Go Bucket Yourself

Embracing Holistic Beauty and Mental Health: A Conversation with Maria Laura

• Season 5 • Episode 78

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Connect with Maria!

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Do you ever wonder how the products you use on your skin can impact your mental health? Join me as I chat with the inspiring Maria Laura, a beauty blogger, mental health enthusiast, and entrepreneur from Venezuela who's passionate about natural, holistic beauty. As a full-time mom who has overcome her own mental health struggles and self-doubt, Maria Laura's journey will empower others to pursue their passions, regardless of the challenges they face.

Listen in as we discuss the important intersection between holistic beauty and mental health, and how simple lifestyle changes can make a world of difference. Maria Laura shares valuable tips for choosing the right products, her expertise in organic skincare, and her inspiring story of balancing passion with family life. Discover how she uses the Done app and timer strategies to stay organized, focused, and connected with her diverse audience in both Spanish and English.

Don't miss this insightful conversation as Maria Laura shares her future plans for her business, the power of self-awareness, and her dedication to empowering others. Tune in and get ready to be inspired by Maria Laura's story and her unwavering commitment to holistic beauty and mental health. You'll walk away with a newfound appreciation for the impact your skincare choices can have on your overall well-being, and the motivation to make changes in your own life.
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Resources mentioned in today's show:

  • Done - productivity app Maria uses to keep on top of her tasks--whether it's her business or her family tasks

Stay in touch!

Speaker 1:

Hello and welcome to another special episode of the Go Bucket Yourself podcast. This is the first time I'm solo hosting and I'm so excited to be doing it with my special guest, maria Maria Laura is a beauty blogger and mental health enthusiast from Venezuela. She has a passion for natural, holistic remedies and holds a certificate in this field. Along with being a blogger, maria Laura is also an entrepreneur who runs her own organic skincare business called ML Organics. She enjoys sharing her knowledge and tips about beauty and lifestyle on social media platforms.

Speaker 1:

In addition to her professional pursuits, maria Laura is a full-time mom to two boys. She wants to help inspire other women in pursuing their dreams, and that's why I wanted to have this conversation with you. Selfishly, i just want to get to know more about you myself, but I wanted to have you on because what I do know about you from our conversations to me. I just find so much of it inspiring And I think that other people hearing your story will be empowering, particularly to other women and mothers or people just wanting to do their own thing. That might not be what everyone else on their block is doing or what their family is doing. So thank you so much for being here, maria. I really appreciate it.

Speaker 2:

Oh, thank you so much for having me. I'm very excited.

Speaker 1:

Thank you. Thank you. Is there anything else you want to add about yourself that wasn't just included in that bio? just a little more about yourself before we dig in.

Speaker 2:

No, i mean, i've been here in the US for 13 years. Yeah, 13 years, that's a lot. And since I got here, i just wanted to do something different because I had a companion visa. I couldn't work, so I decided just to volunteer in a hospital in the front desk, helping translating in the ER and stuff like that, and I had fun. I mean, i had fun. I still wanted to do something different.

Speaker 2:

And after I had my first child, i saw this boom in Instagram people sharing whatever they liked fitness or beauty, travel, whatever And I just wanted to do something like that. And I remember every one of my friends or family that would come to the US to visit they were like, oh, where should I go? Do you recommend me to a specific store to buy this for my body? What creams do you recommend? Do you recommend these for my hair? And I thought maybe this is what I should do Give people recommendations of body products or hair products And I just started doing that. So it was a long time ago that I started. I didn't think at that time that it would go like boom years later. So, yeah, i'm very excited about that.

Speaker 2:

Like I remember how everything started and I look at myself right now and it's very, I mean, I feel like I made it. So, yeah, it's very rewarding.

Speaker 1:

When you're smiling and glowing, so I can feel that feeling coming from the inside. And you basically answered my first question for me, which was how does an immigrant from Venezuela end up becoming a beauty blogger and talking about it on social media? So I know that you also are kind of passionate about something that I feel passionate about because of certain personal aspects of my life, and that is not just beauty and beauty products, but that it's organic and natural. So how? I guess also if you want to talk about how long you've been doing it, because you were saying like it's been a long time And how has it always been about organic, natural beauty products and beauty, or did you kind of transition into that?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, it was a transition after I had my second baby, because when I first started everything was just whatever product I could find that I could just give it a try and say you know, this didn't work. I rather get another product and it was just any brand. I wasn't at that time conscious enough to kind of think, well, maybe this can be good to me and my skin and my body. So it took time. So after I had my second baby well before I had well, i was pregnant I decided, you know, i think I'm going to start using more safe products and trying to do safer choices for my body because I'm pregnant. And then I was thinking so, if I want to do this while I'm pregnant, i might as well just keep doing it, because if it's good for my baby, it's good for me. I mean, it's a no brainer. So I started doing that. And then by that time, yes, i was pregnant with Matthias I was working with Magazine here in Denver called Denver Style Magazine. They it's not around anymore, but I was writing the Skincare column for them And, yeah, i was sorry, it was fun. So I started with their blog and then they, you know, switched to the Magazine. So I was doing the Skincare column for them And they just started. You know, we can try this, maria, and this. There's a lot of companies in Colorado that have really good products like organic or non-toxic, and we tried them all And I was like I love this. I love to try all of these products And I know they're not harming my baby or myself. I want to keep doing this. So, yeah, that's how I started. You know the transition And eventually, you know, with mental health, they did like this, you know, like a fusion, and I was like this is it. This is what I want to do. I just want to do, i just want to talk about non-toxic beauty, like holistic beauty, and mental health, because it's so, you know, related to each other, and I'm enjoying it a lot And I'm still, i feel like I help a lot of people, even though sometimes I just, you know it's kind of frustrating sometimes because you know I do effort to, you know, just upload a video or just record whatever I want to show someone, and sometimes I don't feel like people is, you know, giving all the importance that I don't know if you get me And it's frustrating sometimes, but I know that I'm getting to older people And sometimes I receive these DMs like from people that I don't even know Thank you so much for these words.

