Q: What have you learned about yourself from starting your own business?
A: That anything is possible. That miracles do exist, that if you really put your mind, and your soul, and your sweat, and your blood, and your hair follicles, (laugh), and the skin off your teeth, you can really make it work. What I find interesting is that a lot of people tell me, “Oh my god, Teresa, you’re an overnight success!” No, I’m not an overnight success. As a matter of fact, I didn’t sleep a lot of nights, and I’ve been doing this for over three years now. My book is just coming out, I’m just starting to get reviews, and I’m just starting to make a name for myself. You know the story of the mother hen who asks, “Does anyone want to plant the seeds with me?” and everyone says, “No, no, no”, and then she aks, “Would will reap the grain with me?” and everyone says, “No”, and she asks if anyone wants to help her make the bread, and everyone says “No”. Then the bread comes out of the oven and it smells delicious, and the sheep come by and the cows come by and say, “hey mama hen! We want some of your bread!” And it’s like, “Where were you when I was sowing, and reaping, and baking?” And I think that’s one thing that I have to keep in perspective, and I have to let other people know that this didn’t happen over night. This is something I’ve been working really hard on to accomplish. I think you have to have passion to follow your bliss and to keep it going because it gets tiring sometimes, it’s not that easy.
Q: When I’m traveling, my senses are heightened, I’m curious about everything, I want to meet people, there’s a certain essence in everything I do, and when I come home it’s really hard to incorporate that essence in my lifestyle here. How do you do it?
A: Eckhart Tolle wrote a book called, The Power of Now, that to me exemplifies solo-travel; it exemplifies that feeling you’re describing, that wonderment. You’re standing on the Champs Elysees with your bags, and you’re looking at the Arc de Triomphe, but you really are in the presence of that moment, and I think we lose that when we come back to our reality. What I have to do sometimes, especially when I’m stuck in traffic, going into the city and seeing the bridge, is to really take a moment to breathe and understand what a beautiful place I’m in, remind myself that I’m in a safe car, and there’s nice music going, and understanding that I am where I’m supposed to be.
