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E. 26 Seeing Beyond Limits: Resilience, Innovation & Inclusion with Itziar Martos
18 Plays1 month ago
In this deeply moving and empowering episode, I sit down with Itziar Martos, an unstoppable force in the world of inclusive leadership, innovation, and transformation. Legally blind and fiercely driven, Itziar shares her powerful journey from vision loss at 21 to becoming Miss Spain and a global keynote speaker.
We talk about:
- How to turn perceived “limitations” into innovation and impact
- The importance of self-trust when the path ahead looks uncertain
- Her RISE Framework and what inclusive excellence really looks like
- The mindset shifts that helped her defy expectations and lead with purpose
- Why authentic storytelling can break down barriers and open doors
If you’ve ever questioned your value because of your circumstances—this is the episode that will light your fire again.
Reach out to her to learn how to work with her: Follow Her Journey
Itziar MartosLinkedIn: Itziar Martos
Public Speaker, Diversity & inclusion, accesible leadership www.itziarmartos.com
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Transcript
Introduction to 'All There You Are'
00:00:00
Speaker
Hey friend, I'm so glad you're here. Welcome to all There You Are. This is the podcast for anyone who's ready to step out of the shadows of self-doubt and into the life they've always dreamed of.
00:00:13
Speaker
I'm your host, Danielle, a wife, mom, and registered nurse who spent way too long believing my voice didn't matter. But guess what? It does, and does yours.
00:00:25
Speaker
If you've been holding back, waiting for the perfect moment, or telling yourself you're not enough, this is your reminder you are more than enough. You've always been enough.
00:00:36
Speaker
Everything you need is already inside you.
Podcast Format and Guest Introduction
00:00:39
Speaker
In this space, we're going to push past fear, stop hitting snooze on life, and start going after what we really want. Each week, I'll bring you solo episodes and interviews with people who had the courage to go first so that you can go next.
00:00:55
Speaker
So grab your favorite drink, settle in, and let's go. And hey, don't forget to hit subscribe so you never miss an episode because we're just getting started. And remember, you're not late.
00:01:08
Speaker
You're right on time. And I can't wait to see where this journey takes us.
00:01:15
Speaker
Hey, friend. Welcome back to all There You Are. You're about to hear a conversation that will leave you speechless in the best way. Today, i am joined by Itziar Martos, a powerhouse of resilience, innovation, and leadership.
Itziar Martos: Overcoming Challenges
00:01:30
Speaker
From losing her eyesight being crowned Miss Spain to becoming a sought-after international speaker and founder of Inclusive Connect, Itziar is the definition of what it means to rise above circumstance and break through every barrier the world tries to place on you.
00:01:48
Speaker
She's now a London-based speaker and consultant guiding global organizations through inclusive transformation using her RISE framework. And today she's bringing that message straight to us.
00:02:00
Speaker
This episode is a reminder that what you perceive as a limitation might actually be your greatest strength. Welcome. ah Welcome and thank you so much for having me here today.
00:02:14
Speaker
Yeah, you're very welcome. I just love how the world can help us to all be connected through technology. You know, stationed here in Pennsylvania this morning, coming with you in London. And it's it such a beautiful opportunity. So I want you, if you're able to, take us back to the part of your journey where that moment where everything changed for you.
00:02:37
Speaker
thank Oh, yeah. Yeah. I have been years thinking that I was the only one like this. And like you said, with technology and everything, I can i am meeting a lot of interesting people that they have.
00:02:51
Speaker
Everyone has their own story and sharing this story is something that it makes me feel better and also other people. So let's start a bit with my journey. I was like a normal girl in Spain.
00:03:05
Speaker
I was not born blind. and I was just finishing studying photography and when I was 21 I started to lose my sight and I was like, okay, just go to the doctor. It's going to be like a normal thing, but it was not.
00:03:21
Speaker
It was a rare disease that they didn't know what it was. It was losing vision every year and it took like five years to know what it was. So the most complicated part, it was that I was not able to know if I was to become like a permanently blind person or maybe I was, I don't know, in one year I was losing my sight
Fear, Self-Trust, and Transformation
00:03:44
Speaker
completely. i didn't know and the doctor didn't know.