Speaker 2:

Because you know, every morning I have like a schedule. I just upload the mantra of the day, i do the coffee video and then maybe like a motivation quote, and sometimes they text me, they send me a DM thank you, i needed this And that's that's what I like, because you don't know who needs. You know, like those words like you've got this, or those encourage, encouragement, words that can help everybody, yeah anybody?

Speaker 1:

Yeah, let's talk about that a little bit, because what is that intersection of mental health and natural organic beauty? How do those two things work together and come together? What should we know about that?

Speaker 2:

Like how did I make the decision to do it?

Speaker 1:

Or Yeah, or actually how do? what do they have to do with each other? Like, i think that a lot of women might put those two things in two separate buckets, right Mental health, wellness, well-being, the beauty products we use, the skincare products we use. So I think there's a relationship and you and I have talked about it, but what can you explain that for us? What do those two things have to do together? How do they, like you said, they just came together, they intersected. What is that intersection?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, well, the skin is our largest organ and everything we put on it go, you know, directly in our. You know all of our body in our system. So if I want to talk about holistic beauty, when you talk about skincare, it's just skincare. If you talk about holistic beauty, it's like everything else at all. You're not talking just about how to treat your skin. It's just okay. So let's take this as a. If you want a beautiful skin, glowy or healthy skin at least, you just have to eat well, you just have to lower your anxiety levels and stress levels. Just take more me time and exercise a lot. Watch what you put in your skin. So everything is correlated. I think people underestimate what mental health and anxiety, depression, all of the mental health disorders I would say can relate to something that you would have understood acne eczema. Even you know your. I forgot how you called the.

Speaker 2:

Like under eye bags, like under eye bags, yeah, even all of that. It's very, very related to mental health. So I've seen you know, i was talking the other day in my Instagram and I do these, like I talk to people, like we have these conversations about okay, so I want to try this product or I want to try this, and I have a lot of acne. I don't know what's going on. I have these like excessive dryness in my skin, and the first questions that I ask them is how are you, how are you feeling, how are you stressed? And everyone not a single person have ever told me oh, i'm okay. No, everyone's like, oh, i'm so exhausted, i have a lot of stress, my job is killing me, my I don't know my kids, my house so many answers that I've, you know, received And I just want to let them know that it's not only.

Speaker 2:

I mean, don't ask me to give you like a magical cream or face oil to cure that, because everything starts from within And if you are feeling like very stressful and anxious, it's not going to go away. Even if you buy like a thousand dollars treatment, it's not going to go away. So they're very, very I mean they work together. So that's why I talk about a lot about holistic beauty, because it's not only treating your skin, it's treating all your body like as a whole.

Speaker 1:

Yes, isn't it interesting how, when we have physical symptoms of health issues, the last thing we tend to go to is our mental well-being. I can relate to that so much because I have autoimmune diseases that caused a lot of physical pain. People are shocked when I say that the most beneficial thing I did for that was work on my mental health. I didn't relate the two.

Speaker 1:

I think a lot of times when we hear people say how's your stress or how's your mental health, we think they're dismissing the physical symptoms. But there are true chemical responses in our body that create all of these physical responses. In our body We can actually feel and touch and see The chemical responses. We can't see. We tend to think maybe they're not related. But when I tell people when I started working through some mental health stuff I had not addressed or been repressing and my physical pain went away and my blood work improved, they're shocked. I wonder for you when you made the shift from just whatever beauty products you saw out there that were exciting or you might want to try to something more natural and organic, did you notice a change in your physical health at all? Did you notice any shift? I know you were probably quite young and maybe I don't know if you were having any physical symptoms, but have you noticed a difference in your physical health related to that?

Speaker 2:

Definitely, especially on my arms. after my first pregnancy, i had what they call keratocytes right here. I was like what can I use? They always recommend, you know, like pharmacy products, and they didn't work. As soon as I tried the first natural beauty, natural brand from here, from Colorado actually I fell in love with it. It was the body scrub. I said, oh my God, this is heaven. It went away not the first week, but it went away eventually. after treating it with just natural products, i could see the change in my body, in my skin, all over my body, my hair. Everything was different and it felt different. I was feeling different because I was pretty sure that I was giving my body the good stuff. I think that's what I like the most, because it worked.

Speaker 1:

That's amazing, and I want to just maybe touch on that a tiny bit more before we dig into the meat of what I really think will be helpful in your conversation also. But are there specific things that you would tell people to look out for in there and what they put on their body, their face, like beauty products, but just skin care overall for men or women? Are there things that you stay away from for sure that will not be beneficial to people if they use them?

