From Corporate Law to Creative Entrepreneur w/ The Wayfaress Founder Alexandra Saper

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Welcome back to The Wanderlover Podcast, this week we are giving you all the vibes of breaking traditional molds!

I’m so excited to introduce you our special guest, Alexandra Saper, who left her prestigious law career and bought a one-way ticket to Bali. She has since built a thriving blogging and content creation business and owns her own clothing label, Sendiri. Welcome to the show, Alex!

Alexandra: So happy to be able to chat with you.

Danielle: We are actually in Alex’s room in Bali. It’s awesome that you were able to start this life. We’re literally looking out at her pool in her villa and she lives in Bali. You’ve been here for the past three years?

Alexandra: Three years from last week was like my anniversary, Bali-versary.

Danielle: A happy Bali anniversary! And how has it been?

Alexandra’s Story

Alexandra: Wow. Well, I mean the three years I’ve been here, I’ve been wild. The first couple years was just like getting my bearings. And I, like he said, I left my law career and just decided to come to Bali and try to figure out what to do next. Like, I didn’t really know what to do. So it was just sort of like settling in and figuring out what I wanted to do for business and creatively and traveling time. And then obviously the last year and a half, I’ve just been sort of quarantine and locked down in Bali. I haven’t left Indonesia in that long. So it’s been a totally like, it’s been like a 180 from the years prior, for sure.

Danielle: And I’d like to backtrack a little because you did start climbing the corporate ladder, right? Like I assumed you graduated from university and then entered corporate America.

Alexandra: I graduated at university and then actually went into mental health. That’s when I thought I wanted to do psychology. So I worked at a mental health facility with seriously mentally ill patients. And it was really heartbreaking for me. Like I thought I loved learning about this stuff in school and I thought I wanted to practice it, but it was really hard. So I ended up going to law school after that. So then I was in law school for three years. And then after way to the corporate America world working at like a major international law firm.

Danielle: Wow I actually had no idea and it’s really surprising to me because I feel like you’ve pivoted so many times. Your life now probably so different than what you were experiencing in your corporate career. Even before that, like working with mental health patients, how have you decided which new direction to pursue? Is it through your intuition, through what opportunities were available to you?

Alexandra: Such a good question. I’ve never actually really thought about it because it’s rare that it’s like a very like concrete black and white decision in front of you that you like have to decide, okay, this is what I’m going to do next. It’s sort of like just three, like slow little choices over time. You end up sort of shifting in a different direction. Obviously like one very big decision I made was leaving my law career, buying that one way ticket to volume moving here. And that was because I really just got to a point where I couldn’t do it anymore, but for, I guess, backtracking to like wanting to do mental health, you know, I got out of university and worked in this facility and it just, wasn’t what I thought it would be.

I just, I, it wasn’t fulfilling. It was more kind of like discouraging. And I just didn’t see myself really doing that forever. And I didn’t really know what to do next. And so I was kinda tell this story about how I got into law school, which was like, my parents were like, maybe you should consider this. And I was like, well, I’ll study for the LSAT, but I’m not going to take it. And so then I studied and then I was like, well, we’ll just take, but that doesn’t mean I’m applying to law school. Then I was like, well, I’ll apply, but it doesn’t mean I’m going to actually go anywhere. And then next thing I know I’m enrolled in, you know, law school.

And it wasn’t really like a deliberate decision. And honestly, I think that was, I wouldn’t say a mistake because it’s something I really learned from, and I wouldn’t really change my path, but, but I don’t think I really took the time to be intentional about figuring out like what actually drives me. What are my values? What do I want in life? And if I had been really honest with myself back then it wouldn’t have been law school. And I think I also could have been honest about like the things that were holding me back from what I really deep down wanted to do, which a lot of fear, a lot of insecurity. Yeah. I didn’t know anybody that had made like a creative business happen.

It wasn’t common back then. And so I’m just sort of ended up doing what doors, like falling with doors open, but it wasn’t actually a very intentional on that. Wasn’t awesome, but I was really young.

