I love when I get to reconnect with past clients! Ana Marta took the Repurpose Your Purpose's Group Program to Change Careers during the pandemic. We caught up a year later and she generously agreed to share on video her journey to a new and unexpected career.
In this video we talked about:
- What it's like to search for a new career when you don't know what you want to do next
- Looking for meaningful work vs. looking to get a job fast
- How working together was surprisingly different from other coaching approaches
- Stepping into the unknown and discovering your own answers
- How we each have our own timing
- Opening up to life and unexpectedly discovering a new career
- Being in the Flow
- What shifted once Ana Marta reconnected with her inner wisdom
- How the transformative teachings of the program continue to evolve
- What it was like to first connect on a call with me
- The difference between knowing things intellectually, and actually knowing in a way that creates transformation
Psst: if you are thinking of joining Repurpose Your Purpose's Group Program to Change Careers, you can join the waiting list.
Looking for more stories of transformation? Check out my testimonials' page.
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT
Aurora Meneghello (00:00):
Welcome, everyone, if this is your first time watching one of these videos, I just wanna let you know, my name is Aurora Meneghello. I'm the founder of Repurpose Your Purpose, a program to help people change careers. And once in a while, a past client joins me for one of these conversations. So, um, they can tell their story in their own words and we catch up, 'cause I haven't talked to Ana Marta right here in a while. So Hi Ana Marta.
Ana Marta (00:28):
Hi
Aurora Meneghello (00:30):
I'm so excited to see you. Um, thank you so much for joining me.
Ana Marta (00:35):
Yeah. Thank you.
Aurora Meneghello (00:39):
So, I wonder if we can start from the very beginning. I think we first connected maybe a year ago or so, and um, I'm curious, where was your life at? How, how did you feel at the time and what happened that prompted you to, join the Repurpose Your Purpose program?
Ana Marta (01:04):
So I was in a very different place. Basically one year ago - so not much more than one year - I was searching for a new career. I had already decided that I wouldn't continue with what I had done before. But I felt I was really in a dark alley. Obviously being unemployed or changing country and a lot of changes that were happening in my life at the time, didn't make it much easier with a pandemic going on as well. But definitely I felt I needed help with finding another sense of what I could do with my skills and with myself and with my life. Searching for, for guidance towards, um, but with the particular question of what is my purpose or something that would not be a job that I have to do because I have to do, but something that would be meaningful and a step that I'm more sure that I want to do afterwards.
Ana Marta (02:11):
So I was quite depressed and just feeling like there was no way out until I started to just looking into very general career changes and so on and reading articles. And when in one of those articles randomly your name popped up, I started reading about, about on your websites and the group program started - registrations started like two days after. So everything was very fast but I just felt it made sense and to at least book the discovery call and from that onwards, it just, it just made sense. I felt that I had found the space that could actually give me some guidance and give, bring me some light to that, that darkness that I felt.
Aurora Meneghello (03:00):
I remember that discovery call actually, that was so good to connect with you. And I mean, it was, it was, first of all, it was very scary. I think it's, it's very scary during this time to change careers maybe even more than before. And one thing that really stood out to me from our call all is that I always, you know, say about my group program that it's not to get a job fast. You know, like if you need a job fast just to make some money, this is not what it's about. It's really about get to know yourself, get to know what you wanna do. So then you move forward in a direction that makes sense. Right? And I remember we talked about that and how important it was to really take that time.
Ana Marta (03:42):
Yeah. Yeah, definitely. So I had very clear in my head that I wanted to, to be sure of the next step and not just rush into cuz I think it's much easier to hop into the next thing and keep that cycle and not to take time for yourself, figure yourself out.
Aurora Meneghello (04:01):
Yeah. Well, so what surprised you the most about the Repurpose Your Purpose group program?
Ana Marta (04:11):
So I have had experiences with coaching programs before - one individual and one in group - and I think it was very surprising the whole approach. So obviously there is a sequence of steps that one needs to do as there always has to be some structure, but I was quite surprised that after the beginning of the structure, it was completely experimental. It was completely just about exploring and in the end give room for that self discovery to happen. So to have, uh, because there's no script, we have to find ourselves ourselves. And even if we need to have some guidance, that guidance will be just in the whole process. It will be just a tiny, um, course corrections and not so much about telling, okay, this is your path and you should do this, because no one can tell that.
Ana Marta (05:13):
So I was really surprised to have that difference between like the first and the second part, because it's just very different from anything that I had experienced or read about, or even if it is through other social media or anything. And also the own discoveries, because a few things seem, might seem very obvious, like how we absorb from the work environment, who are we working with, but to have that realization by looking to our past or a few of the other exercises of just looking at what is reality, I think that surprised me a lot.
Aurora Meneghello (05:59):
Yeah. I didn't, I didn't mean to interrupt you. Yeah, go ahead.
Ana Marta (06:03):
I mean, it's not to unveil necessarily anything, but I think those first steps into understanding, so the first two sessions or so were quite surprising on, on its own. Yeah.
Aurora Meneghello (06:17):
Yeah. It's so it's always interesting when I have these calls, like what people say about it. Cause obviously like you don't necessarily tell me, you know, during the group program. And, and I find that that's the hardest thing for me to talk about how, at some point it, it's kind of the unknown, you have to go in the unknown and it's the biggest resistance, I think because so much of our culture and teaching is always about, you have to find the steps, you have to control, you have to… somebody has to tell you, you know, and even when we intellectually might already know like, okay, life doesn't quite work that way, but it's really scary, takes a lot of courage to, to be like, okay, I wanna take the leap.
Ana Marta (07:05):
And it's not only about taking the leap, it's also about, um, it might not come when we want to, when we want it to come. Right? So I, I also had the expectation that, okay, this is going to be the program and I'm going to figure everything out. And, and I've, I've learned a lot and I've gained a lot of clarity as well, but I haven't put the pieces up together so well until a few weeks after when, well, I also started to give myself enough openness to, to bring that in. So it's, it's a process that can actually be longer than the program. Of course, I mean, for a few that were in the same group as me, it was way faster. So it's like, no, I have exactly, I'm sure this is what I wanna do. The thing that happened that way. But with me it took a bit longer. While if it wasn't for the program, I also don't think that I would've found what I'm doing right now and what I'm actually really passionate about. And I had no idea I would be where I am now.
Aurora Meneghello (08:06):
I wanna ask, I wanna ask. But I wanna say something before I ask you about that, about timing, because, yeah, that is so important that, uh, we all have our timing. And like respecting our timing and embracing our timing, I think it's so key, you know? And it's so transforming. So, okay, what do you do now?
Ana Marta (08:35):
Um
Aurora Meneghello (08:35):
And how did you get there if you wanna? Yeah. If you wanna say how you got, you know, how, how did you find it? What happened? You leave the program? Like, you're like, okay, I don't, I don't have it yet. You know, what, what happened?
Ana Marta (08:48):
So on, on the program, I got a bit more clarity on what I bring to the table. So I think sometimes we don't understand, especially if we are in a really dark place, it's very easy to think that, okay, we don't have any value and we don't like, we're, we're so dark that we don't even see ourselves. And we don't see that we actually have a lot of experience in a few things or what we actually even enjoy to do, because we have lost all that, all that spark for life. So it's very easy to go down that, that lane. And so after the program, I had a bit of a better sense of the key things that I was searching for, even though not the job itself, but how I wanted to feel like, how I wanted to, yeah, just imagining really how it should feel like it. So I needed to, to just feel that I was part of a group, that it just made me, that I would be contributing to something and among the other things. And afterwards, so I remember that almost since the beginning you had told me that I should read The Surrender Experiment. And that's what happened to me. I did my own surrender experiment and here I am. Uh, so the book is, is about how we don't need to attach ourselves to a specific preference. And sometimes life can present itself with opportunities. And it's something that it was, it's not a thought that I hadn't thought of before or tried to apply, but it's very easy to get stuck in our comfort zone and think, no, I don't wanna go out because I feel sad.
Ana Marta (10:33):
And I just wanna be by myself being confused and watch Netflix. Or maybe I wanna go out and actually engage and live life. So this attachment we get from even the smallest choices sometimes can be interfering with new things that come, that can come by. I mean, also everyone knows that those times that we go out for just one drink are usually the best nights, 'cause we don't have that expectation because we are open for something to happen. At least that has been my experience so far as well. And so, but to do that with something as important as a job and something as important as a career thing, I think it's even harder to let go of that and to let go of the stories that we tell ourselves, of the person that we wanna be, or the person that we would like to present to others that we are.
Ana Marta (11:29):
There's just so many things to disentangle and understand that can be in the way of figuring out. So when I was reading the book, there was one week that I was reading the book and I just had told myself that I would try my best to do my own surrender experiments, to just not get attached to any choice that I wanted to do. Just see everything as an opportunity for that one week, while I was reading the book. You know, in that one week precisely there was a job application that came along of a job that I hadn't thought about. I actually, I think you mentioned that maybe I could become a teacher at some point, but I thought, no, it's, it's too late. I need to do a qualification. I need to spend time on that. I have no idea how it works, where I'm living now.
