We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Michaela Majava a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Michaela, thank you for being such a positive, uplifting person. We’ve noticed that so many of the successful folks we’ve had the good fortune of connecting with have high levels of optimism and so we’d love to hear about your optimism and where you think it comes from.
The biggest and most often part of me that people point out is my optimism and how do I keep that up when my life is so busy and not the easiest. I have to say it is all because of my youngest daughter, Stella Grace. She was born with a rare and complicated disease called 3B jejunoileal atresia which resulted in her rare condition now, intestinal dysmotility and newly found diagnosis of gastroparesis. I know, that is a mouthful. haha What all of that means is that for one, she has the inability to eat, so she has a feeding tube and is formula fed. And second, she has a cecostomy tube to help flush her bowels out daily. Being only 5 years old today, I am still and always will be in awe of the fact that she is the happiest child you would ever meet because she doesn’t allow her condition to define her. She has been through more than most adults and so when I look at her I am reminded of all the simple things I would take for granted, send my gratitude to the sky, and tell myself, “If your daughter can be this happy about life without eating or going to the bathroom normal, then you can CHOOSE to be happy and see the brighter sides of any situation too.”
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?
I found my purpose as your life and mindset-shifting coach through the darkest times of my life. It was during my divorce, sleeping on my mothers couch, raising 3 children (1 of which I was caregiving for with constant visits to the doctors and hospitals), with no money, no car, and my health was declining fast that I knew there had to be a reason for the madness. I found out in 2019 I had Breast Implant Illness (bii) and that I needed to take my implants out right away to save my life. Right in the middle of the pandemic I had no choice but to have my explant and I told myself that if i can make it out of this surgery, I would take this second chance at life seriously for myself, my kids, and our future. During my recovery time was when I did research and decided to go back to school and become an internationally certified coach practitioner with dual master in hypnolinguistics.
With having such a transforming year just this past year, from homelessness with my kids, to now in a loving relationship, in a safe and warm home filled with laughter and smiles and good smelling candles, I have realized anyone can have the knowledge, answers, education etc BUT if you don’t shift your mind to better align, you cannot shift your life to the dreams you have always held deep inside, YOUR PURPOSE.
Just this month I have started a new membership community group where we have daily affirmations, power hour mastermind live sessions, a monthly get together in support of us and small business owners, and such an incredible group of individuals that are ready for that dream life but just need that little extra help of mindset shifting because the more likeminded people around us, the faster the manifestations come!
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
The 3 qualities that felt essential to my growth would be being a self-starter, the drive to want to learn and be more, and quite honestly, my mindset to start was “Who would take care of my amazing children if something were to happen to me?” I was not in the best place in life at the start of my journey with a divorce, no money, friendships, car, bed, a phone even, but I still couldn’t trust that anyone else could care for them the way I could, but I needed to do better because they deserve better, no matter what that meant and how difficult the path became.
The best advice I have for anyone to improve their skills for their journey is to create a daily routine. Write it out and put it up at eye level in your kitchen or somewhere you pass by all the time. That will help condition the brain to have a foundational base line and allows you to move with less stress and builds that trust and energy to self-start. Within that new routine, create an every morning or nighttime routine of selfcare. whether it be working out/yoga/meditiation or even your favorite coffee in the candlelight or watching your favorite show after a nice shower with your comfies on and favorite snack or drink of choice, nothing is more important than putting yourself first to be your best self for everyone else. This shows the World that you believe you matter, too.
Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?
One of the first people that come to mind would be my sister, Oneika. She is that go-to person when I don’t have the answer. Whether it be for a recipe or how to raise my kids, she has always been that constant in a world of change and someone I know I can lean on in a moment of angst or challenge, Being 4 1/2 years older than myself, it helps because she is able to show me that I am not alone, most things are completely normal, and uses her own personal experiences in helping guide me or my mindset. I genuinely can say if it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be who I am today, We embrace fully the saying “My journey is your survival guide.” We have grown together through pain and healing and continue to thrive as we push through breaking generational cycles for our children and beyond.
Contact Info:
- Website: mmajava01.wixsite.com/AuthenticallyYou
- Facebook: facebook.com/Michaela.Mirr.1
Image Credits
Deb Oliviara
