empowering – The Woman Wednesday Blog

Q and A with Charli B., from Sydney, Australia; born and raised in Brisbane, Australia.

“We are growing in a world that is rapidly changing and open to change. It’s time, now more then ever, to start believing in yourself and creating a life you’re proud of.”

Q: What are you passionate about?

A: I’m passionate about changing the way women view the lifestyle we are trained to believe is the way of life. I don’t believe we have to go to university to get a degree to then work a 9-to-5 job we hate to survive. I believe in living—living to your worth, your passions, and doing what you love, which is why I became a business coach. [I want] to teach women that there’s more to life than the 9-5 and to help them to believe in themselves and to take a chance on themselves. I’m a 19-year-old entrepreneur who skipped university to create a life for herself and family. At 19, I was given the position of head of marketing as the marketing and engagement manager in a financial company. I also run my own successful, international business and run it all by myself. I’m not saying this to show of; I’m saying this to show you it’s possible. Trust yourself and believe in yourself enough to take a chance.

Q: What were your younger years like?

A: Four years ago, while I was in high school, my life was accompanied by loneliness and depression. Life felt so ordinary, empty, and predictable. It was mundane, and I felt unfulfilled. I started to notice the negativity I was surrounding myself with and the life I had built. I realized that I was merely surviving. I was annoyed at the world and above all, annoyed at myself. I felt alone, unwanted, and betrayed. How do all of these people have such beautiful lives, living peacefully with themselves, and I am stuck with me?

I took my frustration and self-hatred out on boys and partners, becoming obsessed with the need to have someone love me, whether it be for a night or a couple of months. I started attaching myself to guys no matter how they treated me; at least it took my attention away from having to deal with myself. But I knew there was more to life. I knew this was not what I wanted my future to look like. The idea that “this was it” made me angry. I was unwilling to settle for “this.” It led me on a path to question my life.

I was seeking advice, looking for solutions, and finding out who I was. I started back at the beginning and stripped every layer back. I looked at my root cause and every experience that had led me to where I was, and I started one after the other to work through them and accept it for what it was. I started to find and discover who I was. I become a YouTuber, a social media influencer, a model, all of which had a great impact on who I am today.

With the skills I learned from these businesses, I started to understand business and understand what makes you stand out from the rest, how social media can have a great impact on your business and influence. Not too long after, I found the personal development world where everything started to make sense, which is when I became a mindset coach. Using the skills I had learned through my own personal experience and trainings I had, I started to develop a greater understanding for how people work, how sales work, and how much of an impact our mindset has on our success. After two years of being obsessed with growth and development, I was able to allow myself to love and accept myself. I finally was able to run my own business, and do it properly…without the obsessive negative talk, mindset, and lack of self trust holding me back. In 2020, I moved from mindset coach to business coach! I developed my own strategies and systems for my business now having nailed it through my periods business, which is how I help my clients grow and develop their businesses and get constant leads and clients.

While working a full-time job and with the effects of COVID-19, I knew it was now or never. I invested $5k into my first coaching business while, living payday to payday with little than $4 left in my account each month. I was determined to give myself and my loved ones the lives they deserve, and to help my clients provide an incredible life for themselves and their families as well! The time and love you put into your business will allow you to share that with others. Self-hatred and your internal battle stops you from living. Stops you from creating what you want and living true to your passion. It keeps you in survival mode and doesn’t allow you to grow and thrive. I want to share this because I once suffered from anxiety and depression; I once lived in self-hatred and with limiting beliefs; I wasn’t an A grade student. I was able to get conquer dyslexia. And I have taken life lessons from everything I did to improve myself and utilized this to propel my business. Growing a business will test everything you have, and it’s important to have the backup support and strategies to do it right! Now, I stand here and in front of you, grateful and fulfilled, to lift and inspire you and to testify that I was once there too. Now, I have created a life for myself. I am not special or any different than you.

Q: What is something valuable you’d like others to know?

A: There is another way; life doesn’t have to be this stereotypical life cycle. We are growing in a world that is rapidly changing and open to change. It’s time, now more then ever, to start believing in yourself and creating a life you’re proud of. I spent a lot of my year stuck in a nasty, negative relationship with myself, including self-hating, putting myself down, and self-blaming, which then created the life I had. Dull, boring, depressing, unsuccessful. I was sick and tired of it. I was annoyed that ‘this was it,’ so I made a really big change and started my self-love journey. I’m very proud to say that, two years later, I have created a life I’m proud of. I love and am excited about all because I knew it stopped and started with me, my mindset, and what I focused on.

Q: What does feminism mean to you?

A: Feminism, to me, means the art of a woman understanding her power, worth, and respecting herself. I believe it’s a woman coming into her own, having that ‘I’m a boss a** b**ch’ feeling and giving herself the permission to be fully self-expressed.

Thank you for reading!

Check out my coaching biz here.

Thoughts, questions, or comments?

