Meet Rachel Paes

We were lucky to catch up with Rachel Paes recently and have shared our conversation below.

Rachel, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.

I firstly understand that I’m extremely lucky that my parents helped me to begin my journey with healthy self-esteem. They always made me and my siblings feel like we were important and gave us the best opportunities to shine, each in our own light. Growing older though, many things can knock your self esteem. I remember really having to hone in on this quality when I got into my mid twenties and became a model. After getting signed to my first modeling agency, I remember getting rejection after rejection. Despite all my efforts, in the beginning of my career, I got very discouraged. I would do every audition and casting sent to me by my agent and all of them would pass. Of course it hurt, but even this was a blessing in disguise (as many setbacks truly are). I had to learn that the way I was speaking to myself (and of myself) had to change. When I was kinder with myself and would take the time to reward and encourage myself for every effort, is when my confidence improved even more. I would remind myself that at least I was trying, and it would be just a matter of time before something big would happen for me. And soon enough, it did! I started booking major brands within the span of a few months. So my biggest takeaway for any one to build self confidence would be, to watch the way you speak to yourself. What is your inner dialogue like? For most people, it’s very poor. But this is a habit that can change your life. Change your inner monologue and you will change your life.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I am a content creator focusing on travel and lifestyle, I am a 2x published author and a commercial and print model. I love creating video content for social media, especially focusing on travel, as that’s one of my passions and the love of my life I’d say. It all started for me in 2020 when I was laid off from my corporate job. I had no other plans for what to do with my life. A few months after I was laid off, I got signed to a major modeling agency in Los Angeles and that started my modeling career. I slowly started creating content after this and fell in love with it, starting a journey discovering my own creativity. Just a few months ago I got an idea to write a book, so I started it and published it. And then the second one came to me just about a month later, and shortly after was published. My goal with those books was really to elevate people and inspire them to speak kinder to themselves. Both books discuss the power of words and declarations, whether spoken aloud or in your head. Since I realized this is the key to a healthy life you love, I wanted to share it with everyone!

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?

Three things that I would say are most important are your self belief, your ability to take inspired action, and your ability to keep focus and not waver, even if you are unmotivated. This is how I have been able to accomplish everything I have so far. Sometimes you have to just keep your head down and work in silence, and can only reveal something to the public (yes, even those closest to you) when it’s completely done. That way there’s no time for nay sayers, judgement, or anything other than you realizing your goal. You cannot afford to let anybody affect your vision for your life. And you have to have total and complete confidence in yourself, even if it’s fake at first. Eventually it will become real and the outside world will catch up with how you feel inside. You also must act on ideas as soon as you get them, These are like divine downloads that have been only given to you, at a particular moment. They are meant to be executed! Lastly, you must not follow your feelings but rather stick to your vision. Stick to the plan, because emotions will fluctuate from day to day (we are human) but you must keep going!

What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?

The best thing to do when you feel overwhelmed is take a second (literally go sit somewhere quiet and lie down) and breathe!! Take some big deep breaths. Something I’ve been saying to myself recently when something feels overwhelming, triggers or frustrates me is “this is the work, this is the work.” Because truly, this is the real work. How will you respond in these situations? Will you panic? Or will you choose to be calm? It’s all up to you and your choices, which is great. That means you can do anything, you can change anything, and you can be the master of the circumstances in your life.

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