Transcript
Speaker: Do you desire to turn your passion into income? Connect with other creative souls who also dance to the beat of their own drum? I'm Marie Nicole and I'm devoted to combining beauty, uniqueness and connection in everyday living experiences.
Speaker: As a creative professional and Dharma coach, I help people connect to the truth of who they are and facilitate them in embodying their uniqueness. It is my hope in this podcast that I inspire you to live your life on your terms and earn your income through being uniquely you. After all, it's the unique thread that we each contribute to the collective tapestry that creates the home.
Speaker: In today's episode, I would like to focus on the essence of who you are, actually tuning into that and being uniquely you, because this will help with your branding. When we are basing our branding on who we are rather than who we think we should be, it's effortless. Now, when I was growing up, I actually, well, when I was born, I was born into a Mauritian family and
Speaker: So Mauritian ancestry, living in Melbourne, deeply steeped in Mauritian culture. And I just was in a community that was very much Australian, I guess. It was very diverse, but there was always this, we were different. Even though I was born in Australia, we were different. We lived in a different way. We ate different food. My parents had English as their second language, and I went to a public school. And while they were Greek kids,
Speaker: Italians and not all cultures there, there was still predominantly white Australian in the area and we were different. We stood out. And that was my entry into the world was I'm different. Now add to that the fact that my mother was seven -day Adventist and my father was Catholic and mother still is seven -day Adventist, my father's Catholic. And so they are two religions that do not actually connect and coincide.
Speaker: in understanding. So for a long while there, I went to both, Sandavenas Church and Catholic Church, Saturday and Sunday, every weekend at church. But still, we were different because we were connected to both. And then I moved from Melbourne to Brisbane,
Speaker: And that was in my teenage years and that was a big shift in culture and way of being and I was known as the Melbourne girl. And you know, Melbourne was quite a refined cultural city and Brisbane was just, especially at that time, we're talking, I mean, I'm in my late 40s, this is a long time ago now. It was, even the music scene wasn't as big there and so
Speaker: It was very much a beach side suburb and it was just very different. And I did love that. I love that aspect of it. But what I'm trying to get at is I was always different.
Speaker: So moving from Brisbane to then starting uni in a private institution down in Newcastle. And I had been working in an office for two years after high school. So I was wearing clothing that was a lot more refined than what you would normally wear at university. So there again, I was quite different. And I was in the arts faculty where everyone was carefree and bohemian. And I just, I actually evolved back into that because that was, that's me at my essence.
Speaker: but that wasn't me when I moved there because I had shaped who I was to fit.
Speaker: where I was and who I was around. A good example of that actually is I loved Levi's. Levi jeans were just to me the epitome of jeans but they were not designed for my body shape. I mean I'm a ritian. I have curves. The Levi jeans, the boyfriend cut, the flat bottom, that's just not me and so I tried for many years to wear Levi jeans and make them work for me but they just never did. So
Speaker: Add to the fact that I was in an arts faculty in more refined clothing and I was also from a family that wasn't wealthy. We weren't middle class and my parents were divorced at this stage and I had to pay my own way through this private institution. I didn't have financial backing from my parents. So I had come from an office, I sold my car and I was paying my own way through this private institution which was
Speaker: which cost a fair bit to actually study there. And I was doing a BA, so there was no hex for a BA at the time. So it was a really expensive way to start my adult life and journey through education. But what I'm getting at is that I had to take on several jobs in order to pay my way through that. And I was different.
Speaker: And I wasn't different because I was trying to be contentious. My situation every step and stage of my life was just that. It was unique to the culture of where I was. So after moving from Newcastle up that way to Sydney and establishing my photography business and then moving into Sydney was a big city for me compared to Brisbane and Newcastle. And then I moved to Yass.
Speaker: So the Yass Valley, a rural town, which you had an hour from the capital city, but it's still a rural town. It's still a small town. Even 11 years later, it's still considered a small town. It's growing quickly. But when I moved to Yass, I became known as a blowing our whole family because we were from Sydney. We were city slickers.
Speaker: Again different. So I've never really known what it's like to fit in and that's been a struggle I must admit that has been one of my biggest challenges is just not knowing where I belong. Never actually feeling like I belong. Even in my Mauritian roots I didn't belong because I was born in Australia. I have an Australian accent. I don't even sound Mauritian. I've been constantly asked where I'm from because
Speaker: Mauritians are quite a mix race in itself and so we all look different too and I'm often asked if I'm Indian, Portuguese, Spanish, any number of different backgrounds but you know what I've come to realise in my late 40s that this is actually what I was here to learn in this lifetime. That it is okay to be different.
Speaker: We are meant to be unique. It is our unique thread that adds to the collective tapestry. And so living that example is now my mission. I'm finally letting go of all of that external validation, partly because I've had to in recent times, like last year, my marriage of 24 years ended. And the reason my husband left was because of me.
Speaker: Now this left me with two choices. I could try even harder to be something that I'm not, to be accepted by others, which hadn't worked for me all these years, so why would I keep doing that? Keep butting my head up against the wall. Or tune into the essence of who I truly am.
Speaker: And the universe has presented me with so many circumstances and experiences throughout this lifetime to ensure that I am aware that I am not meant to fit in. No one is. That's the thing. I actually think this message is not just for me. It's not just about me. It's perhaps a message I meant to spread across humanity, just even in my small community, through being me and actually truly believing
Speaker: that it's okay, it's not right or wrong, it's just different. And we are meant to be different. We are meant to be our unique self. We're just gonna look at how nature demonstrates that. What makes a healthy environment, a healthy ecosystem? It's full of diversity.
Speaker: It couldn't be the same. Every aspect of the environment couldn't be the same because it wouldn't work. It wouldn't actually support life if it was all one thing, if they were all just the same creatures. So why, as a human race, are we trying to be clones? It is actually our difference that helps keep our society healthy.
Speaker: It's different perspectives, it's different skill sets, it's different ways of looking at things. Some people are more auditory, other people are more visual, some people more analytical, some people more lateral in their thinking. It's all of that combined that creates the strength in our society. So acceptance of difference, that's my mission.
Speaker: So how does this relate to business? Establishing a business based on your uniqueness fills a gap. Business to me is not about selling as much as you can to as many as you can. It's about serving a selection of people so that they can go out and serve with their unique gifts and then causing a flow on effect.
Speaker: just like the vibration of energy shifts our state and then it filters out because then it shifts the state of those around us. The energy we bring to a room can shift a room. So by tuning into our uniqueness of who we are and operating from that place, we then filter that vibration out and activate others in tuning into their uniqueness and who they are.
Speaker: giving each other permission to connect with our individual essence, knowing that it will help serve and heal the whole. So I'd like to encourage you to actually tune in to what you are all about. What is your unique essence? How do you contribute to the collective through being you and let go of external validation? Because that's actually limiting you from living your best life.
Speaker: when you're worried about what others are thinking. And it's not to be contentious, it's actually to contribute by being uniquely you.
Speaker: Thank you so much for your time. I know how valuable it is and I hope you got value out of listening to this podcast. If you are looking for a coach to support and guide you through your own unique journey of creating a life you love, then reach out for a connection call. And if you'd like to connect with other creative souls in person by joining us at a workshop or retreat or to book a unique shopping experience here at Creators Nest, I run those by appointment. So check out the website for more details. The link is in the show notes.
Speaker: Oh, and please leave a review. I'd love to hear any insights or inspirations that were activated in you from this podcast. And I look forward to drumming, dancing or soaring alongside of you.
