How they got there episodes is where we get to hear stories from experts, yoga teachers, healers, coaches…basically anybody who doesn’t have a typical job title.

These are their for real, for real stories about how they followed their heart’s calling to do what they’re meant to do. This means we get to hear the sticky middle and all - How’d they start? Did they have a plan? How did they make money?

Today we hear from yoga teacher trainer and mentor, Ashley Zuberi, who you heard from in Episode 176: Handbook For Awakening - An Easy Guide To The Yoga Sutras Of Patanjali

Ashley’s journey to doing the work she loves now (which includes teaching yoga, training yoga teachers and writing) is such an excellent example of how the path isn’t linear. It really isn’t! She lives in a unique position where she moves to a new city and has to start fresh every 1.5 years or so. This has resulted in her work ebbing and flowing between her love of marketing and her love yoga.

I think this is a great example of how doing what you love doesn’t have to be defined by a hard line. Seriously, it doesn’t have to look a certain way! Just because your journey might look different than someone else doesn’t mean that you’re doing it wrong!

See below for key nuggets and takeaways.

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Key Nuggets: Doing What You’re Meant To Do

What’s your calling/purpose?
To Teach
What was that moment like when you decided to go all in and fully committed to doing what you’re meant to?
When she quit her job - she changed her mindset to believe that she could do it even though she didn’t have many role models in her life growing up to show her how to create her own business.
How did you start? (for real, like way before being known for your work. Did you quit your job first or did you do it on the side?)
Started with freelance marketing. She did a lot of networking, tech meet ups, and getting familiar with the yoga community, which later on helped her with the yoga portion of her business.
How did you transition from your 9-5 ( or whatever former life you had) and into this life?
She started out with a bit of a plan but because she moved so frequently (every 1.5 years or so) she had to keep changing and do what worked for her. For example, the vibe in Boulder, Colorado is very different than a small town in Texas. What she did in Boulder didn’t work in the small town and she had to change.
How’d you get your expenses covered?
Savings and her husband’s support.
What was one of your earliest successes and how you made it happen?
A successful yoga workshop in a small town in Texas where 20 people signed up. It was a success because yoga isn’t very popular in this small town. She’d worked at building a community and it worked!
What was one time when you really wanted to quit. What helped you keep going?
It’s not like one big time but even for the first 5-7 years there were many moments! She’d be scrolling for jobs, rewriting resumes.
Entrepreneurship is a rollercoaster but what helped her keep going was that she knew this was her passion, what she loved to do, this was her calling.
Feedback from students like emails and thank you cards really helped!
The question: what would you do even if you didn’t get paid for it? Also really helped her gain perspective.
What’s usually your biggest resistance (ex. Self-doubt, procrastination…) now? How do you deal with it?
Self-doubt. The concept of stoicism helps with dealing with it.
What’s the best thing you did that helped you create this life?
Keeping the practice of yoga and meditation. To show up on the mat so that she can connect with herself, her passion and her inspiration.
Top tangible action/tool that you’d recommend?
Get clear on your message! What are you offering and who is it for?
Top mindset advice that you’d recommend?
Look at how you can serve. Flip it from not being so much about you and more about how you can help your community.
What do you do to check back and make sure that this is still the path for you (ie. that helps you decide that this is all worth it?)
She asks herself “Do I still have something to share, do I still feel creative?”
There’s always inspiration from somewhere and the day where there isn’t she’ll know it’s time to move on.