We were lucky to catch up with Monica Cabral recently and have shared our conversation below.
Monica, 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?
My self confidence and self-esteem was something that was slowly built through my journey. When I took the time to exercise my mind and body, and create self-care and self-love habits in my life, that confidence and self-esteem grew naturally. I believe that when we take the focus out of ourselves, and let the ego be, and know that he is there, and sometimes it’s going to act up, and that is ok, but if you look for things to be grateful for each day, you let go of the ego, and suddenly you start feeling so much more comfortable in your own skin, and knowing that you have your qualities, and that nothing is perfect, but that is what makes it beautiful and special. And that there is only you, so treasure what you have, and instead of comparing and looking at what you don’t have or like, look at what makes you, you!
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?
My life journey started in the Azores, which is an archipelago part of Portugal. It was a lovely place to grow up, surrounded by nature, water, family and friends. I didn’t realize growing up, how lucky I was to grow up on an island, to have the freedom, security and quality of life you get when you live surrounded by water and mountains. It’s truly a magical place, and where I built my lifelong friends, met the love of my life, and where my grandmother inspired me to be a performer. My love for acting came at a very young age, inspired by my grandmother that was a painter and an actress in the local theater in her island of birth, Madeira. Both of my parents worked, so my babysitter was my truly exceptional grandmother, Isabel. My grandmother had always a love for life, always seeing the bright side of everything, and was the most giving, caring, fun and best person I have ever met.
My Mom was also always very interested in the arts, and I actually got to do my first movie, thanks to my mom, she got me and her cast in a film shot in the island and done by a local director. That is when, I found my passion for being on a film set and acting, I would always as a little girl put on shows for my family, do plays at school and put together holiday shows, but when I was on a film set for the first time, it was a culmination of everything I loved, and I knew I was home and that is what I wanted to do.
So since then, my goal was to finish high school in the Azores, and then move to the US, to study film and acting and pursue my passion for acting.
At 15 I met the love of my life, which I didn’t know it then, we felt a connection but we weren’t sure what that was and what it was going to develop into. We both loved movies, and I had finally found a partner to go with me to the local movie theater, and watch all the movies playing, which were usually 3 new ones every week. Which meant we were in the movie theater every week and sometimes a couple times a week. As we got to know each other better, and through some ups and downs, we discovered that we had found something truly special, and that we both shared the goal of moving to the US, so right before I turned 18, I moved to the US. We decided to move together to California, Los Angeles, where he would enjoy surf and sun and I would pursue my career as an actress and study.
It was definitively a change of pace and scenery, moving from a remote island to the craziness of Los Angeles, and it was definitively a challenge in the beginning. My dad didn’t want me to move half away around the world with my boyfriend, being so young, but my mom always supported and trusted me and knew I would make the right choices, so with some convincing, my dad let me go, and he found a friend that lived close to where we were moving to, and they became our family in California. Having them, made it more familiar and feel more like home, specially on the early days of adaption and learning the ropes of the industry, I definitely made a lot of mistakes and fell into a lot of scams, so it was nice to know we had a safe haven with them. I learned a lot through this journey and the US has really taught me a lot, I have grown a lot, and I feel I have become a better and more grateful person.
Through my time in the US and my pursuit of my passion, I had the opportunity to work on some amazing projects and have incredible experiences, one of my favorites being shooting “You don’t mess with the Zohan’” in Mexico with the Happy Madison crew. It was the first time I got to travel doing what I love, and the experience couldn’t have been dreamier! Shooting in a beautiful location, while being completely pampered, and having all your wishes granted, was a surreal experience, and the happy Madison crew, just made us all feel special and cared for. I also got to meet one of my best friends there, so that made it extra special. The memories I have from that film shoot, I will treasure for the rest of my life, felt like I was living my dream, and that feeling is truly priceless.
