#BEYOUROWN MEETS DR. ELENA AGRIZZI

Dr. Elena Agrizzi is a coach, mentor, speaker, and visionary. An expert at living your most abundant and magical life; her passion is helping women entrepreneurs learn to be, vibrate, and attract everything that is possible for them. She knows from experience how easy it can be to slip into overwhelm and struggle while launching a new business or expanding an existing one, and she helps her clients break that downward cycle for good so they can start living abundantly again from a new place of flow and ease.

Her gift is in calling women back into their personal power of trusting their intuition and ditching the details, all the while igniting their feminine energy in life and business to create massive success on their own terms.

Her unique combination of research and heart have allowed her and her clients to build a business and life in complete fulfillment of their desires through a high vibrational vortex.

Dr. Agrizzi is a certified transformational coach with nearly 20 years of experience in holistic personal development and an MBA from Clemson University (USA). She is the CEO of Magic Inspired Living coaching and the creator of Live the Magic Retreats an exclusive bi-annual event that creates once in a lifetime magical experiences for women who are ready to open their wings and exist as the magnificent creator of their massively abundant lives.

A lover of people, international travel, and finding the magic in every day, Dr. Elena Agrizzi, resides with her family in her dream location of Venice, Italy while working with clients from all over the world.

Can you share your journey with us so far Dr Elena?

That’s a big question I have enjoyed a full life. So I will try to keep this relevant.

The road that led me to this point started like many other women, in a struggle between being myself and being who my mother wanted me to be. Her version of success didn’t align with mine, yet for a long time, I let her voice guide me. There were times when I traveled and studied and saw glimpses of what it was like to live life by my own design.  But my mother’s opinion ultimately won over mine.

I married, had a child, and took a top rated teaching position at a coveted school here in Italy. I had a beautiful life by many people’s standards, however not by mine. So I started to discoverer what I really wanted from my life and that lead me to the idea of entrepreneurship.

Initially, I thought this would be something nice to do on the side. In reality, it became more than I could handle as I was working essentially 3 jobs (teaching, mentoring, and coaching) all at the same time. Not to mention on top of that my responsibilities as a wife and mother who was managing a household, inevitably I’d reached my breaking point.

In 2015 I allowed myself to say that enough was enough. I decided to walk away from a really good job, one that no one ever left  (that actually didn’t have a process in place for someone to resign), then I took on coaching full-time.

I started living the life that I coach my clients about experiencing. I started traveling & working when I desired, created transformational retreats, and lived in the magic of life every day (hence the name of my business).

What motivated you and inspired you to become your own boss?

The first thing was the self-development work I was doing on myself.I needed the time and space to process the intense inner work, to show up for myself and to go to the workshops and seminars I wanted to attend.

But my job wasn’t very flexible. It wasn’t an atmosphere that supported self-growth. I began to feel like a tiger in a cage extremely anxious to get out, this usually happened every time they told me I couldn’t have even one day off to attend a seminar I really desired to go see.

I couldn’t stay there anymore.

I’m sure many of readers can relate when I say that honestly, it started to feel like a mental prison. I was trapped in my own life; entrepreneurship became my escape hatch. Once I opened the door I couldn’t look back.

You are a certified coach with almost 20 years of experience, why particularly a life coach?

I have always been fascinated with how the mind works and the power we have to change our own story. As a child, I would consciously control my nightmares by telling myself “this is not how the story is going to end”.

I mentioned before in my journey, that I came to a place where I believed that what other people thought was good for me was the best thing for my life. I was living their perfect life. My own self-coaching brought me out of that.

I was able to see the inner journey within myself that led me deeper and deeper into the layers of my being and showed me what really made me happy and fulfilled. I asked myself “How could I not share that with others”?

The ability to find your purpose. The ability to stand in your truth no matter what other people say. The ability to shine so brightly that you can share and contribute to the world in a way that never burns you out.When I get that point with a client where they really understand their purpose and they start living it in a bigger way, it confirms that I have found mine purpose through life coaching.

What is the best advice you have received recently?

I believe you need to learn what you do well, focus on that and outsource the rest.

When I first started my business I was wearing all the hats and doing everything. Much like every new entrepreneur. I had heard this advice before, but this year I heard it again and I’m really allowing it to sink in.Now I’m taking action to hire my dream team and grow my business to the next level of success.

What is a good article or book you have read recently?

I’m a big fan of Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. Yes, it’s an old book. However, it completely changed the way I looked at the relationship between work and money. It also was one of the major things that allowed me to leave my teaching career with ease.

I’ve re-read it many times but it’s just one of those books that expand you more and more each time you read it. If you haven’t read it before you definitely should. You can download it for free from many places but I own a paperback copy because I like the feeling of an actual book in my hands.

Any recommended podcasts?

Yes, I have several. Good Life Project with Jonathan Fields, Happier with Gretchen Rubin, The Life Coach School with Amy Porterfield, and She Did It Her Way with Amanda Boleyn are some of my favourites.

I really enjoy a podcast that increases my self-development both in business and in life.  Here’s a tip though, if you like an episode replay it while you fall asleep. Your brain will integrate the information faster than it would if you were fully awake.

Where do you go for inspiration?

I find my inspiration in nature, especially by the water. This is one of the main reasons I live in my favourite city Venice, Italy. Well, that and the amazing architecture of

The water is everywhere here. Being this close to it helps me to focus in on my inner wisdom, listen to my intuition and get clear on my desires for where I want life to take me next. I believe that everything we have or don’t have in life starts from where we are within.

What are you currently learning about in business?

