Mindful & Millionaire

#4 Joann van den Herik: How you can manifest yourself in to Vogue Magazine

• Steffy Roos du Maine • Episode 4

Share episode

Sometimes, it's hard to be positive and not focus on the negative things with spirituality. But positivity is also something that you need to practice. Just take the risk, do it, and believe in yourself. 

These are wise words from today's guest, Joann van den Herik. Joann is a plus-size model based in New York. She worked with renowned top models like Gigi and Bella Hadid and is always eager to raise awareness of body positivity and being comfortable in your skin. Her book, Joan's Way To Self-Love, has garnered praise and inspired many. In this episode, let's listen to Joan and her story.  

Key Takeaways:

  • Feeling rich is surrounded by people who make you feel good and happy
  • Journey on how affirmations have helped her welcome her happiness
  • Are there any spiritual rituals she uses for her work and her career?
  • With spiritual things, sometimes it can always be a pressure to make things perfect, which is not always the case. 
  • You see the best parts of people on social media, but there are things outside that you don’t know. Focus on yourself, not what other people are doing.

Links & Profiles:

Photo credit: Kirsten Busman.
Photo credit: Stance Photography.

Steffy Roos du Maine: Welcome to the Mindful & Millionaire podcast. I'm Steffy Roos du Maine and I'll be interviewing the most inspiring guest on the culmination of spiritual growth and business success.


Joann van den Herik is a Dutch model living in New York, living the dream life. She's not only a beautiful model and a cousin of Gigi and Bella Hadid, to me, she's foremost a super inspirational woman and writer. Her Dutch book is called Joanne's Way to Self-Love, from an insecure girl to a curvy model. In this podcast, we talked about her book and all the lessons she learned. We talked about affirmations, journaling, angel numbers, and manifestations coming true. 


Welcome, Joann.


Joann van den Herik: Thank you so much for having me. It's exciting. 


Steffy Roos du Maine: So good to have you here in New York.


Joann van den Herik: I'm so excited! I'm so happy you're here.


Steffy Roos du Maine: Me too. Thanks for being on this podcast.


Joann van den Herik: Yeah, of course.


Steffy Roos du Maine: The first question I always ask—because the name is, of course, Mindful & Millionaire—what does feeling rich mean to you? 


Joann van den Herik: Well, feeling rich, to me, is just being surrounded by people that make me happy, make me feel good. I think it's my family, for me, and my boyfriend Timo and my dog, just being surrounded by people that give you energy and you can give them energy. I think that's feeling rich, to me, just being happy, living in the moment, and enjoying your life.


Steffy Roos du Maine: That's beautiful. That's richness. I've read your beautiful book. It's really, really inspiring. It's only in Dutch, right?


Joann van den Herik: Yeah. It's only Dutch for now.


Steffy Roos du Maine: For now.


Joann van den Herik: It's now translated, so let's give it a go.


Steffy Roos du Maine: Let's manifest that. What I thought was really beautiful, you talked about affirmations and how that helped you a lot. Can you take us on your journey of how affirmations have helped you to become this bubbly, rich, happy person? 


Joann van den Herik: I think it first started when I found out that a lot of the negativity that I had in myself was because I told myself that. I would look in the mirror and I would focus on the negative things on my body. It would only become worse because I will be thinking like, "Oh, I'm so feather. I'm so ugly," or "My life is so horrible," and then I would just focus on that. Then I found out that affirmations were a thing. At first, I just felt awkward because you'd have to say "I'm beautiful" and I was just like, "I don't think I'm beautiful." 


At the beginning, it was really hard. I had to learn to be nice to myself because I was always really mean to myself. I'm talking in a mean way. Then I started with medium affirmations because, in the beginning, I felt like it was so unnatural for me to go from "I'm so ugly" to "I'm beautiful just the way I am" because I didn't feel like I was telling the truth. If you don't feel like you're telling the truth, then you can say the affirmations all you want. If you don't believe it, then you're not going to feel it. 


