Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Juliana Ruggiero. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Juliana, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
I eneded up finding my purpose in May of 2022. Here’s a little backround: in January of 2019, two days shy of my 20th birthday, i trgiclly and unexpectedly lost my dad to the advanced stages of diabietes. After his death, my greif was so bad, i quit everything. I am an Amazon. com Best Seling author and International/ Motovational speaker. Prior to that, way before my dad’s death, i started out small as an online author, writing for 4 different sites at a time. I had everything going for me. my future was bright. However, the death of my dad broke me, devestated me and pretty much regressed me back into a child.
I lost my will to write, as well as everything else i worked so hard for. I even quit going to therapy for two years because i was completly dead, shut off to the world. I spent the next three and a half years wondering if i would ever come back from such a devestating time.
Two years later, i had gone back to my thrapist. She had asked me if i knew what i wanted to do moving forward in life. i told her i didn’t want to go back to college or get a job. I said i wanted to go back into writing, but didn’t know where to go. (it had been three and a half years since i wrote something.)
After i was told i needed to find something related to writing that gives me joy and makes me feel good on the inside, i was scrolling through Facebook one day and saw this post about a book called Girl, Don’t Count Yourself Out: You are Resillant, Tenachous and Faitful. This book was being put together by Visionary Sabrina Thomas. I started at the post for at least 20 minutes and thought maybe i should do this,
I reached out to her and asked if she was still acepting authors. Turns out i was the final person accepted in before the intrest for authors closed.
This book helped me find my purpose. It has brought me back to life as well as helpted me develop long lasting friendships with my fellow co authors and Visonary.
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 am 25 years old, born and rasied in Conneticut. I was born at 31 weeks with mild Cerebral Palsy. I have had this condition for 25 years and whole lifetime more to go. it hasn’t been easy, but i’ve leared so much from it and it has helped shape me into the women i am today
I am an Amazon. com Best Selling Author and Motovational Speaker. What i love most about what i do is that it brings me great joy and happniess to know that my chapter contribution in my co authored book Girl Don’t Count Yourself Out is helping so many pepole out there get through loss / hard times in their lives. I do what i do everyday as an author to not become rich but to make a difference and inspire those around me.
What i also love about what i do is that i can “work for myself” meaning i can stop what i’m doing at any time . go do something else and xome back and finisg the one thing i started later. I don’t have to punch a clock, i don’t have to stress about being on time, and i can work and get things done at my own pace.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
ahh this is a wonderful question. For me, some skills that i had to learn were: 1. trusting the procees. @. taling other pepole’s advice outside of my family/ close friends and rolling with it 3. stepping out of my comfort zone, all three of these dkills were hard for me to learn because i’m stubborn and am learning to be more independent. However, if i din’t learn skills 1 and 2 early on, there’s a good chance that i wouldn’t have gotten involved with the book. I would have never found where my heart truly belongs. and there is for sure no way i would have found the ladies i’m involved with now through this book. My advice for pepole out there who are just beinging wwould be this: Start small and work your way up . Your growth will not happen over night. Keep your friend cricle small: get involved with bthose pepole who want to to see you win and do well, those who will celebrate your wins and growth, even if it’s big or small. Get rid of those who are not happy for you, that don’t care, or just bring you down in general. if you surrond yourself with postive and upliffting pepole, watch your progrees take off!
Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?
When i feel overwhelf i do a lot of self care. and i try to clear my mind as well as not overwork myself too much. doing all of this helps me mange stress and helps me be as productive as i can be. Being an author is like a job when having to do all of these diferent interviews, podcasts and speaking engagements. I try to plan my weeks out so i can get at least one thing done so i can feel acomplished at the end of the day. if i have the energy after i get that one thing done, i’ll maybe knock out a few more things. if i have no energy i stop and plan to get other things done another day. My advice would be if anyone out there feels overwhelmed, do whatever it is that will help you cope and get back on track. you do you!
Contact Info:
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/juliana.ruggiero/
- Other: Readers can check out some of my online author work on the following sites: The Mighty: https://themighty.com/topic/cerebral-palsy/moving-forward-with-cerebral-palsy-one-step-at-a-time/
Coffee House Writers (medium. Com) : Note : Readers may need to use their email or Facebook account to acess these articles https://medium.com/@julianaruggiero
Unwritten: https://www.readunwritten.com/author/collegestudent17/
Project Wednesday (now know as the plant room) https://www.projectwednesday.org/author/julianaruggiero/
Image Credits
Sabrina Thomas Diana Ruggiero Prtty Women Husle Magazine annpmous Juliana Rugiero
