Meet Jade Gonzales

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

Jade, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?

I developed my confidence and self-esteem through several life experiences – including failures, not trusting my gut, fear, and pain. I grew my confidence and self-esteem not only by overcoming failure and getting back up, but by listening to my gut, following through, looking at fear in the face, taking the risks, and allowing to fully feel painful experiences so I could understand them and how I got there. I was able to do all of this by grasping four important things 1) accountability 2) self-awareness 3) forgiveness 4) boundaries. By being accountable to myself and owning my choices, I experienced the domino effect of where I am today – both the rewards and consequences. Accountability is the first step to growth in both confidence and self-esteem; it’s easy to take credit for a good deed, but not everyone can admit when they’re wrong and face the consequences of that. That is where true confidence and self-esteem start. This process allowed me to build trust in myself, and ultimately led to my freedom to speak my truth with care, respect, and dignity, and love. I’m still not perfect, but I’m more aware of myself today, and I can say I live in a frequency, and state of refinement.

One of my most defining moments in realizing all of this had to do with my fitness journey. It is the one area that, to this day, continues to save my life again and again. The first was after my divorce, and almost a decade later, was after being involved in a dating scam — fitness became my anchor. Divorce is sometimes the best choice, and it was in mine, but it took a toll on my self-esteem, and shattered my dreams, and awakened me to this life we call reality, Other than therapy and other forms of self-help, my fitness journey was what transformed not only my body but my mindset, It wasn’t just losing weight, and feeling good physically. The steps I took in fitness taught me accountability and shifted my outlook on what it meant to be responsible for my own life. This became the life lesson. No one was going to save me but me.

The dating scam, took me down a darker road mentally. The regular visits to the gym and workout classes that once helped didn’t feel the same anymore. I was working with a life coach, who encouraged me to take on another challenge, A fitness show. I had always wanted to do one, but was terrified. Still I did it. Twice. I placed first in my last show, and won my pro card. The endorphins released during workouts became a natural anti-depressant, and the the fitness show challenged my body with not only the workouts but the diet, discipline, and the CHOICE. My fitness journey is symbolic for me because it literally saved my life from choosing a dark path.

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

I’m an Aesthetic Registered Nurse based in Los Angeles. What makes me most excited about the work I do, is that it doesn’t feel like work at all. It feels like I’m getting paid to make other people feel and look their best, and there is nothing more satisfying than making others feel amazing.

I’ve worked in the Medical Aesthetic industry for over a decade and have served clients across several cities in Southern California. I also train new nurses privately, and through educational programs. Although I’ve been in the industry for years, I still consider myself a forever student – constantly learning from the best so I can continue delivering exceptional, natural-looking results that leave my clients feeling empowered and pleased at the end of the day.

My motto is to INVEST IN YOURSELF, it’s not only a form of self-care but an act of self-love. When you know how to love yourself, you will know how to love others. Invest not only in the aesthetics or beauty, but also mentally, physically, and spiritually. You can’t just take care of one and neglect the others. We must take care of our WHOLE self.

I always say: “When you can look in the mirror and say ‘I look damn good!’ I reached my goal as an aesthetic provider. When you say ‘I look good,’ I know you feel good.”

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?

The areas of knowledge that I would advise readers to develop and grasp on their journey would be these 3 things: Self-awareness, boundaries, and reinvention.

Being self- aware allows you to look at yourself from the outside. This matters because it’s easy to point the finger at someone else – their flaws, their shortcomings – and get offended when someone points the finger at us. But can you point the finger at yourself? True self- awareness shifts not only how you treat yourself, but how you treat others. It carries into your business, your personal life, and creates environments with higher morale, deeper relationships, and more integrity.

Boundaries, this took years of practice before I could say I truly learned to honor them. My favorite word now is NO. Boundaries protect you, but they also protect others. When you use the word “no”, you are honoring yourself, while still respecting another person’s choices. You simply step back and let them be who they are. It may make others uncomfortable, but it also helps them feel because they know exactly where you stand. Saying no doesn’t have to be harsh – the real skill is learning how to communicate it with clarity and respect.

Reinvention: Don’t fear the pivot in your life. Things don’t always turn out the way we expect, even if we take all the right steps, make all the right choices, and have the purest intentions – life has a way of throwing a curveballs. Instead of resisting them, look at the curveball as an opportunity for growth, redirection, and transformation. Reinvention is not failure – it’s wisdom. I’ve learned to see life’s pivots as stressful at times, yes, but ultimately as blessings in disguise.

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

In my younger years when I felt stressed or overwhelmed by situations outside of my control, I used to mentally spiral. I overthought everything. I tried to take control of situations that were never mine to control, which only made me feel more overwhelmed. I used to drive myself nuts trying to manage what couldn’t be managed.

Over time, I learned the only thing I truly had control over was myself. Before I could learn to manage stress, I had to understand my own triggers and get to know myself ob a deeper level. This required humility – admitting I was broken and needed help. That was my turning point, So I sought therapy, journaling, the gym, and self-help books. These tools taught me how to approach stressful or overwhelming situations, which will always happen in life.

Now instead of spiraling, I journal, I talk to friends and vent, I ground myself by asking: what can I control right now? I take care of the part that’s mine, and then I let the rest unfold. Most of the time, everything ends up being okay – and I realize that what was happening in my head wasn’t even close to reality.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @lanursejade

Image Credits

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