Speaker 2:

Everybody's skin is different. My skin is very dry. I try to stay away from alcohol. Not the drinking one, right? Also that one The one in every skin care product. There's a ton of different alcohols listed in the ingredient list. I try to stay away from that. Perfumes it's number one irritant of the skin. Sometimes you would see on a label perfume and that's it. That perfume can have a thousand more different ingredients. Yeah, we don't know that. I try to stay away from that. Some products say delivered from natural oils and just watch that, because if they don't tell you exactly what it is, it's kind of shady. So, yeah, perfume, alcohols And just to know this, the first five ingredients in every list. It's what the product has more inside. So if they say, oh, this is an alloy product and it's listed as the last one, believe me, there's no such a thing. There's a ton of alloy there, yeah.

Speaker 1:

If it says aloe, then, but you want to see aloe in the first five ingredients.

Speaker 2:

Right, you want to see it in the first five, something that people should know. Every product that is not completely natural has to have some preservatives, because I mean, you want to keep them on the shelf for a while. There is, i would say, good preservatives and bad preservatives. None of them are great, but just to know that, all the clean beauty products they tend to have the good ones and all the products that you can find the pharmacy, the drugstore, they will have the bad ones. I don't want to name any brands, but it usually works like that. So I would say, just stay away from alcohol and perfumes and the bad preservatives, which they can dry your skin. Some of them are very bad for your immune system and they're just endocrine disruptors.

Speaker 1:

Disruptors.

Speaker 2:

Yes, and they're really bad for you. So I have a friend. She used to suffer from thyroid Thyroid, yeah, and she was actually one of my first clients. I would say, because I do these, i totally forgot how to say it, like when you, do you coach people through in-care?

Speaker 2:

Yes, i do the coaching online And she was my first client ever And we started working on her mental health. She's actually seeing a therapist right now and everything like her skin it's beautiful right now. She used to have acne all over this area and dark spots and she was missing hair and had the thyroid problem and now she's fine. She's pretty fine now. She started using products that were more natural. Even even better, she ended up having She didn't know that she was having gluten.

Speaker 1:

Like sensitivity to gluten Sensitivity yeah.

Speaker 2:

And she stopped eating gluten and she's so happy now.

Speaker 1:

And I'm happy on her chin. Her chin It's gone, Oh wow.

Speaker 2:

Gone. That's amazing, and that's when you can see that it works. Not only the products, but going to the therapist, changing your diet, changing your thoughts. And she even changed her job Well, not her job Like. She used to work eight hours a day, she got it in half And she's one of the happiest person I know. That's amazing. It's amazing.

Speaker 2:

It's amazing how a change, a tiny change. Well, you see it as a tiny change, but it's huge Because, at the end of the day, you just want to be happy and feel great inside out, and she was. She is very happy.

Speaker 1:

That's amazing, yeah, i think just to maybe summarize and underscore a couple of things that you mentioned there. I mean, first of all, little steps add up to like one more little step, right, so your friend made one small step and then another change And pretty soon her whole life and her body and her outlook are different. So that's amazing.

Speaker 1:

And so cool that she's switched her through that. The other thing is that when we say perfume or fragrance, a lot of times now labels will be really upfront with that And they're called phallates also. So that's something you might want to look out for. If a product says no phallates, they're talking about no perfumes or fragrances And those are endocrine disruptors, like you said, maria, which means they really mess with your hormonal system and men and women, and that's why our thyroid is the producer of our hormone, so many of our hormones, and so when we're using Endocrine disruptors like phallates, that can mess with the that, that natural production of hormones, and so that can mess with all the processes of our bodies. You also mentioned, like, looking out for the oils that they use And sometimes now that's called parabens, right. So product it'll say no parabens. That's a way of saying they aren't using oils that are refined from, like gasoline products essentially. So they're using natural oils which would come from plants or nuts or seeds, right? So that's a way of saying that. So that's a way of saying that.

Speaker 1:

And then I think the last thing I just wanted to add that you All you know you talked about was alcohol, which can be a preservative Also in products, but a natural preservative, which I think we'll get to your products, maria, that you use would be like vitamin E, right, is that correct? Which sometimes people call toco ferals, which doesn't matter, but if you see Like toco ferals or vitamin E in a product, that's a natural preservative. Yes, that you can use in natural products, and probably the ones that are in not natural products I don't know the names of or how to pronounce them or what they are other than alcohol, which is also a preservative.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, there's a lot of natural preservatives for products. You just have to look, Because sometimes in the ingredient list they don't say it is, you know, a natural preservative. It's just like the name. It's kind of confusing. Yeah, But yeah you it's, it's you. Once you start you know reading the labels, you'll be a pro. Okay, Very good, yeah, and I think your account really helps people do that.

Speaker 1:

I am such a big fan of the product. I'm not sure if you can understand it, but I think it helps people do that. I I am such a baby at Spanish and I'm still practicing and trying, but your Instagram makes me want to be better because I want to hear and know and understand everything you're saying. So that's amazing. I want to really Like here and understand the part of your story you tell me about your, your social media posts. Um, emigrating and you only have a companion visa and pretty soon you have two sons. How old are your sons Now? Nine and five, okay, and you start this online business. First of all, that's like whoa. How did you do?