I just started with things like "I'm enough," or "I'm good the way I am," or stuff like that, or "I'm feeling okay today" or—I don't know—just affirmations that were probably in between like not super negative but also just not super positive. I'm neutral. When I started doing it and started telling myself and looking in the mirror and telling myself, or writing those down, I felt like I would start to feel more, yeah, neutral because, at first, my insecurities would ruin my whole day. For example, if I would be insecure about my belly, the whole day would be ruined for me. The whole day I would be like, "Oh, I'm so insecure, I hate myself" and then I wouldn't do fun stuff with my friends, or I wouldn't go out because I felt insecure. Then when I started doing the neutral affirmations, I felt that it wasn't controlling my day anymore. Then I slowly went from that to the positive ones, and then I felt I started believing it more and more as well. Now I just do it every day. I do it when I look in the mirror. First, you had tea.


Also, oftentimes in a day, I would just be like, "I'm hot," or "I'm good enough." For example, the affirmation I manifest to you right now is like, "I'm the most successful, famous plus-size model in the world," and I'll just randomly think about it and I say it to myself and it makes you so happy as well. Because when I'm feeling down or whatever, I'm always just like, "I ain't it," or "I end it." Then you start feeling better because you really believe it. Even when you're feeling down or sad, I'm still that as well.


Steffy Roos du Maine: I think intuitively, we did a good thing with the affirmations because I read some research about it because I wanted to know how it works, why does it work for my book. They even found that when you do the affirmations that you don't believe in and are so far away, it can even harm you because you don't believe in it. I think it's really cool you explained how to do it.


Joann van den Herik: I felt that in the beginning as well because I would be like, "I am beautiful," or "I am hot," or whatever—I don't know—or "I love my body," but I didn't feel like that. I would say that to myself and then I automatically think, "But that's not true."  Then I would fall back in the negative forms again because you don't believe it. You really have to feel it because a lot of people are like, "Oh, yeah, it doesn't work for me," or "Manifestation doesn't work for me," or whatever, but it's because you have to feel it. The most important thing is that you really feel what you're writing down, or what you're saying because it's not about just saying the words; it's about really experiencing it. Even feeling it is so much more important than saying the words to yourself. 


Steffy Roos du Maine: It's beautiful. I've seen some really nice numbers. Can you explain a little bit more about the 44 angel – 


Joann van den Herik: Angel numbers?


Steffy Roos du Maine: Yeah. What does it mean? It seems really spiritual and it's very beautiful.


Joann van den Herik: Thank you. Well, like most women, 44 is my angel number and I started seeing it when I started my spiritual stuff, it was from the beginning of quarantine. Before that, I was really into crystals already because I just thought the meaning was nice and it is pretty. I always really liked it. I was really into that a little. I always thought meditation and manifestation and all those things were interesting, but I didn't really do anything with them. When quarantine came early, I had nothing to do. I was like, "Oh, maybe I should just try this." Then literally, when I started this, I started seeing 44, and my sister saw it as well. 


It was always just a message for us that everything is going to turn out good now, and I'm on the right path. Since I've lived in New York, I've seen it everywhere. It's so funny like if my friends are looney, they're like, "Joann, stop. What are you doing? You live and use it every minute." People sometimes are like, "Oh, no. It's just because you're looking for it," and I'm like, "I'm not looking for it. I just picked up my phone and it's 44." It's not like I'm setting a timer on 43 and be like, "Oh, it's 44 now!"


That's just a really reassuring number for me. It's just like I'm on the right path and that angels are with me. I think the meaning of 44 is also like you're surrounded by angels. I always feel like I'm surrounded, that's why I'm an angel as well. Also, because my grandmother passed away in 2019 and we were best friends, that's what the word angel means. She's my angel, the angel number, and I'm surrounded by angels, which is like my grandma's always with me. It's all those things combined. 


With 44, what was really cool is that I always wanted to be in Vogue. My first Vogue editorial last month—April—was a dream come true. Now, it's a book signing.


Steffy Roos du Maine: I can imagine.


