We were lucky to catch up with Ayana Wildgoose recently and have shared our conversation below.
Ayana, appreciate you joining us today. What do you think it takes to be successful?
Over the course of my life and journey as an entrepreneur, I’ve learned that a major key to success is embracing failure. Winston Churchill put it perfectly when he said, “Success is moving from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm.” Understanding this concept changed my perspective in a major way. Instead of being afraid to fail, I became excited to fail & excited to discover what didn’t work. This has allowed me to be kind to myself because it’s MY journey to enjoy and learn from. Becoming successful also requires patience as nothing worth having comes easily. A concept that resonates with me is this… slow down and you’ll get there faster. I’ve come to understand that there’s no need to rush because things naturally fall into place as I become my best, most authentic version. Once I slowed down and took personal inventory, I began to bloom from a place of peace and contentment. Ultimately, cultivating a peaceful inner world creates a peaceful outer world and I have found THAT to be the ultimate success.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
My name is Ayana Wildgoose and I am the creator & owner of Better Gut Feeling LLC. I pride myself in making the best Seamoss Gel you’ve ever tasted. Seamoss is a red algae that grows off the coastal rocks of the ocean. It absorbs the nutrients from those ocean rocks as it grows which is where it gets its high mineral content from. Seamoss is amazing for your gut health because it is a prebiotic food, which means that it acts as fertilizer for your probiotics, allowing them to function at their best. Seamoss also aids in digestion by lining your intestines allowing for your eliminations to move more smoothly. Using my Seamoss Gel on your gut healing journey will lead to clearer skin, increased energy, boosted immunity and an overall more balanced feeling within. All my Seamoss is sourced in the healthy waters of Grenada & is wild crafted. I flavor my Seamoss Gel with organic fruits and herbs, and I make each jar out of the South Amboy Commercial Kitchen in NJ. I have been blessed to become a regular vendor at the Ramsey Farmers Market in NJ as well as selling my products online. My online storefront enables me to ship my Seamoss Gel nationwide with insulation and cold packs so that it’s fresh upon arrival. There is nothing that brings me more joy than seeing the positive reactions from my customers once they try my Seamoss Gel for the first time. My mission is to make such a nutritious food like Seamoss Gel palatable & enjoyable for adults & kids alike. How did I get into this business? I started out making plain Seamoss Gel for myself during my first pregnancy and selling my extra jars on Etsy. From there, my business began to blossom, and I migrated to the Shopify platform. I then introduced fruit & herbal flavors which were a huge hit amongst my customers. I’m an artist at heart so I fell in love with the branding side as well, creating the logo, the labels, & building my website myself. I also got to explore my love for photography & videography with my product photos & creative content videos. Better Gut Feeling has become a beautiful expression of the many passions I’ve had over the years from wellness to visual art. I am so grateful to be able to share my work with the world and for all the support I’ve received along the way.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
Being able to pivot peacefully has been one of the greatest lessons I’ve learned so far. Going through divorce as a mother of two beautiful children, forced me to embrace the pivot. So many aspects of my life changed all at once & I had to decide quickly who I wanted to become. Instead of staying stuck in the past and allowing the grief to overcome me…I overcame it. I decided to move into the future with faith & bet on myself. I decided to learn, grow, and go in a different direction and God carried me through. Remaining attached to what was, prevents us from experiencing the beauty in what’s new and what’s next. Once I truly understood this, my life began to change for the better. I no longer was stuck when things didn’t go my way. Instead, I adapted and believed that God had more for me in the next place. The amazing thing about life is that we attract what we are, so endings are new beginnings in disguise. We always have the power to change our perception. What if an ending simply meant, we were no longer aligned with our existing circumstances? That would also mean that we are simultaneously attracting the very things that are. This point of view helped me to alleviate some of that fear I experienced in the face of change. Life can be painful and full of circumstances that knock us down, but it’s how we respond and how quickly we get back up that truly matters.
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
The book The Mountain Is You: Transforming Self – Sabotage Into Self-Mastery by Brianna Wiest changed my life. I truly believe in the phrase, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” This book taught me the importance of not treating the symptoms of a thing but rather discovering the root and facing it head on. The root determines the fruit. This book gave me understanding, which is a vitally important component of lasting change. The Mountain Is You exposed me to me in a gentle yet accountable way while giving me practical action steps to take in order to improve my life. Now, I no longer try to eat an elephant in one sitting but rather one bite at a time. I began to conquer life’s challenges incrementally and focus on my inner world. I started building powerful small habits and rewarding myself for staying consistent with them. I learned that the little things are actually big things, and that all those tiny strokes are what creates my life’s masterpiece. This has cultivated an environment of success for me that I will continue to foster as I pursue my divine purpose.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.BetterGutFeeling.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/bettergutfeeling
- Facebook: www.Facebook.com/bettergutfeeling
Image Credits
Ayana Wildgoose