00:03:47
Speaker
So it was like a journey of depression at that moment because I was 21. I was like, I want to have a family. I want to have kids. I might not be able to take care of them or...
00:03:58
Speaker
I was really stressed at that moment and that makes my disability worse because if I'm stressed I lose more vision. okay So this journey took me to a and his spiritual journey I would say because now I know how to manage my stress and now it's stopped.
00:04:18
Speaker
It has been like three years that is not changing. And at the beginning, i I was always saying that this was like the worst thing that can happen to me because imagine being like a normal girl with my life to change my life completely.
00:04:33
Speaker
And now I say that there is this thing it was the best thing that happens to me because the person that I am right now is because of that. So it's a journey. Yeah, absolutely.
00:04:45
Speaker
And like you said, you know, just the the fear of just the unknown can be so powerful and overtaking and you're supposed to be able to trust into doctors to be able to help like guide you. And when they don't really understand and to know what's going on either, I can definitely see the frustration and the fear for sure.
00:05:03
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, it was really, really bad. And I was so young. That was the yeah the thing that, and also in Spain, I was like the only one, I never knew anyone like me in Spain. Here in London, we have a few more because there is people from around the world.
00:05:19
Speaker
So there I was feeling like a bit alone and here I feel like that I have like deep people like me ah and also other people with heightened disabilities because there is a lot of heightened disabilities that people have and they normally don't show because they don't want to be judged and things like that.
Empowerment and Embracing Authenticity
00:05:35
Speaker
So, yeah.
00:05:36
Speaker
And you're able to connect and find a community through it all. So, yes. So you went on to become miss Spain and an international speaker. um Did you always have that inner fire in you?
00:05:49
Speaker
Or do you believe then that this awoke it in you because of having to face adversity? i I believe a lot of in astrology and I'm a Leo rising, so I have a lot of ah energy, like a Leo energy in my life, but I was considering myself a shy kid.
00:06:10
Speaker
I was always afraid. I was not the person that goes into a room and speaks with everyone. That's not me. I prefer a one-to-one conversation normally. But then this journey it makes me feel like that because when I was really depressed, and someone told me like, you need to do something crazy that shows you that you can do anything that you want in life.
00:06:32
Speaker
And I was thinking about what should I do? And that's when I decided to join the Miss Spain pageant because I was like, I love modeling. I love fashion. Why not to try this?
00:06:43
Speaker
good And that... give me the confidence. Actually, I came back like a different person because I won in Spain and then I have to go to China and compete there, going by myself. I was like partially blind at that moment.
00:06:59
Speaker
So I was like, oh my God, this is a journey. And I placed top 10 in China. So when I came back here, I came back like, I can do whatever he want what in life. Everything is amazing. So...
00:07:14
Speaker
And that is when I started to really enjoy what I do and knowing myself a lot because I am a person that love to speak. I love to help other people. I love to be on a stage.
00:07:26
Speaker
And now I'm not afraid of being judged or being rejected. There's something when we are child, sometimes we have been told not to do certain things. And when you are an adult, you discover the things that you really like. and But sometimes we are so afraid to make that step.
00:07:43
Speaker
But definitely we live in this present and we can do it and we can change our life. Yes, I love it. Yes. And just encouraging other people to take those words to heart. You can do it.
00:07:54
Speaker
Right. Just step up and say yes to you. Yeah.
Leadership and Inclusivity in Business
00:07:58
Speaker
Yeah. So how did your personal challenges then help shape the way that you approach um leadership and, you know, this entrepreneurship adventure that you're on?
00:08:09
Speaker
i was I started my journey last year and because I studied marketing and I was thinking like, okay, I want to have my own business. I'm going to do marketing because that is what I studied. That is something that I like.
00:08:22
Speaker
And when I started doing the marketing, it is okay. Every year is harder for me because I cannot see like before. So... I joined a group of women in business and they have been a game changer for me because I was like, OK, I am a creative person, but I don't know how to do business.
