I rebranded my previous fitness brand Curious Barbell into Angie Creates! I hand drawn the floral wreath and use Canvaās pink flower picture to make this new podcast cover <3
Hey friends,
Greetings from Austin! Itās been a long time since my last postcard. How have you been?
A summary
Life has changed so dramatically in these 6 months. I :
did an unexpected 10-day silent vipassana retreat by myself in a shed on a farm of rural Dallas in May (more reflection to come!)
Started freelancing
left Austin, went to the last World Domination Summit by Chris Guillebeau, and did my first road trip along the west coast in June
FOUND OUT IāM GOING TO BE A MOM IN JULY!
turned 34!
lost my nana-in-law when we were back in Connecticut
ended our 3-year nomadic life in Lisbon, Portugal, in September
Settled down in Austin in October for the next 10 months (at least)
Completed another Write of Passage (WOP) Cohort
Writing
Writing Studio Project
I didnāt write consistently after the last WOP ended. But I was super lucky to work with Michael Dean on the Writing Studio project, where we spent 4+ weeks focusing on one article. Because of this, I finally had the chance to share how WOP changed my life in this From Fear to Thriving: My āWriteā of Passage As An Immigrant Creator article.
After the article was published, I felt closure to my past scared and imposter self, and ready to move on to fully embody the person I always am- the confident, optimistic and abundant Angie that is thriving. (Of course, the tiny human inside me also makes me appreciate the beauty of life moreā„ļø)
After that article was published, I randomly met this creator in Portugal in a Twitter meetup that happened to read my article. He told me he thought he was the only person suffering from imposter syndrome created in English until he read my writing, and that helped him overcome a lot of mental blocks. Another day, I received an email from a gentleman in Italy telling me he was inspired by my sharing. Later he joined WOP, and we shared many deep convos in breakout rooms together ( Hi Silvio š)
I was so blown away by how powerful writing online in English is. It made me feel connected to a larger circle than I could have imagined. And of course, many thanks to Michael Deanās brainstorming sessions, analysis, and edits!
Write from my heart
I had so many radical realizations after I became pregnant. But before going into WOP9, I thought I would not write any of that. It was simply too personal, which will definitely make me too vulnerable. Instead, I wanted to tap into the āpersonal monopolyā part of the course and write only about my experiences on corhort-based courses as a freelancer.
But soon, I realized once I was in WOPās cohort, it was not up to my āheadā what it wanted to write. The WOP community has this magic that makes you feel like you fully explore the deepest part of your heart. I ended up writing zero articles on freelancing and three articles on how becoming a mom-to-be changed my self-narrative, my relationship with my mother, and my commitment to life. You can check out the articles below:
Freelancing Journey
After graduating from WOP8, I was so inspired to work in the CBC space because I wanted to help creators and students to experience the same transformations I had with WOP, too.
I started freelancing tinJune with Kevin Shen on his Dream Studio Course doing everything marketing- planning the relaunch of DSCās self-paced course, building Convertkit landing pages, writing launch email sequences, planning and executing live workshops. I also helped DSC form a partnership with Ali Abdaalās PTYA ( and get the opportunity to be in PTYA!)
After this first project, I analyzed everything I did with DSC. I found out that my strength and interest lie in designing learning experiences. I loved interacting with students in the live sessions. I loved seeing studentsā eyes light up when they could see themselves changed through the course. So, I started to look for more gigs focusing on learning experiences. I later helped my friend Jonny Miller audit the course curriculum for his Nervous System Course. I really enjoyed working with creators- they are the most curious and kind people on this planet, and so are CBC students.
Looking for More Gigs
This week, I posted a thread sharing my freelance journey.
