The Startup Sessions

November 18, 2016

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

I grew up with a superstitious mom. So when social media became a thing in 2006, me being on it didn’t make her happy. At all. My mom was always afraid that if I exposed myself people could hurt me with their thoughts somehow 🧿!
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I personally never really cared about that. And after exposing myself for 13 years now, I realized that I don’t believe in #superstition ... But there is one thing I do believe in: KARMA ⤵️
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Ever since we started creating content in efforts to positively impact the life of others, wonderful things have been happening to us ✨ and we can’t help but to feel lucky. But we’ve also realized this is NOT luck.
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This is the universe giving back what we pour into it. This is #GOODkarma
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Yesterday, when I saw a mean review on our podcast I felt hurt. But then, I felt SAD for that person who is creating a sea of bad karma for herself 😱🌊!!
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My wish for all of you is that you think twice about the kind of energy you’re putting out into the world⚡️. If you pour positive energy, that is exactly what you will get back ☘️
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So spread kind vibes, have good intentions and try to love instead of hate. The universe will reward you in one way or another 👊🏼👊🏼👊🏼♥️ #hellofears #mdrt #positiveimpact #karmaisreal #goodvibesonly #dontbeahater 🙃

I fell in LOVE with this illustration from my friend @andyjpizza ♥️ He dedicated it to his wife, Sophie, who keeps him grounded — just like @stramhacks keeps ME grounded 🙏🏼
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Andy describes himself as a bunch of balloons floating up whenever he is away from Sophie 🎈 Adam always describes our relationship as a kite! ⤵️
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He says I’m the kite, flying high, and he is the one holding it from the ground. The string that holds us together is our relationship. And the goal is to keep it as tight as possible — so I can fly the highest without getting lost 〰️
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Sounds nice and fun when I say it like this, right? It’s actually challenging AF 😬! It’s a constant pull - from both sides - where neither the kite nor the person can win, because one losing means both losing. It’s ONLY through #teamwork that the string can stay tight longer 🙌🏼😚
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Are you the kite or the person in the ground when it comes to your relationship? Tag your partner and let him/her know what he/she is ☺️!

Just a reminder ☺️✌🏼!
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Art @lucialitman 💓 Happy weekend y’all! #hellofears

This September I will be speaking to 15,000 women 👀 You want to know how I got that event? Through a DM I sent pitching my message. I literally went and grabbed it (➡️ SWIPE TO READ THE ACTUAL DM)
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That is also how I started my speaking business. The 1️⃣st thing I did was to create a list of the people I knew, along with the places they worked for, and the people THEY knew. Then, it was a matter of asking them to help me speak at their companies/events or connect me with the right person 👋🏼⁣
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That is how I was able to speak at Google, Netflix and Facebook from the get-go ✌🏼⁣
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ANYTHING you want to accomplish may be one email or DM away. It’s about going and grabbing it 💥 Asking for it 💥 Pitching yourself 💥 The key is NOT the contacts you have, is the confidence you have in yourself to make good use of them.⁣
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I trusted people could benefit tremendously from my message — and ANYONE could perceive that confidence. When you TRUST in your value, others will believe in you AND support you on your journey to success.⁣
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So, start by building that self confidence now, and then, GO. AND. GRAB. IT. Ask for the things you want #unapologetically — Rejection may happen... but success may also happen. So 👏🏼 much 👏🏼 to 👏🏼 win 👏🏼 And you are worth it.⁣
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This is something I learned from @garyvee 🧠🙌🏼⁣ So... what was that thing you wanted SO much?
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#hellofears #goandgrabit #entrepreneurslife #garyvee #whatsthebestthatcanhappen #courageis #bravery #lifechanging #nonstop #makeithappen #doer #success #fear #goals

