Unconventional Life – Podcast, Blog, Live Events

Author: Jules Schroeder

  • Ep 253: Bringing Your Unique Artistic Vision to Life Is Not A Piece of Cake with Albena Petrova

    Ep 253: Bringing Your Unique Artistic Vision to Life Is Not A Piece of Cake with Albena Petrova

    Albena Petrova, born in Bulgaria, was raised in a family of artists. Her passion for cakes began after she got her diploma from Pearson School of Culinary Arts in Montreal, specializing in Pastry Making.

    She uses her unique artistic vision to bring cakes to life and cakes with a message. Attention to details is a vital part of her work. And as her skills progressed, she can design cakes according to her customers’ visions and dreams. She never runs out of inspiration; it can be from flowers, fashion, art, architecture and nature. She’s been making cakes for six years now, and for her, every day is a new learning opportunity to improve her craft.

    So when I say her Instagram is a must-see, this is what I meant. “Be brave but calculate the risk.”

     

    Topics Discussed in this Episode:

    • Why she chose cake as her medium to express art
    • How she started Albena Cake Design
    • What she feels about starting a career at age 37
    • How to distinguish yourself in a unique way in a market that is already popular
    • How she goes about her creative process

     

    More from Albena:

  • Ep 252: What Kind of World Changer Are You? Follow your Aliveness with Makena Sage

    Ep 252: What Kind of World Changer Are You? Follow your Aliveness with Makena Sage

    Makena Sage is the co-founder & CEO of Follow Your Aliveness® – a global training & coaching organization dedicated to inspiring and empowering 10 million World Changers to elevate the consciousness of the planet. (P.S. Everyone is a World Changer.)

    “I understand that most people don’t have that believer in their family, they don’t have that believer in their life, and I love being that person for people.”

    Her co-founder and business partner Gigi Sage (who also happens to be her mom!) has been coaching and training since 1986. Though she was born into personal development and started participating in Gigi’s seminars at the age of seven, Makena took a very different path in young adulthood. She studied International Business, then spent six years running her own 6-figure online marketing company, before she “woke up” to the face that she was financially successful but miserable.

    That’s when Gigi stepped in and empowered Makena to get the clarity, courage and support she needed to leap into the work she was born to do.

    Returning to her roots and The Aliveness Method™ changed everything. She went from having near-daily panic attacks, mysterious health issues, and burnout to feel lit up, healthy & energized in a matter of months. And she never looked back.

    Practices for a Breakthrough

    • Take the World Changer Quiz. This test will show you your top talent and success motivator, which are potent distinctions.
    • Chart Your Aliveness. Keep a paper with you and note down the activities in your day that lights you or drain you up. Start to put one or two things that make you feel alive and put it in your life on a more frequent basis.

     

    Myth Busting

    There’s a commonality of theme Makena noticed amongst the people she has worked with, and that is believing that you can figure it out on your own. She strongly believes in utilizing all the resources available around you, such as great books, processes that can help you with clarity and support from coaches. And the only question left is how willing you are going to go for it which is so pivotal.

     

    What is Aliveness Coaching

    Aliveness Coaching is where you will find the support and tools to empower you to create a life or career that truly makes you alive. This avenue welcomes entrepreneurs, leaders, coaches or parents all around the globe who wish to create impact, may it be in the family, business, community or in the lives of other people.

    Today, Gigi & Makena run The School for Mastery and the Aliveness Mastery™ program. A certification for coaches, leaders and world-changers-in-the-making who want to master the art of coaching, create lives & businesses that genuinely bring them ALIVE, and help others do the same.

     

    More from Makena

     

  • Ep251: How Transforming Women Into Beautiful Vintage Pinups Paved The Way For Cherokee “Cherry Dollface” Jackson

    Ep251: How Transforming Women Into Beautiful Vintage Pinups Paved The Way For Cherokee “Cherry Dollface” Jackson

    Cherokee Jackson, also known as Cherry Dollface, has spent a decade travelling the world, transforming women into beautiful vintage pinups. She is now a licensed esthetician and owns her skincare studio in Glendale, CA.

    She considers herself a delightful weirdo who’s open and friendly and welcomes anyone who identifies themselves with her. And that same authenticity paved the way for her strong and large following on social media. She does things that she finds fun and engaging that often turns into a success. One thing is for sure; she is excellent at bridging business and creativity together.