Danielle: I feel like when you don’t have the influences and the experiences that you have now, so you can retroactively look back and think, wow, I wasn’t intentional. But now with your creative business, with all of your content, everything has heart and soul behind it. And your audience feels that. So maybe like you wouldn’t have gotten to this point today, had you not look back and been like, wow, that was unfulfilling.

Alexandra: Absolutely. And that’s why I say I wouldn’t change it at all. Like, it’s part of my story. And it’s like, I think it connects with a lot of people, but one thing I would, you know, if I had a child or like somebody that was looking for advice going into that, like to just be so honest about what it is that actually drives you and gives you passion because you can squash that for awhile and live the rest of your life, doing something that’s like stable and secure. And if that’s, if that makes you happy, then that’s great. But for a lot of us, it won’t just keep nagging at you. And that’s eventually what happened until I was like, I can not do one more day at this cloth.

Danielle: Yeah. I bet that was scary too, of our listeners. Maybe they’re either just starting out with entrepreneurship or maybe they’re still like stuck in jobs they hate, but it’s scary not knowing what the future holds. Right. You worked so hard to get to that certain point. So for you, it was like after years of studying and applying the thought of leaving that all behind to start something new. I bet it took a lot of courage.

Alexandra: Yeah. I think actually the scariest part for me was like, I had really kind of, what I realized is I had wrapped at my identity in my profession so much, it was impressive and stable and I looked smart and powerful or whatever. I had this law degree and leaving all of that to kind of go, try to start a business on Instagram. Like what does that even mean to everyone else? Like the dumbest decision ever.

She’s lost your mind. I mean, even my parents were so supportive upfront and I know to each other, they were scared out of their minds that their daughter was like throwing her career away. But, but actually it was really powerful because I mean, my, my parents were encouraging me to consider other types of law and things like that. But through that process of me selling everything, deciding I was going to make this move, buying the ticket, getting to Bali, actually had some conversations with my dad where he was like, you know, I never really knew what my dreams were and, and I chose like a stable and secure path for myself.

And I’m not sure that’s what I really want for you. And, and he’s ever since like, he’s my biggest fan. I know my mom too. And they’re just like, we are so proud of you for following your dreams. And, and we would never want for you to just be stuck in something you hated that wasn’t authentic to you.

Moving to Bali

Danielle: So after deciding that you wanted to leave law, why Bali? What was on your mind at that point?

Alexandra: I guess it was November of 2017. I came to Bali for like a women’s travel blogging workshop kind of thing. It was through the blog or Instagram account and blog We Are Travel Girls by Becky van Dyke. And I’m really good friends now, but I don’t even, it’s funny. I don’t even remember signing up for their newsletter. I don’t remember ever getting something from their newsletter, but I was really getting to the end of my rope with the law firm. And I got this email in my inbox one day that was like retreat to Bali. And it was like, take some of these classes, is there a as our workshop? And it was like starting an online business that you love and are passionate about and like leaving the corporate world.

It is like all these lists of different like workshops that are going to be teaching. And I was like, oh my gosh, this is what I want and what I need. And work was a little bit slow at the time at the firm. So it was pretty easy for me to just jump over and do that and just bring my computer along. And it just clicked. Like I loved it. I loved the energy and the scenery and the food and the people, and it just felt like home. So it was the next, at the start of the next year, just a few months later that I was doing another little trip around Southeast Asia. And it was on that trip. That, I mean, right before the trip, really, I decided I couldn’t be at my firm anymore.

I was going to leave. And while I was on that trip, I decided to extend it and hopped over to Bali at the end. And it was when I was here back in Bali that I was like, I’m, I’m gonna move here. I don’t really know what I’m going to do. I just know I have to try to make something work. I think that workshop I did the retreat in Bali made me realize, oh, like these creative passions don’t have to just be side hustles or hobbies. When people actually make this work as a business, I can make this work as a business.

So then it was the second time I came to Bali just a few months later that it was like that workshop. It really expanded what you thought was possible. And seeing it in front of you being surrounded by all of these entrepreneurs, it makes you realize like I can do it too. And this is what I want to do.

