Meet Barbara Ximena

We were lucky to catch up with Barbara Ximena recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Barbara, so happy you were able to devote some time to sharing your thoughts and wisdom with our community. So, we’ve always admired how you have seemingly never let nay-sayers or haters keep you down. Can you talk to us about how to persist despite the negative energy that so often is thrown at folks trying to do something special with their lives?

Haters want a piece of your story whether its positive or negative – they will prey (sometimes secretly) for you to fail just for their narrative to be fulfilled. So simply put, if you know your truth, and you’ve been putting in the work to be accountable for your actions then just follow that feeling. RESIST THE GASLIGHTING AND COGNITIVE DISSONANCE. Make sure whoever is around wants the best for you – it should be clear no questions asked. Follow ur intuition.

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

Currently I am focused on being financially stable – it seems like being an artist is literally just having a Hannah Montana life until you can live off your art. I want to be able to make pieces with zero sacrifice to quality or vision – which means I need to be self funded. This way I can make sure I am making things devoid of external control and compromise of self. If anyone wants to pay me to just be me though my inbox is open lol. Other than that, continuing to make profound connections and focusing on myself so I can create quality pieces.
In all seriousness, The things I make are purely for altruism. I don’t have to pander to hungry consumers. Just existing in a raw state is protest to the world’s expectations of your body and purpose.

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?

Self-esteem. Deep love/curiosity. And pure intention.
In my opinion, working on those three qualities are what have gotten me to evolve my work and make something better every time. Without these, the plot gets lost and it’s a jungle out there. You never know why people are in the spaces they’re in, so keep yourself in check so you can attract people with similar goals. Avoid crabs in a bucket. They will latch on to your worst qualities for the sake of “art” – this is a trap. Good artist will help you bring out your best, and most interesting qualities. If you don’t feel ready to be seen, make art about your inner work, but do not seek external validation! This will make you vulnerable to starving souls.

Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?

Touch Grass! Art should not be tearing you down. Creation is self-actualization! Slow down! That does not mean stop, it means let go of yourself and accept the world as it offers its gifts to you! You don’t need to be creating all the time – you are not in a vacuum. We all shine at different times and you should want to support others as they shine. Art should be fulfilling not draining whether you’re consuming it or creating it.