You won’t find a mission statement here on this page.
I created this site to hold our collective learnings and experiences as spiritual beings going through life in physical body forms. It’s about mastering the art of living for you as much as for me. It’s too grand and complex to be defined in a concise summary of purpose and priorities—a mission statement—because our priorities shift over time at different stages of our lives.
Simply put, if you want to take charge of your overall health and change your lifestyle to be your best self, I’m here to hold you accountable and support you in the best way possible because I’m on the same journey.
Values, though, are our central beliefs and guiding principles. They influence our behaviors and decisions, serving as a framework for how we navigate and operate in the world, both personally and professionally.
So, values come first, and I want to share mine.
For years, I was unaware of my values because I hadn’t taken the time to articulate them. Countless times, I wondered why I made particular decisions or took specific actions. In hindsight, my values mysteriously drove me.
Although I think our actions most effectively demonstrate our core values and how we present ourselves to the world, clearly stating them can benefit those we aim to serve.
Therefore, here are some core values I hold close to my heart. They externalize who I am, what I believe in, how I show up in the world, and what you can expect from me.
Be Authentic and True
Authenticity is about embracing and expressing our true selves—our beliefs, feelings, and experiences—without fear of judgment. It fosters genuine connections, as people are drawn to realness and vulnerability. It encourages self-acceptance. When we align our actions with our true selves, we experience greater fulfillment and peace.
This has always been at the top of my value list, but periodically, life events carried me away, and I pretended to be someone I wasn’t to please others. As I got closer to the center of my being over the years, I realized that I never want to lose touch with it, staying authentic and true in my relationships with others, my work, and everything I do.
It’s obvious that authenticity and truth are entwined. Our memories of our stories remain the same, but our stories change. Why is that? It’s because we have changed and approached that memory from a different perspective, with more understanding and compassion.
Now the question is, which versions of our stories are the truth?
In 1998, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) identified four types of truth, which I considered fitting in our shared human experiences. Knowing the four types of truth helps us better understand the complexity of the concept of truth so that we hold authenticity front and center and tell better truths.
- Factual or Forensic truth, AKA facts. It says: This is what happened.
- Personal or Narrative truth, which is our individual experience of the truth. It says: This is what happened to me.
- Social or Dialogic truth, which can hold multiple narrative truths. It says: This is what happened to us.
- Public or Healing truth, which is the truth emerging from the reconciliatory process. This is where the story is large enough that everyone can find a narrative truth in it. It says: This is what happened to us and to them.
Living authentically not only empowers us but also encourages those around us to do the same. Ultimately, when we tell our stories, we tell the narrative truth and create a possibility to lean toward a healing truth.
My dearest spiritual mentor passed me something a wise being said to him a few days before the old man died. The message lies finely between authenticity and my next value.
Show up, pay attention, tell the truth, and don’t attache to the outcome.
Trust and Focus on The Process
Life is a journey. The importance of the journey comes from the learning and growth that occur while pursuing our goals rather than fixating solely on the end results.
Don’t get me wrong—results are important. Having a clear goal and focusing on the process can lead to sustainable success in different areas, including our health, where achieving goals feels rewarding. At the same time, the journey contributes to personal and professional growth.
When we focus on the process, setbacks become opportunities for learning rather than failures. This fosters resilience and adaptability and may lead to a new outcome and joy we didn’t anticipate.
Sitting in the process isn’t comfortable, though, especially when the path isn’t clear. I’m way too familiar with the feeling. But I’ve learned to come to terms with it by letting go of the need to force outcomes and trusting that things will unfold as they should.
And they always do, with patience.
Be Patient and Persistent
I value persistence way more than talent. In fact, talent is built upon persistent practice. My perseverance and perhaps a touch of stubbornness on certain things, particularly in learning new skills, have served me well.
It goes beyond learning. When we want to make any positive changes, build a new habit, or lose an old habit, it requires us to take repetitive, boring, and even tedious steps and actions to get to where we want to be. Think about getting in better shape, removing processed food from our diet, or learning to communicate effectively. We need patience because it doesn’t happen overnight. We need trust in the process because changes are very subtle and often unnoticeable.
Be patient and persistent, and trust that the small and subtle changes quietly compound and eventually lead to lasting breakthroughs.
Embrace Slow Productivity
As a young consultant who wrote feasibility reports for shopping mall developers, I wasn’t my boss’s favorite. She expected me to pump out reports faster so we could get more clients and more revenue. I managed to hit my deadlines, but I couldn’t produce faster because I couldn’t submit anything that didn’t meet my self-imposed standard of quality.
As you can imagine, it didn’t serve me well in terms of climbing the career ladder in the company. However, it did help me shine later in content marketing in the healthy food industry, eventually opening the doors to new dimensions with integrative nutrition.
“Obsess over the quality of what you produce, even if this means missing opportunities in the short term. Leverage the value of these results to gain more and more freedom in your efforts over the long term.”
–Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout by Cal Newport
Our lives are busier than ever. There’s societal pressure to be productive at all times. Most of us feel the need to juggle multiple roles—like full-time employees, parents, sons and daughters, and active community members—often resulting in packed schedules and overcommitments.
If we allow ourselves to be constantly on the hamster wheel, spinning, there is a lot at stake, particularly our health.
In his new book Slow Productivity, Cal Newport says the solution is embracing slow productivity, a philosophy consisting of three simple principles:
- Do Fewer Things
- Obsess over Quality
- Work at a Natural Pace
Quality takes time. Our most important projects, especially creative work, thrive best when given time to breathe.
So, prioritize and slow down.
Stay Creative and Curious
It didn’t take long for me to notice that I’m a creative person who takes great joy in the creative process. Whether it’s writing, building a course, cooking, taking photos, or painting, it’s a form of expressing myself most authentically. This has been my core value since I was a little girl. I’ll be betraying myself if I suppress or neglect it.
Yes, engaging in creative activities can enhance our happiness. A person who dedicates time to a hobby often finds it a rewarding escape from daily stress, leading to increased well-being.
However, creativity is not just about what you make or craft.
When we are creative, we enhance our ability to tackle challenges. We’re more willing to adapt to change and collaborate with others to gain new perspectives.
One aspect of embodying creativity is that it nurtures a growth mindset, where failures are viewed as opportunities to learn. For example, Steven Pressfield wrote for twenty-seven years before his first novel was published. Then, his masterpiece, The War of Art, came into the world. He faced numerous rejections but used feedback to refine his storytelling, ultimately leading to a successful publication.
Creativity also leads to curiosity and exploration. It encourages openness, innovation, and a willingness to explore new ideas.
I cited Steve Jobs’ 2005 Stanford commencement address as an example of how we can connect the dots only by looking back. He ended the talk with these words: “Stay hungry. Stay foolish,” which, from my perspective, is how we should move forward and approach our lives.
Be a Student for Life
This one ties in nicely with the above. We learn when we are curious and hungry for new knowledge and skills. Learning profoundly enriches our personal and professional lives.
I’m in a lifelong state of learning and wonder. Whether it’s speaking a new language, taking better photos, learning acrylic painting, telling better stories, or being a better health coach, there’s always so much to learn. I’m now a lifelong student in integrative nutrition, and I’m super excited about it.
Contribute and Serve
A person’s true value shines in his/her contribution to others and society. When we contribute and engage in meaningful participation and service, we create a sense of interconnectedness with others. This encourages us to recognize our capacity to effect change, no matter how small, leading to lasting breakthroughs and creating a ripple effect in our network, community, and society.
This has naturally led me on the path of health coaching.
In addition to my values, a big part of my work revolves around food. This page wouldn’t feel complete without including my philosophy of food.
My Philosophy of Food
Food is medicine.
We have all heard this phrase. My first-hand experience with my son’s renal diet firmly nailed my belief in it. Nutrition’s role goes far beyond maintaining our health. Its healing properties and importance in preventive and gut health are paramount to our overall well-being.
“We know that food is a medicine, perhaps the most powerful drug on the planet with the power to cause or cure most diseases.”– Mark Hyman
Love is an ingredient.
Cooking is a labor of love, and I genuinely believe that love is an essential ingredient. That’s why homemade food tastes so good in a different way from the food served at Michelin-starred restaurants. Let me ask you this: Have you ever had a meal made with love, with all parts of the meal carefully, lovingly created, prepared, and served to you? If you have, you will know what a treat it is and how well it feeds the body and spirit.
“Love is the highest vibration possible. When food is in the presence of love, it takes on that high vibration. Infusing love into food can cause it to taste sweeter, more flavorful.” – Deanna Minich
Food brings people together.
Throughout my childhood and early adult years, we moved around a lot. My mother always cooked, no matter how much or little we had. People often gathered in our small home, sometimes around a portable folding table, sometimes around a few chairs covered by a tablecloth, and other times directly on the floor. Conversations, stories, and waves of laughter flowed. Through this influential experience, I deeply understood how the act of sharing food creates a relaxed atmosphere that forges connections, even during the most challenging times. I greatly appreciate the memories that food creates. My mother passed down many recipes to me; these meals nourish and carry stories and shared experiences.
In essence, food is a universal language, breaking down barriers and uniting people, regardless of culture, through shared stories and flavors!
“Food brings people together on many different levels. It’s nourishment of the soul and body; it’s truly love.” – Giada De Laurentiis
Health is a journey, not a destination; the journey is the reward. Thanks for reading this page. I hope it helps you recognize if we’ll get along and whether or not I’m in your orbit. If you feel that we vibrate at the same frequency, know that I’m here to listen, support, and guide you toward your ideal vision of health. Just one open heart to another.
Feel free to reach out any time.