Speaker 1:

that go from a companion visa to starting your own business, and it sounds like um for some other publications online and stuff like that, and then that's like a lot of obstacles that I can imagine in the way, and what you've built beyond that is even more So. I definitely want to get into that. But what were some of those obstacles and how were you able to overcome those up to this point in your story, i think?

Speaker 2:

the first and most important obstacle that I encountered was me, because I didn't believe in what I was doing at first.

Speaker 2:

I didn't believe in myself, i didn't believe in my work because I was thinking okay, here I am, i want to do this, but there's millions of people doing the same thing Like how, how can I do this? And then I had to work on me first before working on my company, for my products and all that. And it took a long time because sometimes we can be our worst enemy And I just wanted to be my best friend, because I really wanted to do it, and it took me a lot of mental work podcasts, books, even therapists to understand that I could do it. So I would say that was my first obstacle. The visa wasn't a problem because after I had my first one, my first boy, before having my first boy, we won the green car lottery, so we are US citizens right now And that wasn't an issue creating the company and everything. But, yeah, i would say that was my obstacle, just me, because I didn't believe in myself.

Speaker 1:

And I think that's Go ahead. I didn't mean to do that.

Speaker 2:

I was one of the things that stopped most people from doing what they want to do. They just believed in themselves. And it's funny because I noticed that I was doing all this obsessive positive talk all the time. And it was funny because I was telling people oh, you can do this or you can pursue your dreams or whatever you want to do. But I wasn't believing that And then it clicked And I just started believing And today I just I still think about that Maria 10 years ago, that had no idea what she was doing, and now I'm like, oh my God, i've grown so much Mentally. It's been amazing.

Speaker 1:

So I agree 100%. It really resonates because I think often, most often, I am my own worst enemy also, I think the obstacle I have to overcome. Maybe that's the point of life and being here, overcoming ourselves and our own stuff right, I think it will resonate with those people listening that maybe want to do something different or outside the box as well. So what are a couple Like even a book or a podcast, or just some mental reframes that you came to on your own or with therapy or with the resources you mentioned? do you have a couple of tips there to sort of get the ball rolling in overcoming that?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, well, it's not only because we all have our issues from childhood or from today. I was having a lot of anxiety and stress at that time And I was like, if I'm feeling like this, i'm not going to be able to run a company, to create something that is supposed to make you feel better if I don't feel good. And I just wanted to feel good so bad, because I was desperate, really desperate, and then I just decided you know what? I'm going to ask for help, and that's how everything started. I've been having my therapist since 2021, i think, yeah, we've been together for that long And my life is so different right now, like my approach for everything is so different right now.

Speaker 2:

I feel like I took one step for me and, at the same time, working on me, i mean, my family is different, everything that we do is completely different. My kids, they seem different, and I think, if we are stuck, like, what can I do? What should I do? Well, first of all, if you need to, if you feel like you can ask for some help, just do it. That's one of my main tip for anyone that feels like it's stuck And just it would go. There are some really good books and podcasts about you know, making you feel like, hey, you got this And you just have to trust, you know, in the process and in yourself and you'll get there. And I remember I was like, but when I will get there? when will that?

Speaker 1:

day be.

Speaker 2:

Because it's sometimes they call it toxic positivity And I feel like I was like a toxic positivity person for a while And then I was like, no, if I want everyone to feel you know good about themselves And I mean with my product or whatever product they're using I need to change my mind before you know, trying to get to other people. So yeah, just ask for help Such a good tip.

Speaker 1:

And you did mention in another way that toxic positivity concept earlier when you said it seemed like you were doing all the right things and saying all the right things, but something inside of you didn't connect to that or believe it, and so asking for help was sort of the first key to unlock that, yeah, and where you really began to feel differently inside so that you create differently outside in the world. So that's amazing, and you've really, i mean, done some amazing other things since 2021, which, it sounds like, is when you asked for help. So I would love to have you sort of update us on what your blogging and writing and online presence has led to in life now, where you're at with your business.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, i decided during the pandemic I was, you know, taking classes and just getting the certificates and everything because I wanted to do And I was having so much fun reviewing products from different brands I was like I need to, you know, create my so I can review my own products. So it was. It was challenging because it was okay, i'm going to create this. And it didn't work, okay, i need to add more of this. And it didn't work. And then I realized I think I'm doing this the wrong way because I didn't want my products to be just another product. And I remember we talked about this the first time we made And I said you know what, i can't do this with people in my house, like I have to go to the basement and just be by myself or wait until everybody, you know, is outside playing or doing whatever, but I need to be by myself. And that's when I learned that the energy that I was putting in all of my products was working, because then everything you know was kind of working out like every product I was doing. It was great And I would test you know the product for a while before, you know, giving it to friends. Hey, would you try this. And then I would get the calls oh my God, i love it. And I said, okay, this is it, this is the formula, this is what I'm going to do And everything that I'm making the products.

Speaker 2:

Every time that I'm making the products, i just I'm just by myself And I'm like it's funny because my husband laughed when I told him this But I mean I love it. I just, you know, making everything, just like, well, the person that's going to be using this is going to be so happy, like you know, all that positive talk and good energy. And the same thing when I'm packing a product to send it out, please let this person be very happy with my product. And, just, you know, feel pretty, no matter what. And there's, there are small cards that I sent with a product, you know, with instructions like, okay, put this. And then look at the mirror and say I'm beautiful, i'm pretty, i got this.

