We recently connected with Alyssa De Luna and have shared our conversation below.

Alyssa, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

Too often we let societal pressures make us feel that being successful must equate having money, working non-stop or grinding relentlessly. Truth be told, growing up, I agreed. I thought that the more I had on my plate or the more hectic my schedule was, the better and more well-rounded I’d be. I tended to focus on the whole staircase and not just the step in front of me. I thought that by working tirelessly and diligently towards success and the finer things in life that would ultimately mean I’d have a more successful one – I thought I’d live happiest this way. Boy, was I humbled. And thank God for it.

We must destroy this idea that we have to be constantly firing on all cylinders and grinding non-stop in order to be successful. The day I learned to embrace the concepts of reflection, rest and balance was the day I learned what true success and happiness meant. Sadly, this day came after I hit some of the lowest points in my life mentally and emotionally. I beat myself up for slowing down my grind in order to take care of myself. I made myself feel like a failure for craving peace. I had trained myself to believe that if I stopped the relentless forward progression, my dreams would never be reached. Then I looked up and realized that I had been missing the joy, the spark, my ‘why’ the entire time.

Life is too short to spend it at war with ourselves. We shouldn’t have to break ourselves or risk our mental health and stability to chase success. We must shift our mindset and develop a healthy relationship with success – we must be gentle with ourselves while holding ourselves accountable, be humble and be consistent. We are the greatest project we will ever work on. Be the hardest working person in the room, sure, but also try to be the most at peace.

Remember, your mark of success might look different than the next person and that’s okay. Success looks different in everyone’s story – that’s the beauty of it. It doesn’t matter how we choose to get there; what matters is that we arrive as happily and as peacefully as possible. We deserve a happy, peaceful, successful life. You’ll be amazed at what you will attract when you start believing in what you deserve.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Alyssa Marie De Luna and I’ve lived 26 beautiful years as a true Sagittarius, usually fashionably late, always looking for my next recipe and most likely with a camera in hand ready to capture the details of life. Being a Rio Grande Valley Latina native, I was blessed to be able to move to Austin, TX to chase my communication and business dreams at The University of Texas at Austin. Being a first-generation college student, I knew I was to cherish the opportunity for myself and all my family that paved the way before me. Upon arrival, I was in shock. Standing there on the Main Mall, hearing the buzz of new languages and seeing the faces of new cultures whiz by, I knew this was my new home. It was a world created for creatives to create. It was a world created for someone just like me.

Growing up, I always sort of felt like an odd ball trapped in this perfectionist bubble. I felt contained at times, worried about what everyone and their mother would think, was truly just an insecure person that was afraid of being perceived as different. I yearned for more – more acceptance, more creativity, more ‘weirdos’, more diversity, more people that weren’t concerned about the opinions of others. And I got way more than I bargained for in the best way.

Being in Austin, I was immediately catapulted into this world of creative and magnetic energy. Everyone was so welcoming and had a weird, beautiful flare of their own. No one looked twice at you for dancing in the street with your headphones on or wearing pjs to class, everyone could just… be. I took this as a sign – do things that make you happy like no one is watching you. I fell in love with photography, museums and creating again. I allowed myself to put pen to paper, paint to canvas and lens to details. I found the joy in it that I had lost, and I feared I would never get back.

One day, as I helped a friend with a photography project, he suggested I jump in front of the camera. After several rejections and pushbacks, I eventually caved and found myself in front of the camera rather than my usual place behind it. It was quite literally one of the most awkward and empowering moments of my life.
I wasn’t worried about what anyone would think. I wasn’t worried about being judged. I wasn’t worried about not being accepted. I was just having fun, laughing at myself and smiling through it. This marked the day that everything changed for me.

I never considered myself model standard. I never thought I was tall enough or pretty enough or skinny enough. I never would have imagined that in three short years I would find myself modeling, doing brand ambassador and commercial work for renowned brands like Ferrari, Formula 1, Blenders, San Pellegrino, Tost Beverages, Tribeza Magazine and more. I have been blessed and abundant and I would love to build a community to let everyone know that you are capable of being blessed and abundant, too. Even if you feel like you don’t fit in, like you don’t fit the mold. I’m here to tell you, screw the mold. Build your own, break it and build some more.

I have allowed myself to realize that I am capable and deserving. I can start that arts & crafts jewelry business I’ve always wanted to; I can write and recite poetry live the way I’ve always pictured; I can model, act and do commercials that I’ve always dreamed of; I can invest in myself and take photography more seriously – I can do all the things I always convinced myself were too big for me. And so can you.

I hope to build a community of aspiring creatives that are like-minded and passionate about doing the things they convinced themselves they would never do. To build a platform where creatives can come together, collaborate, brainstorm and build programs that implement the importance of creativity in aspiring youths. It’s never too late to chase your dream. The best day to start is yesterday, the second best day is today. I hope to carry myself in a way that would make that young, insecure Alyssa proud and inspire the next generation to do the same and realize sooner that their creativity is infinite, beautiful and accepted.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is realizing that nobody can strip this from you. Nobody can take your creativity, no one can dim your light, no one can stop your vision and your drive… unless you let them. As long as I have my creativity, I am free to imagine a world for myself that I have always dreamed of. No limits, no expectations, no shortcomings. Just letting your creativity catch wind, allowing it to ebb and flow freely.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My mission, ultimately, is to help other realize that they have creativity oozing through them waiting to be tapped into. I want to remind people that they still have that stroke of childlike creativity in them. No matter what community or walk of life you hail from, each and every one of us has creative power that can change lives or even just one life and that’s more than enough. I want to help people see the beauty of the details of life. To find beauty in all mundane corners of this world. To help people find something ordinary and look at it through an extraordinary lens – to use their creative energy to express themselves and build their own communities.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @alyssamdeluna
• Facebook: Alyssa Marie De Luna
• Linkedin: Alyssa De Luna

Image Credits
Instagram – @shotsbysanti