Joann van den Herik: Then I opened it up and then it was on page 44.


Steffy Roos du Maine: It's so cool!


Joann van den Herik: It was so insane to me. I literally got goosebumps. I didn't believe it was real. I mean, all the spiritual stuff I really believe in, but sometimes a lot of people don't believe in it and sometimes you're like, "Maybe it's not real," or whatever. That was an extra confirmation for me that it was real. They are 200 pages of Vogue and I'm on page 44. 


Steffy Roos du Maine: That's crazy. 


Joann van den Herik: Yeah. I don't know. It's just like those two to choose, or just they're very spiritual and they just mean a lot to me. I feel like my own must always be with me, and the 44 is always just deciding that everything's going to be okay.


Steffy Roos du Maine: A good reminder. 


Joann van den Herik: Exactly.


Steffy Roos du Maine: It's so nice. Affirmations, angel numbers, a lot of spiritual things on your journey, I imagine, are there any spiritual rituals you use also for your work, your career? 


Joann van den Herik: I feel like everything I've done so far I manifested even when I didn't know it. For example, when I was younger, I always dreamt of being a model. That was my goal, but I always thought I couldn't do it because I didn't have the right size. I would always, for example, fantasize about being in Holland's Next Top Model. When I think about it now, I visualized that I was just manifesting it, but I didn't know that at the moment. Then I did Group Supermodel, for example. 


All the things I've done so far like living in New York, I manifested that like, "Are my agents here?" I manifested that. What I always do is I have this little book and I write in the morning, and I write in the afternoon and evening. In the morning, I write three times. In the afternoon, I write six times. In the evening, I write nine times. It's three, six, nine. It's really simple, you don't even have to – because people always think like, "You meditate and manifest. You have to sit naked in the field for five hours and then sit still and don't breathe," or whatever. It's going to be so simple as well. 


I always write down what I'm grateful for in the morning and I meditate. Then after I write three things, in the afternoon I write six things. In the evening I write nine things.


Steffy Roos du Maine: So cool.


Joann van den Herik: I also want to try and start meditating in the evening, but in the evening I always fall asleep. I still have to practice on that. I always also do like a new moon, a ritual where I cleanse myself and meditate, and manifest. Manifesting with me is always different as well. I also have this book that I got from my mother-in-law and it says reasons why I should be on the cover of Vogue. I always run in that as well then I just script. Scripting is just basically for people—I don't know—it's just basically that you write down everything as if it already happened, and that always makes me so happy. I just write down everything that I want as I already have it and it has already happened. Then I'm stuck here like high five because I'm like, "Oh, my God! I am the most famous plus-size model and I have a penthouse in New York, and I have my farm in the Netherlands. I have 20 dogs. I'm on the cover of Vogue U.S.," and it just makes you really happy. Also, it makes you more positive and more motivated to work on your change as well.


I always just try to be positive in taste and always try to think like everything that's meant for me will always find me. I always feel like all the things that I do are meant for me. I always also try to think that if things don't happen, or don't happen my way, or thought what I expected, then it just wasn't meant for me and there will be something better like living by that. It just makes life so much easier and makes you so much happier as well because you don't feel that pressure on yourself constantly.


Steffy Roos du Maine: That's beautiful. What are the coolest things you scripted about and then really became a reality?


Joann van den Herik: If I think about Vogue, that was one of the things that if I think about it, I really start smiling and I'm like, "You guys can see me smiling really hard right now." That's one of the things about moving to New York. Writing my book is also one of the things, obviously. I never really manifested writing a book, but I always manifested that I want to help people. I always have this drive or feeling like I'm just so passionate about helping people. I'm also this super loyal friend, I would literally run through fire for you. 