Ana Marta (12:21):
I just had completely blocked that, even though it actually sounded like an interesting idea. And when the job description came, it actually did not say any of that, so I could actually apply. It asked for a tiny bit of experience, which I did have and, and I just went for it. And because I thought, why not? I'm open to the opportunity, worst case scenario that can say no, I'm already at that stage anyway. So I mean, it, it could not really get worse, so why not? And, and things just started flowing. The application process was far easier than any of the other applications that I had done before. I felt inspired writing the cover letter, which had never happened before. And I just let it continue, not thought much about it because I didn't wanna get attached to the outcome as well.
Ana Marta (13:17):
It just, it was, it was my experiment. So I just wanted to let it go on its own course. And yeah, a few days later I got called for the interview, few days later, it was the interview. What I had to teach properly to an age that I had never taught. So everything was being also extremely experimental. And then I got the job on that day and, and I was like, seriously, it's an experiment that has been lasting for one week. And it's what, yeah. So that was my surrender experiment, that I've been a lot of times I forget about coming back to it because it's very easy to get in your autopilots in your comfort zone, but it has changed, it has changed my life because I've started that job. I've found out how passionate I am actually about teaching and, and how there's variety in my day, how there's supportive people, how I ended up being in the right place. Even with its own challenges because it's obviously not perfect, there's no perfect job and there's no perfect anything, but I am really willing to, to learn and improve. And I will become a qualified teacher in a few years time because I've given myself the opportunity to give this a try and yeah, things are just going towards a direction and we'll see.
Aurora Meneghello (14:53):
I remember when you sent me an email about this, it was so amazing. And first of all, I wanna say, like, I never tell people what to do. So it was probably during a brainstorm
Aurora Meneghello (15:08):
Teaching. Yeah. Just so I wanna put it out there because I really don't know what people end up doing. But I really know if you can get out of your own way and open up to your own inner wisdom, that there is something powerful there and it shows up. It's kind of crazy. And it shows up and it cannot be like, you know, I talk about The Surrender Experiment, like it made a huge impression on me. Like it really changed my life. And at the beginning I thought it meant or say yes to everything, you know, just like just try things, but it's not that you have to have a real deep, like letting go of this stuff that we hold on, cling to, you know? So how wonderful. And then it just, you know, once that happens… So I'm curious if you were to like really say what shifted inside of you, you know, what shifted? Because also, and, you know, we can't really, people here don't know, you know, don't have a feeling for you from a year ago, but like when I reconnected with you after a year, it was like, you know, it just, this light came out, came out. So what shifted?
Ana Marta (16:27):
Um, a lot of things shifted, but I think that I was in a place of just feeling bad about myself and not even seeing that I had something to give out to the world and when things started flowing and I started to actually, uh, get closer to the job, although it took, it took me a few months even to think, no, I spent days and days they, how am I going to just show up at a classroom and just start teaching? Like, no way. So there was obviously all of those things, but then when September hits, uh, you have to hit the ground running. And that has been an amazing experience as well, because for someone that tends to deal with anxiety and overthinking and all of that, it's very easy to be in your play in your, let's say in my room.
Ana Marta (17:23):
And I'm just thinking about what might happen, what might not happen and just develop all those scenarios. And the proper teaching experience has been also making me shift. So the program helped me get in more contact with my own inner wisdom and Source and start to build a path of trusting myself and not so much on the overthinking and all the, all the thoughts that may arise. Also something that connection started. And then once I started seeing that things, just because the lesson, even if you spend hours or not planning it at that time, at that day, it has to happen. So for someone that feels like I'm very anxious and I don't know if this happens and we live in that uncertainty well, at some point things have to happen. And these like the biggest push towards, there's no time for overthinking or just find a way and things then actually develop well anyway.
Ana Marta (18:31):
And this also has helped me shift into, into a better place and not only trusting myself a bit better and a bit more, but also feel good about how things are developed. 'Cause you just see that you, you get out of your mind space, even though, I mean I still feel anxious, especially on Sunday evening and I still feel that, but it's just a, it's not dominating me and it's not freezing me as much as, as it was my daily life before. So a lot of things shifted in that, in the process that I'm still working to make improvements. Um, cause obviously there's, there's always things I can improve.
Aurora Meneghello (19:23):
Yeah.
Ana Marta (19:24):
But yeah
Aurora Meneghello (19:25):
I think it's, first of all, it gave me chills, just hearing that, you know, and when we start seeing our thoughts as thoughts and, and we get that, yeah, we always have thoughts. We always will have something. Right. But we're not now controlled by them. You know, we're not controlled very long by that. Sometimes we can, I still feel so, so powerful. Um, as you were talking, I really thought the path came with its own transformation, you know, once you engaged, then the whole thing, you know, we have it in ourselves. Yeah. Um, all right. Well, I wanted to ask you what is something you accomplished that you're proud of, but um, I think maybe you told us what, is there something else you're proud of that you wanna share?
