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

Mio, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Was there a defining moment in your professional career? A moment that changed the trajectory of your career?

I had the “right” job, the right title, the right boyfriend, the perfect loft apartment. I had it all, or so it seemed. I thought I had finally made it after so many years of work in so many industries and so many failed relationships. I thought I had finally made it to the place I needed to be. In my mind I had arrived but boy was I wrong, although I wouldn’t come to find that out until it all came to a head. Over a span of 2 weeks, the job that I thought I loved but honestly loathed fired me, the boyfriend I thought I loved but was really seeking validation from, dumped me and I was sitting in the loft apartment I thought I needed, focusing on trying not to have a nervous breakdown. I couldn’t help but question, what had it all been for? All the late nights at the office and all the sacrifices I made to be let go so easily. I reflected on how much of my heart I had given the ex, for him to then just decide that he no longer wanted me. I had given so much of myself and now I was at the verge of being physically ill. I realized then that I had given too much.

I had given too much of myself because I didn’t believe I had value. I didn’t think I mattered.

Coincidently at the same time, I had been pursuing a certification to become a Transformational Trainer and I was learning things about myself that I had never been aware of before. I was learning that I was worthy, I was learning that I did matter and most importantly, that I was the one who had the power to transform my life and that actually I had been the one to create what I thought was just happening to me now.

After learning that I had created all of this, I experienced my first huge paradigm shift. I stood there in my apartment and decided that none of this mattered anymore and that none of it was worth any more of my time or life force energy. I decided it was time to choose me and chose to step away from it all. Everything I had worked for until that point was what I thought society thought was best any way! I had been chasing societal values and realized that none of that mattered to me to me anymore. What did matter to me was my mental and physical well-being above all else. What now mattered to me was my journey to figure out what did matter to me because I had been searching blindly for so long. For so long, I had been lost and for many years I didn’t know what my favorite color was. I had no preferences and the only things I valued were the bigger salary and credible title which is what I thought other people valued.

I was done. When I stood there realizing that I could very easily have a nervous breakdown at any moment, I drew the line and chose me. And that was the beginning of the next chapter of my life. A chapter where I would do an overhaul of my life and get to the core of who I was and what I wanted. What I thought was the end of my life had quickly become the first day of the rest of my life.

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

I spent so many years of my life loathing myself, doubting my every move, disregarding myself and allowing others to do the same. I was a major people pleaser and doormat in many ways. I was burnt out and exhausted all the time while I was stuck in a loop of doing everything for everyone else and nothing for myself. I thought others were more entitled than I was, and I would put myself beneath everyone else because of that.

What I didn’t realize at the time is that since my dad “left me” when I was 4 years old, I believed it was my fault he left and believed that the reason was because he didn’t love me anymore. From that moment on, I was unlovable in my eyes and therefore, I lived my entire life that way until I became Certified as a Transformational Trainer and did the deep inner work that would allow me to find my value within for the first time since childhood.

I realized that the inner child work I had done so much of throughout the years leading to this point would serve me now to realize what I needed to heal. This impacted me greatly and I experienced an incredible transformation.

Without inner child healing and learning how to love myself, I would not be where I am today, so I made self-love and inner child healing pillars of my work, as well as, raising vibrational frequency and harmonizing feminine and masculine energies which make up my body of work.

I started working with the intention of creating a transformational program that could take people from searching, to healing and from healing to being the version of themselves that they wanted to see because that is what I had accomplished.

I had tried so many modalities, recommendations, coaching styles and techniques and even clinical psychology but none of it led me to where I needed to be to make the real deep changes I needed. Therefore, making this possibility accessible to others became my priority. I wanted people to experience the same sustainable shifts I had that allowed me to transform my life from within.

After so many years of searching, I was only able to accomplish it when I turned inward and started practicing with discipline to heal and transform myself. Therefore, I set out to create programs that would not only teach participants “the way” but that would train them with the tools they need to maintain the transformation in sustainable ways and tailored to their own journey.

