We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Francesca Romana Garroni a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Francesca Romana, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
Purpose is an essential ingredient to living a fulfilling life.
Having a clear and strong purpose has helped me find strength and build resilience over time. It has allowed me to see challenges as an opportunity to grow and expand personally and professionally. Just like a lighthouse guiding you on your journey towards your destination.
I have found my life purpose through what they call “the night of the soul”.
The day after graduating with honors, I experienced a sudden, deep and inexplicable sadness.
Instead of feeling proud of myself and motivated, I was in a state of despair and couldn’t stop crying. I felt empty.
I held a Bachelor’s degree in Foreign Languages and one of my professors had just offered me an exciting job abroad, but it just didn’t matter to me. I felt my soul was somehow broken as if I wasn’t on the right track. Something was definitely wrong.
So I decided to face this awkward and heavy feeling and for three consecutive days I stayed at home and did nothing but write down my thoughts. Brainstorming felt the right way to bring back happiness. I filled a few blank pages with all the things that made me happy and that I truly loved doing. I can’t lie. It was tough as I had to face the ugly truth, that I didn’t care about languages and diplomacy as what I really wanted wasn’t having an office job, but being a creative artist, a triple threat, making music, dancing, singing my heart out and living a colorful life. Such a different picture from the life I was supposed to start straight after graduation.
But I felt strongly that it was tremendously important to follow my dreams and I declared to my family and friends that my soul purpose was becoming the artist I have always dreamt of.
So, whenever I feel lost or purposeless, I take some time to really listen to any unpleasant feelings surfacing as I know they will speak to me and help me find back my purpose. And yes, I take a pen and a piece of paper, brainstorm a bit or cry if I feel like it. And then I always end up understanding myself better.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I could describe myself as a multipassionate and creative person. Music has been my first love, probably because I was born into a musical family, where everyone sang or played at least one instrument. Then I came across acting when my mother enrolled me to a clowing workshop to help me overcome shyness. Next I dicovered my passion for dancing and spontaneously I started enjoying switching from one art form to the other.
And this is how I ended up moving to London to train professionally as a musical theatre performer, even though it took me years to fully believe in this dream and make it come true.
In 2013 I was auditioning for West End shows when a friend asked me if I would be interested in teaching performing arts. I accepted with no expectations whatsoever even though I believed I wasn’t born to be a teacher.
11 years later I am proud to say that teaching performing arts is the greatest blessing of my life and made me a better performer.
London is a vibrant metropolis and a source of inspiration for creative folks. It was there that I started songwriting and writing musicals on piano and ukulele.
Two years ago I started a theatre project called “L’Orchidea Purpurea” in Rome, Italy, involving people from all ages and backgrounds. This adventure has been an incredible journey as it has shown me the arts transformative power.
There is nothing more exciting than seeing strangers getting together and collaborating to create from scratch a a whole new show.
It was through this project that I met a wonderful costume and set designer, Tina Conte, who has become my partner.
I have fallen in love with directing and last year I concieved a new musical that will premiere in 2025 in Rome : it is a brand new theatrical production of “Beauty and the Beast – a musical fairy tale” and the whole cast, creative team and myself are thrilled to bring it to life !
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Gratitude is a fundamental practice to move forward in life and to be able to see and create amazing opportunities.
Creativity is a crucial skill nowadays if you want to stand out and be unique.
Determination is what made me overcome major life challenges and kept me focused on my path.
Gratitude starts with a smile when you wake up. You are alive so you have been given another chance to do great things.
Creativity is about finding your voice, trusting your taste and spending time in nature and with pets or animals really can help you boost it.
Determination comes from having a clear purpose. Find the latter and it will come to you naturally !
Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?
My mother is a life coach and a writer. She has been my inspiration since I was a child, She has always believed in me and helped me see things clearer in times of confusion and distress. I have been ver lucky.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.instagram.com/francescaromanagarroni/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lorchidea_purpurea/
- Linkedin: https://it.linkedin.com/in/francesca-romana-garroni-344a8969
Image Credits
Pietro Ciavattini Ilario Biondi Paola Davini Andrea Corda Gian Luca Franzese Nicola Terzo Cellurale