    “I want to be just that place in whatever I do, where everybody that might have a slight bit of interest feels welcome.”

     

    Topics Discussed in this Episode:

    • Owning your uniqueness and quirkiness and turning it into a lifestyle
    • The secret sauce in building a strong online community
    • How vintage pinups built her a large following
    • Her view on social media
    • How she cultivates her mindset and mental frame

     

    More of Cherokee:

  • Ep 250: Transformational Embodiment: Transforming Your Life, Business, and Relationships by Revealing and Expanding Into Your Truest Essence with Natalie MacNeil

    Ep 250: Transformational Embodiment: Transforming Your Life, Business, and Relationships by Revealing and Expanding Into Your Truest Essence with Natalie MacNeil

    Natalie is an Emmy Award-winning media entrepreneur and founder of The Embodiment Coaching Institute. She was listed on the Levo 100 as a “Transformer of Our Generation” and featured by Inc. as one of “27 Women Leaders Changing the World.” She has also written five books; The Rituals: Simple Practices to Cultivate Well-Being, Deepen Relationships, and Discover Your True Purpose, She Takes on the World, The Conquer Kit: A Creative Business Planner for Women Entrepreneurs, Conquer Your Year: The Ultimate Planner to Get More Done, Grow Your Business, and Achieve Your Dreams and The Conquer Kit.

     

    Creating the Success You Wanted

    Natalie is no stranger to the business and coaching world. 13 years ago, her online coaching space called She Takes On The World for women entrepreneurs started noticing patterns present in almost everyone she’s worked with. She realized that the key to creating the success you wanted is diving into your layers to reveal the truth of who you are. Weave that truth into your business to create a strategy that’s rooted in the truest of your essence.

    She studied meditation, mudras, sound healing, Reiki, NLP, and EFT, a.k.a. Tapping Tantra, and eventually incorporated these transformational tools into her coaching. And that’s how she formed Embodiment Coaching Institute.

     

    Small Pot in the Living Room

    She compares her transition from living in Canada to relocating to the US to a small pot in the living room. It’s beautiful, comfortable, and has a lot of stability, but she felt the need to grow, and for the small pot to grow, it needed to be repotted for its roots to have a place to expand.

    “Everything was going to be burned away. That for me to live from my highest potential, for me to to be living in the truth of who I am, that the life that I was living at that moment was all going to be burned away and what was going to be created was something very, very different.”

     

    Toolbox of Embodiment Practices

    Her embodiment practices allow her to be in the centre of the storm. There can be all this chaos spinning around her, yet she can stay in that calm eye. She applies the same toolbox of embodiment practices that create transformation in her own life to the lives of the people that she works with.

    Natalie is devoted to expanding human potential and inspiring people to live meaningful lives through her books, videos, interactive films, coaching experiences, and live events.

     

    More from Natalie:

  • Ep 249: Stripping Down with The Real and Raw Mompreneur Ali Levine

    Ep 249: Stripping Down with The Real and Raw Mompreneur Ali Levine

    Fashion expert, mommy influencer and mompreneur Ali Levine got real and raw with us in this week’s episode. Born and raised in New York, Ali has worked for some of the biggest names in the Fashion Industry. She relocated to Los Angeles, California and became a household name as a celebrity stylist. Ali makes regular appearances on local to national television including Bravo’s hit show, “Stripped” along with her husband.

    Mother to two girls, Amelia and Arley, motherhood made Ali see things on a whole new level. It brought her the realization that there are much bigger things in life past the glitz and glamour of the fashion world. It peeled off all the layers of who she was and revealed her authenticity; an Ali version 2.0. A more vulnerable, better and empowered woman.

    “I want to be a space where people want to come together. I want to be a community for others, especially mothers. I want people to know that we’re all truly doing our best and we’re all hopefully being as vulnerable as we can be not just for others but for  ourselves in order to grow.”

     

    Topics Discussed in this Episode

    • A glimpse into her personal life
    • Behind the scenes of being a fashion expert
    • Her view on fashion
    • Quick tips on how to be fashionable even when you’re working from home
    • How her podcast was born
    • Motherhood journey: the good, the bad, and the ugly

     

    More from Ali:

     

    Resources Mentioned in this Episode: