Passion Struck with John R. Miles - Cristina Pujol Jensen On How Your Mind Can Free Your Body EP 91

Episode Date: December 21, 2021

Cristina Pujol Jensen is a Coach, Trainer, Speaker, and Author of Ignite Female Change Makers, Co-Founder of Tú y Tu Mente Coaching, and Hips On Fire Dance specializing in leadership, clarity, and focus. She sits down with John R. Miles to discuss how your mind can free your body and start living intentionally. New to this channel and the passion-struck podcast? Check out our starter packs which are our favorite episodes grouped by topic, to allow you to get a sense of all the podcast has to offer. Go to https://passionstruck.com/starter-packs/. Have You Used ISSUU? Issuu is the all-in-one platform to create and distribute beautiful digital content, from marketing materials to magazines, to flipbooks and brochures, and more. Get started with Issuu today for FREE, or if you sign up for a premium account, you will get 50% off when you go to ISSUU.com/podcast and use promo code PASSIONSTRUCK. Have You Tried Talkspace? Talkspace: The online therapy company that believes that therapy should be affordable, confidential, and convenient. Join over 500,000 people who have used Talkspace for online treatment with their licensed therapist. Get $100 off your first month when you visit talkspace.com and use promo code PASSIONSTRUCK at sign-up. Like this? Please join me on my new platform for peak performance, life coaching, self-improvement, intentional living, and personal growth: https://passionstruck.com/ and sign up for our email list. Thank you for joining us today on the Passion Struck podcast. Cristina believes The more you can bring all the parts of your brain (your analytical mind and your creative mind) to anything that you do, the more you can open your world and produce amazing results. So experiencing different worlds will open your mind, body, and soul to anything that you do. Learn more about me: https://johnrmiles.com. SHOW NOTES 0:00 Introduction 3:39 Her early story growing up in the Andalucia region of Spain 9:41 Why Spaniards value food around social events 13:54 How she transitioned from software engineering to dancing 18:42 Her advice for someone desiring a performing arts career 23:54 How do you change when you are on top 31:20 Why talent is not as important as Grit in success 35:30 How you adjust your life if it is unbalanced 41:27 The power of creativity 46:18 How your mind can free your body 50:32 The adjustments she made with hearing loss 58:44 Her love of the books Unbeatable Mind and Atomic Habits FOLLOW CRISTINA PUJOL JENSEN *LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cpujoljensen/ * Email: [e-mail] * Web: https://tuytumente.com * Instagram: https://instagram.com/CristinaPujol7 *Instagram of "Tú y Tu Mente": https://instagram.com/tu_ytumente *Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tuytumente     ===== FOLLOW JOHN R. MILES ON THE SOCIALS ===== * Twitter: https://twitter.com/Milesjohnr * Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/johnrmiles.c0m * Medium: https://medium.com/@JohnRMiles​ * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/john_r_miles * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/JohnMiles * Blog: https://passionstruck.com/blog/ * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/passion_struck_podcast   ====== ABOUT JOHN ====== John R. Miles leads a global movement called Passion Struck. He is passionate about being the catalyst who helps individuals expand into the most excellent version of themselves, unlocking the most no regrets life possible. He is a combat veteran, multi-industry CEO, successful entrepreneur, top podcast host, and author who is helping people worldwide regain their passion. John is one of the most-watched, quoted, and followed high-performance trainers globally, and his leadership acumen spans more than two decades. He's founded or co-founded more than half a dozen successful start-ups, was a Fortune 50 CIO and CISO, mentors rising entrepreneurs, and invests in successful tech ventures. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy, where he learned vital leadership skills and was a multi-sport Division 1 athlete.

Coming up next on the PassionStruct podcast. But I think sometimes it is harder to change when things are good. And I think we have to take the time to hear your intuition and listen to yourself and project yourself with what you're doing. At least now projecting ten years is too much because things change too fast. But at least three years and see if that's going to make you happy. Welcome visionaries, creators, innovators, entrepreneurs, leaders and growth seekers of all types, two of the Passion Struck Podcasts.

Hi, I'm John Miles, a peak performance coach, multi industry CEO, maybe veteran and entrepreneur, on a mission to make Passion Co-viral for millions worldwide. And each week I do so by sharing with you an inspirational message and interviewing high achievers from all walks of life who unlock their secrets and lessons to become an action-struck. The purpose of our show is to serve you the listener. By giving you tips, tasks, and activities,

you can use to achieve peak performance and for too much passion-driven life, you have always wanted to have. Now, let's become PassionStruck. Hello everyone and welcome back to the PassionStruck podcast. And thank you to each and every one of you who are returning to the podcast, to listen, learn, and grow.