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*Note: Woman Wednesday is a part of our blog. Each Woman Wednesday post will feature a woman who would like to share information in the hopes of inspiring and motivating other women. Comments are welcome below.

“I wrote this book about the little things. These are the little things in life we look over day by day, although they are always there. These are the little things that got me through the storm. These are the little things I want to share with you to cheer you up when you need a friend or when you need a reminder or a little sprinkle of sunshine. If we learn to see the world differently, our days may be a little brighter. If we learn to see the good, the world becomes a better place to live.” –Leilani Romero, author of “The Little Things”

The holidays are right around the corner! Although it’s all very exciting, it can also be stressful. Sometimes, we just need to remind ourselves of the little things in life.

You may remember Leilani Romero from one of our first Woman Wednesdays! We invited her back to discuss her book (which is now published), the self-publishing process (how to publish a book), and what motivated her to create and publish this book called, “The Little Things.”

Also, we get to see a sneak peek inside her book that is exclusively being shown here (and here only)! Keep reading for more:

Pictured: Lemons in watercolor by Leilani Romero (a sneak peek inside “The Little Things”).

Q: What is “The Little Things“?

A: “The Little Things” is a collection of happy things in one book! It is a yellow pocket of all things good, and it is a reminder of happy. This little book will lift your spirits, brighten your day, cheer up your soul, and encourage kindness. With the power of positivity, the world can change… I believe, one smile at a time. Meditate on these things, and good will come.

Q: What is the self-publishing process like?

A: For those who have always wondered how the book publishing process works, it isn’t as difficult as it may seem! I have always said I wanted to publish one day, but I wasn’t sure how it would all go. Like all big projects, you have to take it one step at a time. Here are the steps that I have taken:

Write and illustrate – Get all your ideas out there (the good and bad). As for illustrations, I created those by hand using watercolors and then scanned them in to digitize.

Edit – Find a good editor who will understand your vision and trust the process. I am lucky enough to have an amazing brother (who is also a published writer) to edit my book!

Find a printer – There are so many printers to choose from these days and not all force you to print in bulk. These days, some vendors will also handle the printing (ex. Amazon or Blurb)!

Get an ISBN – Depending on the printer, this process might be included with the vendor, or you can independently purchase the ISBN on your own.

Design the book by page and format – As a designer, I designed my own in Adobe In Design, but some printers can handle the PDF creation process for you!

Print the darn thing!

Launch on a jump-starting platform – I decided to have my 30-day campaign on Indiegogo, but there are quite a few others, such as Kickstarter!

Apply to sell your book in stores, local shops, and online.

I hope this helps anyone who is interested in or considering the self-publishing route!

Pictured: “The Little Things” exclusive “sneak peek” of what can be found inside.

Q: Why did you write this book?

A: A few years back, I was seriously struggling in the world. With creativity comes frustration, self-criticism, and heartbreak. Behind all the glitter-covered castles I built, were often anxious times that included 3:00 AM tears pouring down (that hard work and dedication brought along with them). Without these, there would be no success, growth, or marvelous magic. Fittingly so, I created this book at the end of college, not only as a project but as a suitable end to an era. In life, there’s good little things and bad little things. And these can pile up. These good little things may be some that are taken for granted. Truth be told, in life, we never know what others are going through. I, for one, am a bubbly soul by nature, and because of this, I have often times felt the expectation or burden to always appear so. The reality is that we all have our good days and gray ones too. And that’s okay.

I wrote this book about the little things. This book is about the little things in life we look over day by day, although they are always there. These are the little things that got me through the storm. These are the little things I want to share with you. To cheer you up when you need a friend or when you need a reminder or a little sprinkle of sunshine. The good is so much bigger than the bad.

I took great care to hand paint and illustrate and write all 64 pages. 64 pages of beauty, 64 pages of good. These are pages created to promote mindfulness and good mental health. These pages are meant to remind you of the small parts of your day that can make a huge difference in your quality of life –the genuine and the wonderful. These pages, I created, with the purpose of making others happy.

If we learn to see the world differently, our days may be a little brighter. If we learn to see the good, the world becomes a better place to live.

Pictured: Sunflower watercolor painting, a sneak peek inside “The Little Things,” by Leilani Romero.

Q: What would you like others to learn from your story?

A: Our day-to-day lives are full of little things. Unfortunately, research and personal experience have shown that we tend to fixate on the negatives and brush small positivities to the side.

My goal when hand-painting and writing this 64-page book was to collect reminders of all the little soul-filling, uplifting, and encouraging moments – the little things – that we may take for granted. Whether you turn to any page or flip through over time, “The Little Things” makes the perfect bedside or coffee table book to pick up throughout the day. Once I have enough funding, I will be able to get this book into local stores and online shops (like Barnes & Noble). A successful first book will allow me to continue to write new books and pursue my dreams of illustration.

Pictured: “The Little Things” exclusive “sneak peek” of what can be found inside.

Tag: empowering

Woman Wednesday: Charli B.

Woman Wednesday: Leilani & The Little Things