I’m always working on my mindset around my business and generating wealth. I would say that marketing and automation are my primary focuses right now as far as my business education is concerned. I would like to scale my business in the next few years; to add in passive income. Before I hire a team to do this for me, I want to understand the process so that I am well-informed.

What are your goals for the next few months and how are you striving to achieve them?

Right now my main focus is filling the remaining spaces in my retreat. Creating an experience for women to really get back into their power and feminine energy.  To increase their whole life abundance from a place where they get to connect with other women, laugh, chat and indulge in an amazing boutique environment.

Secondary to that, but also intertwined, is to have the most pleasurable and enjoyable life available to me right now.  Which includes some amazing travel, indulgent self-care and ample time for my loved ones.

To answer the second part of your question, striving is not really a word I would use to describe how I plan to achieve my goals. I accomplish everything with ease and flow, even when it comes to my business. I listen to my inner wisdom, look for the fun, trust my gut and take inspired action. It’s magical how things always turn out better than you can imagine when I follow these simple steps.

What are the most effective tools you use to spread the awareness of what you are doing and generate more clients?

Following my intuition and practicing law of attraction are at the top of the list. More practically though, I have found the most success with networking via Facebook, referrals from past clients, running ads and participating in group collaborations (webinars, summits, and live events).

Have you ever had to deal with contention or any forms of doubt from family or friends whilst building your business? If so, how have you dealt with them?

The most important people in my life said I was crazy and unpractical when I decided to leave my job and pursue my passion full-time. For a while, it made me very upset. It brought up a lot of memories of my father, my biggest supporter, who passed in 2003 and the reality that my mother had not stepped up to fill that supportive role for me.  Add on top of that my husband, at the time, saw me as a crazy ‘woo-woo’ who believed in a creating a magical life.

Contention seemed to be coming at me from everywhere.

I had to come to terms with myself and realise that my mother’s offense wasn’t with me it was with her. She had never allowed her true self to be expressed; to her, it wasn’t safe to take on so much risk. So she wasn’t actually talking to me or trying to control me she was talking to and controlling herself. Once I got to the root of the issue it really just fell away.  She still thinks much the same thing but it doesn’t affect me in the same way anymore.

The situation with my husband worked out differently as I became my fullest self.I had to live from my personal vision for my life and he wasn’t willing to live with so much faith.  Our relationship ultimately ended and we divorced. A very emotional decision after being together for 33 years. His limiting voice reflecting back to me all of my fears was not a part of my new expanded self.

It turned out well for me though because of all that made room for the new amazing and supportive relationship I am now in.

What about any challenging times you have had to overcome? When were they and how did you learn to overcome them?

I think the most challenging times have been when I was first starting out, staring at the computer all alone working to get clients and wondering if I had really made the right choice. If you are a very social person, I’m sure you can relate when I say that no one tells you at the beginning how lonely running an online business can be.

After being in business for a while I learned to overcome those times by deepening my vision for where I wanted to go. I also developed a strong support system of other passionate female entrepreneurs on whom I could call. Now I know that my passion is much bigger than my fear and I have people I trust with my vision to call me out on that when I forget.

What advice would you give to young women wanting to progress in their a career, but feel like they are struggling to think big and feel suffocated by their inner doubts and inner confidence?

Take baby steps, learn to listen to yourself and trust your intuition on small decisions first. Then deep dive into your personal development. I would advise you to download Think and Grow Rich or some other self-development book and listen to it over and over and back to back until it sinks down into your being replacing your self-doubt with belief and faith.

Create a crazy list of things that would be really crazy amazing if they happened for you in your life. The more impractical and unbelievable the better. The point isn’t to achieve these things is to start allowing yourself to be okay with thinking outside of the box.

Name your fears and create a list of what life would be like on the other side of that fear. For example on the other side of doubt is always knowing just what to do. Then create a list of statements affirming the new version of yourself in the first person (i.e. “I always know exactly what to do”) and read them to yourself twice a day (once upon waking and once before falling asleep).

Lastly find a coach, mentor or circle of friends who believe in you when you find it hard to believe in yourself. There are no real mistakes, everything is a learning experience and if you keep looking for the magic in every moment of life you will always find it.

What staple piece of advice would you give to staying motivated and positive?

First get out of your head and get into your body. Go outside and experience nature.  Turn on your favourite song, sing loud and dance hard. Watch a funny video. Get creative. Play with a young child. As women, we get stuck when we are not moving, creating, and having fun.

Then ask yourself is this still what I really want? Because you can only create the life of your dreams from a place of true desire. Don’t force yourself; it’s okay to take breaks, rest and/or completely change your mind.

What does it mean to you to truly #BEYOUROWN?

It’s the point in life where you allow yourself to define and live out the vision for your life without needing the approval or input of others. When you are no longer afraid to follow what sets your soul on fire and you stand in front of your world letting them see every bit of your unique brand of magical living.

Lastly, what is on the horizon for 2018 for you?

I don’t have too many plans for 2018 outside of my retreat in Mykonos, Greece.  I have learned that the universe is much more clever than I and it has much bigger plans for me than I can even imagine for myself. So this year, as always, I’m following my feelings and focusing on the vibration (level of joy) that I want to achieve in my life.

I love connecting and speaking and being with people and I know that keeping my vibe high will bring in all the opportunities, success, and occasions to experience what I love that are meant for me this year.

Twitter: @ElenaAgrizzi | Instagram: @elenaagrizzi/

FB page: https://www.facebook.com/magicinspiredliving/

Website: www.elenaagrizzi.com