This story was originally published on Bold Journey. View the original article here.
Hi Adri, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?
For years, I had this inner nudge that told me I NEEDED to find my purpose. More than anything, I wanted to be of service. Not just to my community, but to the world and I was determined to find it.
At one point in time I “had it all”. I was living the American Dream. I was married, owned a house, had a stable job and was financially independent. I was grateful for everything I had but I still felt a void. I was confused, empty and trying to find that final, missing “puzzle piece” that would make me feel complete. And that’s how I came up with the name for my coaching business, Puzzled Piece.
The first step was removing everything that wasn’t working in my life and completely starting over. That meant leaving the corporate world, getting divorced and selling my house. All at once. It was the most painful thing I’ve ever experienced but I knew I had to let go in order to reset my life.
Then I eliminated all distractions. If it didn’t help me evolve, I didn’t have time for it. Toxic habits, superficial connections, watching tv… all of it had to go.
As time went on, I lost touch with friends, didn’t have any nearby colleagues to chat with, no partner and no one that truly understood what I was going through. I had to learn to be comfortable in solitude and truly appreciate my own company. That period of solitude taught me how to create my own happiness without depending on anyone else.
Once I made space in my life, I focused on becoming my best version every day through reading, watching as many videos as I could find on spirituality and participating in creative hobbies. I tried new experiences like dance classes, aerial arts classes and traveling alone.
I learned that the void that I felt all along was from neglecting my own needs and stifling my creativity and authenticity. By doing things I SHOULD do instead of things I actually WANTED to do.
I didn’t particularly want to major in marketing, I just picked it because at 18, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life.
I didn’t want to work in corporate like the rest of my friends and family. I just did it because it’s what everyone else did.
For 12 years, I had this urge to dance but was married to someone that hated dancing. And even if I wanted to try it on my own, I didn’t have the time and energy to do so.
I was exhausted most of the time because my life was a lie. I was pretending to be someone else at work to fit in or around my in-laws out of fear of being judged.
The missing puzzle piece was me all along. I learned what it meant to feel complete without anyone else and that happiness comes from within. I embraced my authenticity and uniqueness. I took myself dancing. I chose my own career path. And in doing all that, I discovered myself and my purpose.
I also have my best friend, Jessie, to thank for the idea. We have helped each other heal and grow over the years and she really inspired me to pursue this new career path.
Now I want to help others that may be going through a similar experience. I learned so much through my journey and feel inspired to share that knowledge to inspire you to grow, thrive and to find what sets your soul on fire.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
In 2021, I founded Space City Creative, my marketing consulting business. I help businesses with marketing strategy, social media management and paid advertising. While I still consider marketing to be one of my passions, I wanted to shift my focus to a more soul-aligned business. In June 2023, I earned my Life Coach Certification and founded Puzzled Piece.
As a Certified Life Coach, I help people create a road map to achieving their dream life. Often times people may have an idea of what they want but have no idea how to get there or get overwhelmed by the process and give up before they even get started.
My mission is to help you discover who you are and what you want out of life, how to overcome challenges, show up with confidence and hold you accountable for not only reaching your goals but also having fun along your journey.
After spending the majority of my life on autopilot and now finally living an intentional life, I want to help others live a life that brings them energy, joy and fulfillment.
My mission is to help you discover who you are and what you want out of life, how to overcome challenges, show up with confidence and hold you accountable for not only reaching your goals but also having fun along your journey.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Having perseverance, entrepreneurial skills and a strong work ethic contributed to my success.
There will come a time when you will want to give up. You may be doubting yourself and your abilities, or maybe the work just seems overwhelming. Always remember why you started. Was it the life you envisioned for yourself? Has this been a dream of yours for years? Whatever it may be, KEEP GOING. Take baby steps, break it up into small, manageable tasks but commit to your goal even if you hit setbacks or delays. You will eventually get there.
Launching my first business a few years ago and having a marketing background also helped with the process. For the most part, I was already familiar with what I needed to do but when I didn’t know the answer to something, I reached out to mentors at SCORE (score.org). They have a Houston location as well as various other locations throughout the United States. Their volunteers are experienced entrepreneurs, corporate managers and executives from diverse industries that offer free business advice, low-cost or free business training and other great resources. They can mentor you in accounting & finance, ecommerce, franchising, legal matters, sales, marketing and many more.
Having a strong work ethic was also crucial. I sacrificed sleep, family time and leisure time. For two months, I was working 60-hour weeks. I was working part-time on my marketing business while I spent the remainder of my time building my new business. What kept me motivated was knowing that the sacrifices, stress and pressure were only temporary, and it was all worth it for the end goal.
As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?
I’ve read many books along my self-discovery journey but the one that really stood out was The Desire Map by Danielle LaPorte. The main takeaway from the book was to focus on the core desired feelings you want to feel when you accomplish your goal instead of setting goals for what you THINK you want. Once I got clear on my core desired feelings, it made it that much easier to go through the process of elimination with everything that wasn’t in alignment with my values.