And if you’ve never been around that, and I never was like, I didn’t know anybody that was like that. I knew brilliant creative people. And I was living and working in DC with some just super inspiring people. But they weren’t people that were traveling the world and starting digital businesses or creative entrepreneurs, digital nomads, like I just didn’t know anybody that was doing that.

Danielle: And how cool is it that to this community, you can like voice your goals and feel truly understood and accepted. Right? You don’t have to explain yourself to be like, well, this is how I’m saving for retirement.

Alexandra: Yeah. Like the it’s almost like the more wild and bizarre your ideas. The more people just kind of get it here. It’s amazing. Like you’re just constantly talking with people that believe that their dreams are possible and they’re connected with resources or finding resources to make it happen. And it’s just, it’s such a cool community out here.

Sendiri The Label

Danielle: I’d love to hear about how you came up with your newest clothing line and your new collections. So I bet back in corporate or back when you first graduated university, you probably never would have thought that you’d start your own clothing label?

Alexandra: Actually, I did, like before we went to university, I wanted to go to fashion design school. I also wanted to be a journalist. It’s like all kind of coming together and I wanted to be counseling. So yeah. I wanted to go to fashion design school. I would make my own clothes and a sewing machine. I was obsessed with project runway. I made my prom dresses.

And I love it areas of my life that never became or never were, but, but now they’re becoming now they’re becoming. Yeah. So I was something I always wanted to do it. And I wanted to go to fashion design school and my parents were gonna try to, they’re going to help me with college. But they were like, we’re not doing that.

And that’s fair, I guess, looking back, but I’m glad I went to university, but, but yeah, it’s pretty cool that it’s coming around to that in a way I really didn’t expect it to actually sending label came about at the end of last year, 2020, after a really hard experience, I went through a pretty traumatic experience and processing that with girlfriends. It just made me realize how many times in my life and, and my girlfriends too, how many times in our lives we’d really like made our voices small and felt small and felt insignificant because of the actions or words of people in our lives, whether they were friends, parents, boyfriends, pastors, teachers, bosses, and I’d had so many of these stories and heard so many of these stories from other women and it broke my heart.

And it actually came from this really funny conversation I had with a friend. I was sobbing at her kitchen table about this time that actually a pastor from an old church that I went to, I had come out of a really hard situation and had really opened up about it. And the pastor told me at one point, like he was concerned when he first met me because he thought I was a magnet for trouble. And that broke my heart, the words he said, it made me feel so messy and broken, and that there’s something wrong with me. I told that to my friend and she just started crying, walking up and she was like, that’s amazing.

I would love to be a magnet for trouble. And it just made me think like, oh, we can read rewrite these stories in our head. Like we’ve decided that these labels or these identities that people have placed on us, our negatives, because they’ve decided their negatives.

What if instead we decide this is awesome about me. I love this. I love that. I’m passionate. I love that I can sometimes get into trouble because I’m taking risks and I’m putting my heart out there. And so then it became this idea of just, I dunno, putting it onto shirts and like finding a way to just like in give women the voice and the empowerment to embrace the things that maybe they once were trying to hide and they thought was wrong about them, but actually is so beautiful about them.

They’re ambitious that they have opinions that they’re passionate, that they’re driven all these things. So that was the first Sendiri The Label. It was sort of a creative outlet in a way of me to work through that kind of traumatic experience and process. A lot of the other experiences I’d had for my past. And then the recent collection was kind of even a shift from that. So I feel like the star of the collection was really just me trying to have a creative outlet and get other women along on this, this journey. And it did come from a place of a bit of frustration and anger. And, and finally I worked through that and I was like, actually I want secondary label to be a place of celebration and joy.

And maybe I want it to be light and still inspiring and challenging, but, but I want it to be beautiful and joyful. So the new collection actually came from a creative adventure. I had learning how to make Lino cuts, which is linoleum. And you carved out a design in it, and then you can use that to make a stamp. So I started making these lineup cuts that I designed sort of depicting like women from history, either like mythological history or real history that I think embodied some like virtues of womanhood that were just wonderful that I wanted to celebrate.