And if you're new to the show, or you wanna introduce it, one of your friends or family members, a great way to do that is through our starter packs. These are collections of your favorite episodes, grouped by topic, which give you an absolute easy way to get acquainted with everything that the show has to offer. Just go to passionstruck.com, slash starter packs right now, and you can learn all about

our show. Our guest today is Pristina Poole-Hole-Gensen, who is a coach, trainer, speaker, and author, and the co-founder of Tutu Mente, coaching, as well as Hipson Fire Dancing, and she focuses on leadership, clarity, focus, and change. And in our discussion today, we talk about her journey and how she was able to do her transitions from when she was at the top

of her profession, from being a software engineer to becoming a dance instructor and dancer and now to becoming a PIFT performance coach. And we unpack her advice to helping you do the same in your life. We talk about the impact that hearing loss has had on her life and how she's had to adapt, but through that adaption, how it's made a positive, lasting result in her life. We go into the topic of creativity and why creativity isn't just about being an artist and why it is so valuable regardless of your profession. We also talk about the importance of being present in your life and that consciousness that you need to have to excel.

And so much more. Thank you for choosing PassionStruck and choosing me to be your host and guide on your journey to living a no regrets life. Now, let the journey begin. I wanted to welcome Christina Pujol-Gensen to the Passion Start Podcast. Welcome, Christina. Hi, how are you?

It's amazing to see you again. And as we talked about last time, it's incredible what Zoom can do as you're sitting in beautiful Barcelona, Spain, and I'm here in the Tampa Bay area of Florida. So great to see you again. Yeah, it's I think that that's one of the things so the pandemic that has made it easier that everybody now is very familiar with Zoom and you know connecting online so that's a great thing. I'm happy to connect with you. Well you and I have a huge thing in common and we talked about it last time. We are both. You are from Andalusia but I have experienced Andalusia living and what the Decentre Maria for three years earlier in my life.

And I think you're from Malaga. Yes, I am from I grew up in Torremolinos, which is very known drastically because a lot of the North Europeans that come down to, you know, have a holiday and even live there during the winter time. So it's very, very known in Europe. And I am a mix, so my family does not come from there. My father is from Barcelona and my mother's time. So it's very, very known in Europe. And I am a mix. So my family does not come from there. My father is from Barcelona and my mother is from Denmark. But I totally like feel they end at UCM vibe. And I every time when they ask me, I'm from

under the sea, I've been done a complete mix. And I don't look Spanish somehow. Well, I remember when I was there about nine to 10 months out of the year, it seemed like there were about 5,000 people. And then two months of the year, it seemed like there were about 250,000 people. And one of the things that I just couldn't believe having not lived in Europe before that was how people would go to the beach you know around noon or maybe a little bit after but they wouldn't leave until like 9 to 10 o'clock at night it was unbelievable how much time the families would spend and I guess

that's why in part in Spain they ate so late at night because they didn't go up to the beach until in the evening. Yeah and also if you go to certain beaches like the whole town from inside and alucía for example the whole town moves to the same area so they all are in the same beach everybody knows each other so it's kind of funny because you see these huge families like, you know, 10, 15 people. But then the other family, they also know each other. And so everybody, you know, everybody knows each other. So it's kind of hilarious. In the summer, I find it very funny because everybody brings like the tables and the food and the, you know, the fridge and like the whole house, it's moved to the beach. And then with, you know, people stay there until 9. I grew up basically like 200 meters from the beach, so I didn't have to move the house.

My house was pretty close. But I remember like staying there until 9 p.m. literally every, every, in the summer, every night. And, and that was normal. So. Yeah, I wasn't that much further away than you. Two, two hundred meters might be right. We were just kind of up the cliff.

But I remember at the time I was in the military and I went on deployment and when I left my house was a nice white color and I get home and it's Pepto Bismo Pinc. I'm like, are you kidding me? Yeah, and you have to be careful because it can be a painful pink. So. Well, you know, one of the things I think

you do very well in European culture and it's something I really miss about Spain is, it was like every small neighborhood had their own kind of coffee shop slash bar. So it was just a great hangout whether it was going in there and get a cafe con leche in the morning or you would you would drink your carcass cruise combo in in the evening. But is it still like that? Yeah, yeah. And that's one thing, because I lived in the US for 15 years. And I think one of the big difference that I saw is that in Europe, if you drive for one hour,

you may end up with a different language, different culture, different environment, different people, different everything different, even the food. And in the US, if you drive for an hour, maybe you'll find another McDonald's, another Burger King, you know, and this is not to take off, you know, any cultural things. But in Europe, everything changes like, you know, everything is so close and at the same, like, if you tell people, drive for two hours to go dancing, they're like, are you crazy? That's like another country. So, you know, everybody creates a lot of

like their own world, little world, you know, in the in the 10 meters around them. So you have your little coffee shop and you have a little, you know, bakery and you have your little bar and and people try to get to know each other there and go around the same places. So it becomes very communal type of thing, you know. So and it's still the same. Yeah. So one of the things I really enjoyed about Spain was the freshness of the food. And it became very apparent to me even at a young age that most of the Spanish shop for the day,

whereas in the United States, we like shop for a week or two in advance. So, I just remember going to the Super Marseilles almost every day because you wanted to get the fresh breads, the fresh seafood, the fresh, whatever it might need,, etc. So, and I think that that and the lack of preservatives probably has a lot to do. Why I think a lot of European, especially Spanish, have a higher life expectancy given the food you all eat.

Yeah, we have more preservatives probably, but I think we value a lot food and food around social events. So going out and eating with family with friends, it has a tremendous value here. So people, you know, you don't want to eat just anything. It has to be this thing here and that thing for that date and, you this restaurant I specialize in these. So it has a huge value here and so I think that still hasn't changed even though like in the supermarkets we probably have a lot more preservatives than used to be. Yes I think we all do. We'll be right back to the Passion Start podcast. Today's episode is sponsored by Issue. I know from me first impressions are everything. So if you're looking to impact your online content you need Issue, the all-in-one platform to create and distribute beautiful

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Well, I think the best saying I ever heard when I was in Spain came from a friend of mine who was an officer in the Spanish naval forces. He was a hairier fighter pilot. And I remember after getting to know each other for about a year and a half, he said, I have come to the conclusion. He goes, you Americans live to work

and us Spaniards work to live. And he was right. I mean, because we would, they would roll into work nine, 10 o'clock in the morning, take a CESTA to a clock. They'd get out of work later. But in the flip side, I was in at work at 5.36 AM in the morning, probably working to 6, 7 o'clock at night.

But I think we have become masters of the hustle culture. Well, anyway, I wanted to kind of use that in an introduction just so people can get to know you a little bit better. You're my first guest on the podcast actually from Spain, so Wow, that's an honor. Yeah, happy to have you on. I've had Scottish and folks from Great Britain and Australia, but never a person from Spain. Right. So, you have a really interesting background that I wanna get into.

You kinda started out in the tech world then switched over to the dance world and now you've left the dance world to kind of get into the performance coaching. So I kinda wanted to go into that journey a little bit, um, because, you know, oftentimes people will go into dance probably at the beginning of their career. And then, you know, especially if you're in ballet or others, you just can't

physically, um, do it anymore. And then then you transition to something else. What led you kind of to take this backwards approach to first getting into software engineering and then discovering dance? I think when I first wanted to choose a career, which here is kind of early because even when you're 16, you still have to start choosing like do I

want science, do I want you know something more in literature or so we have to decipher a young what we want to do and I wanted to continue studying, I love learning and so I knew I wanted to go to a higher degree studying and that means means here going to the university and getting like, you know, type some type of degree. And between all the things that I had I could choose, I loved engineering and I didn't know which one so ended up choosing computer science, which at the time here was, it was starting literally. So there was not a lot of universities that you could choose. And I wanted to study, I really wanted to. So I think that's why I never, I never crossed my mind to start like something like dancing or music or I really love mass and I love like physics and chemistry and all these

subjects that we had in school. So I really wanted to continue that. And there wasn't that many choices. Like probably now I would choose something in neuroscience type of world. But at the time, medicine for me, men seeing blood. And I didn't want to see that. So I'm like, okay, I'm going to go into engineering. And I wanted, I had a sister who was handicapped. So my kind of vision was to work with robotics and help people that have some kind of handicapped that robotics could help. So I really wanted to get into very specific engineering. So that was my thought when I first started.

And I did study here in Spain. I went to university and I discovered that robotics in Spain had no future. So then I changed to other type of engineering and I ended up moving to the US and working in amazing companies in the US one called Qualcomm that maybe some people know that I was so much sitting down in front of computers that I needed to move. And that's when I went back to dancing, which I had done as a kid. I did ballet as a kid, and I did some folk rick dances that we have in the salsa Spain. And then when I started dancing, it was like a little spark that got ignited. I'm like, oh, I love this. I need to get more of this into my life. So when I moved to the US, one of the things that I put as a goal for myself

was to any Latino person that I knew to get together with them and learn more about Latino dances, which is the thing that I was going to, I was getting kind of getting hooked up. And so I met these Latino people and I want to, you have to teach me salsa, I'm merengue, and vachata, and all these things. And at the same time, the person that was a teacher, where I moved to in Colorado, she told me, you know, if you're from the South of Spain, you probably know these

folkloric dance that is called sevian's. So you have to teach me. And in my mind, I was an engineer. Like that was my mindset. I could not be a dance teacher. You know, that's not my title. That's it didn't make sense to me. But she was very convincing. And she found, you know, she told me go to this place, hire a room and just start teaching.