00:08:40
Speaker
I must join a group. And in this group, and the lady who runs the the group, she was like, you are not going to do marketing. You have to do public speaking. And i was like, what?
00:08:52
Speaker
I was considering myself like shy and and and she was like, no, you need to tell your story. And for me, my insight that was like, but why people wants to listen to my stories? now It's not important. In my mind for me, was like, it's a bad thing. I have been hiding.
00:09:09
Speaker
Most of the marketing agencies that I have been working and everything, they don't know that I have that disability because I was hiding that in the interviews and everything. Why should I show this now to the world?
00:09:21
Speaker
yeah And I started like with little things. Starting to say at the beginning that I was blind or maybe trying another thing. And then one day I had the opportunity to speak in an event with a lot of women.
00:09:37
Speaker
that day i was like, oh, people is not going to listen to me. People is going to be speaking while I'm ah speaking and things like that. And it was the opposite. People were listening, connecting with me.
00:09:51
Speaker
And that day changed everything for me because now I'm straight away. I'm going like, this is me. This is what I do. And since that, I noticed that people really, really connect with me and my work is really different.
00:10:06
Speaker
And it's so crazy when you said like, okay, have the courage to be myself. yeah All the things that you have been afraid all your life now is making even business better.
00:10:19
Speaker
So ah life is, you you need to trust the universe. I say sometimes ah you, maybe you have a plan of what do you want to do in your life, but if you surrender, everything is working out for you. Life is always going to bring you the best and just, you just need to flow and accept, accept all the things that that are coming for us.
00:10:40
Speaker
Absolutely. And just put that chest out there and your head held high and just smile like, oh, I just feel so much goodness coming from you. So this is so great. This is so great.
00:10:52
Speaker
um So let's talk about your RISE framework a little bit. And how are you how are you using that then to help businesses embrace their inclusive excellence? Then how does that work?
00:11:04
Speaker
Yeah, it's because now I'm doing workshops and speaking events and that framework, I wanted to do something, not just to show my story. I want to help people. That's what I do this because I think that people sometimes...
00:11:19
Speaker
We don't have the tools to do something. We know that we have to do something, but we don't know how to do it. So was like, let's sit in down, let's think about something. and for me, it's that it's realize that you have a a circumstance in your life and you have two choices.
00:11:38
Speaker
You can choose of being depressed and say, what is happening to me? Or you can choose to do something else and change your life and enjoy your present and your day with the things that you have today.
00:11:53
Speaker
Because, for example, today we are the youngest version of your ourselves. Tomorrow we want to be all and all. And I think that with my framework, it's more of...
00:12:06
Speaker
Be conscious of the things that we have. Innovate, because we can do things differently. A person with a hidden disability, for example, if you have, I don't know, dyslexia or something like that, you can change a business, actually.
00:12:20
Speaker
60% of people with hidden disabilities can innovate in businesses more than a person that doesn't realise about this. So making conscious about about that too.
00:12:34
Speaker
and I like to put, like to people feel ready and have the potential to be themselves and to be strong and to have a strength in their life also, because sometimes like me, you don't realize that you have a lot of powers inside of you until things happen.
00:12:53
Speaker
And when things like that or maybe something happened to a family member or something things like that, you discover the power that you have in yourself. So mostly my my framework is about to that, like making people realize that they have the power and everyone has problems and everyone has something in their life.
00:13:12
Speaker
So we all have that power inside. Yes, we do.
Inner Strength and Living in the Present
00:13:16
Speaker
Yes, we do. And it like you said, you're so right. It just, it usually takes something to happen or somebody to say something to trigger something that to help you figure that out.
00:13:26
Speaker
But i mean, once you figure it out, watch out, right? And enter into it with that power. Watch out. Here I come. and Yeah. Yes. Yes.
00:13:37
Speaker
So we'll just say, where do you continue to pull your strength from, you know, every day, even then when, you know, you feel like you're at the top and everything's going great. Sometimes self-doubt still likes to creep its way back in.
00:13:48
Speaker
So where do you like to pull your strength from for that? And it's true. And no when people say you need to heal and do those things, but even if you heal, if you do your therapy, if you work a lot in yourself, you are going to have bad days.