So I made these lineup cuts and, and they’re part of the new collection. So they’re on each of the shirts. We have four shirts right now. And my big goal in this was to not cut any corners is sustainability. So it’s all 100% organic cotton. And after doing so much research on fabrics and, you know, kind of greenwashing of the fashion industry fabrics that are marketed as eco-friendly, but really they’re chemical treated and destructive. So organic cotton is like really one of the best ways to go. So we’ve done organic cotton and everything is dyed with local Bali plants and fruits.

So the colors we’ve got are all natural and sustainable with no waste.

Danielle: Yeah. The colors are beautiful.

Alexandra: I love the called Moroccan clay. And it’s kind of like this terracotta color. Yeah. And so each shirt kind of symbolizes something different that we want to celebrate about women, whether it’s their creative nurturing spirit or their like adventurous, independent spirit or, or something like that.

Danielle: And I love the name Sendiri. What does it mean?

Alexnadra: So it means actually it means alone in Bahasa, Indonesia and the Indonesian language, but it can be used and kind of manipulated the word can be kind of like manipulated or used in different contexts to actually mean rather than meaning alone. It means so low or independent or cell phone ownership. And I loved that because again, alone is something I’m single, I’ve been single for, you know, a lot of my adult life. And it’s something like this idea of being alone. I remember always traveling alone and people thinking that must be sad or that was being lonely. And it’s again, just like taking this word that some people have decided as a negative and turning it and being like, I love who I am.

I love being in my company. I love, you know, that sort of freedom I have and the joy I can have with just myself. So again, yeah, just sort of like taking a word that could be negative and turning it into something positive that we can celebrate.

Danielle: Yeah. I love that because I feel like it’s a recurring theme, not only in your label, but in your life. So like you’ve struggled and you’ve gone through these chapters where you were reaching your end and it’s through all of those lowest of the lows where you had this beautiful rebirth and found your power. So like your life story is connected and so integrated with your line and everything that you’re doing.

Focus On The Positive

Alexandra: Thank you. I really try for it to be, I’m a big believer in like storytelling. And so I look back on all these twists and turns and I really do see like a purpose and this kind of like theme that you’ve kind of just described. And, and so it’s kind of beautiful to see new things fit into that story as well.

Danielle: Sometimes in the moment it’s hard. I bet that’s like what a lot of people experience, they don’t know what they’re working on. They feel unfulfilled, they feel lost and they don’t see. And oftentimes, like, I don’t either when I’m struggling on the other side, like what is to come, right?

Because it’s just so outside of your frame of reference and you need to go through all of those lows to experience on the flip side, the highest of the highs, but in those moments, what do you say to yourself? Like, do you just let go and it out and be cathartic? How do you get yourself through those times?

Alexandra: Oh, it’s so hard even. I mean, like you said, even we still have moments where we feel lost and confused. Now we don’t know where we’re going or what it’s going to look like. And no one has any idea what it’s going to look like. No one predicted the last year. And so I guess, even in the moments of those lows and that fear and uncertainty, like remembering that I’m not alone in that feeling, remembering that the people I look up to also have this feeling that people that have walked beside me, my friends, the people who follow me on Instagram, who are so kind to open up about their experiences. Like we’re all kind of struggling with the same thing.

So you know that you’re not off base, you know, that like, it’s not like you just screwed it up so badly because for some reason we’re all kind of walking through this journey together at our own pace. So that is helpful. I definitely cry it out. And I have moments where I just send like a couple days, like binge watching Netflix, just letting myself feel, which I think is super important to not be like stifling and bearing feelings. And I’m really grateful that I have some absolutely amazing people in my life who, including my parents and some friends who, when I feel this way, they know they’re going to speak life into me.

They’re going to remind me of all the things I’ve gone through in the past that were crucial to putting me where I am now and, and the things in my past that were so awful that if I could go back and do it differently, I wouldn’t now because I see that I wouldn’t be where I am now, if it weren’t for them. So remembering that it can be helpful to write out a story. I’ve done that before I once worked out with, worked with somebody who actually wrote, helped me do like a timeline of my whole life. And you get to see like these turning points and it looks beautiful. Like you get to see like, wow, this is a beautiful story. All these turning points the hard times, especially, and, and you just kind of let every new hurdle you approach and get to trusting, trusting that it’s going to fit into that story.

