Diva Spotlight Interview with Chelsea Maloney KnightI’m excited to introduce Chelsea Maloney Knight as our Diva Spotlight interviewee for May! I actually went to high school with Chelsea, and although we’ve been out of touch for many years, when I heard that she opened her own yoga studio in Eugene, OR – the town where we grew up, and witnessed what an awesome Daring Diva lifestyle she led, I just had to interview her! Lucky for us, she agreed!
As a mother and business owner, Chelsea has TONS of wisdom to share in her interview! To go along with our theme of health and wellness this month, and Chelsea’s passion for yoga, Daring Divas USA is giving away a beautiful yoga mat to one lucky reader! (Scroll to the bottom of this interview to see a photo of the yoga mat).
You can enter to win 2 times (Yep, that’s right ladies, your name can be added to the drawing twice), here’s how:
1. Leave a comment below (in the blue FB comment section) stating that you’d like to win.
2. Head over to the Daring Divas USA Facebook page, ‘like’ the page, and then post that you’re entering to win on the wall (be sure to state that this is your second entry).
The winner will be chosen at random and announced on Wednesday, May 9th.
Question #1. What does being a Daring Diva Mean to You?
To me being a Daring Diva is all about accepting yourself for who you are and living authentically. Making choices without thinking about what everyone will think but at the same time having a deep level of compassion for others. Living passionately and constantly pushing your boundaries. Always striving to learn, grow, change, and develop. Opening your eyes to the world around you but being selective of what you let affect you.
Question #2. What are the three most significant qualities that make YOU a Daring Diva?
1. Taking a leap of faith in life and making choices that don’t have a guaranteed result (as if anything really does!) is something I’ve been doing in the last year and that did not come easily to me. I’m proud of myself for stepping outside of my comfort zone and taking risks. That is something I never thought I would do willingly but those choices have resulted in the most amazing life changes.
2. I am always striving to be the best version of myself…for no one BUT myself. I realize that if I am strong, healthy, rested, have my passions and interests fueled, give myself permission to explore, fail, learn, grow, and experience life to the fullest that will be the best way for me to exist in this world and ultimately have a positive impact on the people around me. I love the analogy of filling yourself up to the brim and then letting your joy, happiness, peace, and contentment spill out into the rest of your life.
3. To find a balance of being a mother of two young children, an entrepreneur, a friend, maintaining a close relationship to my parents and siblings, taking time to volunteer and give back, and JUST as important as all of the above give time to myself.
Question #3. Being a Daring Diva isn’t always easy. What keeps you motivated and inspired to choose the Daring Diva life?
I was lucky enough to take a trip to Uganda last year to work with local organizations that support women and children. To see the strength of those women and the completely unfair situations they are put in made me so appreciative of the opportunities we have here. To see the resilience, the strength, the perseverance, and the constant optimism of these women truly changed the way I view everything in life. They are my inspiration and not a day goes by that I don’t think about how much I have to be grateful for.
I am also motivated by my children. I have a son and a daughter and I think it is so important to be a role model to both of them. Their dad and I are always telling them that they can do anything you put your mind to, to think big, never limit yourself, believe in who you are, be confident, and chase your dreams. But nothing will impact them more than seeing us live by those rules. I envision them living boldly, holding nothing back, being comfortable with who they are, and surrounding themselves with love and kindness, and if they see me in that role it will help them achieve the same thing.
Question #4. What is the most daring thing you’ve ever done and what did you learn from the experience?
The most daring thing I’ve done is open my yoga studio. I had no prior business experience, not a single business partner or employee, and when the idea came to mind I spent a few months thinking of it as a dream and not a possible reality. Then I took a leap of faith and kept working until it became a reality. There were setbacks and days where I was in tears with fear and frustration, but something about it felt so right. After envisioning the doors opening and the idea of sharing this passion I have for yoga with the community I grew up in, I knew I could do it.
Question #5. Tell us about a time when you failed or nearly gave up. What did you learn and how has this experience influenced your current relationship with failure?
I don’t consider any of the “mistakes” I’ve made failures because those experiences have made me who I am today. If you look at people, women especially, who have overcome adversity they are so much more interesting, compassionate, and deep after having those challenging experiences.
I did go through a period a few years ago where I completely lost my identity and had no idea who I was. I put pressure and expectations on myself (as so many of us do) to be a perfect mom, wife, to look just right, never make mistakes, to appear perfect. In doing that I lost the ability to listen to my intuition, to understand who I truly was, and in turn I became unhappy, unsatisfied, uninteresting, and basically just a shell of who I used to be. Through yoga, meditation, and self study (a concept called svadhyaya in Sanskrit) I was able to return to my true self, to gain confidence and contentment, and to let go of that ridiculous idea of “perfection”. I’m grateful to have gone through that dark period because I emerged from it with so much more appreciation for myself and everything in my life.
As long as you learn a lesson from your experiences there is no such thing as failure.
Question #6. What are your top three tips for living an extraordinary life?
- Be authentic. Spend time alone to connect to that inner voice and keep listening to it, no matter what is going on around you.
- Find your passion and build your life around it. Have faith and realize that it is never too late to change your path.
- Never stop challenging yourself. Do things that make you a little uncomfortable, that don’t feel “in the box” or totally safe. Those are the things that will shift the course of your life for the better!
- And one more…be grateful for every single thing in your life. Every morning I wake up before anyone else in my house and journal about the blessings in my life. On hard days that list isn’t always long, but there is always something on it. Coming from a mentality of gratitude instead of judgment or expectation instantly makes life more extraordinary.
~~~~~
1. Leave a comment below (in the blue FB comment section) stating that you’d like to win.
2. Head over to the Daring Divas USA Facebook page, ‘like’ the page, and then post that you’re entering to win on our wall.
Below is a photo of the exact yoga mat the winner will receive:
The winner will be chosen at random and announced on Wednesday, May 9th
Stay in the loop:
1. Sign up here for bimonthly inspiration, tips and tools for leading the life of a Daring Diva straight to your inbox PLUS great giveaways (and get the video: 5 Magnetic Traits of a Daring Diva).
2. Join the Facebook page for daily inspiration & coaching tips.
“Before coaching, I felt like I wasn't an active participant in my own life. Jessie May helped me overcome my negative internal thoughts and challenged me to live a more dynamic life in line with my true passions. I am happy to say that I am no longer living passively and am actively engaged in my daily decisions and interactions! I am well on my way to achieving a challenging goal of 105 social events in 365 days! I feel much more confident in my abilities to take charge of my life and create my destiny. Jessie May is so much fun to work with and is genuinely committed to seeing her clients achieve their full potential!”
“Jessie May helped me go from being an anxious, emotional train wreck to actually driving a life I love. I’ve been able to recognize my core values and make my personal and professional lives reflect these values. Whenever I’m drifting into action based on “shoulds” rather than what I know I want in my heart, Jessie May never fails to call me on it. She supports me in making decisions to achieve what I want by guiding me back to the path I have chosen whenever I start to stray.”
"In a short period of time, Jessie May brought me through feelings of hopelessness, to a place of power, where I was able to find the next step to achieving a life that I can now call my own. She supported me through each small change so that I now find myself in a completely new life, a life of beauty and truth.”
Coaching with Jessie May has been one of the best experiences of my life. The experience has allowed me to look at my life in a whole new way which has led me to make changes to become a much happier person!
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m in.
I want to win~ and ~ I love hard core Yoga!
After recovering from major surgery I can now start yoga again, a new mat would be fantastic, I would love to win it x
Hi Ladies! Please comment in the Facebook comment section above, if you comment in this section, I have no way of contacting you if you win! Thanks!