Boss Up! Learning as You Go w/ Goddess Adina

Personal Freedom and Leadership

The better I connect with myself, the more control I feel over my body and my life, which opens doors. I also recognize that I’m really just starting, even if it feels like I’ve been “starting” for a while.

We grew up in this broken system that taught us this one process of how to succeed. But it’s oppressive and restrictive, especially for an artist. I had to learn to navigate by different rules, both socially and professionally. It’s a hustle but instead of doing just anything, you have to consider branding and image still. It’s not just about doing whatever you can to make money, bouncing from place to place—I mean, it is, but in order to build or apply a skill set. Find the links in whatever you’re doing and that will lead to new industries and opportunities. But people get crippled by the shift and caught up chasing money.

I think we get afraid or don’t even know to ask the right questions. That's a barrier. It stops us.

In adapting to this, I learned to be flexible and open to change. With yoga, I gained perspective. I always liked moving my body but instead of trying to maintain a size, I began to use it more creatively, in a way that better served me. With movement, I improve, I grow and I change—that’s my freedom.

And I use it to my advantage. Before, I didn’t feel like I fit anywhere. Now, just when you start thinking of me one way and expecting something from me, in that same second, that same thought, I’ll switch and have you seeing me a different way. Because that way, no one can put me on a pedestal and no one can put me in a box.

Needing Time and Trying

I graduated with a bachelor’s in psychology and a minor in business from a school in Nashville. I did go to corporate America, it's what I wanted at the time, and I was fortunate.

They looked after me, I got time off, no questions asked when my father passed away, it worked out great. But I was miserable. After fulfilling the bare minimum of my contract, I left and incidentally, came back a year later to teach some of my former co-workers. Graduate school gave me time and helped me realize that the path I was on, wasn’t what I wanted. And it has really been trial and error since then.

I’ve started businesses, stopped businesses. Started jobs, left jobs. I was a gymnast for most of my childhood and I went to teach kids, these adorable 3 and 4-year olds, the very basics of gymnastics. Because I still needed more time to figure out what the hell I was going to do. Now, at least I know what I don’t want.

Money

I just want to connect with people. To help. I’ve always said, I want to make a living living. I had to know what things I would have to do: eat, live somewhere, pay certain bills, etc. Then figure out how much all those things would cost and then how I was going to make that money. Because in order to travel to these different countries, meet different people who are experiencing a situation that they can’t escape from—or they feel like they can’t escape from because they lack resources or awareness. To get to do all the things, to help all the people, I need money.

So, the sacrifices come. But be patient and be smart. Make connections and then work those relationships. Money is an obstacle but it motivates you to find a way.

Doing It Your Way

I think a lot of people in our generation are more than willing to take the risk. I saw a video of someone who recently moved to New York with a camera and like $4 in his pocket. He was living in his car, planning to take some pictures and make something happen, just in order to survive and make it to the next day/moment. I think that’s the difference between our generation and others. We are willing to take the risk for what we are passionate about. Even if that means a lack of luxury. I mean, I want to travel and eat exquisite food and take all the pictures but my goal is to connect with people. I can only do that by being as authentically myself as possible and this allows me to get there on my own terms.

Risky Business

I love my sexuality and my sensuality. Sexuality, yoga they are all linked for me. Operating in the business world, I do understand that image and branding is important.

It’s about finding yourself somewhere between creating for an audience and doing whateverthe f*ck I want.

If someone sees my website and then looks at my more revealing Instagram and is turned off by it, so what? All I can do is be authentic to myself. I was a video vixen last night in a music video. I did some postures, some acrobatics and people loved it. It’s these spaces, where some of the most masculine guys go, where I get the most love. People who you may assume would objectify me, come up and ask me how I have such focus and control. How I learned to move my body that way?

Whether they recognize it or not, they are experiencing something more than the movement. Something spiritual, something sacred. So yes, there can be twerking and rapping about hoes and drugs. In those same spaces, all of the pieces, the poetry, yoga, music--it’s art. People connect to that and I find that I end up acting as a bridge. Bringing awareness to people who may have never been exposed to that kind of art experience before. And helping people find a new perspective, looking beyond what's on the surface.

Also, I'm just being free with the form. Yoga is not only in yoga studios. You get taught to see yoga in everything and apply it everywhere. And maybe I can make the same impact by doing things a different way, but that’s not what I’m doing now. I’m just doing what suits me.

Working With Others

It’s important that we are individuals. We work differently and have our own projects so, even without an “us”, there is somewhere to move on to. Communication is crucial. Even though we work together, taking the time away from business where it is just us, as humans, and we check in, away from Instagram and planning and rehearsing. Where we can look each other eye to eye and say “How are you? How is your heart? How do you feel? How do I feel? Do we still feel the same about this or that?” And that’s it. We change or adjust and keep it moving, back to work. And we do that sometimes every 4 hours. It just depends. Sometimes all I want is a hug and I’m fine. But it’s being able to understand: this is what I feel, this is where I am, this is what I need right now.

And in new collaborations, use discernment. Some people are only out there to leech off of your creativity and your energy.                                                                                                                             

Burn Out and Self-Care

Avoiding burn out is always the goal but do I succeed all the time, 100%? No. I often seek comfort from my support team. My shine is bright and only matters because of the people who love and support me. If it is daily overwhelm or something more minor, I just pause and take a deep breath or do a hand stand. I’m all about small movements and doing what you can. If your task for the day is to take a shower, then do that, feel accomplished that you were able to stick to what you said and take yourself right back to the bed. Tomorrow is another day and you’ll do two things or a new thing.

Depression is real. Be gentle. We aren’t gentle enough with ourselves. Everything is rushed and competitive. We need to dive into the layers of ourselves more. If you are not having a good day, learn to sit with that and accept that today was shit. Why? What could I do tomorrow to make it better? But we don’t give ourselves that time to process.

We always deal with the surface and we’re not getting to the real problems, the real feelings, the real questions. But we need to. Face all the demons and ask them all the questions.

Real Expectations

One important aspect to business is not letting yourself rely too much on your family and friends. Especially with social media, I think we have this expectation that family and friends are going to invest in our dreams the way we do and that is not the case. They have their own lives, they have their own passions. It is up to you to make things happen and create the life that works best for who you are and what you believe and what you want to happen. You are the one taking this on and even though they believe in you, you are the one who has to do the work.