Danielle: And none of the hard parts last forever. Right. So like, looking back on your story, you have ups and downs, but it’s not like a constant load. There’s always the equal and opposite. And do you feel like you have more insight on that now when you’re going through your life experiences? Like, how has your mindset shifted from, you know, 10 years ago when you were kind of still trying to figure out what you wanted to do and now like facing maybe similar dilemmas, but having the wisdom to know that it’s all for the best.

Alexandra: Yeah. So I would wish I could, like, I always have that perspective now when I’m going there, I, things I just recently went through a breakup and I was sure I was never going to be happy ever again, like I was sure I was going to feel that way, that darkness and AME forever. Like I literally couldn’t even imagine what it would feel like to be happy again. And as ridiculous as that sounds, that’s what part it can do. That’s what grief can do. I, so I think it less about having the perspective shift in that moment about knowing that it’s going to be okay, because I really didn’t honestly, and more about what I know about myself that, and this was an act of self-love, which I’m not sure I could have recognized right at the time, but, but I knew what I needed to do to keep moving forward.

So for me, that looked like I’m going to still go to the gym every day because it feels good because I’m punishing myself. But I know, I feel good for those like 30 minutes, even if it’s just 30 minutes, I know I feel good. And then I’ll cry again after, but like, I’m going to do it. I’m going to show up. I feel strong when I feel physically strong. I can feel a bit more mentally strong where I’m going to meditate. I don’t want to, I don’t feel like it, but I know it’s good for me. I’m going to eat healthy. I’m going to start, you know, doing breath work because that’s, I mean, I haven’t been doing breath work, but doing it more regularly because I know that’s helping me heal in a genuine way, rather than just like stifling everything and walking past it, I’m going to get to the bottom of this.

I’m going to heal from this. I’m going to make myself stronger and better and more wise so that I don’t make the same mistakes. Again. I started working with a life coach, you know, so it was just, it was less about even, it was more about taking the steps before my mind and heart had caught up to it because my mind and heart hadn’t, I thought I was going to be sad for the rest of my life. And I still was like, I’m going to make these choices anyway, because I know I need to myself.

Danielle: It’s so powerful to prioritize yourself and your needs above all else about above your feelings doing what’s uncomfortable at the moment, but knowing it’s for the best for yourself.

Alexandra: Yes. And that’s so interesting that you said like above your feelings, because I’m so passionate about getting people to really feel what they’re feeling in a nonjudgmental way. Like, it can be so hard to be, you know, in relationship with somebody who has really shut down their feelings and then, and then really wants you to do the same, to make things just easier and more comfortable. And I’m just not that person. And I never want to be that person, but our feelings can sometimes end up telling us lies about what we should do to cope with those feelings or what it means for us, the significance of it.

And so like, feel all the feelings, but also keep doing the steps that you need to be doing. You know, like a way that even if your feelings are telling you, otherwise, you know this good for you and you know, this is an act of self-love and self-care so like, they can both exist at the same time.

And I think it’s hard. Like for me personally, even the thought of going to the gym, when I’m going through a heartbreak, that just seems impossible.

For me, it was like the thought of going to like socialize was hard. I couldn’t go to dinners with people, especially couples and things like that. So like, for some people, some things are easier for them when they’re struggling than others. For me, it was something that helped me get out of my head, which is all I wanted. Right. You just want to stop thinking for like half an hour. And I know it makes me feel physically strong and that makes me feel good about myself. And that’s what I needed in that moment.

But if that’s not what it is for you, then find something else. Maybe it’s creating. I know for a lot of people that got really into gardening during a breakup and just like decorating their house, ceramics where you get into your hands and you’re touching something or whatever it is, go volunteer at an animal shelter. Like it was just something to do that, you know, this is good for your heart. You know, this is good to kind of get you out of your spiraling thoughts and into your body and you just taking care of yourself.

