Meet Isabel Varela

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Isabel Varela. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Isabel, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?

$100K in Debt and Buried in Clothes: How I Found My Life’s Purpose
By Isabel Varela

My purpose began revealing itself when I was at rock bottom. I was $100,000 in debt from a shopping addiction, surrounded by clothes I didn’t need, and completely disconnected from who I was. My entire life had been built on external validation. In that moment of collapse, I had to make a choice: to face the shame and guilt, and to to finally meet the woman I had always been.

As I began decluttering my home, I realized I wasn’t just clearing things: I was releasing the version of me that lived for approval. The woman who needed to be the fashion designer, the TV personality, the one constantly proving her worth. That process of letting go became the seed of my life’s work and the foundation of Repurpose Your Life™ Method, a system I created to integrate strategy, sustainability, and soul to help others create true alignment.

But purpose isn’t found just through decluttering. It’s found through self-awareness. I had a significant mentor who showed me a new way of living and being, who modeled self-respect and grounded guidance when I had none. I stayed curious, followed my intuition, and took the road less traveled even when it made no logical sense.

I had to release old stories, identities, values, and even relationships — not just to let go, but to repurpose them into wisdom. My pain became my purpose. It’s what allowed me to transform into the woman and the leader I am today: a holistic business coach, shamanic practitioner, and the CEO of Repurpose Your Life™.

I worked. I sacrificed. I strengthened my courage muscle and, more importantly, my vulnerability muscle. Finding my purpose meant walking through heartbreak, disillusionment, anger, sadness, grief, and all the emotions most people run away from. I faced them. I sat with them. In doing so, I came home to myself.

There was so much I was carrying that wasn’t mine. This included expectations from family, society, and outdated structures I was never meant to fit into. I had to shatter those beliefs and rebuild a new foundation rooted in truth – authenticity over approval, alignment over achievement.. The deeper I went, the clearer I became. The clearer life became. The clearer my purpose became.

That clarity is now reflected through everything I create at Repurpose Your Life™, a global transformation company helping visionary women declutter their lives, repurpose their pain into power, and rise into purpose-driven leadership. Through high-level coaching, business strategy, and spiritual healing, we’ve helped over 80 entrepreneurs realign their businesses and lives with sustainability and soul.

Before founding Repurpose Your Life™, I spent over 27 years in the fashion and sustainability industries, collaborating with luxury houses such as LVMH, Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom, and Balmain, and diverting over 50,000 units of textile waste from landfills. My work in corporate social responsibility and community impact earned me the title of Changemaker of the Year in 2019 and features from CNN, Reuters, and NY1 for my work.

I’ve spoken on more than 30 global stages, including Columbia University, NYU, the Ford Foundation, and Bloomberg Philanthropies, sharing my frameworks for sustainable transformation and holistic success.

I also served on the NSBA Leadership Council, leading the Environmental and Sustainability Working Group aligning innovation, policy, and heart-centered leadership to create long-term change.

To me, purpose isn’t something you chase. It’s something you expand to hold. The deeper we go within ourselves, the more capacity we have to carry our gifts and serve others through them.

That expansion became the heartbeat of my mission: to inspire and equip one million women to build purpose-driven, sustainable businesses through the Repurpose Your Life™ movement.

Purpose isn’t found. It’s remembered: buried beneath everything we thought we had to be. When we declutter the noise, what’s left is truth.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

After decluttering, repurposing, and transforming my own life, I founded Repurpose Your Life™, a holistic business and leadership transformation company designed to help women turn burnout into clarity and build purpose-driven lives and businesses.

What makes this work so special is that it’s not just coaching, it’s a movement. Repurpose Your Life™ is the only company blending business strategy, energetics, and sustainability to guide women back into alignment with who they truly are. It’s the work I wish I had when I was lost in burnout, perfectionism, and performance—listening to everyone except myself.

We don’t just talk about goals; we remove what’s blocking them. Every tool, every framework, every ritual I share comes from lived experience. Whether it’s clutter in a home, chaos in a business, or beliefs buried deep in the nervous system, the work is about clearing the clutter so women can rise into their truth, confidence, and purpose.

Over the years, this mission has expanded far beyond coaching including group programs, retreats, and corporate trainings that bring transformation to leadership, business, and life. I’ve had the honor of supporting hundreds of women in rediscovering their clarity, confidence, and power. What excites me most is witnessing that moment when a woman remembers who she’s always been and when she begins to listen to herself again.

