currently living in Madrid and meeting young creative entrepreneurs over here! What do you think? No worries if you don't speak Spanish, at the end of the episode I do a quick recap of what what we talked about! Feel free to fast forward :) 

Este episodio se trata de cómo la mente nos puede ayudar a creer en nosotros mismos. Como el miedo y los fracasos nos pueden guiar al camino correcto. Finalmente, como el universo se encarga de ayudarte cuando tu realmente crees en ti misma(o).

• Follow Raquel Instagram || Podcast || Website

Have you struggled with perfectionism? Are you looking for simple tools and strategies to help you get things done? You're in luck! On today's episode we're talking about 2 things you can do to help you overcome perfectionism! I've been using these 2 steps for some time now and I can tell you they work! I've gotten more things crossed off my to-do list, I've sent emails that have been saved in drafts for weeks, I even started to feel more confident in myself. I realized that taking one small action is all you need to set yourself up for momentum. Let's dive in!

• Instagram:  @drealopz / @thejourneyofpursuit

Everyone shows, feels, and expresses love differently. I personally think Valentine’s Day shouldn’t just be one day. Love should be felt, shown, and expressed everyday. However, I know that VDay can be a holiday that causes some tough feelings, which is why in today’s episode I’m sharing 8 things you can do to practice self-love and be your own best Valentine.

• Instagram:  @drealopz / @thejourneyofpursuit

Hi Amigos! Today’s guest is my friend Naty Bustamante. She is a Latina from Miami, FL founder and CEO of Vital Tonics. Vital Tonics is a functional wellness company that provides relief for frustrated individuals experiencing symptoms such as: pain, anxiety and insomnia by offering alternative solutions in the form of cannabinoid infused products.

If you’re someone that runs anxious like me - this episode could be very useful for you! We talk about the benefits of cbd, how some companies are selling the wrong formulas and have misinformation. Naty has truly studied the ins and outs of this business and she herself is a user of these products. What started as a drinks company is now a functional wellness line. She sells ingestibles and topicals all formulated with nano cbd that is water soluble. Don’t worry you’ll learn all about this in the episode. I promise she goes in depth and it’s really interesting. If you want to learn the science behind the product and why they work the way they work, listen up. Naty is a true example of grit and doing whatever it takes to spread the word of what you believe in. Buckle up because this episode is full of information.

• Follow Naty & Vital Tonics Instagram || Website 

This content is for informational or educational purposes only, and does not substitute professional medical advice or consultations with healthcare professionals.

Overthinking is a b*tch. She tends to really get in there at the worst of times huh? Yup, totally been there 🙋‍♀️. Overthinking leads to fear, self-doubt and all that other good stuff. In today’s episode I share how even though I am very excited to be staying in Madrid for the rest of the year, I was overthinking everything about it. I mean it’s a big move! I share how I pushed myself to say yes to this decision & talked myself out of the fear. I realized that this has been a recurring theme in my 20s: “do things scared, do things messy” and I gotta tell you, that’s always been very rewarding once I get to the other side. If you overthink, feel scared of big decisions or really putting yourself out there, you’re not alone. With this show, I have realized that there is NO SUCH THING as failure or a wrong decision. There’s always another way of thinking about things. And if you do feel that you “failed” it still always redirects you into another path. 

• Instagram:  @drealopz / @thejourneyofpursuit

Hi Amigos!

Welcome to our first episode of 2022! Today we're talking about habits as opposed to New Years resolutions. Like all New Years, we get to thinking about resolutions, goals, etc. So much pressure comes with that. After the last 2 years we've had, it didn't feel right to focus on resolutions. Instead, I'm personally choosing to focus on developing habits that can last me a lifetime. Habits that will help me become the person I want to be now and in the future. 

• Instagram:  @drealopz / @thejourneyofpursuit