I always felt like I had to help people. When I was younger, I wanted to become a lawyer. I studied public administration because I wanted to go into politics. You see, I always felt like I want to change the world. I want to do something. I want to make the world a better place. When I did Group Supermodel, I still have the same feeling because I love modeling and I love the whole creative process, but I also love that I'm a plus-size model even if you don't do body positivity. I feel like being a plus-size model on its own already has such a beautiful message to the world, to show everyone all bodies are beautiful just the way they are and everyone deserves respect, and everybody can be infectious so you don't have to be pretty, you don't have to be skinny to be successful. 


Being a plus-size model alone is already a super beautiful message to help people. For me, body positivity helps me as well because it helps me become more confident and it helps other people. I always felt like I needed to do a start. I always manifested it and I would help a lot of people. Again, I manifested my book as well because that's the whole point of it, that I want to help people. They don't want to be like, "Oh, this happened to me and this happened to me." I really wanted people to read it and then be like, "Oh, I'm good just the way I am and I deserve to be here." I feel like I manifested that as well when I moved to New York.


When I came here for the first time, I think it was 2017 or 2018, I was like, "I'm going to live here." I just knew, I just instantly knew I'm going to live here. I always manifested that and now it is a reality. Those three things are the best things I've manifested so far. Even little things, I remember, in 2020, this is a little thing that I randomly remember, but we were throwing a little party in our backyard during COVID. Our friends were coming over for a barbecue or whatever. The whole week the weather was so bad. Even on the day of the party, the weather was really bad. Our parents were like, "If the weather is bad, we're not going to do the party because we don't want to do it inside because we don't think it's responsible for COVID."


It had to be like that and that's why I said I literally manifested that we're like, "The weather's going to be amazing! The weather's going to be amazing!" Literally, the whole week it was raining, super cold, windy like storms, whatever. Then on the day of our party, it was 30 degrees in the sun.


Steffy Roos du Maine: Crazy. 


Joann van den Herik: I don't know why I remember this. Also, you can use manifestation for the little things. People always also assume that you have to immediately manifest your whole life, but it can also be used for little things. I really believe that if you're positive about things and really believe in them, then it happens. I also believe the other way. If you're really negative about things and really think you can do it, you can. I just think your mind is super powerful that you can do a lot with things like this.


Steffy Roos du Maine: Really powerful. Do you have any inspiration, or people you follow, or teachers that have helped you in your spiritual journey?


Joann van den Herik: I really love Gabrielle Bernstein. Her books are super attractive. They're one of the first books I really read about manifesting and I just think that she's super inspiring and super interesting. What I like about her as well is that, with spiritual things, sometimes I feel like they're pressured and always need to be perfect, and that you're likely to "Manifest every day and meditate every day. If you don't, it's not going to happen." Sometimes you feel such pressure that if you don't do it, you feel like you're failing or something.


What I just liked about her is that, in her books, you can tell as well she's not always positive. Nothing comes easy to her as well. It's not like she's just sitting on a couch and good things happen to her. I think it's nice to see that it's relatable. You see her going through stuff and you're just like, "Oh, I did the same." I don't have to be constantly super positive, manifest every day in order to make things happen. I think she's really inspiring. 


I really love Deepak Chopra. I'm doing this 21-day meditation. The challenge for me right now is fortified. If you want to do a meditation challenge, that would be really nice. The stuff he says like The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success and all those things just resonates with me. I'm just like, "Whoa! This is really interesting." Sometimes you would just read something or hear something and you feel like you already knew it. You've read it for the first time but you already knew. or something. I had that with him. When he said stuff, I'm like, "Whoa!" I also had that with The Power of Now. When I read that book, I was just like, "Whoa! This makes so much sense." It's kind of like – what is his name? Eckhart Tolle?


Steffy Roos du Maine: Eckhart Tolle, yeah.


Joann van den Herik: I think he's really inspiring as well. For me, the person that I really follow the most I think is Gabrielle.


Steffy Roos du Maine: I love her. She's so light about everything.


Joann van den Herik: Who I also really love—because I'm only naming English people—but I really love Vela Mangelza (ph). She's such a sweetheart and she's a friend of mine. We became friends because she followed me and she invited me to her manifesting events. I also really love her. She's super sweet and such good energy. I also feel like she just wants to make the world a better place. I know I have this prediction with her. We talked about it the other day and we're like, "We don't talk much but I just feel like we are connected somehow."