And so I did, I don't know how she convinced me, go to this place, hire a room and just start teaching. And so I did, I don't know how she convinced me, but I started doing that. So I work as an engineer doing the day, and then at nights, I will start giving in. It was first one class, and it was two. Then it was with kids, and it just grew. And I love that that environment and that feeling. I still love engineering a lot. But somehow there was something there that really started pulling me in that direction. And it was not a transition of saying, okay, now I quit and I go there. Now I had my years of balancing boats and then going to dancing. And it took me a few tries also because the title of engineer

is a lot more socially accepted everywhere than the title of dancing and even more in Spain and the salary also. It's much better a salary in engineering than a salary as a dancer, you struggle a lot more. So it took me a little time to figure out and to really decide and then also life, I think pushes you in a direction

to finally literally switch completely to just teaching dance and figuring out a way to live with that and other things, but taking that as my main career. So that's a little bit of a transition. And then, yeah. And then what would be your biggest advice to someone if they were considering a career in a performing art like dance? What would be looking back? What would be some of the first things that you would do or step she would recommend them to take it seriously. Like if you really want to do these, you know, go for it because arts is something that

sometimes consider as a hobby and some people will have to consider as a hobby. So it's not the same someone who's 20 years old, someone that is 40 or someone that is 50 or 60 and not because of the age, because you can be a painter, for example, at any age. But at 60, you may have different type of responsibilities that are 20. So I feel like if you have a passion for something, go for it.

Take it seriously as any business that you will take or any other career that you will take because you can really make a living if you want. But if you have responsibilities like kids, family, taking care of someone else, and you want that in your life, there's many ways to get that in your life as a hobby, but a really serious hobby that you can have, and not have that for example, be your income, your full income. Because if you struggle with something that you love, you're going to hate it at some point. And there's many ways to start.

But I think the main thing is to really take it seriously and take it like if you have to learn the skills, I had to learn some things, I had to understand, you know, how the rhythm is different, the culture, and how to teach it, and even my own dance, how to teach it, and then take it to the point where you are enjoying it, but you're also taking it seriously. And be kind to explore different things, you know, open your mind to explore different things, because we sometimes, by the society, by the culture, by the needs

of others, we create like a path. This is the path that we have to live. And well now sometimes it can be different, you know. And for example, in my case, when I switched, a lot of people told me they thought maybe my career as an engineering didn't go well. That's why I choose dancing. And it was going super well. In fact, it was hard to leave because it was going well. But I had to listen to my inner voice saying, no, this is the other thing that you need to do. You're not going to be happy there eventually. So you have to listen also to that inner voice that is telling you there is another path So you have to listen also to that inner voice that is telling you there is another path and there is not one way of doing things. So I, the way that I started, I really started very late, like with as much as I used to and not performing as much as I used to. And it's because I'm transitioning now to something else. But I think it's taking the

time to listen to yourself and to create this space for something to happen. Yeah, that's that was where I was going to go next with my questioning. One other thing I would add probably to what you said is all artists I know, whether they're two dimensional artists, three dimensional artists, but a dancer, a writer, whatever it is, the other major thing is you have to realize that what you're doing is a business. And so learning how to run a business,

how to promote a business, all those other things come into it as well. And that sometimes is, you know, the maker break it between, you know, a struggling artist and someone who is prospering. But you are different than many guests that I've had on the show. Oftentimes, the guests who come on something major happens in their life that causes them to do something different, you know, whether that is they're fired from a job or they have a health issue or a traumatic event happens or they lose someone close to them. It causes them, you know, this major life event that then they start doing some inward looking and they come to the conclusion that where they are is not where they wanna be. You're a little bit different because,

you know, in each one of these pivots you're making, including the one that you're making now, it came when you were kind of on top of the profession that you were part of. So how, you know, if you're out there and someone, you know, might be in a successful corporate job and is afraid to take that step because they're worried about, you know, I'm going to lose my social standing, I'm going to lose my identity, I'm going to lose this,

I'm going to do that, you know, how did you figure out a way to do it at the top instead of needing, you know, an event to make it happen? Well, I mean, it's not as clear, like, I've had events happen to me, then maybe have shaped me in a way, like I've lost a sister or a brother, I mean, I've lost a sister or brother, I mean I've lost family members and I've lost my hearing. So there is things that have happened but they were not the ones starting the process. But it made me, maybe see life different that there's more to life than just a title. And I think it's important not to tie your identity to any title or anything actually, you know, like things or positions or titles because they can go away and then who are you? If you don't have that title, if you don't have that house, if you don't have that money,

if you don't have that relationship, if you don't have that situation, if you are completely tying your identity to that, then you're going to struggle. If you lose that a lot more, you're probably going to struggle anyway. If you lose a lot of one year, it's going to hurt. But if you tie an identity to a position, to a status, then you are tying yourself to that completely. But if you tie your identity to like being someone who likes to learn, being someone who likes to help others, being someone who likes to belight and create fun around you, you can do that in any position. Then it's easier to move away. So for me, it's to separate the identity with a title and a position. That's one thing that held me,

that again, and then being honest with yourself, which is not always easy. But for me, I loved engineering and what I saw is I was projecting myself 10 years in the future and I could not see myself 10 years in the future and I could not see myself ten years in the future. I could see what it meant for me to climb the ladder of success in that environment and I did not like it. I did not enjoy, you know, I saw, okay, I have to lease and this and this and I see I can do it.