I knew that every person is different and that there could not be one cookie cutter way to make an impact on people’s lives. I knew that I had to empower people with the knowledge and tools to be the ones to make the impact for themselves in their own lives.

Not only would this be more effective, but it would also increase sustainability knowing that they had been the ones to create the change and that they had the power to maintain it and continue transforming.

I always say knowledge is power but most importantly it’s how you apply and practice that knowledge that truly makes the difference. Therefore, I created a four-pronged approach with my clients which is acknowledge, address, heal and transform and have found it to be very effective.

I suffered in silence for over 20 years of my life. Sometimes I wondered why I was even here and had thoughts that maybe if I wasn’t here, things would be better, and I don’t want others to go through this. Now I wake up every day centered, clear and in love with life. Every moment is a blessing now and I am so grateful for the new reality I created for myself and all I want is to support and guide those who are experiencing the same thing to see that they don’t need to suffer anymore.

No matter what you’ve been through, the up’s the down’s, the good, bad and the ugly, it all led you to where you are right here in the present moment and therefore it is divine. It is your Divine Journey and it is my hope to steward you to see the divinity within your own journey and help you transform your life from within.

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

When I was 17 years old, I left home. At the time, my mom was in an abusive relationship and I had gotten caught up in one of their fights and got hurt. The next day I went to the courthouse to file a restraining order against him. I was so sure that this would be the end of him coming around but when I came home with the paperwork for my mom to sign, she declined. She declined to sign the paperwork that would enforce the law on him and keep us safe because she didn’t want to send him to jail. I was devasted. Something changed in me that day. I felt completely alone, afraid and let down.

Shortly after that, I saw him coming around again and at that moment I told my mom that if I were to ever see him around the house again, I would leave and not come back.

I guess she didn’t believe me because one day on my way back from school I saw him scurrying away trying not to be seen and although I was shocked and devasted, I also remembered my promise. Without uttering a word, I went straight upstairs and packed my bags.

As scary as it was, on that day I knew the prospects of me stepping into the unknown were better than staying in an unsafe environment. It broke my heart to leave my mom behind, but she had made her choice.

I went to stay at an aunt’s house and completed my last year of high school there in a stable and calm environment. My grades and school involvement improved and one day my school counselor told me that if I would have had these types of grades during the 4 years of my high school career that I could have graduated valedictorian.

My eyes opened wide with disbelief. Really? Me of all people? I almost didn’t believe her, but she was serious, and it was at that moment that I reflected on how I had stood up for myself and applied myself to improving my life circumstanced. At that moment I realized how resilient I had been in changing the trajectory of my life.

This is the reason I named my 8-week self-love coaching program, Resilience. Every woman has a story of resilience and every woman deserves to know how valuable and beautiful she is. Every woman gets to live a joyful life where all her needs are met and she can be more for herself and for others. Because of my experience, I believe that every woman gets to feel safe, loved and worthy. I have met so many women who demonstrate resilience in their lives every day and deserve to live beautiful lives but just don’t possess the tools to make the sustainable shifts that are needed to do so. This program has supported so many women in transforming their lives and getting their freedom and full self-expression back. I hope that every woman who feels called will take this program and begin experiencing ease, safety and healing now.

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?

The most important thing to succeed as a coach is to value each human being that you work with and to be present with them in such a way that they feel heard, seen and safe. Creating an environment of trust and care is key and not only letting your clients know that your main goal is their success but going further and being more of a stand for them than they may be for themselves.

Being a coach is about being present with each individual and treating their situation and story as unique and as important. In my practice I am led a lot by my intuition and have trained a lot to be able to do this. Knowing innately what a person needs and being able to connect with them in such a way that they get it for themselves is an art and with practice and discipline it can be developed and achieved.

I pride myself in providing individual care and results for my clients. They each go away feeling clear about what they’re next step is and empowered with the tools and steps they need to get there and for coach/client relationships, this is key.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.miosantana.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mio_santana/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DivineJourneybyMio
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/miosantana/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/MioSantana

Image Credits
Roxy Azuaje Photographer and Janine Stone Photography