Posting on Twitter never came easy for me. I was soooo scared about sharing my journey. I wanted to write a thorough article before turning into a thread, but then I realized - I was simply using more writing to procrastinate on publishing the thread lol It took me 2 months till I finally sat down and wrote this thread ( I finished it while waiting for my OBGYN appointment lol)
The result-I got three potential freelance leads through this thread on that day!!! Not only that, the second I hit published on Twitter, I heard the sound of a notification from iMessage- a creator I really look up to replied about the next step of the potential freelance project I thought had frizzled out. āØSynchronicity āØ
As I wrote at the end of the thread, Iām still looking for more projects and am very open to different ideas, including joining a small team part-time or full-time. If you need such opportunities, hit me up! Iām happy to have a free call to share what I've learned!Ā
You can check out my unconventional resume here š¤
Graduated from NLP Coaching
For the past 10 months, I've received Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP) training from NLP trainer Katie River. I've learned various techniques and skills that can inspire psychological and behavioral changes. And today, I officially graduated from the practitioner training program ššš
What Is NLP
NLP thinks each of us has a different internal map representing the external world. These internal maps are constituted by our senses- visuals, hearing, tactile, smell, movement, etc.
By changing the state of these senses, we can change our internal map and further inspire psychological or behavioral change toward a future outcome. In other words, instead of using reasoning to find solutions or attribute our current barriers to the past, NLP rewires our thought qualities and behaviors by changing what we see, hear, smell, feel, etc, in our inner map.
My Journey
I first signed up for the program when I wanted to pivot my fitness career to help people with life design coaching. But honestly, I think Iām the one who benefited the most from this practitioner training the most. At first, my partner Paul wasnāt convinced this course would bring me any significant change (hint: I had a track record of buying courses just to feel good but never finished). But now, heās telling everyone who felt stuck in their life to come to me because he was blown away by how much Iāve changed.
Before I started my training, I was stuck in my own head and emotions. I felt small, scared, and unsure of what I wanted out of life. Because I wasn't at my best self, I couldn't give my loved ones the love and care they deserved. I was insecure about my self-worth, and this inhibited me from building meaningful friendships and pursuing work opportunities. Ā
Now ten months later, I have a clear vision of what type of life I want to live and who I want to be. I have psychological toolkits that help me navigate through exploring the unknown of life and new behaviors that help me take action in the right direction.
I know where I want to be in 20 years, and confident that every day I'm taking the right steps toward that ideal version of myself. The quality of my intimate relationships is at its best. I am confident in building friends and work relationships. I Ā feel satisfied, proud, abundant, Ā and capable of loving and feeling loved.
Of course, NLP alone wonāt inspire these changes. Itās a combination of going through Write of Passage, Vipassana, getting pregnant, and start gaining confidence through my freelance work that led me to where I am today. But every day, I continue to use NLP to help me get through rough patches in life. I know what technique I should use when I want to get into different emotions or adopt better behavior & thought patterns.
A Coaching Experiment
As I mentioned, I just finished my NLP practitioner training. Iām still very new to applying it in real life, so Iām very active in recruiting my friends and family to help me practice now :P
If you want to get a taste of how NLP can help you, I would love to chat with you. Since you are also helping me become a better practitioner ;)- our call will be donation-based with no minimum suggested amount. Ā
Here's how it works:
Schedule a call with me
In our call, I will explore what outcome you want to have from our session and decide what techniques I should use to help you.
After the call, I will send you a short feedback survey and pay-what-you-want donation link.
If you have any questions, feel free to DM me on Twitter, or send me an email.
Small Bets Accountability Group
This newsletter, the NLP coaching service, and the Twitter thread are products of a Small Bets Accountability Group I hosted after attending Louie Bacajās mentor session in Write of Passage. If I donāt accomplish these by this week, I will have to pay a total of 100 bucks to everyone in the group lol
Iām so glad I initiated this group and pushed myself to finish all the things that have been on my bucket for so long. I did feel a bit emotionally burnt out, but I think itās good to do very intense work every once in a while so I can see the next breakthroughs.
Ok! Thank you for reading this edition of Angie Creates! Iām off to finish my last bet- DM three CBC company founders/ Executives about potential working opportunities š±š±š±
Wish me good luck!
Until next week!
Angie