00:14:03
Speaker
It's not a way that, oh, I'm going to be super happy every day. It doesn't happen. But sometimes when we have the tools and we know ou ourselves from inside and say like, okay, today I'm a bit sad.
00:14:17
Speaker
I'm going to give myself permission also to be sad because sometimes we want to be like the perfect person in the world and and do everything. And we sometimes we need to be like, not punish ourselves and be more patient with ourselves too. And love loving ourselves is the best thing that we can do. And I know because before and when i i I used to not trust myself, I was like, okay, I'm going to save myself.
00:14:45
Speaker
I love myself. But that doesn't work, really. Going to a mirror and say, I love myself. No, no, it's not like that. It's more like knowing how you are, the good and the bad thing, understanding how you are and don't punish yourself and understand that everyone is different and you don't have to be like anyone.
00:15:07
Speaker
And people normally say to me that, like, you are really strong. I don't know how you do it. And for me, it's like, I don't know. It must be something in me. I love my granny. she's she's I think she's better. Like she always... Something happens and she's the main thing on the family. she She can't do anything. So I think that for me, looking at her, I was like, okay, I want to be like her.
00:15:29
Speaker
But it's something in me too that makes me... to choose those options. Like I want the best for me right now. And I, now I really feel that I love myself, but it has been like five years working on everything, on trauma, on therapy, doing a lot of yoga.
00:15:49
Speaker
That is the thing that helps me. Everyone is different. Everyone has like a different way of healing, but it has been like five years, really, really hard, but it is worth it. It's really worth it.
00:16:01
Speaker
Oh, yes. That's so encouraging. That's so encouraging. So let's see here. you you know, are proof that, you know, you can work through your um adversity and you are leading a new way, encouraging other people to, you know, work through any trials and stuff that they might be going through. So what advice do you have for people who, though, continue to still feel disqualified by their setbacks? Is there any other advice or anything else you would like to share with them?
00:16:29
Speaker
Yes, for sure, because ah even those things are still happening today. they The other day I had an invitation and they, for example, because I have i came from a family that ah the it was like a bit complicated family. I don't have a university studies.
00:16:47
Speaker
And they were like, okay, we will prioritize people with university degrees. And I was like, hmm, But that does not define myself. I have been working for more than 20 years and I have the experience and I can feel that. Before I used to feel like, oh, I don't deserve this.
00:17:05
Speaker
And now, a like like we have been speaking about, like I want to help other people to say that they can do it if they have that feeling inside because a lot of disabled people end being entrepreneurs because they feel that they can do it. It's a really hard time because there is no help around this.
00:17:29
Speaker
But if you have that feeling inside you that is telling did you that you can do it, even if you have that those no's in your mind, I always say that you need to ask like five whys.
00:17:41
Speaker
Why you cannot do this? why you or Why do you want to do this? You need to ask you like five times those things. And for me also, looking to other people, there is a lot of people that have been doing a lot of crazy things. I used to follow...
00:17:57
Speaker
I don't remember his name, but there is a speaker that he has like no arms and no legs. And I was watching his videos when I was really depressed. And i was like, there is people that they have like bad things happening in their life and they're still doing things.
00:18:15
Speaker
Why not me? So I think that we need to all find people the things that you do, the work that you do, the explaining and the story about different people.
00:18:26
Speaker
This is a really, really good thing because you are helping a lot of people to know that there is possible to change. And the life is beautiful if we live in the present and we don't think about the past and what happened or what is going to happen in the future.
00:18:43
Speaker
If you breathe today, if you connect with your body and you see the life, that how beautiful it is, everything is much, much better. So everyone can do it. Yes, yes. I love that so, so much. Learning things.
00:18:56
Speaker
Yes, I mean, the things that happen to us shape us and the things that we might have failed at, you know, allow new doors to open. But like you're saying, learning to live in the present, it's tough for everybody, right?
00:19:08
Speaker
But once you can accomplish that, like you said, like, what is that saying? Like the world is your oyster. And now what they say, just everything is just possible. So that's so fun.
