We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Dana Donnelly. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Dana below.

Dana, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

The desire to create was reawakened in me during my own reawakening that I call my mirror moment. Six years into an abusive relationship after 2 years of contemplating how I would leave, I looked in the mirror and finally saw a glimpse of myself. I had an epiphany moment, I literally said to myself “You were made for more”. It was in that moment that something in me had woken up, the blinders came off, and I realized I had been living the past 6 years or more of my life as a heavily watered down, unhealed version of myself. That day in early 2018 was the first day of the rest of my life. Between 2018-2020 while on my healing journey I found my purpose unexpectedly in the midst of trying many different jobs, I realized I am here to empower others. This is where the idea to become an entrepreneur in personal development industry was born.

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?

I began working in the personal development industry in 2020 through starting to write my first book, creating motivational Instagram videos, and sharing my story with the intention of helping others. Writing my first book (working on getting that published now) was a catalyst in my growth journey. In writing and editing this book a few times over I also dreamed of one day having my own podcast, motivational speaking at events, hosting my own events, created work shops and more.

Today, I am about to hit my 2 year mark of podcasting, working on getting my book published, hosted my own events, began my motivational speaking career, and have created a community for women. I’m on a mission to teach others how to unleash their inner badass which is just my way of saying I am coaching others on how to stand confidently in their power, no longer making themselves smaller to be more digestible for others. I am most proud of empowering women to be their true selves, to love themselves unconditionally, and how to work towards their dreams and goals.

I am here to serve others which inevitably fills me up along the way. I find so much joy in seeing other people especially women step into their authenticity and begin living a life they not only love but are proud of. I love that my audience ranges from 16 year olds to 60 year olds. I give my community the “dana kick in the ass they need”, giving them tips and tools while sharing my own experiences. I’m real. I’m raw. I’m honest in all the work I do because authenticity is something I value very highly

Lastly, I just love what I do. I am fueled by this work which is why I have done it for years without bringing in much income. I know what it’s like to be an entrepreneur in a niche field and I’m grateful for the years of practice that is preparing me for what is to come. I’m blessed to have been gifted this purpose of teaching others.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

In truth, I’ve been building resilience my whole life. From being on my own since I was 16, being outcasted by my family, not having the parental guidance I desperately needed, getting myself out of an abusive relationship, dealing with profound loss and grief, staying committed and focused on my growth and healing.

I will tell you specifically about the turning point of my life which was when I took accountability for the life I was living. I stopped blaming my parents, my circumstances, my abusive ex, my family. I stopped being mad at the world and I looked at myself. I became self aware of how I was playing a role in my misery. I realized that I am the author of my own story and that despite the validity of not having what I needed in crucial years of my life specifically from my parents, I realized that I had two choices. Spend the rest of my life feeling sorry for myself and wishing things were different OR do the internal work and figure out who I was and what I wanted in my life.

I chose to take responsibility. I chose to become aware that I was allowing all that happened TO me and the circumstances I was dealt at the time to have control over me. From there, I had to face so many difficult realizations that led to a magnificent transformation. I let go of the anger I held towards my parents and my family. I let go of the negativity and pain that was weighing me down by being brave enough to FACE it instead of continue to run from it. From there I decided I would focus on the only two things I can control – my attitude and my actions.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I had to unlearn lacking mindset. Scarcity mindset was ingrained in me, a belief system I adopted from my parents and family after growing up in a household where people said things like “money doesn’t grow on trees, you can never have enough money, trust no one, everyone will betray you”. I could go on but I won’t. None of this is to say my parents were bad parents. They only did and taught what they knew. But those beliefs were detrimental to my personal and professional development.

On my growth and healing journey I started adopting new beliefs. I realized that the ideas and mindset I adopted from the household I grew up in were keeping me stuck in a vicious cycle of lack in all areas of my life. I began believing in myself, my abilities. After developing a certain level of love for myself I was able to start adopting the abundant mindset. I learned that what I believe, the thoughts I focus on, I create more of. Moving towards abundant mindset after living most of my life in scarcity hasn’t been easy but I can promise that it has been monumental in my growth in the last 5 years.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.danadonnelly.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danadonnellyofficial?igsh=MTQ5MnJoNDZrbmd1cw%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/danagallager13
• Other: Podcast-Spotify:
  

  Apple:
  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/askmewhenimamillionaire/id1674418315

  Community IG:

  https://www.instagram.com/innerbadassreborn?igsh=MWoxbmduZml1bGcyOA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr

Image Credits

N/a