Danielle: And I think ultimately to give yourself grace, when you are going through tough times, like go with whatever makes you feel dumb. There’s no cookie cutter road. Right. But above all else, make sure that you are taking care of yourself and prioritizing yourself above everything that’s going on around you.

Prioritize Self Care

Alexandra: Yeah. It’s the best thing you can do for yourself. And you’re feeling heartbroken too, or like even like anger or something, because you can kind of turn it around and be like, I’ll show you. I think, you know, I’m going to take such good care of myself. I’m going to love myself. So freaking hard that like, it’s almost this kind of like, I’ll show you, but really what you’re doing is, is you’re taking care of yourself and you’re prioritizing yourself and you’re going to come out on the other end feeling. So freaking glad that you did that. And the future, you, I always try to think about the future. What would the future Alexander want right now? And I can tell you, like, even just a month out of this, like brief, you know, it fades.

And I’m so glad I made these decisions and I feel so much more joyful and free and easeful and actually excited about my life now, because of all this work, I’ve just invested in myself for the last month. So it’s awesome. And at the same time feel what you’re feeling and grieve and sit in bed and watch Netflix, if you need to and cry a lot and, and have compassion on yourself, because if you don’t feel it now, it’s going to come out and really destructive ways later, it’s going to impact your health.

Danielle: And it sounds like, like a month out, you know, you’re already starting to move on to the next chapter. And historically, you’ve gone through so many tough times and you’ve come out stronger with new ideas, with new creations and you need to go through that. It’s hard, but you’ll get through it.

Alexandra: Yeah. It’s so hard. You don’t want to admit it at the time. But like, and I had so many friends that were like, but Alexandria remember like all the other hard things you went through and you got through that and look at what you learned from it and in the moment. And like, but I don’t want to learn anymore.

And universe just leave me alone. I’m done growing

For like a minute. But, but now, I mean, I would have never thought like a month ago that I would be like sitting here smiling and laughing and feeling so excited about life. But, but I did, like, I am glad that, you know, I, whatever had to happen to like push me and shift me into this new season, I’m glad it happened.

Everything Happens For a Reason

Danielle: And it’s also so crazy, because when I first met Alex, this was two years ago, you had just gotten like to volley and you were maybe living a completely different life. But I also remember you had gotten into a bike accident as soon as you got to the island.

And now fast forward two, three years. And you’re still here and making the most out of your experience. And so I love how seeing, no matter what life throws at you, you like push through it. You’re still here. You created such beautiful businesses and you’re not letting all of those experiences bring you down.

Alexandra: And I think that’s the power of the story, you know, like, because I’m someone who kind of, I guess maybe I even romanticize the story, but so you have to keep pushing forward and no story just ends in the middle. So like I have to keep trying to write it in this poetic way and it does help me get through it. I mean the bike accident is one of those is one of those parts of the story. I actually wrote a blog post on it. I actually, that was the fourth in a month. I had four bike accidents, which, you know, that’s my fault. But, but they were like an increasing severity until the final one.

I got T-boned by a truck and broke my wrist and ended up in the hospital here in Bali for a week and on my birthday. So I have a bunch of metal pins in my wrist, but, but I wrote a blog post on that. And I mean, that was, I had been on the wrong path.

But it was like, I was just kept getting knocked down to try to get my attention, try to get my attention. And then finally for the accident when I was in bed rest for a week and couldn’t do anything, couldn’t watch TV. Cause it hurt my head cause the big killers. But my friends had given me this book for my birthday and it was all I could think to do to kill time, was to read that book and it changed my life and it made me really realize I needed to take control of my life and make some big changes and get in touch with my values again and start really taking ownership of things.

Danielle: What book?

Alexandra: Girl, Wash Your Face. If that hadn’t happened at the accident hadn’t happened, I like shattered to think of where I’d be right now I needed.

And I’m so glad it happened. So we all have those stories. Maybe you haven’t really like looked back and like saw on them or found the meeting in them or spent time really like writing the poetic story about it. Do it like be really dramatic and write a dramatic, poetic story about how you had your hero’s journey through that crappy event. And you’ll see it. And we all have these little turns in our lives and the more you can identify it and see it for what it is and then celebrate it the easier it is going to be to do it again later on.

