Healing Your Heart and Your Child's Heart

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in personal development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Ana Vega, an international parenting coach based in Sherman Oaks, CA, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

My business is my passion. And this passion is simple: help overwhelmed families dealing with extra challenges become peaceful and joyful. Using Superpowers that they are not aware they already have, they can completely transform any challenging situation. My customers are those facing any stressful situation in the family. For example, a defiant child, a child with a diagnosis like ADHD, anxiety, depression, or autism, a parent dealing with a mental health issue, a divorce, or the loss of a spouse. I've created a method helping Overwhelmed Parents take the dream of a peaceful family and turn it into reality. With my signature method, Family with Superpowers Academy, I hope to transform families around the globe.

Tell us about yourself

I had a very challenging childhood. My mom lived with severe schizophrenia, and then as a teenager, I had two different stepmoms. That was not easy. So I developed an eating disorder. Because of this, as an adult, I became a Vice President of NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) in the San Fernando Valley, where I helped hundreds of families so they could stop suffering as my family had. I struggled as a mom when I had my son 15 years ago. I now know why. I was often confronted with images of idealized motherhood. This left me feeling guilty or inadequate when I failed to live up to these unrealistic standards. Many of us parents can find ourselves so stressed out that we end up yelling, threatening, and punishing others and feel that there's something wrong with us.

One day I realized I needed help, found the real solution, and learned a lot about what it takes to ask for the kind of life I deserve. It's a little silly, but I've been called "The Guru Who Gets You to the Most Peaceful and Fun Family Fast" more than once. That's probably because I've been around a long time and have helped many people. Everything I do as a parent (like guiding, motivating, or disciplining my son) is FUN. Anything that isn't fun, I stop and become present! A huge source of stress for modern parents is that our current environment differs radically from the environment of our ancestors, in which over 90 % of our evolution took place.

In contrast to our modern idea of the nuclear family – parents, and children living separately under one roof – communal living was the norm. Mothers had help from others to care for their young. An average of 15 people! Children were cared for and given food not only by mothers but also by other individuals. Our Western expectation that mothers should care exclusively for children without further help is not healthy at all. It is simply not consistent with our evolutionary history and adaptation. When the physical and emotional demands of parenting exceed our limits, we may feel stressed, exhausted, inadequate, depressed, or self-critical.
Did you know that 15% of moms rate their stress level at a 10? In modern Western culture, we put a high premium on doing as much as possible, and acknowledging our limits can be perceived as a weakness.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Designing my signature method, Family with Superpowers Academy. It is completely unique and effective. Other parenting programs only focus on the child's behavior, but in my program, the main focus is on the parent. Because only once the parent is capable of staying calm they can use the tools to guide and motivate the child. A stressed-out or angry parent will only get what I like calling "stress behavior" from their child. In other words, the parent's stress gets transferred to the child, and the child, when stressed out, cannot see the parent as an ally, only as an enemy, so they will rebel against the parent because who collaborates with the enemy, right?

What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?

To help people see that they already have inside of them amazing Superpowers and that investing in discovering them and learning to use them is the best investment they could make for themselves, their loved ones, their health, and their career.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

Most entrepreneurs deal with self-doubt, so motivation is the real fuel to start, run, and grow a business. If you don't believe you can succeed, then no matter how many tips or systems anyone teaches you, you will not succeed. So...

The first tip is to say to yourself out loud, "(Your name), you deserve success. You have succeeded before, and you are succeeding now! If you need help to succeed, you will look for it because you are worthy of help!"

The second tip is to say to yourself, "(Your name), you have the intelligence you need to learn and succeed! If you need help to learn something, you will look for it because you are worthy of help."

The third tip is to say to yourself, "(Your name), you are powerful and strong, and you can use your power and strength to make a good difference in the world." Record these phrases and others that are personal to you, and listen to them every single morning and night. It works because what we hear again and again builds new wiring in the brain. And it doesn't matter who is saying it. Your brain doesn't know the difference!

So, simply, become your best cheerleader, your best motivator. Don't wait for others, like your mom, dad, or friends, to motivate you. No matter how successful we are, we all need to motivate ourselves every single day.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.anavega.co/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anavegacoach/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iam.anavega/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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