Today we’d like to introduce you to Maia Akiva.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Maia. So, let’s start at the beginning, and we can move on from there.
I was born and raised in Israel and after serving in the Israeli Army like everyone else (It’s a mandatory service) I was sent on a job for a year to NYC to work for the Israeli scouts. After that year I fell in love with the US and decided to move there. I choose Los Angeles because that’s where the entertainment industry was and at the time that’s what I wanted to pursue.
After working and pursuing different creative positions in the entertainment industry, I went through some personal stuff and got sober. After I got sober, I had an epiphany that what I love to do and want to do is to speak in front of people and facilitate workshops and training about self-empowerment, self-love, and self-discovery and to create Motivational/Self-Help Entertainment.
So in 2016 after a set of circumstances and beautiful manifestation, I left a job at a big corporate entertainment company to face my fears of not having a steady paycheck and become a freelancer for the first time in my life, and work and inspire people to face their darkness and what’s holding them back from living, whatever is their definition of a happy life, so they can create a great life for themselves and most importantly have a healthy and thriving relationship with themselves. And that’s where we meet today.
Has it been a smooth road? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Umm…What is a smooth road? Never met one. Haha.
You know that saying: “We are our own worst enemies”, that is definitely what I discovered on my healing and professional journey.
For many years I suffered from depression, addiction, and low self-worth resulting from challenging early childhood upbringing and some emotional trauma. All those things stopped me from experiencing happiness and joy and from allowing myself to be who I am and express myself and my creativity. Only when I faced all of those things from within and started, what I call, a healing journey, I was really able to move forward and grow and to leave a job in order to pursue the things that really make happy and not the things that I think will make me happy or that should make me happy.
All which led me to this road of freelance life, that scares and challenges me every day, but also make me feel so happy and fulfilled. So, in other words, once I stopped being “my own worst enemy” and became “my own advocate and best supporter” my life changed.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Maia Akiva – Motivational / Entertainment Speaker, Facilitator and Trainer. story. Tell us more about the business.
I am a motivational speaker, workshop facilitator, and a trainer. I get invited to youth and adults’ groups, events, and conferences to talk about different subjects all under the umbrella of motivating people to be and live their best despite the challenges they face inside and outside. As a speaker, I speak about my journey of becoming my own biggest supporter rather than my own worst enemy, and how I did it? I talk about shame, guilt, and mental illness and how to find your version of happiness.
The workshops I facilitate are a bit more hands-on and allow people to go beyond listening to take a journey of their own by participating in exercises that open their mind and their heart. The topics vary from Self-Empowerment, Self-Love, Happiness 101, Discovering what’s blocking you, Positive Thinking and more.
The trainings are more for staff and workplaces and range from Life/Work balance, Conquering Fear & Failure: How to Live the Life You Are Meant to Live, Positive Leadership, Business from the Heart, How to use the Power of Purpose to lead you in your Career and more.
On the Entertainment side, I have just launched my first Podcast, which I am so proud and excited about, called “Interview With Myself” Where I interview every episode my feelings and my thoughts.
What I am most proud of this little company and what I think also sets it apart is that it was built from a healing journey that I went through and that I now teach and help other people to go through with themselves. So, it’s giving back everything that was giving to me which I believe is how we can heal ourselves as a all and become better to ourselves and to others.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
There have definitely been moments in my journey that were so smooth and easy that I felt like everything is working for me and moments when I cry to the sky and asked why this is happening to me. I don’t know if I will call it good luck or bad luck.
I have a spiritual practice that includes working with the law of attraction and the energy of what I call The Universe. When things go well, I practice gratitude and I practice allowing myself to receive and celebrate those things, even if sometimes I feel I’m not worthy enough or that they won’t last. And when things don’t go so well, I like to stop and take a look at myself, my emotional state, my negative thinking, my energy, how present I am in my life right now and what can I do to bring more joy into my life with everything that is going on. What can I change within my abilities in me to allow things to flow more and what spiritual lessons I need to learn to grow and move forward?
Contact Info:
- Website: www.maiaakiva.com
- Phone: 323-397-1736
- Email: maia@maiaakiva.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/maiaakiva
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/maia.akiva.1
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/maiaakiva
- Yelp: https://maiaakiva.lpages.co/make-friends-with-your-writers-block-a-heart-opening-workshop-with-maia-akiva-2/
- Other: https://anchor.fm/interview-with-myself
Image Credit:
Erin Brown Thomas, Jason Flynn Photography
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