Ana Marta (20:17):
Well, so far I'm, I'm just really happy about having found this class and happy that it's actually that it continues to show up as the path to take. I'm also surprised about myself on thinking about other things to do. So I was, I was never really an ambitious person like thinking I wanna do, I wanna be, help, whatever. I just had one profession that I wanted to do. One job that I wanted to do. I did that, I realized that it's not what I wanna do, and now I found something that I'm more passionate about. So I think that is what I would be more, more happy, more grateful that it has happened the whole path.
Aurora Meneghello (21:05):
Yeah. So a lot of people in, you know, discover Repurpose Your Purpose, because they're looking for something that they wanna do, like you know, very similar to what you shared, like they're down, they don't like it. And if somebody is in that situation, if somebody's really watching this and feeling down about their career and having that feeling of like, I don't know what I wanna do, you know, I don't feel good about it. What would you say to them?
Ana Marta (21:35):
I would say to at least risk on having a discovery call. 'Cause I think for me that was the key shift. So it's not just about reading about the program and feeling that it makes sense. It's about also getting to know you and getting this connection because even if it is online, I felt supported and I felt understood even if I was just talking about my situation and that's that security and that's that support that I felt were really key for understanding, Hey, I wanna work with this person and I know that I will gain something from this program. So definitely to start there. And I think that connection is what's prompted me to say yes right away and not hesitate. Yeah.
Aurora Meneghello (22:23):
Thank you. Yeah. I really remember connecting with you and you know, we haven't even said this, but since I started to do things on Zoom for a group (I always had clients everywhere individually), but then as a group, you're not in the United States.
Ana Marta (22:39):
Oh yeah, no I'm in Europe
Aurora Meneghello (22:42):
Right.
Ana Marta (22:43):
Say that's here is way later in the evening while there is quite early in the morning. So yeah
Aurora Meneghello (22:48):
Yeah, yeah. But also I think that shows, you know, I've seen it more and more that because we engage with conversations that go to the core of what it's like to be a human being, like, it doesn't matter where you're at. You can figure out the local strategy, you can figure out the local how to write your resume or CV or, you know, the cultural things once you open up that. Um, and that's really across. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter where you are. Okay. Um, well, anything else you like to share?
Ana Marta (23:27):
I think that, I think I shared pretty much all I wanted to say. Yeah. So it was quite quite a summary of my path so far. Just wanted to say still, just make sure that when you talked about suggesting me being a teacher was in the brainstorm. So it was never a suggestion on, based on anything. It was one of the few things that I didn't come up with, but we were discussing in group of what could come up. And I remember that you saying it, I rejected that because I thought it was not possible. And now I am. So it's just funny that the thought has come up so that the word has, you know, like it's funny how the process can be. You can have the answer right in front of you and still not see it. It takes sometimes a bit longer to be open for the epiphany to come in your head. So
Aurora Meneghello (24:23):
It's so great that you're actually saying that because you have to have that insight. I mean, that's the whole game of life. Like once we realize we have this power within us to like really come up with these insights, with this fresh thought. Right. And it doesn't matter if somebody else tells you, it doesn't matter if you read it. You know? Um, like I feel like when, when I really started to change my life, it's not like I suddenly discovered all new ideas. I was like, I finally got them. Yeah. Um, so that's really
Ana Marta (24:56):
The most important thing is that we, we usually just make a new connection. It's not that we are learning new things and then we get new ideas. No, we, we have everything and at some point we unlocked something that was blocked before, or we just yeah connect two ideas that were not connected before. And to be in that place, you need to be open and not be forcing because that's the creative side of humanity actually.
Aurora Meneghello (25:28):
Yeah. So I know, um, you started to, you know, quite a bit longer than you expected and yet it's only a year during the pandemic. Yeah. So that's, that's also quite amazing. I feel like, to me it feels so long ago, time has this weird, you know, feeling right now. Um, I really wanna say it's been such a pleasure working with you, like from the moment I talked to you, it was like, this person is brilliant, you know? Uh, so it was just fantastic. And yeah, these calls are like the highlight, you know, of my day, my week, my month, whenever I do them. This is why I do this work. It makes me really happy. So thank you for sharing with everyone.
Ana Marta (26:15):
Thank you. Thank you for giving the guidance that led me there as well. Yeah.
Aurora Meneghello (26:21):
Thank you. All right. I'm gonna stop the recording right now.
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