We were lucky to catch up with Markie Mullins recently and have shared our conversation below.

Markie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Looking back at internships and apprenticeships can be interesting, because there is so much variety in people’s experiences – and often those experiences inform our own leadership style. Do you have an interesting story from that stage of your career that you can share with us?

My internship experience was a journey of persistence and the power of truly believing in yourself.

When I was 19, I was attending college at Arizona State University and often going to events on campus to network and meet new people. There was one specific event where Whitney Port came to speak and at the time she was a popular reality TV star. Many of my friends watched the show at the time and talked about her experience working in PR and fashion in LA & NYC. At the time, I was set on working in the fashion industry and knew it would be a great opportunity to hear her speak. I attended the event and during Q&A afterwards, I stood up in a huge auditorium and asked her how I could get an internship like that. She responded by saying, “Go to Kelly Cutrone’s office and tell her Whitney sent you.” Now in hindsight she probably said that to so many young students like myself, but I took that and ran with it.

Almost immediately after, I booked my tickets to NYC for a long weekend in January, right smack in the middle of winter. Just before the trip, I tried to rally all of the potential contacts possible I had in NYC. I did some research and saved the addresses and names of the hiring managers of certain brands like Hearst Magazines, many PR firms big & small, and DKNY. My mom had a contact at DKNY who shared they had a summer internship program and mentioned I could drop my resume off.

So after a bit of prep, I was off – I stayed with my aunt in NJ and had her drop me off in the city for a day. I mapped out the location of each office and started my trek. My first stop of course was Kelly Cutrone’s PR office. Maybe I was naive, or maybe I was just so confident, I’m not sure – but it was awful. I walked inside and it was like The Devil Wears Prada movie. I introduced myself to a small office of women who stared me down. I explained how “Whitney Port had sent me” and they promptly responded with, “So you think you can come in here without calling first?” Phew! I was shocked. Part of me was thinking, “Yea well I just did!” and the other part of me wanted to break down in tears. I quickly left my resume at the front desk and left. Before making it around the corner, I couldn’t help but cry. I remember thinking to myself, “Who do I think I am and what am I doing here?” I felt so defeated.

I walked the next few blocks, bought myself a cupcake, and took a few minutes to regroup. I knew I couldn’t let that experience soil my chances of chatting with more companies that day. So over the next few hours I walked into probably 10 or so more offices, many of which I was turned town at the door. Each time, I left my resume anyways and continued on.

My final stop of the day was DKNY. At that moment I was feeling tired but hopeful. I knew I had given it my all. I walked into the office right outside of Times Square and fully expected them to turn me away as the others did. To my surprise, when I asked if there was anyone I could speak with that day, they said yes! They shuffled me up the elevator to the main office and sat me in a waiting room.

At this point, I was so nervous but so ecstatic. Not long after, I was sitting in a meeting with the VP of Global Licensing for DKNY. We chatted about my experience, what I wanted to do, and what I was studying in school. Despite critiquing my resume, I felt it was a great conversation. I left that building feeling on top of the world – even without having an internship confirmed.

There have only been a few times in my life where I have felt that proud of myself. To this day, I am incredibly grateful for that experience, including the tears! It taught me how persistence matters and how far believing in yourself can truly take you. You truly never know what you can accomplish if you don’t try.

And the cherry on top for this story is only a few days later, I was sitting back at my desk at ASU when I received the email offering me a summer internship. It was all worth it!

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

I am currently the owner of Sukha by Markie, a company that provides astrology readings, yoga classes, and spiritual retreats. My mission is to help others cultivate compassion for themselves and their experiences through exploring their birth charts. I also aim to do this by creating community through retreats and yoga classes.

While I’ve been in this industry for a few years now, I was previously working in the fast-paced environment of start-up life in New York City. I worked for multiple e-commerce brands and fashion companies and while I value those experiences, I knew I desired something else.

I was interested in astrology and spirituality as a child, but never thought it would be an actual career path for me. I studied business in college and it wasn’t until I started randomly practicing yoga after graduating that I became back in touch with my creative, spiritual nature.

Not long after, I traveled to India to complete my 200 hr yoga teacher training. From there I spent a few years teaching as a side hustle and brainstorming ways I could start my own business. It wasn’t until I serendipitously received a scholarship to have more formal training in astrology that I realized this was the piece of the puzzle I was missing.

Now I use these modalities to connect with others in a really authentic, healing, and exciting way. I love helping people using spiritual and mindful practices!

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

The biggest things that have helped me both professionally and personally is having a meditation practice and continually reflecting, learning, and having the awareness to grow.

Consistent meditation has been a game changer for me and has allowed me to be happier, more peaceful, more productive, and more clear headed. All of these things help me to create new ideas for my business and are crucial to my success!

Furthermore, I’m constantly reading new books, networking, and being open to both learning new things and “unlearning” practices that no longer serve me.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle was the most impactful book I’ve ever read. He shares his incredible insight into the ego, your awareness, consciousness, and more. I frequently recommend this book to anyone interested in spirituality or ready to become a better version of themself. While it is not specific to business, I think his teachings will inevitably trickle into all areas of your life.

Contact Info:

• Website: sukhabymarkie.com
• Instagram: @sukhabymarkie
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markiemullins/