Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Deanna Rose. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Deanna, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s kick things off with a hypothetical question – if it were up to you, what would you change about the school or education system to better prepare students for a more fulfilling life and career?

I did my elementary school in China, high school, undergraduate and doctorate degree in Canada, so I have personally experienced the differences between the two systems, cultures, and belief systems.

I feel that both education systems can create a better environment to support students in learning and practicing critical thinking skills. The school system often teaches students what to think rather than how to use their own perspective to look at an event, a person, a place, or a subject. This creates copies of the same thinking mind, rather than supporting the individualized and creative minds of individual humans. This encourages students to explore, at a young age, of their own talents, perspectives, and preferences. So as they grow, they feel comfortable and confident in expressing their own opinions and thoughts without being judged or feel they might be “wrong”.

I also feel the Western education system could incorporate more elements of discipline, respect, and morals. I do think the Chinese overdo it and the West doesn’t do it enough. So a balance between the two will make entering society easier for young adults.

I personally believe the education system should teach children power of the mind at a young age-how it affects our health, performance, and the way we navigate the world. I learned the power of the mind, specifically visualization, when I absolutely needed to do butterfly in the pool. Coaches tried to teach me, I practiced for hours in the pool, weeks later I still looked like a drowning rat gasping for air. I didn’t know what else to do, so I got a book on swimming (yes, a book. Before computers and phones came out), looked at progression photos of butterfly over and over again until it became a movie in my head. I then closed my eyes and visualized myself doing the same motions over and over again for about a week. A week later, I jumped in the pool- perfect butterfly.

Lastly, the education system should make it mandatory to enroll in these two studies: how the human body works (including exercise and nutrition) and finances. I think these two are pretty self-explanatory

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Growing up, there were a lot of dysfunctional relationship dynamics and mental health issues around me, so I always wanted to be a psychiatrist (before I knew what psychiatrists do). My goal was always to help as many people “be happy” as possible (as I called it when I was younger). Although how I frame that has changed over the years, the underlying goal and purpose never changed.

My parents made the decision to move to Canada from China in my early teens in an attempt to give me a better life. Because of culture shock and not knowing the language, I became more introverted and avoidant after moving to Vancouver, Canada. I struggled a lot during those years with depression, negative self-talk, and an overall lack of directions and purpose. When I was about 17/18, I became a bit more fluent in the language. I tried to find a sense of identity through friends, colleagues and what I chose to do with my time outside of school. Even though I was functioning in society, I felt trapped, hopeless, and unworthy of living on the inside. For years, I didn’t see how I could live like that for the rest of my life. I kept asking myself- how miserable and sad of a life is it to just wear a mask and cope through life?

Naturally, I majored in psychology in my undergraduate studies at the University of British Columbia. Although I was bored out of my mind those four years in school, I still wanted a career in mental health. After working for the Ministry of Children and Family Developments as a counselor with adolescents with conduct disorders, mental health issues, and criminal records, I realized the system wasn’t designed to help people the way I envisioned. So I started searching for something more holistic and human-centered like the Traditional Chinese Medicine I grew up with, and I found naturopathic medicine.

During the program, I realized there’s very little focus on the human mind and how it affects and manifests in our physical body. There’s a very small niche of health and wellness practitioners who have extensive training in both the mental and physical field. So after graduating from the program, I wanted to create something that marries the mind and the body. I also realized I’m very good at reading and seeing through people- the subtle cues of their body language, thoughts, emotions and their subconscious drivers behind everything they do and believe in.

My goal still was and is to help people “be happy”, like what I wanted 30 years ago. But now it’s expanded to helping people find genuine gratitude with who they currently are while reaching for their limitless potential as they continue to find confidence in themselves and their abilities. That’s why I founded Wellth by Deanna Rose and what we stand for. My business is basically designed for the me from 10-15 years ago.

Because I swam intensely for more than 20 years of my life, the ability to train and perform is important to me. This requires both mental and physical discipline, stamina, and the drive to keep getting better. I bring all of this experience and belief system into my business and offers.

We focus on resolving root causes, reassessing goals, realigning actions, and optimizing performance. Every step of the way, we address physical, mental, and emotional components of the person. We require committed and full participation from our clients, because we solely act as guides and the individual has to be the main and active agent in their own healing and growth process. We do not work with people who just want quick fixes or want an external agent to solve their problems.

I started my branding and graphic design business-Glow and Tonic Studio about 3 years ago. I’ve always loved visual arts since I was a child. After being accepted into art school for my undergraduate studies, I ended up going for a “normal” degree instead. So art became a side chick in my life. But after starting my business, I realized a huge part of business is psychology and creating visuals that grab attention and attract the right audience. So this led me down the path of nerding out on the psychology of business and branding. I love marrying my talents and experiences together as you can tell from my health business. So in Glow and Tonic, I married psychology with my love for art, helping businesses create human-centered memorable brands and experiences that create positive impacts in this world.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Social media’s constantly evolving and what people are looking for is constantly changing. But personally, I’m a firm believer in being yourself and being consistently you. Authenticity is more effortless than adapting to trends, it’s also way more attractive than being someone you’re not. In a world where everyone’s doing extra to stand out, being authentically you makes it easy to create content and earn trust from your audience.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

I knew nothing about business when I first started. I sought out a lot of mentors, courses, and books to understand how to run a business. Some of the earlier books that kicked started my understanding of business and branding are

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
The First Rule of Mastery: Stop Worrying about What People Think of You by Michael Gervais
Building a Story Brand by Donald Miller
Who Not How by Dan Sullivan
The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks

Alex Hormozi is one of the people that’s really helped me shift my mindset recently about business, and life, to be perfectly honest. I haven’t read his books, but his podcasts and podcast appearances on other people’s shows have so much wisdom and inspiration.

Contact Info:

• Website: deannawrose.com and glowtonic.studio
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.deannawrose/ and https://www.instagram.com/glowtonic.studio/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deannawrose/

Image Credits

None