Speaker 2:

And I think that's the moment when I'm I realized, okay, i need to work like this, because I feel stuck, like this is not working, what am I doing? I mean this, this product, they don't work, i don't want to do this anymore. And then I would keep trying and trying and trying until you know I got to the formula I said. You know I had that click. Okay, i have to be by myself to do this, i don't need anybody around, i just need my energy, and that's when everything started working out. So I feel very happy about that because I believe and energy, and That everybody has, you know, different energies flowing all over and I just want The person that receives my products to feel it and just to be happy with it.

Speaker 1:

Oh, that's so amazing. I think Think from personal experience. Your products are packaged beautifully. I remember the card and that's amazing addition and Definitely feel the loving energy that goes into it. But as a mom and a wife and someone who struggled with this myself, it can feel Difficult at minimum, or sometimes like The stories we hear from society are selfish or wrong for us to say we need time alone to ourselves to do this Thing that we're passionate about, that is about our kids or our husband or our family. So did you ever struggle with that, creating the time and space and just Feeling okay about it?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, because you know, coming coming from a very strict Culture about family, like you are the wife, you are the mom, you have to be at home, you have to do this, you have to. You know be, there for everyone and it's overwhelming. So at first I was How am I gonna, you know, send my kids with my husband to I don't know go Wherever, so I can do this?

Speaker 2:

I was feeling bad and I was feeling like about why? about mom? because I just wanted to focus on me and my stuff. My family for me is everything my kids, my husband. But I also wanted something for me. You know my company, my products, my My animal organics.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and it was a struggle, but my husband was so supportive. He was like, oh, what if it gets to play outside? You just do your thing. I was like, okay, thank you, and then It would just, you know, be normal. And even my kids know now They're like, oh, are you working? Okay, and they would just go. And they would just go, getting to the point the oldest one that he's like I'm gonna help you, i want to help you pack, i want to keep you, you know the labels and everything, but One day, Yeah it's not right now, but, yeah, it took me some time because of that, because of that Believe that I have in my mind that I Have to be always.

Speaker 2:

You know, i have to be there for them all the time, which is, i mean, i don't mind, but I also need time for me, for my company, so we manage, you know, to do. He can take the kids, or I try to do a lot of stuff when he's working at the office, not at home, or when the kids are at school, like today, and I just have the time for me and I just plan everything so I can work on those days.

Speaker 1:

That's great, and it sounds similar to what maybe my transition was, which was first just doing it right, saying I'm needing this time and space to do this thing, and Then, once you create the habit and routine, it just becomes a normal part of your family and.

Speaker 1:

I see now how I don't know you know you can correct me if I'm wrong But how beautiful it is for your boys to have that time with their dad that's just time with them or In some independence, and feel empowered to do some things on their own, without their mom. Right, that's in maturity. And also I wonder for you if you found, and not that we need to have a lone time So that we can be better for our family. But I do believe it's a natural byproduct when we take the time and space we're needing, whether it's personal passion or not, you know, maybe we just need to go read a book and chill out a little bit. We're able to show up in our relationships differently. Have you noticed anything like that?

Speaker 2:

100%. I Excuse me. I always tell my husband, my family, my friends that if I'm okay, my family is gonna be perfect, because if I'm feeling good, if I'm not stressed at all, they're gonna be okay. They're gonna have a happy mom, he's gonna have a happy wife. We're gonna be a happy family.

Speaker 2:

I don't want to be Just, you know Angry all the time because I don't have time for me. I make time for me and I've received a lot of you know Critics about this, because some people said oh well, maybe you don't work on like a full-time Job, so you have the time to do that.

Speaker 2:

Oh, believe me, i have a full-time job like with my kids and my house and the Company, and I work with other brands too and I do other stuff too. So I think it's worse because I don't have, like you know, if you work for someone else to have, okay, you do this. From this to this, it's very difficult for me to Apply my day like okay, so for one hour I'm gonna do this, then I have this meeting, then maybe I do laundry Or no, maybe I go to the gym. Oh, it's very complicated. Some people it's very Mean when they say to you like well, you don't do nothing. I mean, you just work from home. You just you don't work for nobody, so you have all the time that you want and that is not true.

Speaker 2:

So trying to find that time for me is difficult sometimes, but when I do it It feels amazing.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and.

Speaker 2:

I I try to encourage everybody around me and you know, with social media, take Time for you. Yeah you can see the difference If we. If you don't want to go to the gym, that's okay. If you want to read a book, that's okay. If you just want to, you know, lay in a couch and just Start the ceiling, okay right, i mean it's okay not to do nothing.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, it's okay. So when people understand that I mean the importance to you, take some time for you. Those are the difference I have. I know people that they work, you know, from eight to six and then they have all the you know jobs or the kids activities and they end up going to bed and live and and Wake up at 4 or 5 am And then it's just on and on every day, every day, and you talk to them And it's like, oh, i had my life. I don't have you know time for me or time for nothing, and it's it's basically everyone's decision like It's not the life you want to live.

Speaker 2:

Mm-hmm because you have option. Yeah, you can just, you know, cut kids activities or I don't know. You can just leave early in your job. I have no idea. Everyone can, you know, work it out. But I Really encourage, you know, everybody to just find some me time. And it doesn't have to be every day, mm-hmm if it's every day, but yeah, it's at least at least once a week.