Steffy Roos du Maine: I love that. Some people just have that.


Joann van den Herik: Exactly. 


Steffy Roos du Maine: So cool. About your career, because when people see you, they're like, "Oh, my God, she's so successful, I could never do that." Probably, people think that. Could you tell us, the listeners, a bit about "You can do it," and how you came to do it? What are your secrets? 


Joann van den Herik: First of all, that's the most important thing for everyone who's listening. It's like don't compare yourself to other people. It's just like "I do that too." You always see the best parts of people on social media, on Instagram, and everywhere. You only see the successes they have and then I also try to share the down moments in my life, but still, you don't see all the days that aren't really good. I think that's the first thing that's just really important. Just focus on yourself and don't focus too much on what other people are doing because that's just going to be your downfall because you're just too focused on what other people are doing, and that time, you could use all the time to focus on yourself. That's something that's really important.


Basically, I just already told what I do as well like the manifesting part. Just take risks. Just do it. The worst thing that can happen is if it doesn't work out, then it doesn't work out. It wasn't meant to be. You just go back to what you're already doing. For me, what I always feel that just really helped is that I just try to see the positive things in everything that happens. 


Even though sometimes things don't happen my way, like even now, for example, I just got back to New York three weeks ago and I haven't had a job yet here. I could either feel really insecure about it and be like, "All right, I have another job yet. Oh, my God, this sucks and I'm so sad, and it's never going to happen, la la la," but instead of that, I just think to myself, "Okay, I can use this time to focus on myself and to do fun stuff and enjoy my time here, and the jobs will come and they just take some time. When the moment is right, they will come." 


That's always what I try to do, even if you have a negative moment, or a negative experience, or something that just makes you a little sad, just always try to see the positive thing in it. I was trying to see the lesson in it instead of trying to see only the negative side. I mean, it's okay, obviously, sometimes to be sad about things, like sometimes I wish I had an option for a job and then it didn't go through and I was sad about it. It's not like I can be against being sad about it, but also just give yourself a moment to be sad about it and then just think like, "Okay," but then it wasn't meant to be and maybe something better will come for me. 


So that's something that really helped me mentally. I think if you want something, just do it. It doesn't matter what other people say and that's what other people believe because the most important thing is that you believe in yourself. If you believe in yourself, then it will happen.


Steffy Roos du Maine: That's why I think your book is going to be so inspirational for so many girls, women. I really love that part when you said about applying for the Group Supermodel, you're like, "No, no, no, I'm not going to do it. I'm not going to do it." You're like, "Why not?" Then this happens. I think that's probably a lesson. "Why not" is probably a lesson.


Joann van den Herik: Just like a lot of people are always seeing your reasons not to do it, but fuck those reasons.


Steffy Roos du Maine: Yeah, "Why not?"


Joann van den Herik: The worst-case scenario: it doesn't work out and you're back in the same situation that you were before, and that's okay. Then you tried, but if you never tried, you'll never know. I really believe that if you feel passionate about something and you really feel like this is my thing, then it is your thing because everyone has a purpose here. That's what Deepak Chopra says as well, everyone has a soul's purpose. If you share it with yourself and other people, then that's the most high for a personal thing you can do. I just think that if you feel it, then do it. The reasons "Why not" don't matter. 


Steffy Roos du Maine: You said there's always a lesson in something, even if it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out. Is there a lesson?


Joann van den Herik: Yeah, exactly. Even with the Group Supermodel I applied and then a lot of people already got confirmation back and it has come with casting, and I didn't hear anything for two months. People from my agency told me, "Oh, I already have like two castings, la la la." I already assumed I'm not going to do it and I was fine, I was fine with it. I was just like, "Okay. Well, if it's meant to be, will be." Then, literally, one week before they started filming, they called me and they were like, "Oh, my God! You ended up on the wrong map, please do come, la la la." Then within a week, I was on the show. 