But I'm not going to be a happy camper because my whole life, I needed to give all my energy to all the designs that we were doing. I was doing software engineering. All my brain was thinking it's about the program that I was working on, the project that I was working on and I had no room for any other thing. That did not look fun to me in 10 years window. So looking 10 years it did not make sense to me. So I thought okay, if in 10 years it doesn't make sense, when is the day that I need to start changing this? And it took me trial. So because I love teaching, then I thought, okay, maybe if I teach, you know, what I'm creating instead of creating something and I try that and I didn't like it. And I tried different things before I said, okay, this career is not going to be it. And I had wonderful,

wonderful people to work with, wonderful bosses and some, I feel really grateful for my career path in that sense. But I think sometimes it is harder to change when things are good. And I think we have to take the time to hear your intuition and listen to yourself and project yourself with what you're doing. At least now projecting ten years is too much because things change too fast. But at least three years and see if that's going to make you happy. And if you think that's going to make you happy, thank you going. That doesn't mean that you're marrying that for the rest of your life. But at least the three next years, you're going to be happy. And that's a win right now. So, but if you think

it's not going to make you happy, then start chasing, you know, and opening to other things and exploring what did you use to like. And some people say, you know, to find your passions, go to your childhood. I don't believe in that because if in your childhood, you were never exposed to certain things, how are you going to know that you like that? And so I think it's it's better to expose yourself now. Remember, but then also expose yourself now to things that you've never tried because that's also going to create more possibilities and it's going to open your mind to new things. And maybe you're now to things that you've never tried, because that's also gonna create more possibilities and it's gonna open your mind to new things.

And maybe you're gonna go back to what you were, you were doing, but I think you have to experiment also. Yeah, well, I'm gonna just touch on a couple of things there. The first is, I recently had a guest on the show named Amy, excuse me show named Gail Swift and Gail works with families and especially helping parents to parent their kids in a way that fosters the kids to have freedom because she feels that oftentimes children are over-parented to a point that they don't get the opportunity to make mistakes and really discover, as you're saying, the true things

in life that bring them passion. So that's something that she tries to help people see is that you have to let whether they're a child or an adolescent let them make mistakes in life because through that they learn and grow. And then the second thing I wanted to highlight is a couple of famous examples I would say of people who were at their top who then made a transition. Probably the most famous person I know who's done it has been Mark Beningoff, who's now the CEO of Salesforce, but he was the fastest rising vice president at Oracle when I first met him. I think Larry Ellison even thought that he could be his heir apparent someday in the future. And so many people were just dumbfounded when he asked to take an 18 month sabbatical.

And during that time, he ended up really getting into self-inter respective behaviors and mindfulness. And it led him to believe that there was a different way of doing computing than on-premise in the data center like they were doing at Oracle and he came up and invented cloud computing. Another one who's a great example was Jim McHelvey. The founder of Square was an artist, a glass artist amongst other things, but he and a friend of his, a fellow artist, were trying to sell some pieces of their glass work and were unable to, and it led him to realize

that there has to be a different way to solve this problem of taking payments. You know, both of those are examples where people were on their top, but I think it's the same thing that you probably will went through and what people go through when they have a major incident, is they discovered something that was worth being passionate about. And that kind of changed their whole trajectory. Is that something you find with people you coach now? Yeah, for sure. And what you say about Gail, I totally sign up for that because, you know, now they know in neuroscience

that from the year zero to 25, that's when you have the most plasticity. And the way to trigger that plasticity is to be exposed to everything. So the way to learn is just expose yourself. So if you want your kid to learn more things, expose them, but also to the things that they want to explore. And the way to learn is by errors.

And I will say that even to adults, like I see that in my students, the ones that learn the most are not the ones that have the most skills, but the ones that have the perseverance to just make mistakes and just error and error and error and error and then they get it. And I have, I always talk about a student, for example, that he, when he came to our classes,

he was probably 67 or something like that. He was retired. He had no, like, there's some gift that you can have in anything and there's some gift in dancing that some people have, he has zero. So when he came I thought he's gonna leave. He was also actually a veteran and and I thought he's not gonna stay. He came first to one class, then to two, then to three, then we saw him every single day. He ended up, you know, increasing his level, and then he was taking the beginner classes and he was saying, I always learned something in the beginner classes. So he was coming to every single class. He became such

a great dancer. He had like lines of women and he was saying, I don't know why all the young guys are not here because he was not afraid of looking bad or being criticized or not, you know, it took him longer to learn, it took him a lot of trials, but the error was his teacher, you know, and he gave himself a space to just make mistakes. So he was for me the best student I've ever had. And in that sense, I think if we allow people to make mistakes, you know, and with parents, you want them to make mistakes in a safe environment, but don't make that environment too close so that they cannot bounce to some walls, you know, and learn something.