Speaker 1:

Yeah it's a difference.

Speaker 1:

You brought up a really good point that I think Often entrepreneurs struggle with and Maybe people wanting to get into creating their own thing or doing their own thing worry about, which is, if you don't have an office to physically leave and go to, the obstacles that creates, first of all, because you don't have an office to leave and go to, and also because you don't have an office To leave and come home to and leave behind. Right and even when I think today, even when we're leaving our office, we are still doing email and communicating when we're at home and we're working a lot. So I found like blocking my calendar, like I would if I had a W2 job that someone else was paying me to go to, is really helpful, right. So, like you mentioned, putting a loan time on my calendar so that everyone in my family sees it, it doesn't get scheduled over, i make the time for it, even though I might still have a little guilt or worry over it. I do it right, or saying I Don't do this kind of work on Fridays, saturdays and.

Speaker 1:

Sundays. I only do this kind of work Monday through Thursday, whatever it is, so you did have a couple of good tips in there. I wonder if there's anything else that you found that helps you have boundaries around your work So that it's sustainable and you want to keep doing it and it feels good.

Speaker 2:

So I started working with this on app called done and with timers.

Speaker 2:

I know it's very, But I do timers yeah if I'm just, you know, at home and I have meetings and I have Laundry to do and I have some pictures to take, because the thing with my pictures It's that I work with natural light and a lot of fun. So I have Like three times a day that I can take pictures, you know, according to the windows in my house. So I plan for that and And. But I just do timers. If I Need to work on my computer for presentation or Something that I need to do, i just do a timer for two hours and After those two hours I just close my computer and that's it. And then if I need to do laundry, i'll just put a timer for, let's say, one hour and after one hour It's done.

Speaker 1:

Because what it?

Speaker 2:

used to do. I would just, you know, after breakfast I would just go and do the dishes And then, oh my God, i have a meeting in five minutes. I would go to the meeting and didn't finish the dishes. So after the meeting, i would, you know, go back to the dishes and then the dryer would sound and I would just go and fold the clothes, didn't finish the dishes, and when I went upstairs and, you know, take the clothes off of the dryer, i would see, you know, my bed and done, and I would go okay, so here's the clothes. And then, and then by the end of the day, i didn't do the dishes, i didn't fold the clothes, i didn't finish anything because, you know, i was so distracted every time. So I said, you know what I'm doing, timers and this app called done. Like it's very satisfying for me to do this on the app.

Speaker 1:

And you will go, hey you did it. Yeah.

Speaker 2:

Okay And yeah, that worked a lot for me.

Speaker 1:

That's such a good tip, maria, and it resonates with me, because when we first started self managing our rentals, i would get into tenant screening or whatever tenant issues. Yeah, most common it would be tenant screening and I homeschool my daughter, and so I'd sit down to do the tenant screening while I'm homeschooling my daughter and answering phone calls or messages and cleaning, like you're saying, and all of the things at once all day, right, and by the end of the day I was stressed and frazzled and I didn't feel like I got anything done And so I'm frustrated. Yes, so Chris actually was the one who helped me do this, which is very similar to time blocking, right? So if I put tenant screening on my calendar and I only put it for an hour, that's it, and that hour is done, i'm done, and I come back to it tomorrow when I can come back to it, but I'm also not answering calls in that hour.

Speaker 1:

I'm not taking people back not doing the duties and I'm not homeschooling my daughter. That hour is just for that one task And the amount of peace I can get from that. Right, i leave that behind. I'll pick it back up tomorrow. I did the hour. It feels so good, so I'll be sure to link to that app in the show notes. I'm really grateful for that tip.

Speaker 1:

There's another thing before we start wrapping I want to make sure I touch on, because I think a lot of people feel this, and you mentioned this in that you were saying other people say to you oh, you don't have a real job or you don't work full time.

Speaker 1:

And a lot of times when we begin feeling this desire to show up differently in our lives, maybe it's create something new, maybe it's build passive income so we can work. Maybe it's just like consume less so that we don't have to earn as much and work as much, right? Maybe it's like driving a different car that doesn't necessarily fit into our neighborhood. I wonder how that felt like your story and doing these amazing things you're doing. I imagine it doesn't look the same as a lot of the houses on your block in Thornton Colorado, right, and so how did that play out? And was there a lot of pushback, maybe from other moms or friends you interacted with, or maybe from your family and that family culture or culture you grew up in. If you could. Just you did mention it a little bit, but I'd like to kind of like touch on that a little more, what that was like and how you've been able to push through that.

Speaker 2:

Well, it all began when I decided to stay home with my kids, because I told my husband I don't want anyone to raise my kids but me. And if I have the privilege because I feel very privileged about that to just have you working and I can just stay home with the kids, let's do that.

Speaker 2:

And we agree on that, because by that time I had my green card and I could work. I went to a different interviews because I wanted to work. I was working back home and I really wanted a job. But I mean, when they were paying me, compared to what I would pay a daycare, it was like no, i'd rather stay at home with my kid and just raise my kid, and that's what I did. So being like a stay-home mom, like that, it was a lot.