You never know what's going to happen. That's why you always just got to be positive and got to try and see the positive things in stuff because I think if I would have been like, "Oh, it's not going to work out. It's never going to happen," or didn't even apply because, "Oh, I'm insecure. Oh, maybe I'm not good enough," or "They're not going to pick me, or la la la," then it's not going to happen because you're already ruining it for yourself. Just like what I've said, just do it and take the risk. We have this life and we have this moment right now, so just take the risk and do it. I mean, sometimes you have to think about it as well. 


Sometimes I'll be like, "Oh, fuck it! I'm going to quit my job." You have to think about it as well, but I think that's what I do. I just do it. I just moved to New York. I could also be like, "Oh, no, it's too expensive," or "I would rather stay home and save my money," or "I don't know anyone there," or all that stuff. 


Instead of that, I was just like, "You know, I'm just going to do it. If it doesn't work out, then I don't like it there," or "If the modeling isn't going well, then I'll just go back home, but then at least I tried." 


Steffy Roos du Maine: At least you tried and you live there because I think this city is also very good for experiencing good vibes and anything can happen and dreams come true through. The energy, I don't know.


Joann van den Herik: I know. I totally agree. The first time I was here, that's what I said,  I just knew I was going to live here. I don't know how to explain it. You just have to go to New York to feel it yourself. You're like, "Whoa!" Also, time moves differently here. It's so hard to explain.


When you're here, it feels like you can do anything. What I also like about being here is I just feel like I can do whatever I want because it will happen. I mean, sometimes it's hard to always be positive and not focus on the negative things, but it's also something you need to practice because I feel like a lot of people are always like, "Oh, yeah, but you're just a positive person, it comes easily to you." I'm like, "No, I just practiced this for so many years. When I would think of something negative, I will turn it into three positive thoughts."


It's hard to be a positive person, you really have to try. It's so easy to just be like, "I can do it," or "I'm not going to make it," or "I don't believe in myself," or "It's not going to happen." It's easy to be negative. That's why a lot of people are negative because it's just like the easy way out. Sometimes when I'm not feeling well, it's so easy to just complain and be like, "Oh, I'm going to quit. It's not happening." 


Instead of that, try to see the lesson in it and what I said, just believe in yourself and be positive. I really believe in the law of attraction. If you're positive, you will attract positive things to yourself. I think that's just one of the most important things is be positive and realize it's not easy. That's the thing you got to work on. Try to not let those negative thoughts win. 


Steffy Roos du Maine: Because it looks easy when someone is so positive but it's hard working. 


Joann van den Herik: Exactly. I wasn't positive when I was 15 and I have an eating disorder. I was one of the most negative persons ever. I was only focusing on what was wrong with me. I was only focusing on all that's wrong with the environment, with the school. I would only surround myself with people that are negative as well. You're just in a never-ending circle because you're insecure about your body because you say negative things about yourself. You say negative things about yourself because you're insecure. It's a vicious circle and it's something you just need to get out of and you do that by trying to replace those negative thoughts. 


I always try to do it. Even when I'm not feeling well, I always just try to be like, "Okay." For example, I know you're insecure about your legs and you can be like, "Oh, I hate my legs," and focus on how much you hate your legs the whole day, or it can be like, "Okay, my legs function. I can walk anywhere with my legs. I can explore the whole city. I woke up this morning." There are so many things you can say instead of being like, "Oh, my legs are ugly." Try to focus on the things you do have instead of the things you don't.


Steffy Roos du Maine: I think there are some beautiful words, too, and this beautiful book as well. Thank you so much for all your wisdom and positivity.


Joann van den Herik: Thank you so much. 


Steffy Roos du Maine: Thank you so much for listening to this episode of the Mindful & Millionaire podcast. I hope you enjoyed and got inspired. You'll find all the interesting links and information in the show notes. Let's keep in touch on Instagram, steffyroosdumaine, and I'll be super grateful when you will rate, review or share this podcast.



END