After that shoot, I felt like I was on top of the world, and that I would continue booking and booking jobs, and working as an actress, but as I am sure a lot of you know, sometimes things don’t pan out that way, and it’s an industry of ups and downs, and you have to realize it’s not a goal it’s a journey, and celebrate life every day and appreciate all the blessings life presents to you, even if those blessings are not aligned with what you perceive as your goal or passion.
That is something, that has taken me sometime to realize, but I am at a point now, that my goal or passion has transitioned to finding happiness and appreciating the small things in life, while taking time for self-care and love. I am still super passionate about acting, but it’s not my goal in life, it’s a part of my journey and when I get to do it, I feel how lucky I am, to do something I love, and not take it for granted. One recent project I got to work on was on a Netflix show called “Turn of the Tide” and it was a show filmed about the island I am from, and it was a phenomenal experience, I got to act in Portuguese, which had been a while and I got to be a part of a project that was about my island and got to work with a lot of people I love. Felt truly blessed, and every time I get that opportunity, feels amazing.
One other project I have to mention, was a project I filmed while living in Atlanta, I got to work on an independent film” Expulsion” with director Kenneth Andrew Williams. That was one of my absolute favorite experiences, the whole process was enjoyable, from rehearsal to filming to post production. The director was an absolute pleasure to work with, he is an actor’s director, which is such a dream for an actor, which gives you the freedom to do what you do best, but at the same time having the guidance and support of your director and crew! And I got to meet Andrew who, became a very dear friend, and filming with people you enjoy and love working with it, makes your job so much more enjoyable, and that is true blessing!
As the industry is very unpredictable, I started working on some side jobs in marketing, which is something I was always fond of. I feel like my brain is half artistic and half business minded.
So, I started working on some marketing jobs, and then started getting more and more opportunities, and now working consistently consulting for some tech and medical companies, giving them support on their events, which has allowed me to travel all around the world, which I have to say is another one of my passions. So now I have the flexibility to work from where I want, and pick what jobs I want to take, I am my own boss, and that feels amazing. And talking about passions I have an absolute love for food, those who know me well, know that I can’t stop talking, thinking and eating food😊 I love cooking as well, cooking for the ones I love, is my way to meditate!
And talking about meditation, that is one of my self-care habits, that I do every morning, I started around 5 years ago with my daily meditation, and I feel that has brought so much more balance and awareness to my life! I feel that I can see things with more perspective, and I do my best each day to make the choice to be happy, and to find happiness and gratefulness in the small things. And doing a mental or written gratefulness list every night, really brings you back to that sense of awareness.
Taking care of your body and mind, is essential for that balance, so I do my best each day, to do some sort of workout, if it’s stretching, yoga, walking, pilates or surf! Even if you only have 5 minutes, you can do a quick stretch or a quick toning workout.
And I have made my well-being a priority, so I disciplined myself to have time to sleep, meditate, workout and take time to enjoy things I love.
So, I would say I am life enthusiast, food lover, actress, entrepreneur, and human lover!
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?
Discipline, Integrity and Compassion I feel that when you are starting your journey, if you from the beginning take time for self-care and self-love, and don’t make your goal the only thing in life, you will find more balance and happiness in your journey. Because a lot of times, we think that we will be happy when we achieve our goal, but achieving your goal will give you temporary happiness,
Do your best each day to find things to be grateful, and don’t make happiness dependable on any achievements or on someone, You can find happiness inside of you, and it’s a choice each day that you have!
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?
As I mentioned earlier, I have had some amazing people in my life, my Grandmother was one of my biggest mentors, in the way she lived and looked at life. I really do my best each day to see the world through her eyes and find the good in people and be grateful for each step along the journey of life. My love has been a very strong pillar in my life, knowing that at the end of the day, I had him there to come home to, to hug me and support me, and tell me that everything would be ok. He makes me feel like the most beautiful person inside and out, and that is such a gift, especially when your ego is constantly challenged. My Mom that always believed in me and continues to think that I can do anything and achieve anything I want, and my best friends that give me that unconditional love and support and that are always there for me.
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