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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 83: Explore

July 29, 2015

What's the challenge?

To explore and spend the night by myself in a new city.

What are you afraid of?

Loneliness.

How was the experience?

In the past 83 days I prepared myself to conquer this challenge. I did many activities alone in NY and now I feel ready to travel and put everything I learned into action! So, I bought my Amtrak ticket to Washington, one of the few cities where I have no family or friends to go to. I was 50% excited about getting to know a new city and 50% terrified to face this huge fear by myself! What made me even more scared, was the fact that due to small conferences around the city, there were no hotels available for that night, so I had to do couch-surfing the old-fashion way (call a friend of a friend of a friend and ask for her couch)! Anyways, I arrived to Washington and never in my life I felt so alone. For the first time, there was no one expecting me, no one to call, no one to have lunch or dinner with. I had two options, 1) start crying and go back to NY like my instinct was telling me to do, or 2) find a nice place to have lunch by myself and start museum-hopping like I planned to! So, I went with the latter, and immediately I started to enjoy my day. I had an amazing time in Washington, felt pretty safe over there and can't wait to go back (with my hubby). I'm extremely proud of myself, and even though I don't have the loner personality and I much rather spend time with others, I realized that I can still have fun when I'm with myself. One less thing I'm afraid of!

← Day 84: Never AgainDay 82: Hike →

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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

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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
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@nikkimiles_
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Instead of posting “on the go”, I’ve been posting all my stories the day after.
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Enjoying this trip,
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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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View fullsize Friendly reminder ✌🏼⬆️
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By @thepouf — genius!


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