We were lucky to catch up with Gabrielle Garofalo recently and have shared our conversation below.
Gabrielle, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
I am the survivor of many adversities…several little (t) and big T traumas; work discrimination; multiple instances of sexual harassment; almost losing my son at childbirth and him being born with a permanent physical disability; the death of two best friends and my Aunt, and just before this artcile was published, I learned my dad (who turns 90 in January) was diagnosed with aggressive lymphoma. That’s just in 2023!!
I now understand more than ever that we are at choice. We have to decide how we want to feel. Do we want to feel sad? Hopeless? Scared? Or do we want to feel calm, centered, passionate, excited, creative, optimisitc? I am lucky to have access and the means to invest in resources like therapy and other healing modalities such as yoga nidra; breathwork; a 25+ year yoga practice; meditation and many more. I like a “full tool box” so I can access what I need, when I need it so I can remain resourced to deal with “life life-ing” at us all th etime. This approach has helped me step closer to my own truths. We have to be willing to dive deep into the darkest parts of ourselves; get curious about our stories and thoughts that keep us stuck and choose to find ways to heal. We must ask ourselves ‘How good can we allow life to be?,’ ‘How much joy can I let in?’ We only become reslient when we move through adversity time and again.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
Happy to – among other things, I am a serial entrepreneur and the creator of The Pause for Pleasure Process; a series of practices I developed to help over-stressed professionals tap into pleasure and joy as the ultimate antidote to the modern-day challenges of burnout, boredom, and living in a world on fire.
The most exciting thing for me as a founder and entrepreneur is creating something from nothing. I’ve always been interested in the science behind coaching; we all know everyone’s a coachthese days and there are plenty of people out there happy to take your money who are far from qualified! I take this work seriously and find the research that helps me articulate what what I teach works. Our brains are miraculous and have the ability to create new neural pathways (ways of thinking) that can help us combat our built-in negativity bias. Humans have between 70,000-90.000 thoughts a day; all wired for fight or flight solely. So until we get acutely aware of our thoughts from a non-judgemental point of view, we cannot possibly make the shifts we need to reduce our stress. Having created The Pause for Pleasure Process is the start of what I hope will be a global platform so that people can easily and effortlessly tap into pleasure practices centered on 15 different areas so they can come back to center and have some fun doing it. As we build new pleasure practices, our brains start to shift the way we think and how we manager our stress and/or anxiety. The 15 practices I’ve identified and the five-part framework within my Pause for Pleasure Process are inclusive. The practices transcend race, cultural boundaries, income, gender, sexual orientation, geography, language; financial health, physical challenges and more.
I am really excited for 2024. I have three or four main focuses for my business. The first is corporate speaking via lunch and learns; executive training; retreats and immersive experiences. The next is continuing my one-on-one coaching practice. I accept about 10-15 people per quarter max so I can give my full attention to helping them elevate to the next level. I am launching a private monthly community that will include live coaching with me; special guests; resources; tools and ultimately retreats, merch and the last thing I’m super excited about is launching a podcast in 2024.
These are the seeds I’m planting toward the creation of the global platform; the opportunity to introduce the concept of pleasure to more humans; why it’s crucial to our well-being, the simplicity of creating pleasure practice to replace mindless scrolling, eating, texting, binging, etc. This work can disrupt and transform corporate and start-up cultures.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I think the most important skills to develop to be succesful personally and professionally are:
1. Be willing to make mistakes, a lot of them. Learn from every single one.
2. Your ego has no interest in your progress (Gabism), so keep that in mind when reaching for your dreams
3. Learn everything you can about the industries that excite you. Loving what you do is so important to your life. Find every day to chase joy and pursue your passions.
My best advice is to remember everthing amazing ever created required taking risks. Ask for help; learn from others that you admire; find mentors; build a community of like-minded, positive people and stay committed to work on improving yourself.
Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?
This could be an entire article by itself. Some of my FAVE books and their impact include
Untamed by Glennon Doyle. I read that at one of the hardest and most pivotal times in my life. Glennon gives us a gorgeous reminder that it’s never too late to completely change your life, shift your beliefs, and start anew.
The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. Isn’t now all there ever is?
Law of Attraction by Michael Losier. Michael does a great job of being practical about language, practices and other ways to increase our ability to attract all we desire.
Why Didn’t I Notice Her Before by Beth Cramer. Written by my best friend who transitioned to the other side in September of this year. It’s a book about gratitude, being brave, and making the most of what you have before too late.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.gabriellegarofalo.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gabrielle.garofalo/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gabrielle.garofalo.73
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabriellegarofaloconsulting/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC10VRLS6aG73iKfAkOjs0aw
- Other: Clubhouse https://clubhouse.com/@gabgarofalo?utm_medium=ch_profile&utm_campaign=Z_wctf_dWH6qVCbr1JFohg-1003030
Image Credits
Photos by Damaly Shepherd, Creative Direction by Hope M Bond
