💥who else wants to feel freedom in life?💥

I realize that some of you don’t know me and this crazy journey of my life…so here’s a little background…see if you can relate to some of it!

I grew up in Bulgaria, being the “good girl”, doing what I thought I “should” do—go to college, get a good job, work hard, get married and be happy. 
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I went to college, got the dream job…a really great job in the theater, with added gigs in television and the film industry. I had great friends and a good husband who loved me. We gave life to a beautiful baby boy.

Travelling from gig to gig with the baby in the back of the car and doing what I loved was thrilling. I was in my 20s and happy—making tons of money, doing interesting things, traveling and feeling so successful.

But…I wanted more. Professionally, I have quickly reached the glass ceiling and it seemed that there was very little room for me to grow. So I immigrated to the USA, in search of a bigger dream, more creative freedom and challenges that help me grow. 

I was surprised and disappointed to find out that theater here wasn’t as fulfilling career as I hoped it’d be. After walking the city with a giant portfolio in hand for few months and meeting key theater people, I landed a couple of promising gigs. They weren’t satisfying. The agent I saw told me that I needed to wait good 10 years before I can establish myself. Recently divorced and with a small child to take care of, volunteering jobs weren’t an option for me. 

I decided to shift to more profitable career and I ended up painting murals for large public spaces and fancy hotels. This was the time when mural paintings were in fashion in the States. I started working for a well known mural company, then got in business of my own. Soon I began to make tons of money. Five-figure fees for a single project that I could complete in a few weeks felt AMAZING! 

3 years into that career I was burned out, wasn’t fulfilled and I knew there was something else for me. So naturally, I stayed another 3 years. 🤷‍♀️😂😂

Meanwhile I got married again and began my third career as a fine art studio artist. What this means is that I spent my days in my studio, painting pretty paintings without looking for anyone’s approval. There was no paycheck either.

So I pressed on, creating a vast body of work that I could show to galleries and find representation. My dream was to have gallery exhibitions and consistent income from sold paintings. 

Fast forward and I was in my new art studio overlooking Times Square from the 16th floor of a fabulous Manhattan building! 

My taste was expensive. My profession was expensive. My lifestyle was expensive. Living in Manhattan and maintaining an art studio in addition to already extravagant living space, eventually became more difficult than I cared for.

I needed a backup plan. 

For months I soul-searched deep inside. 

I asked myself: What is my purpose? What will I enjoy doing for the rest of my life?  What qualities do I already have that I can utilize or develop further, in order to create a career that’s fulfilling for me? What does my soul want? What am I made for? Am I already on my Soul’s path, being an artist? Or is there something else for me? Something more impactful and rewarding?

Thank GOD, I ended up in Los Angeles, got my Masters’ Degree in Spiritual Psychology, and I knew NOW that there was something else for me. I was clear now that my purpose was bigger than what I was living.

Despite the glossy art openings, fancy exhibitions in galleries around the world and the large sums of money that came every now and then in exchange for my paintings, I wasn’t feeling fulfilled. I wasn’t feeling aligned. I wasn’t feeling happy. 

I loved the creative process, but I hated the rest. 

Outside the studio, the games of superficiality ruled. There was an image to be built, preserved and sustained. There were rules to be followed and strings to be pulled. There were masks to be worn and fake smiles to be smiled. There were words to be minced and connections to be made. There were “friendships” to be maintained. And there were so many rules and so little room for the expression of the Real Me… 

Living as an artist was becoming increasingly unsatisfying for me. The closer to the top I was, the more I had to pretend to be someone I was not. I have reached the biggest success I could possibly have as an artist, but something important in me was dying. I needed to preserve it and take care of it...

In 2012 I finally walked away from my art career, not knowing how to create what was next—a successful career as a life coach. I just knew I needed to contribute in more significant ways. I knew that I can make a bigger difference. And I was determined to show up fully for it. 

Taking that leap of faith changed everything for me.

I’ll tell you more of this journey later, but fast forward to today, 7 years later, and I am living my purpose 100% — supporting myself and my clients in continuing to experience more FREEDOM in their life and expression, encouraging people like you to stop playing small and live in their fullness. 

It is my greatest gift to be a coach and to support and witness my clients in their transformations.
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So what about you? What in my journey resonates with you? Let’s dish.