So I think, you know, this thing is, I totally agree with you. And with the other thing that you said, I actually also have examples around me in the company that I work, Qualcomm, the guy that opened the office in Boulder, who was actually one of the, now Qualcomm has, I don't know, thousands of employees. And he was number 12. So he was one of the founders. And when he opened the office in in Boulder, I was employee there number 43, I think. And in the company 2,200. And when I left, there was like 10,000 already, we lost a very special guy in the office, one of the mines there in that office, due to an accident. And this guy who was the founder of the office,

who was a millionaire, who was really, really successful in what he was doing, and really cherished by the owner of the company and the top CEOs. And he said, I'm quitting. I want to be a math teacher and spend time with my kids. This is something that I've always wanted to be. So from this top position in this mega company, he just said, and it was an event trigger,

but he had everything going for him. So he quit and studied to be a math teacher and become a math teacher. I haven't found him in the last years, but that's what he wanted to do. And so he just left and became a math teacher. And so I think he just felt that it was a time to follow his passion that life is not waiting for you. You know, if you want to do something do it now.

And I have more examples like that around me of people that have taken, you know, different paths that are not the norm. So, and I think it's beautiful to see. Well, I'll touch on something here, and it's, if a person's a frequent listener of the podcast, they've heard this before, but, you know, I realized in my own life that the way I was living it was as if I was on a kitchen stool that had one solid support. And I think maybe this is what this gentleman from Qualcomm realized as well is everything around me was first and foremost about my career and that career trajectory. And when you're so, you know, put so much of your energy into one thing, other parts of your life starts to suffer. And when I found in the corporate

grind, was that, you know, those companies, especially once you reach a certain level, own you. And so you get into this pattern of working to fulfill other people's dreams while you're not fulfilling your own. And so for me, I kind of turn that whole analogy around. And now I try to live my life as if I'm on a stool with multiple supports. And for me, and everyone is unique and different,

but for me, those pillars include career, but close, but there's relationships with your family, friends, and others, physical health, spiritual health, mental health. But everyone is different. A pillar for you might be a passion for dancing. A pillar for someone else might be a love for dancing. A pillar for someone else, you know, might be, you know, a love for sailing. But my advice that I give to people I work with is to diversify your life because if it's ever weighted too much in one area, the rest is going to suffer. And oftentimes the biggest thing that

suffers is your health and your relationships. So I think that's a great story. Yeah, and I think actually when you say these, recently I'm coaching someone that is like top in one company and they were actually considering quitting their job. But what they really had is an imbalance. Like you're saying of the different, you know, stool with different legs, they were really unbalancing and they love what they do and the job, they love it really. But they didn't have anything else. Like you're saying.

And so instead of thinking and coaching and quitting, is first in getting the things that you like in life. To see whether really you still want to quit, quitting is first in getting the things that you like in life. To see whether really you still wanna quit or is that your life is completely unbalanced and it's just work, work, work, work, and there's nothing else. So this person start putting more of the thing that they like meeting people, they like having hobbies

that they like, you know, going back to having routines like reading books, which they really like. And then, you know, it back to having routines, like reading books, which they really like. And then, you know, it's like, okay, now I can think about changing careers or not from a different perspective, because I have a more balanced life, and I'm not desperate to, you know, quit this because I'm fed up with doing only one thing. So I think this thing that you're talking is something that comes out quite often in coaching where some people have a completely unbalanced life with everything is focused on one thing normally work or you know, some issue that it's big in their life. And so it's I think before quitting something is also good getting some balance so you also coming from another place to make a big decision. Yeah, we all have stuck points. And I think the most critical thing you've got to do

is to me, a first step is understanding what those stuck points are because they're ultimately holding you back from being who you can become. And until you face them, whether that's from trauma, whether that's from, you know, being too concerned, consumed, and inactive, whatever it is, you've got to release that stuck point and figure out how to make it be the past if you want to make a different future. Yeah. We will be right back to the passion struck podcast. Did you know that the majority of people who have a mental illness do not seek or receive

treatment? I know I put it off for years. Why? Because I thought I would be judged and seen as weak. I doubted it would work. Had too much pride and thought I could solve my problems all by myself and feared confronting the issue and having to change. I know firsthand that facing those problems isn't easy and you don't win a prize for doing it all alone. Getting professional help isn't weird or weak, it's smart. It is as important as hiring a personal trainer to help you with your physical health. But finding the time to fit in therapy can seem impossible for those of us who can't even find a minute for ourselves. That is why

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Thank you so much for listening and supporting the show. Your support of our advertisers keeps the lights on around here. And I realize that all those codes and URLs can be tough to remember. So we put them in the show notes for the episode. Please consider those who support the show and make it possible. Now, back to passion structure. So something as I was researching you that I think we share in common is the power of creativity.

And I happen to read an article that featured a lot of your dancing, but it also went into the importance that you put on creativity. And I think you and I see creativity in much of the same way. It's a lot of people in the here creativity, they think of a dancer and artist, something like that. I think of it in a much broader sense than that. And I was hoping you could explain your point of view. Yeah.

It's totally true. Like I feel I've been now surrounded by a lot of musicians and artists. And when you hear creativity, everybody thinks painting, music, but anything where you are applying your mind or your intuition to create something is creativity. And I saw, for example, in my engineering in the office where I work, I saw lots of creativity in engineering. And anything that we see now comes from creativity, whether it's a computer or a piece of art. And you see also some people that are very into engineering, they are allowed into music because it all mixes. So the more you're exposed to different things, I think your mind comes out everything. And it's not only to painting artists, music, or even dance, no. And everybody has it.

