Client Case Study Dariya Souza - When I Grow Up

Client Case Study Dariya Souza - When I Grow Up Um, do you know that I’ve coached hundreds of women since I started offering dream career guidance in 2008? And that these women are freakin’ rock stars, leaving soul-sucking jobs and traveling the world and launching creative, grown-up businesses and simply doing work that fits their lifestyle goals? Well ya do now â€" and you’ll hear their stories firsthand in my Client Case Studies series! Dariya Souza is one of those old souls whose warmth, words and wisdom feels like a big hug even when youre not in the same room. Her business is new, but her Fully Full Playshop is something so needed and desired in the world of overwhelmed, out-of-touch women. Im so proud to introduce you to her unique, lyrical voice. Why did you decide to work with a creative career coach? I still see it clearly: I’m halfway through college, everyone’s complaining about the economy, my family’s telling me to get a useful/stable career, I dream of having a pet rat but can’t afford it, so I start thinking: it’s the perfect time to find my thing. Yes please, add more uncertainty to the pile. And freedom. And disappointing well-meaning adults along the way. It’s a Gemini thing, or a creative person thing, or a worldwide-soul-searching thing. It’s beautiful, people doing their thing, listening to their soul. My situation (above) wasn’t looking good, I was scheduled for unhelpful meetings with my Vampire Voices/inner critic/Resistance almost daily, and I wasn’t about to spend another month/year/lifetime feeling like I wasn’t living fully. This community knows the feels. Around then Michelle started taking clients again, and it felt like a lil divine wink. Love those. What were you doing work-wise when we started our sessions? I was mostly studenting, but did a little copyediting/translating on the side, mostly for family and friends of family. Shortly after starting with Michelle, I went through a couple part-time jobs, sticking with the coffee barista one the longest. It’s amazing how much service jobs could teach me about business. Like, ahem, getting bigger boundaries, knowing who wants a cappuccino and who wants a hug, etc. What was your biggest takeaway from our work together? There’s space for all of us in the creative biz world. When we’re being soulful. Each of us can help others doing what nobody else can and, so, resonate with our people/tribewhen we show up with vulnerability and soul (also playfulness, love, and truth for me). My baby biz has gone through so many changes already, getting closer to my thing, what I’m supposed to be doing. Maybe it’ll keep changing, too. That’s cool, I’m here for a lifetime. What would you tell someone now that was in your shoes when we first started working together? Whats your best tip to allow them to make a grown-up living doing what they love? Dear Craving-a-Grown-Up-Living-Doing-What-I-Love, Rest when you want to. Not numb out. Take a breather from doing/learning/rushing so much you can’t even hear your soul. Declutter, unsubscribe, delete your To Read bookmarks folder, leave somewhere for 10 days, daydream for as long as you want, meditate longer than you thought you could. Dance. Shakeshakeshake. Release. Purge it out. Anything that helps. Then, you’ll have space for the good stuff. For me, it’s magic because decision-making gets easy, I start feeling like I’m doing it rightand then this gets really fun. And, let me tell you, this is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done and the most fun. Something about expressing my soul, being creative, or living soulfully, I guess. Much Love, Feeling-It (P.S. You got this.) If you have your own biz, whats on the horizon for your business? Wed love to hear about any upcoming offerings or goals! So, the advice above helped me so much I made a course for it. It’s an online workshop I love calling playshop, on leaving the self-helpy world for a minute (well, 4 weeks) to pause, discover more of who you are, and infuse it back into your everyday life. I’m also super excited about doing a webinar on expressive art â€" drawing to express feels and release, instead of how many likes will I get? Different intentions, different experience. This’ll be a taste of the playshop + it’s just fun making art more intuitively.