Speaker 2:

There was a lot of criticism from the outside like what are you doing? You have to work, you have to do this, you have to do that. Because that's a lot of what people think. And I'd say that I don't have to do that. I have to what I feel it's better for me and my family and I feel for me and my kids it's better if we stay here. So everything started there. And then I said you know what, when they go to school, maybe I can find something different to do, because I always knew that I didn't want to work for someone, just for me. And then I started doing all the reviews and working with the magazine and all that with the other brands and then creating this. But the noise that you get from the outside. It can get to you. It's just your decision. If you're just blocking it and just letting them know, it's okay with me and with my family to do this.

Speaker 2:

I mean sometimes people when they're like saying to you, what are you doing? this, are you crazy? Like this is not a real job. This is not, i mean, what you should be doing. So it's not my fault that the standard for that person is that I should have a W2. Like you said, i should work for someone. If this is fulfilling for me and it works for me and my family, i'm okay with that. I don't need anything else because I mean all for is what is most important to me.

Speaker 2:

So creating the company and having the support of my husband has been amazing in all of this process, because I can't imagine doing this without his support, because he could easily tell me no, why don't you just get a real job, like everybody says? Well, it's a real job and I'm taking it serious. I mean, right now it's a small business, but I'm visualizing and dreaming about like a huge thing in the future. So don't let for anybody listening that want to do something, that, don't let the outside noise block you. It's just, you just need to do what you feel that you have to do. And all of my friends they work, they have W2s all of them and a lot of my family they do that too, and it was very frustrating.

Speaker 2:

And it is sometimes when we are talking about and they just talk about their jobs and they're like, oh, how's a little business doing? And I'm like, right, big energy, big business, like somewhere. I'm like, no, i don't like when people ask me, oh, how's your small business, how's your little business doing? No, it's a huge business. It's a big business because there's a lot going on. So I think that most of the things that I've done, at the end of the day, it's just because and I think I'm very repetitive about this but it's just because I've been living in the power that I have to create something and just say, stop, i don't like that, no, no, that doesn't work for me. This is what I want to do because it makes me happy And I know that right now it's not where I want it to be, but it's, you know, it's like a baby. It'll be, you know, just growing and growing and until it's, you know, like I want it to be.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, if it makes you happy, do it Amazing, maria, i think number one that you asked for help And you got that internal empowerment right. You just aligned your outside with your inside so that you were feeling the way you were projecting positively and you were having the confidence and doing the internal work to be able to move forward and have your own voice And kind of either quiet the voices outside of you or, it sounds like, just say no, like don't go in a little business. And now you have this big energy and you are growing this big thing. So tell me a little more about that. What are your products at Emma ML organics? What? what do you offer to people that are searching for this whole idea of holistic skincare? right, it's about how we're feeling on the inside, not just the outside.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, well, i decided to just create a first three products to focus on the lips, the skin like the face and the body with the body scrub. So I have the face oil moisturizer, the lead balm and the body scrub. So the lead balm. I decided to do it because in one of my blog posts I was talking about how toxic lip glosses and just you know the bonds and all of you know the products can be, because we eat them every time, like doing this or just eating. We eat them And we're not eating that good stuff. So I decided to, you know, do something for the lips and it's very natural And I have peppermint ones and lavender one, but I use essential oils for that And like, how do you call that? It's a natural essential oils that are the.

Speaker 1:

The grade of the oils are like really high, like really good, like premium essential oils that have been tested for purity and all of that.

Speaker 2:

Oh yeah, they have a label, let's say pure, tested for whatever. And for the face oil I want to do something different, maybe in the future, But it's very natural as well And I have customers that they use it. You know the corticals or the hair. They just add a little bit to the foundation when they're just, you know, doing their makeup, or just to the body lotion. And the body scrub is really good too, because it's all you know with natural oils and everything. So I just wanted to cover it. You know these three areas And, yeah, hopefully more products coming soon.

Speaker 1:

Well, i have used all three of your products and I want to say they are packaged beautifully the scrub and the face oil in this really beautiful glass packaging. Your labeling is beautiful. They came in this box, like you said, that was just packed gorgeously with your own note in there about. You know the way you feel, not just what you're using, and I was just telling my 17 year old I need to order the face oil again. I like it because it's nice and light and I usually use it to do like my lymph massage on my face in the morning.

Speaker 1:

I'm very dry, colorado is super dry, we both live in Colorado, and so I can put it on to do that lymph massage and then put my, put another moisturizer on over it to kind of seal it in, and to me it's perfect. I like the weight of it, the great, and so, yeah, i'll definitely be a repeat customer. So thank you.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I, when I was doing these three products, I was like, okay, let's do something that for each product, like when I send them to a customer or to a client, let's just give them a note telling them okay, you can use this, but if you say this and if you repeat this in the mirror, it's going to feel better. I remember when I first met you, we were talking about this. That was one of the conversations that I needed to have before taking the step to go ahead and do it, because by that time that was November I was planning on doing this with the products. I remember you said, oh, you're going to do so great, I love the idea, It's going to be fantastic. You got this. Oh, yes, This is what I needed to hear. Then, a month later, I was just in a pop-up show doing my presentation and it was so much fun. Well, look at you.

Speaker 1:

You moved so fast on that.

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

Amazing Way to go. Well, thank you for connecting all of these ideas and talking about these other concepts that I wanted to dig in. I appreciate that, but I am grateful that you just really draw awareness to our overall health Right. None of these things are separate. They all work together. Even what we put on our body affects how we feel inside, and how we feel inside affects the outside of our body. Yeah, Thank you so much for that. I wonder if there's anything that you're particularly excited about now that you're thinking about coming up next or working on next, something that's intriguing you, that's making you feel enthusiastic?