They say “you can’t pour from an empty cup”, but what does that mean? 🍶⁣
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After speaking intensely for many days in a row, I arrived home, and realized it was time for me to refill my cup before going back on tour again.⁣
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I usually relax by going to the city and having some ME time. But this time I tried something new — and I had an experience like NO OTHER ⤵️⁣
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I heard about a Williamsburg salon — @ablhairstudios — that offered a “hair healing” treatment, so I decided to give it a try ⤵️🙌🏼 #whatsthebestthatcanhappen⁣
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〰️ When I got there, the first thing I noticed is that the salon looks like your best friend’s Brooklyn apartment 🌱 (swipe ➡️). Cozy, full of plants and lots of personality.⁣
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〰️ The “washing station” 🚿 was a DREAM. The owner’s goal was to turn the typical chair into a BED, where you lay flat as she massages your head 💆🏼‍♀️ for 30 min straight 😵 + PLUS the “bed” was heated 🔥⁣
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〰️ There is a special focus on awakening and relaxing ALL of your 5 senses. The smells 👃 from the oils and products were beyond anything I’ve ever smelled, the lights 💡 were dimmed and colorful, making patterns on the ceiling. I had a cozy blanket on top of me. The mint tea 🍵 was refreshing, and the sound bath 🔊 was just what I needed!⁣
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What I liked the most was the conversation I had with the owner. She said: “Michelle, while you discovered that your purpose was to encourage people to step outside of their comfort zone, MY purpose is to help people pause ⏸, take a break, recharge, and go out there again 🙏🏼” This is SO important guys. More than you think 👀⁣
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My hair not only looks beautiful today, it feels healthy and strong 💪🏼♥️ and I’m as happy as I could be. ⚠️ This post is a reminder to take care of yourself, to INVEST in your well-being and take the time to recharge. We all need it 🙏🏼 How do you refill your cup?
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🌈 @stacieswift thank you for the beautiful art

One thing is to receive praise after a presentation — which is nice. Another one — MUCH NICER — is to receive messages from empowered women who decided to take action right after hearing my message 😭♥️💥
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➡️➡️ Swipe to read a few of the emails I received after speaking at the Most Powerful Women Event in Vegas two weeks ago ➡️➡️
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My job is a blessing and I cannot thank the UNIVERSE enough for this opportunity 💫 This is my #TBT
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#hellofears #motivationalspeakers #keynotespeaker #networkmarketing #mpw2019 @ericworre @marinaworre #courageis #vegas #conference #womenpower #lovemyjob

In a recent conversation with Adam, I told him that I truly believed there is a right partner for everyone, people just have to be willing to find it. And I added “I’m glad we found each other young enough, at 17” To which he answered with a question ⬇️⁣
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🤔 Did we simply find each other, or... did we build our relationship? 🤷🏻‍♂️⁣
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Such an interesting question! So we created a full podcast episode based on that premise. And our conclusion was ⤵️⁣
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There may NOT be such thing as the *perfect partner*, but the RIGHT person to build a relationship with does exist, it’s a matter of finding it and then working together as a team.⁣
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Some questions you can ask yourself to know if you are building a future with the right person for you:⁣
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♥️ Does this person bring out the best, or the worst in me?⁣
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♥️ Does this person bring me down, or challenges me to reach my full potential?⁣
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♥️ Are our values aligned?⁣ — more important than having similar taste, is to have similar core values
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♥️ Do we want to be in the same place 5, 10 or 20 years from today?⁣
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♥️ Are you both equally committed to making this relationship work?⁣
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♥️ Are you proud of your partner?⁣
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♥️ Are you together because of love, or because of fear (fear to be alone, or fear to hurt each other)⁣
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The most important question:⁣
♥️ How much do you value yourself?⁣
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Self worth is the first step towards finding the right partner and then having the courage to work together every day to making it work 🙏🏼⁣
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🎙 Desde El Avión: If you speak Spanish, DO listen to our podcast episode called: We Are NOT The Perfect Couple (No Somos La Pareja Perfecta) on iTunes or Spotify 💕 #podcast #hellofears #perfectpartner #love #relationships #desdelavion #michelleyadam
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Lovely illustration by @natalia_ramas for @estherperelofficial 👏🏼

