We were lucky to catch up with Maria Vargas recently and have shared our conversation below.
Maria, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
Although resilience is definitely not something I was told about as a child or a term I commonly heard, at a very young age I realized that it was something that could literally save my life; indeed, it certainly did. Over the years, I have seen how those same skills have impacted my work and my business—the ability to adapt, let go and keep moving forward with intention, little by little, no matter what.
As a person with bipolar disorder, the school and college years were not easy. The problems, although difficult to understand for those around me, in my own skin felt very real, frightening and almost impossible to cope with. Going to therapy and talking about my mental health was part of my life back then, even if it wasn’t quite as open as it is now. It wasn’t until one of my strongest depressive crises, that my psychiatrist mentioned for the first time terms like resilience, emotional intelligence, and every little thing that I could start implementing in my days to take care of myself.
Today, I think that something as simple as making time for ourselves to understand what we feel, what we want, and what we fear is the beginning of our resilience. The small stuff you do, like spending quality time with your support network, making time to do what you really love and enjoy, what fills you with illusion, bringing yourself to the present day with daily breathing or meditative practices, embracing failure as a part of life (or at least making peace with it), but mostly putting yourself first and trying to stick as much as possible to your routines, are the habits that I feel can change our lives. While this stuff has not made me invincible nor has it taken away the pain of difficult moments that are part of life, looking back, I can say that it has allowed me to bend in situations where before I would have completely broken down, and that is exactly what it can do for you.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
My name is Maria Vargas, founder and creative director of Delmar Branding and my newest business baby, Socio.
In 2017, I founded Delmar, a boutique design studio focusing on branding, aiming to combine strategy and design to build consistent brands alongside their founders, those who, driven by pure passion and true to their values, seek to do things differently, in a more transparent and responsible way.
During the pandemic, as it became increasingly exhausting to spend time on social media and even more to generate creative content as a brand, I started Socio, to help business owners gain some peace of mind by supporting them in the digital world so they could continue to focus their energy and efforts on what they really enjoy, their business.
While Socio generates real, authentic and accessible social media content on a monthly basis (no cookie-cutter social media packs over here), Delmar breathes branding, everything from brand strategy, naming, logo design, brand visual identity, and digital and print applications such as web design, packaging design, merchandising and collateral branding.
Over the last year, both studios have completely transformed; they have evolved as our clients have, but both keep a clear promise: if your brand is true to your purpose and what you are really passionate about, we are here to support you, giving your business clarity and giving you peace of mind.
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?
In short, I would say to be mindful of the data, adapt and and stay true to yourself throughout the process.
Every day I think more and more that paying attention is a superpower, because it seems to me that it’s becoming less and less common to actually engage in human interactions. Now, paying attention to data can mean really listening to a person when you’re talking to them, doing your work and researching, reading and learning, or just keeping track of what’s going on, whether it’s numbers in your finances or emotions about a situation in your life. Paying attention provides clarity, makes it easier to communicate effectively, allows you to make valuable connections, offers a wealth of creative ideas, and facilitates decision-making.
Honestly, my capacity to adapt, to embrace change and not cling to it has been valued more than ever lately, as it has allowed me to grow both professionally and personally over the past two years. Paying attention is pointless if we don’t make use of the information to make adjustments; as the saying goes, adapt or die.
Although it may seem contradictory, I believe that consistency has been one of the most defining aspects of my life, always going back to my why. We all grow, mature and change over the years, but staying true to our principles in the long run, in the way we think and act, really makes a difference in our lives and in our relationships. The same goes for our businesses and our brands; without consistency, there is no trust, and trust is the foundation of every relationship, commercial and non-commercial.
Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?
I have learned that a solid support network not only contributes to my emotional well-being, but also has a direct impact on my business, and for my business to work well, I better be well. Surrounding myself with people and professionals from different fields and backgrounds, who I admire for their ethics, but most of all for their vision of life, has been a tool that has given me strength, calm and clarity in challenging moments, and that I ultimately want to continue to maintain in the long term. Gradually finding a small but strong community where honesty is the norm, where listening and good advice are the order of the day, has been the most enriching process. In the end, I don’t ask for much, just to be with my people and to be at peace.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://delmarstudio.co
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/delmarstudio.co/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariavargasleon/
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/socio.st/
Image Credits
Photographer: Leo Carvajal
