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Meet Nicole De Leon of Soul Mammas Podcast and Community in Santa Barbara

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicole De Leon.

Nicole, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started the Soul Mammas Podcast in May 2018 after the birth of my daughter. This came at a pivotal moment in my life because I had been a teacher for over ten years and had wanted to be a radio host since I was a kid. Motherhood cracked open a new well of creativity and inspiration inside of me that hadn’t been tapped into in a long time. I had been feeling lukewarm about my teaching career up until I had my daughter and decided to pivot, take a risk and dive full time into the Soul Mammas Podcast and community as a host and a motherhood coach.

I marvel at how life seems to come around full circle when we listen to what fires us up. I had wanted to be a radio host when I was a kid and it took this scary, intimidating life shift to move towards my dreams. I absolutely love interviewing the inspiring mamas on the show; the mama athletes, entrepreneurs, creative visionaries and adventurers, to name a few and have learned so much about mindful motherhood from them. Now I am holding group coaching sessions for mothers in the Santa Barbara community, working one on one with moms who want to rediscover their purpose, and am producing weekly episodes on Apple Podcasts and most podcast outlets.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
This is a great question- I often ask it to the guests on my show! I believe struggle is what gives us the grit and internal knowledge to get closer to our dreams. Without a bumpy road we would never grow or push ourselves, I believe. In saying that, NO it has not been smooth. But this is mostly internally. I grappled with self-doubt with the decision to leave my teaching career and start a business that I had to invest a lot of time, money and heart into without the promise of it being received or reciprocated.

But I believe this is the risk we take when starting any business or new endeavor. So the struggles were always internal. I also had postpartum anxiety when the baby was really little and was in an insular, exhausted state that was quite opposite of that of my former life. I was enamored with being a mommy but quite burnt out with four or five hours of sleep most nights. This made it hard to be creative and believe in myself much during those first few months as a new host. Luckily, my community has been quite supportive, and I find the more transparent I am with my struggles, the more they reach out with their own anecdotes and stories.

Please tell us about Soul Mammas Podcast and Community.
My podcast is not a motherhood podcast where we discuss swaddling, baby food, or bottle feeding, for instance, not that those topics aren’t important, but it is more of a zoomed outlook on how to live aligned, adventurous and inspired lives as moms. We also talk about the many ups AND the many downs of the journey. I feel it is the best gift we can give our children when their parents are living happy and fulfilled lives, but it isn’t always easy to do if we don’t priories self-care. This was the impetus for the podcast.

Because I have been a surfer and traveler for 25 years, and it has been such a huge part of my identity, I wanted to share my own story of returning (slowly) to the things I love, while piecing together my identity as a mom, and share other motherhood stories as well.

I believe this sets me apart from other podcasts because of my surf specific background and how I have nuanced returning to the water with a little one. It takes so much work now! But it’s worth it! I love hearing mamas share about returning to mountain climbing, snowboarding, professional surfing, and running, for example, all while being mommies.

I even recently had a Ninja Warrior on my show! She is a mom of an almost two-year-old! I am so proud of this podcast and community, because of how us mamas inspire other moms to get out there and do what they love, practice self-care, and fire each other up about following their truth in their lives.

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I talk a lot about living an intentional life-one that we craft ourselves on the show. I certainly believe we can be at the right place at the right time, but that it is also the intentionality underneath it all that gets us there. For example, I was so worried about making everything perfect behind the scenes before starting the podcast itself that I got stuck in the paralysis of not starting. Once I took the leap, it led me to many opportunities I wouldn’t have previously come across.

For example, once I actually set the intention to really record five episodes for my backlog and line up guests, I reached out to voice-over artist acquaintance of mine for advice on equipment and she ended up producing the first handful of episodes on my show! She may even be the most important mentor I’ve had so far! She continues to help and inspire me, and if I hadn’t have just believed in myself or hadn’t have cold emailed her at all, I wouldn’t have learned the amount I did. This has happened in many different scenarios along this year-long ride.

Every once in a while a guest cancels or something doesn’t line up and I feel discouraged, but I have to remember there is universal timing behind it all. What’s meant to work out totally will, if we keep at something even if we feel we have had bad luck, opportunities will totally open up.

Pricing:

  • $295 month long one on one coaching session with me (rediscovering your purpose as mom & cultivating sustainable self care)
  • $75 one time coaching session with me (rediscovering your purpose as mom & cultivating sustainable self care)

Contact Info:

Image Credit:
GREY SHIRT IMAGE: WADE CARR, UNDER WATER: DAVID PU U, SURFING: RODD OWEN

Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.

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