Ever since we got married in 2011 we thought we would have a baby in the next two years...
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And then New York came. So we said: next year, when my masters in branding is over!...
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And then the 100 Days Without Fear project came, and we said: next year when this thing is over and we go back to our normal routine...
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And then the speaking came, and then the book came, and then we BECAME different people. People who are not looking to check society’s boxes, but our own.
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Which is the HARDEST thing to do.
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If I made it look easy, I’m sorry. It’s actually pretty forking hard. To look around and make the decision— one more time — to follow our hearts, and not the crowds’. To say YES to ourselves, and NO to the rest of the world. To wait, to build, to trust, instead of rushing... Rushing for what? Rushing to meet whose expectations? To make who happy? To live on whose timeline?
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Maybe next year! If it feels right for US 🙏🏼✨♥️ @stramhacks
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If you are also holding off on motherhood because you want to give your best self to your kids and be ready for such important stage in life, you are not alone ☺️ Let’s keep going, you’re already a great mom just because of that 👊🏼! #mothersday #motherhood #hellofears #courageis #chooseyourownpath #defyexpectations

“Perfect is the enemy of the good” That’s why when @stramhacks and I had the idea to start our own podcast, we literally started it 😅
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Some people would’ve waited to buy the perfect mic, write at least 20 ideas for possible episodes and design the most beautiful cover. We used the @apple earphones’ mic, designed a cover in 12 minutes and started recording!
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10 episodes and 20,000+ downloads later, we decided to finally invest in our product, now that it is PROVEN to add value. In fact, our podcast “Desde El Avión “ is our most demanded product so far 🥳
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My advice: don’t wait to have it all figured out, and START! Figuring things out is just part of the process, and the faster you test drive your idea, the faster you’ll be getting results and building on top of it 👊🏼
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What are you waiting for??? 😬
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➡️ By the way, if you own an airline (or work at one), we are looking for SPONSORS! 👏🏼🔥👏🏼
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THANK YOU @caravisionnyc for the awesome photos, and @nawisworld for the fun illustration. Working with you both has been nothing but pure JOY!!!
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#newlook #desdelavion #podcast #cover #photoshoot #couple #hellofears #perfect #goodenough #startnow

I’ve never bought a lottery ticket in my life, not for myself. I was always afraid that if I won a big chunk of 💰 I was not going to make it on my own.⁣
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And even though my goal was never to become a millionaire, because money is not my MAIN driver, I knew that the lack of it could motivate any human being to work harder and faster🏃🏽‍♀️💨
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So, instead of comparing myself to people around me whose parents bought them houses or gave them the money to start their businesses, I constantly reminded myself of the feeling of accomplishment that making it — on my own — would bring me🔥
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And tbh, it feels fuc*ing amazing to be where I am today, and to know that WE made it — 100% on our OWN 👊🏼⁣
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Disclaimer: It may take longer, it may be way harder, but the reward tastes WAY BETTER. And I wouldn’t change a thing — #SELFMADE 🙏🏼♥️ If I did it, you can too ☺️ #courageis #motivation #girlboss #onourown #courage #entrepreneurship

I attended two concerts while in Vegas 😎👇🏼
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Image 1️⃣ // At the @maluma concert (swipe ➡️) — SHOCKED by the amount of people who “lived” the ENTIRE experience through the screen of their phones 😨. So much, that I needed to take a video out of just THAT.⁣
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Image 2️⃣ // At the @brunomars concert (swipe ➡️ one more) — SHOCKED that they locked 🔒 away our phones on those pouches for the ENTIRE time 😑
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Guess where we had the most fun?⁣
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I’m not going to lie. I was pissed off at first. I thought that the reason why they did that at Bruno Mars was just to prohibit us from recording the concert ❌🎦⁣
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Wrong. So wrong. at the beginning of the concert, Bruno addressed the 🐘 in the room, and admitted that the ONLY reason HE asked to take away our phones was because he wanted us to be PRESENT, and actually have fun for once 😅⁣
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I laughed at myself, thought about the Maluma experience, and hi-fived 👋🏼 Bruno from afar. ⏩ Immediately, we stood up and started dancing 💃🏼! We sang out loud and immersed ourselves into a one of a kind experience 🙌🏼⁣
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Thank you, #brunomars 👊🏼 for the #JOMO time — #hellofears #nophone #concert #vegas #mgmpark

What kind of EXPERIENCE would you rather have?