When people say, I'm not creative, no, you're not using it. You're not tapping into it. You maybe are telling yourself that you're not, but everybody has creativity. And if not, look at kids, I mean, what they can come out with. So why are they more creative? And then they're not creative when they're adults? No, it's just that you're not fostering maybe that part of you, or you've been told that you're not, but everybody's creative. And it can be applied to any field. That's how I see it.

and it can be applied to any field. That's how I see it. Yeah, I think that's very wise. And even if you look at your first profession being a software engineer, to me that's extremely creative. Because look at, in many ways, you're a writer because you have to write the code, but you have to be a very strategic thinker

and logical person and how you're creating the code that you're producing. And so to me, that's a great example of a profession you wouldn't think of as a creator, but as a creator. And I think the more we become creators, the more our world switches from being a self-centric one to becoming a world-centric one. Because when you're creating, you're really putting things out to the universe for consumption, if you know what I mean. Yeah. That's another great aspect of this. And hopefully the evolution that mankind makes because I think right now we're definitely a society

that's focused too much on self and not a society that's focused on doing good for the betterness of the planet and humanity in general. So the other thing I wanted to ask you about was the topic of consciousness. I truly believe right now if you look at engagement rates which are extremely low worldwide for how people are engaged in their careers,

which means it has a ripple effect on other parts of their life, because if you're not fulfilled in your livelihood, you're not gonna be fulfilled in other areas. And I have this concept that I've got coming out in my book that people are casually engaged instead of being consciously engaged, meaning they kinda go through their days on autopilot

and they do the same things, they interact in the same way in meetings, they, you know, you're kind of just there in this mode instead of being conscious about the actions that you're taking and the impact that those actions have. And I was hoping you could go into that because in the same article you kind of touched on this consciousness and it seemed like we were on a similar mind thread there. Yeah, I think yeah, it's we go deep. But there is a huge difference how you live life if you really are present to what you're doing that if you're not and

Some people it takes longer than others. It depends on the environment that you've been I was lucky enough to have a mother that I think she was a coach Even now she wasn't like she was really in her mind. So anything that I was complaining or saying or she will always make me think of, okay, so what is the other person thinking? And you know, if I had a conflict with someone, I would just come and beach about somebody. She would be like, no, but what is the other person thinking, what happened? And analyze it from different perspectives. And I remember at a point, what I told my mom,

okay, give me five minutes of complaint, you know, then we'll get into solving the situation. But I think that imprinted in my head, always thinking, how does the other person see it? You know, be conscious of you have an impact of everybody that round that is, is you speak a word and you don't know how it's going to land. And I experienced that in dancing, for example, with one of the students that I had, which I thought I had to create

a group with a people and I had to put someone out of the group because we were nine at the point at that time. And I chose the person that I thought was going to be less impacted by that. But I mean her voice said don't do that because that's going to cause something. And I didn't know what it was. And so at the end I said okay let me just bring that person in and not let them out of the group. And I'll figure out how to make a choreography with nine people which didn't make sense at the time. And so I created it. We perform and we did everything in that person afterwards

came and said, you know, thank you so much, because I had this trauma as a kid, where I was told that I was fat and I could dance with five years old. And I had this thing in my head that was a trauma. So to put really thoughts in everything that you do, it's not sometimes possible, you know, you cannot be thinking all the time, okay, I'm holding this cover. No, but at least the main things in your life, your work, the people that you interact with, the family that you have, to put some time into really

be conscious of what's happening and how are you interacting because you have an impact. Whether you want it or not, you have an impact always. And some things are not easy to deal with, but we're here to learn and we're here for a certain amount of time. So why not learn the things that you came here to learn? You choose to be in this body, you choose to be in this place. It's not easy to say that sometimes because some people are not dealt, affair, amount of cars or how are you say that. So we don't always, we don't start the same way. Some people start very privileged, some people don't. But the choice that you make on how you interpret, what you focus on, where you put the meaning,

what's the meaning you're giving to what's happening to you. That can make a huge difference. And you see that with many people that are successful, that didn't start in a wealthy family. So where you put your mind, what's the meaning that you give to things and what actions are you going to take are the three things that I always say people, you know, people to focus on. The focus where you put your mind, what's the meaning, what are you gonna do? That's the thing that can change your direction. And I use that with my events, like my hearing loss,

I lost my hearing, and it took me a little while to accept it, but then it's okay, where's your focus? What's the meaning you give to that? And what are you going to do now with that? How are you going to live your life? How are you going to teach? How are you going to have events? You know, how are you going to interact with people? How are you going to make an environment that works for you? And that for me is putting consciousness in an event and making it work not only for you but for everybody around you. So I don't know if that answers your question or if I went somewhere. No, no, I think it does. I did want to ask you on that same lines of having to be conscious in the moment. What changes for you did the loss of hearing cause? Because some people are born with deafness.