00:19:18
Speaker
ah So let's see here.
Future Goals and Networking
00:19:20
Speaker
So what's next for you Any new dreams or missions that you want to share that you might be doing next? I would love because now I'm doing, for example, and networking events, but online for disabled people that they want to have their own business and things like that.
00:19:36
Speaker
And I would love to do it in person. i will I think that is my one-year goal. And also speaking outside of the UK more than usual that because I want to travel and I i want to see because the the most that I travel, the most that I see super interesting people, different culture.
00:19:57
Speaker
So traveling more for me and doing networking in person, I think it's a really, really good goal for this year. Yeah, absolutely. Stretching yourself and and like you said, giving yourself opportunity to grow as well. So that's really fun.
00:20:14
Speaker
So if there's other people who want to like work with you, connect with you, how can people find you? I'm am LinkedIn or Instagram with my name is ItsyRMartos.
00:20:26
Speaker
And also my website is the same. ItsyRMartos.com. So anyone who wants to follow to reach out or have questions, I'm happy to help. Very good. and Is there anything that you're like, man, Danielle, why didn't you ask me about this that you would like to share, you know, shed light on or something else that you would like to share or any other fun stories or anything?
Humorous Experiences and Conclusion
00:20:48
Speaker
ah I always say that I like to to find the the funny things even when when you have a disability or something like that. And this funny story is is real because now I'm losing my central vision. So I can walk, but I cannot see faces. If I see a person the next day that I met them, I will not recognize them on the street or anything like that.
00:21:12
Speaker
And now I always say that dating for me is super fun because I'm back to dating again. And I was like, oh, no, I cannot see the people's faces anymore.
00:21:23
Speaker
And when I met someone long and it's like, I need to go on social media and Zoom in and see, well, like, okay, he's cute.
00:21:32
Speaker
No, no. I always said that but this... ah This disease that I have, it makes me see the people for how they really are. So I know the person now from the inside and not from the outside.
00:21:46
Speaker
And that is something that changed me a lot also because, you know, when we are younger, we used to see people from how they look or how they dress or the things that they... And now it's like, no, no, I love to discover people for how they are or the values that they have or the things that they love.
00:22:02
Speaker
And sometimes, yeah, you can have a disability or something like that, but life makes like me you make much better now. I really love that. Yes. Being able to see people for who they are. It is, we do put up our own little blinders and like dismiss people too soon. And um they we we say that when they read, don't don't judge a book by its cover, right? There's so much more on the inside and you're truly getting to live that every day.
00:22:29
Speaker
and that's amazing. it's an encouragement then to just look at people. It's great. So, all right. Well, this has been a lot of fun. You've brought so much value and so much worth for here for us to be able to connect with and just to encourage us with. um And so I'm just grateful. Thank you for blessing us today. And I wish you much joy and the travels that you get to endeavor in this coming year and the people that you are going to continue to meet and that you get to continue to impress upon their hearts. So,
00:23:01
Speaker
thank you Thank you so much for having me. Like i said, your job is really amazing. And the thing that you are helping a lot of people. I'm so proud of you. Like, i love what people like you do. And you thank you so much for having me.
00:23:15
Speaker
You're welcome. I'm really glad that we've been able to connect. So again, I wish you well. you Until next time, guys. Thanks so much for hanging out with me today on Oh, There You Are.
00:23:26
Speaker
Remember, everything you need to step into your power is already inside of you. So keep going, friend. You've got this. If today's episode inspired you, don't forget to subscribe so you never miss a new one.
00:23:39
Speaker
And I'd love to connect with you over on Instagram. Find me at it's Danielle dot that's dot me. Drop by say hi let me know what resonated with you or just share your journey.
00:23:50
Speaker
And before you go, I've got something special for you. I'm offering a free seven day journal to help you start tapping into your potential and build that mindset shift.
00:24:01
Speaker
It's designed to guide you through the steps of unlocking your power. You can grab it in the show notes below. Let's take this journey together. All right, friend, go make it happen.
00:24:12
Speaker
And remember, you're not late. You're right on time