Speaker 2:

Well, I'm working on three new products right now, and I'm also working on opening a podcast. Oh, yeah.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I don't know how to make the fusion about skincare, lifestyle, mental health. I have no idea how to do it yet, but I'm working on it. I'm just excited to see what the future has for us, for the company, for my family. So far, I'm very excited about all the ML organics situation right now. I mean, we are really big in California, which it was one of my dreams. The response in California has been amazing and I'm just very happy about that.

Speaker 1:

Well, congratulations, maria. That's amazing to hear. I will be on the edge of my seat for your three upcoming products and your podcast, which I'm glad you mentioned, and I'll be sure to share it all when you come out with all of that And also just a quick note we did talk to your husband very early in our podcast. His name is Juan, and so I'll link to his episode in your show notes too, for people that want to hear a little bit more of your backstory and his part of the story too.

Speaker 1:

I think it's all very inspiring And, yeah, I love your big energy and your big empowerment and I know it will help people out there wanting to start their own thing. Is there anything else you didn't get a chance to share that you'd like to say before we wrap? And you can also feel free to share how people can find your products, get in touch with you, your accounts, all of that.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, well, i love to connect with people, even just for you know. Hey, have a good day, or oh. I like this quote that you use to share, and they can find me on Instagram as well. I'll spell it for you, okay M-A-L-A-U-R-I-A-F-E-R-M-I-N-S-M-O-L-R-A-FIRM-IN. I don't know if you can add it later.

Speaker 1:

I will And yes.

Speaker 2:

I That's, you know, when you can find me most of the time, because I have a really big presence there. So and also my blog is linked there And even the store is on Shopify ML Organics and you can find all the products And if you have any questions, just send me a DM and we can talk.

Speaker 1:

Very good, i will link to both of your Instagram accounts that I know about. Okay, and make sure to note so that people can find it easy. They don't have to worry about the spelling And they can find your other stuff there. But I'll also I'll add the link to your website and all of that.

Speaker 2:

Okay, There's a lot of Spanish talking in the Instagram account and working on doing you know more English. But yeah, you can just either learn some Spanish from me, i know.

Speaker 1:

I try to use it to learn. Yeah, I mean definitely working on specific words and picking out certain words, And there's a lot of English too, And there's just a lot of good stuff that requires no language. I think So it's very good, thank you, thank you. Thank you so much, maria. This has been such a pleasure. I'm excited to share it with everyone and appreciate you being here.

Speaker 2:

Thank, you so much. I had a great time Great. Have a great day.

Speaker 1:

You too, when asked, maria said her greatest obstacle and I'm sure she had many was herself. My first instinct then was to begin this closing by talking about getting out of our own way, as Maria did. It is true in most cases, particularly if you are in a position to be listening to this podcast. We are our own biggest bump in the road to where we think we'd like to go. But if it were as simple as saying get out of your own way, silly, i wouldn't still find myself in that position from time to time. Probably we wouldn't need to listen to or read the stories of others to do so. We would be smooth, sailing down the intentional road of life that's headed exactly where we want to go. It doesn't seem that simple, however. Maybe the answer is in asking a couple of questions. How is it that you're getting in your own way? Why is it that you're getting in your own way? I began untangling these questions and answers many years back, when I had health problems so severe I couldn't ignore them anymore. The physical pain, the burnout, the diagnoses were all pointing to the only person that could actually do the real work of changing what had gotten me there in the first place Me. Yet that was the last place I looked. I know now that's because I feared the answer and the emotional work that had to be done to get through it. What I found was perfecting people-pleasing and playing small as coping mechanisms for emotional pain. I stuffed so deep I thought I couldn't see it because I didn't want to. What you may find will most likely be quite different, with your own nuanced answers. What's the same with both our stories, however? Whatever it is we fear is there waiting for us, whether we are willing or not. In truth, we cause ourselves so much more pain by thinking we can ignore it. Maria has worked through this, as she shared in her story. She continues to do so occasionally, i assume, as she moves forward on her path and encounters her fears and insecurities again in a new way.

Speaker 1:

Marianne Williamson says our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves who am I to be? brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world, and as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.

Speaker 1:

As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. In my best approximation. Our soul comes to life shining bright, with innate confidence and an internal knowing of exactly why we're here. Little by little, things chip away at the knowing and confidence, until we're left with a fear and doubt we are often unaware of. It's our job, then, to do what's needed to come back to that light of our soul that's been there all along waiting for our return.

Speaker 1:

What do you need to do to get a little closer to that deepest part of yourself today, the one where other people's opinions and failure are of no concern, because in the deepest part of yourself you're knowing, you trust, that with each step in that direction you are being held and led to the next truest step along the way. Let's do that together. May you find a glimmer of that light within today, friend. May you take a quiet moment to bask in its glow, however small, and in doing so may you find that light is actually whispering to you, whispering your deepest, truest wishes and desires, the callings of long past, the ones beyond fear and doubt. In that listening, may you find the glimmers begin to grow until they become a bright beacon. You cannot help but ignore any longer. May you answer that call with one simple step toward that light today, and another and another after that, until you're well on your way down the road that's meant just for you. Much love to you, today and every day.