Today is Adam’s birthday, but that is not his accomplishment, I mean, being born can count as an accomplishment, I guess. But I want to take advantage of this day to celebrate Adam’s parents: Elizabeth and Paul:⁣
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I want to thank YOU guys from the bottom of my heart for bringing such amazing person into this world. You not only had the great idea to have him, but you clearly did an exceptional job at raising him.⁣
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I want to thank you for gifting ME the most incredible, humble, charismatic, hard working, supportive and sweet man I get to call my hubby. ⁣
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There are not a lot of people in this world like Adam, and I think we can all agree with that. So, please give us all the HACKS so we can all raise more Adams and leave this world better than we found it ♥️⁣
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Forever grateful,⁣
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You daughter-in-law ☺️⁣
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Happy birthday @stramhacks — you deserve the world, and I promise to give you my best, daily (but please don’t ever get a mustache — swipe ➡️👨🏻)

I personally unfollow people every single day. My goal is to optimize my feed so it ONLY brings me joy, motivation, hope, confidence, smiles and good vibes! So, this is an invitation for you to do the same, and I’m even giving you permission to unfollow this account (not that you need any, it is YOUR feed after all). So ⤵️⁣
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🎈If you don’t find real value in my posts, unfollow me⁣
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🎈If you constantly find yourself comparing your life to mine, and that causes you anxiety, unfollow me⁣
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🎈If you can’t relate to my way of thinking, unfollow me⁣
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🎈If you rather be comfortable than challenged, unfollow me⁣
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🎈If you only follow me because you know me in real life, but you don’t really like my content, by all means, unfollow me (no hard feelings)⁣
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🎈If you think I’m too intense, or my posts are too long, unfollow me⁣
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If you do unfollow me for these, or whatever other reason you may have, know that I’ll always be here if you need me in the future! 👋🏼☺️ Take care of yourself first now.⁣
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This post was inspired by: @cafedelexito⁣
📸 Photo by: @caravisionnyc

Yesterday, as I was browsing Instagram, I saw a photo of a beautiful bathroom (swipe ➡️). I stopped 🛑 scrolling immediately! And took a few seconds to take in what I was looking at: the patterned tiles, the dreamy bathtub, the black and white furniture, the 🌱and the cool lamp.
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My first thought was: “I will never have such beautiful bathroom 🥺”
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“Wait, what?!” I interrupted myself and thought: “If you tell yourself you will never have it, most likely, you never will!”
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I immediately changed my speech and told myself: “I will have that bathroom, sooner or later” — and I took a screenshot of it so I could keep it. Now, I will work towards what I want instead of victimizing myself 🔥
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That thought was reassuring AF, and it made me feel in control of my life. So, next time YOU catch yourself saying things like: I will never have, I will never do, or I will never be, flip that thought around and make it a goal of yours 👊🏼 Capiche? ☺️ #hellofears #motivation #yesIcan

One day you love to ski... the next day not so much. And suddenly, something that used to be in our comfort zone no longer is 😟. Have you noticed that the older we get the more afraid we become? 👵🏼⁣
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I don’t #ski often, and sadly, the less I do it, the more it scares me. Which applies to everything in life: confrontation, vulnerability, learning a new skill, speaking in public, traveling, networking, etc. Which is exactly WHY we have to challenge ourselves DAILY: say YES to new experiences + opportunities. That’s the best way to EXPAND our comfort zones to new frontiers 🤯!⁣
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So, even though it scares me, I will continue to ski every chance that I get! 👊🏼⛷ As a reminder that living life to the fullest is a choice, and a habit ✨ #hellofears