Danielle: Yeah. And reflecting on the highs and the lows through reflection and through journaling, you know, you make more intentional decisions with your current and present actions so that they’re aligned to make you the happiest.

Alexandra: Right. And how often do you see people going through the same actions and the same repetitions of things that don’t make them happy? And ultimately it’s like up to you to decide this isn’t serving me. I don’t have room for this in my life. And I’m going to take new actions to make me a happier person. So just bringing it all together, you know, giving yourself grace also realizing that what you’re going through is a necessary chapter for your future.

Danielle: And also being super aware of the things that fill you up that fill your cup, finding your community, all of these things that you’ve gone through, all of these steps are necessary. And through all the chapters you are now living who you are meant to be.

Alexandra: Thanks. Yeah, you too. Like, it’s so empowering to watch you take that, like all these steps and like how you, like you left corporate America and then you started doing the creative travel work. And now you’ve kind of like brought it full circle and helping people create their own businesses. And again, like you can’t say, oh, I made a mistake going into business or something. A mistake spending that time in corporate America, because it’s part of that story.

Live Your Truth and Find Your Community

Danielle: Exactly I’m meeting people like you. Like, that’s what I love. Like when you were living your truth, you connect with people who just get you. And you attract what, who you are. You attract the community that resonates with you on the same path. And so once you really figure out what you want to be doing, who you want to be surrounding yourself with it all comes together.

Alexandra: Yes. It’s so important. Like when, like you said, the more you’re tapped into like your authentic self. I don’t know if that sounds cliche, but like I really mean it. The more you attract other people who are, and the more you can see through other people’s bullshit and you just kind of are like, you know, but I don’t think that’s a bad person, but I’m just not going to really like spend my energy on that. That’s so important. Like we don’t, we underestimate how much influence people have in our lives when we spend time with them. And if you’re finding yourself feeling stocked, discouraged, judged, maybe you’re judging other people a lot. Maybe there’s a lot of gossip around you. You’re nervous about other people’s opinions. You’re scared to make the next step because you might fail.

What will people think? There’s a good chance you’re surrounding yourself with the wrong people. There’s a good chance. You’re surrounding yourself with people that are judgmental and that’s making you fearful and holding you back. Or maybe there’s people that aren’t taking control of their lives. And so you forgotten what it looks like to do that. So yeah. It’s so important to be around people that are reminding you of how important it is to take control of your life. Make good choices for sure.

Danielle: Your outside world is a direct reflection of your inner world. And so yeah, a lot of times you really need to self-assess because it’s also really easy to just be like pointing fingers, but a lot of times it’s starting with yourself, treating yourself, right. And realizing that you have the power to change your thoughts, to change your actions and to change your life.

Alexandra: Yeah. And to change a lot of your circumstances too. Yeah. You really do. It’s can be super scary, but I’m sure we’ve both gotten lots of messages from people that are like, I would love to do what you do, but I can’t because of X, Y, Z. And we’re like, well, we had those exact same factors, but we still did it. And there was nothing inherently different or special about us. We just made the choice to do it and to figure it out. And I think probably because our passions were so strong that we couldn’t really deny them.

But yeah. I mean, if you don’t have a community that’s like really also showing you what it looks like to self-assess and be honest with yourself and work on yourself and make changes.

Then there’s podcasts out there. Like this one there’s books. There’s lots of ways you can, you can hear those messages, even if it’s not in your immediate circle and we’re out there, you know, your community is out there. Even if they’re not there in your day-to-day life, like go online, go on Facebook groups connects with people.

Danielle: This was an amazing episode. Do you have any other last words for our listeners?

Alexandra: No, not really. I’m just so glad you’re back in Dani! People that constantly inspire me. Joy is contagious. It is so inspiring to see like what you’ve created, how hard you work and how you’ve used, like your super diverse skillset to create something that’s meaningful and helping others.

Danielle: Thank you. And it’s like such an honor to feature people like you on this podcast. It was a pleasure having you on the show!

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