By Gina Linn Espinoza

We all have a shared history among us and we should all learn to walk our own talk.  We need to practice every day and be committed to helping others achieve their dreams as well.  “Life is going to throw you punches,” my father Louie was fond of saying, and “You have to learn how to roll with those punches.”

As women, the way we deal with those punches is what makes us successful. The core values in my life were passed onto me in the form of a torch by my family.  My father, a forward thinking leader, passed his valued leadership skills to me, his daughter.

Here are his three vital lessons:

AUTHENTICITY – Be genuine

You need to know who you are and who you are not.  For example:  When I was 8 I wanted to be a ballerina but at age 18 I didn’t feel that same passion anymore and I knew it wasn’t what I wanted to be in the next cycle of my life. So for me every choice comes from the gut, like a fear or a red flag that comes up and needs to be overcome, investigated or walked away from.  The right choice will make your heart sing and send passion flowing from your heart to your brain this sensation being evidence that you have found your authentic self and can move from there.  Do you ever get goose bumps when you have an idea – then you are experiencing your authenticity.  Congratulations!

INNOVATION / CURIOSITY – Brainstorming or stream of consciousness

You have ideas or you know what you want to do and you start to explore how you’re going to get it done.  For me, my drive toward life coaching, theatre and the arts, which collectively is unconventional, happened to inspire me to create a whole new pursuit.  By exploring my other passions, I tapped into this curiosity and started to think about personal development in a different way and how to teach personal development surrounding the business of theatre and art.  By doing this, I was able to come up with a whole new concept for personal development.  I was curious enough to explore other things.

I began to realize that life is about “living in the playground.” Growing up in the little town of Calexico, near the Mexican border, it was actually the lure of what-could-be in the big city of Los Angeles that kept pulling me to “breathe the air of possibility.”  Upon flying out from the nest, and having landed in the lofts of downtown, I began creating.  I was joyfully bathed in the waters of producing a short film, community events and helping others also create and learn how to play.  It was in the City of Angels that I truly began to trust my curiosity. This act of becoming curious requires the ability to earnestly explore one’s inner thoughts clearly.  You need to truly be able to think for yourself.

So, I specifically kept Mondays for the day of thinking (about myself, my family and business) – to be self-absorbed and create time for critical thinking about myself.  To be successful, one needs to be self-absorbed, purposely tending to the patch of ground around you, which needs to be continually cultured, nurtured and fertilized. Critical thinking is very important.  One must take time to think about oneself.  You need to truly be able to think about yourself: Deep within… To be able to open your own doors.

RESPECT / SELF LOVE – Love yourself

We are all taught to respect our elders, parents, teachers, the President as a means of having and maintaining respect in our lives.  However, we are not always taught to respect ourselves.  In our society, self-love is not a given.  Do we really love ourselves?  Do we know how?  Were we ever taught?  Going back to being genuine, I model my own life around my own teaching of being in L – O – V – E

L-O-V-E  Liberation Ovation Vocation Evolution

I guarantee, from here on out, after exploring the four pillars of love, you will never see or experience the word the same.

• L for Liberation:  Being able to say “no.”  I learned from my mother that we should go when invited otherwise we may never be invited again.  So, I went to many invites, to please others. I quickly realized to ask myself “what makes me smile?”  If it doesn’t make me smile, I’ve learned to respond with my liberated thank you however not able to attend.  This simple no sifting allowed me to move onto other things that indeed made me smile.
• O for Ovation:  Applause for yourself includes a trip to getting a massage, hair or nails done – consciously saying to yourself “I did a great job today” and I’m going to do something special in celebration of/for me.
• V for Vocation: “Do what you love and you will never work a day in your life,” Confucius says.  If you’re doing something and you don’t want to – then you shouldn’t be doing it.
• E for Evolution:  We evolve into the next phase. You’ve been on this plateau and you’re moving up into an infinite staircase that never ends – you’re getting to your dream, you’re in your dream — yet within your dream you cannot remain in one place.  You have to keep moving, keep evolving.  When you do something just because it would look good on your resume but does not feel good to you – then you should not pursue it.

Go back to your understanding of authenticity.  Walking your talk. Women we need to learn to be ourselves and value it.  Our feminine power is divine.  Our innate power is to trust our instincts and help one another achieve each other’s dreams.

Gina Linn Espinoza, Dr. Love

Gina Linn Espinoza, founder of UpLatino and Get Wise Latinas, is dedicated to growing and nurturing talent as a personal success /life strategist consultant and motivational speaker. Given her diverse corporate management experience and energetic, positive thinking approach, Gina believes that the spirit of mankind, our diverse lives and shared history propel each of us forward creating a boundless untapped potential.

One of 22 Latinas nationwide recipients of the National Hispana Leadership Institute Fellowship, while attending JFK School of Government at Harvard University, she was selected by Hispanic Lifestyle as one of 2013/14 Latinas of Influence –among which was Eva Longoria. She has three SXSWi Revolutionary Nominations –El Innovator, New Americano, and The Mobilizer , and has been quoted in Latina Magazine, and appeared on The Huffington Post segments.

Contact via Twitter:  @UpLatino  @ginalinn
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/doctoralove/
LinkedIn:  www.linkedin.com/in/ginalinnespinoza