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100 Days Without Fear

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It all started with 100 fears.

Ten years ago, in April 2015, a Venezuelan girl (hi, it’s me!) landed in New York City with big dreams—and even bigger fears. While pursuing my Master’s in Branding at the School of Visual Arts, I challenged myself to confront 100 fears in 100 days.

What began as a personal project quickly turned into a global movement. My journey went viral, leading to a TEDx talk, a career as a keynote speaker on some of the world’s biggest stages, and a powerful reminder that courage is contagious.

Since then, I’ve published two books, launched a paid community for Latina entrepreneurs with thousands of members worldwide, and partnered with global brands to champion authenticity, bravery, and purpose. I also conducted a groundbreaking research study on the power of community in the workplace.

The project that started it all didn’t just help me overcome fear—it helped me become who I was meant to be.

It helped me become irreplaceable.

Featured
Day 100: Inspire others at TEDxHouston
Day 100: Inspire others at TEDxHouston
Day 96: Age
Day 96: Age
Day 89: Stand Up
Day 89: Stand Up
Day 85: Surf
Day 85: Surf
Day 80: Teach
Day 80: Teach
Day 78: Paint
Day 78: Paint
Day 77: Pose
Day 77: Pose
Day 72: Embrace
Day 72: Embrace
Day 65: Jump
Day 65: Jump
Day 59: Quit
Day 59: Quit

Click here to see the full list of fears

Day 80: Teach

July 23, 2015

What's the challenge?

To teach a Zumba class.

What are you afraid of?

Making a fool of myself.

How was the experience?

Ever since I started going to Zumba classes, I would practice in front of my mirror imagining that I had a big crowd following my steps. But, when I thought about actually becoming a part-time Zumba instructor I would discourage myself by thinking I could never memorize a routine or that I don't have what it takes. So this time I decided to face this fear and lead a real Zumba class for a couple of songs. I was extremely nervous to screw up and confuse the students with the steps. So, I put on my Thync device to get all the energy I was looking for, I wore my Zumba Wear to help with my moves and I practiced different steps all day long to get it right. Once there, my anxiety levels went up, but as soon as the class started, the energy was soooo amazing that I started to enjoy every moment of it. There were about 100 people following my steps, plus an audience watching the event! It was just great. The actual instructor, Idania Gonzalez from the Z Club NY, was extraordinary! I want to go to all of her classes from now on! Thank you Zumba team for letting me be part of this fun event!!! Once I gain some resistance I'll reconsider my dream of becoming an instructor. For now, I need to start exercising again.

Thank you Daniel Poler for recording and editing this amazing video <3

← Day 81: ListenDay 79: Apply →

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Thank you!

Why Fear?

A couple of reasons I wrote just to remind myself why am I doing this:

  • Fear keeps me from enjoying life

  • Fear will keep me from achieving success

  • I want to live courageously

  • Life starts at the end of your comfort zone

  • What doesn't kill you makes you stronger

  • NYC is not made for the fearful

  • Fear just doesn't make sense

  • If I don't do it now, then, when?

Instagram: @100dayswithoutfear

View fullsize When we heard Adam&rsquo;s cousin, Kevin, needed a kidney, I panicked 😧. We LOVE Kevin and want to do everything we can. But, I&rsquo;m not gonna lie. The thought of Adam donating his Kidney &mdash; or me donating mine made &mdash; me tremble.⁣
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View fullsize I have some news! 😙
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In the last 6 months we&rsquo;ve done 3 events produced by us: one in Madrid, one in Argentina and the one in Chile (⤴️)
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Those are MY favorite events because I get to spend time with YOU! The Hello Fears community. And nothin
View fullsize &ldquo;Why a hand?&rdquo; 🤔 That is the question I asked myself when 3 of the covers I received had hands on them (swipe!)
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All of them said something along the lines of: &ldquo;Hello, Fears! An open hand waving hello to the unknown is the first th
View fullsize 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐉𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐈 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐭𝐨 𝐏𝐮𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐨 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐚 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝 &mdash; and it always ends up being one of the best weekends of our year⁣ 👇🏼
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This event is organized by Jos
View fullsize Two months traveling and today we go back to the US (not home, but still, back to work). What did I learn?👇🏼
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First of all, if it wasn&rsquo;t for Adam we wouldn&rsquo;t have done it. I even asked him to cancel the trip weeks before leaving. I fel
View fullsize Last time I asked you: photo or type? But these two designers said: why not illustration??? (Swipe for image #2)
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That is definitely something I never expected on my cover!! So my reaction when getting these was:
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😳➡️😬➡️🤔➡️😗➡️☺️➡️😍
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The first
View fullsize My motto 💙✌🏼⚡️
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@nikkimiles_
View fullsize If you&rsquo;ve been following my trip at @michellepoler you probably noticed one thing I&rsquo;ve been doing consistently 👇🏼
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Instead of posting &ldquo;on the go&rdquo;, I&rsquo;ve been posting all my stories the day after.
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Enjoying this trip,
View fullsize What I loved about this cover is how well the little illustrations represent who I am, and what the book is about:
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🗽 The statue of liberty: it not only represents New York, where my story took place, but it also represents the freedom I felt once
View fullsize Swipe to see 320 people dancing reggaeton, and tell me: do they look stupid to you, or do they look like they&rsquo;re having one hell of a time?
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That is how all my conferences END, but that is NOT how they start.... 👇🏼
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When I go on stage and p
View fullsize One of the highlights of this year has been to launch our own couple&rsquo;s podcast ✈️
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We knew it was going to be challenging but not as much as it actually is.
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Our podcast goes deep, it feels like a therapy session &mdash; for us, and for those
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I think @paopaorosales nailed the photo cover &mdash; and of course, she is the EXPERT when it comes to mixing ph
View fullsize @haveanicedayy_ inspired me to write about this when she posted this lovely image 👆🏼👆🏼👆🏼
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And all I want to share with you is something that I learned from a friend that went through recovery. When I opened up with him about a situation I&rsqu
View fullsize When Adam told me we were going to visit some icebergs in Argentina, that&rsquo;s what I pictured ⬆️
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I never thought we were actually going to climb that thing 🗻!!! And thank G-d I didn&rsquo;t &mdash; I would&rsquo;ve said no, at first.
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I&rsquo
View fullsize This is one of the lovely covers I received! ➡️ The first decision I had to make when it came to the design of my cover was: should I use my photo, or typography only?⁣ 👀
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What makes more sense? What do people buy the most? What is most aligned wit
View fullsize Friendly reminder ✌🏼⬆️
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By @thepouf &mdash; genius!


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