Right now, I’m building the first Repurpose Your Life™ Healing Retreat Center, a space where women can rest, reconnect, and rise. I’m also writing my first memoir, set to launch in 2026, which shares the deeper story of how I transformed my life by decluttering everything physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, and how others can do the same.

Everything I create, whether a keynote, a ritual, or a coaching experience, is rooted in one truth: when we heal ourselves, we heal the world. The greatest gift we can give others is to do our own inner work, because when we rise, we naturally become the vessel that helps others rise too.

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?

Looking back, the three qualities that have had the biggest impact on my journey are resilience, curiosity, and interpersonal communication.

Resilience because life will always test you. We all go through challenges—some heavier than others—but it’s the ability to keep going, even when everything feels uncertain, that shapes who you become. Resilience isn’t about pretending to be strong; it’s about having faith that you’ll find your way through. It’s what helped me rebuild from $100,000 in debt, from the ground up, and turn that pain into a movement that now helps women across the world do the same.

Curiosity has been one of my greatest teachers. If I hadn’t stayed curious, I would’ve missed so many opportunities for growth. Curiosity replaced the fear of not knowing. It helped me approach the unknown with wonder instead of worry. Every time I said, “Why not try?” instead of “What if I fail?”—my life expanded. Curiosity is what led me to study energy work, sustainability, and eventually to create the holistic systems that became the foundation of Repurpose Your Life™.

And interpersonal communication, learning how to really listen, empathize, and connect, has been essential. Whether in business or relationships, success is built on understanding people. Deep listening, compassion, and knowing how to communicate authentically have helped me build meaningful partnerships, serve my clients on a deeper level, and lead from both head and heart.

For anyone early in their journey, especially entrepreneurs or those seeking their purpose, my advice is this: let go of the pressure to find your purpose right away. The more you chase it, the further it feels. Purpose isn’t discovered through force. Purpose is revealed through self-awareness.

That’s why I always say: build a relationship with yourself first. The clearer you become within, the clearer your direction becomes without. Some people are born knowing exactly what they want to do. Others uncover it piece by piece, as they grow. Be open to evolving. Be open to outgrowing. As you change, your purpose will too.

When you understand yourself, you begin to recognize your gifts and appreciate your story. That’s where real purpose is born, from gratitude, not pressure. It’s what inspired me to build my company and now expand it into the first Repurpose Your Life™ Healing Retreat Center, a space for women to rest, reconnect, and rise. I’m also writing my memoir, set to release in 2026, which shares how I transformed every layer of my life—physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually—and how others can do the same.

If you’re wondering where to start, look at what comes naturally to you and what lights you up. That’s usually where your greatest value lies. Then ask yourself: What am I curious about that could make someone else’s life better? Follow that question. Stay humble. Keep learning.

We’ve all got limited resources, time, energy, focus etc – so if you had to choose between going all in on your strengths or working on areas where you aren’t as strong, what would you choose?

That’s such a great question because for me, it’s not one or the other. You need both.

In many ways, I did go all in on my strengths. I’ve always been creative, an artist, a designer, someone who loves to build with her hands and bring ideas to life. That gift of turning vision into reality has always been one of my greatest strengths, and it’s what shaped everything I do today.

But when you’re building a business, especially as an entrepreneur, you also have to become well-rounded. You can’t be everything, but you do need to understand the foundation of what you’re creating. I had to learn how to lead, manage finances, and build systems that could sustain the vision. Creativity opened the door, but structure allowed it to grow.

That’s why I believe in honoring your strengths while developing the skills that make those strengths sustainable. My resilience, one of my core strengths, helped me keep going when things fell apart. But it was through learning mindset work, time mastery, and energy management that I learned how to thrive instead of just survive.

When we think about strengths, I always ask three questions:
What are you naturally good at? What brings you joy? And what’s in true alignment for you right now?
That’s where purpose begins to take shape.

So my answer is both: lead with your strengths, but grow through curiosity.
Your strengths will give you direction, but it’s the areas that challenge you that teach you who you’re becoming and curiosity helps you face those challenges with less fear and more openness.

Contact Info:

Suggest a Story: BoldJourney is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems,
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
Highlighter Series
What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?

We asked folks a question that led to many surprising answers – some sad, some

Confidence
Being Effective Even When No One Else is Like You

Inevitably you will find yourself in a room where no one else is like you.

Confidence
Stories of Overcoming Imposter Syndrome

Learning from one another is what BoldJourney is all about. Below, we’ve shared stories and