I often think it's probably more difficult to get that as you progress in life because you're so used to the sensory exposure that you had before. So I don't know if that impacted your ability to dance or other things, but I was interested in that aspect and then what you've done to kind of compensate for it. Yeah, I didn't use to talk about it because I didn't want anyone to treat me different

because that allowed me to practice being, you know, to orient myself. And when it happened, I was really a dancer, like I was dancing full-time and doing everything and it actually happened right up before I performance. So that day when I performed, like I felt a huge headache and I was really dizzy and with a lot of noise and I was feeling lousy. And when we went to perform, I told my partner like really grabbed me very tight and very hard. I'm not hearing well. So I don't know if I'm hearing to the rhythm or if I'm going to be out of beat. So I'm dancing, partner dancing. So I was luckier because I could tell this person, you know, please just move me around. And if I don't react well, if I'm out of rhythm, just make sure I'm in rhythm.

And then as the night progressed, we had to teach another class, we had another night until like one or two we had work. So I said at the, you know, by 10 o'clock, I just couldn't bear it. So I went to the hospital. They told me I had a new infection and that was very acceptable for me. But they told me go and see a specialist. And when I saw a specialist, especially, then he told me, you've lost your hearing, then that was a big impact because then you start thinking, okay, I lost one ear, what about the other ear? How is my life going to be? Because I was being still an engineer, so I had meetings, I had a lot of things going on, I was a dancer. Luckily, did not impact my balance. It was only my hearing and then I got strong

tinnitus. So in that sense, I was lucky that my balance was fine, so I could function. But then a lot of things did not function for me because I could not hear my students, so my student was pissed at me because I would not listen to them. I didn't know where things were coming from. So when people would speak to me, I could not tell where they were coming from. So I then started training myself. First thing, I need to hear where things are coming from, especially for security, because if you go on a street, how work cars coming from or what's happening. So after the time and the period of acceptance

and then dealing with tinnitus, which is really hard because you have these noise 24 hours, I started training myself to be fully functional. And it took me a while to discover how the brain works. And I had a few funny episodes where we, for example, had to take a ferry. And my boyfriend would tell me, here are the tickets for the return. And you know, and I keep the return tickets, you get the going tickets and I keep the return. So on the way in, I will give the tickets. And on the way back, he will ask me for the tickets.

And I'm like, no, you gave me the going tickets. And he's like, no, no, you had the return ticket. So we got into this discussion. I realized that my brain feeling the blanks, but the blanks were so big that I will create a whole sentence. So suddenly I had a huge compassion for old people, you know, when they say, you told me this and you get into this fight. And I'm like, now I understand they really think that they heard that, but they heard something

different. And so I had to come to a compromise with the people around me that if something was serious enough, I will repeat it back to make sure that I understood. But if we had a conversation and I had to repeat back everything, it would be unbearable. Nobody would speak to me. So you kind of have to find a balance on things. And the main thing for me is it was teaching myself where things come from, how to speak and position people so I can hear. In big meetings, I had in my office, for example, where to sit, so I could listen to most of the people, what will help me hear better, that type of thing, I have to kind of train myself so that, you know, nothing will be uncomfortable. And I know sometimes in conversations people will ask me a question and I hear something different the thing of filling the blanks so I will answer

and I could see in their face okay that was not the question you know I didn't know listen so I know sometimes I can sound dumb or weird because I'm answering something different, but that's okay. You know, nobody's gonna die because of that. And so for me, that was okay. And I created a way of functioning that most of the people don't know that I'm really almost 100% deaf on my left side. But I, you know, I told myself tools and I create an environment. And when I know someone needs to know, I will tell them, okay, I'm deaf. And for example, if I'm at a dinner, a social dinner, I will tell the person on my left because I don't want them to feel like I'm completely ignoring them. And if they're talking to me, I'm not paying attention.

So I tell them, okay, I'm deaf on this side. If you want to talk to me, please stop my shoulder. And I will turn around. Because otherwise I won't pay attention to you. But I don't go out there saying it because I want to function normally and it challenged me. And if I cross the street, for example, I am applying myself always to look both sides, because I will not hear a bite coming for example. So for me, it was creating the tools in each environment that will make me function normally and not have fear, not feel, you know, that I could not be social or I don't know, I don't know what fears can come out of that because I didn't let that happen, training myself, and that's a process. It didn't happen overnight, and I did struggle at the beginning, and I was pissed at the world for a while. And I still put the thing of healing myself. I still believe I can heal, so I give that hope always, that it's going to the, also with the reality that I'm living with it right now and I need to function. And so, and I'm not going to, not function 100%.

So I keep dancing, I keep teaching, I've taught some workshops in related with personal development and it's kind of funny because I tell people, if you don't raise your hand and you just speak, I will not pay attention to you because I don't know that you're speaking. And people think that I'm saying that to really create like a role of lifting the hand, but it's really because I cannot see who's talking so I cannot look at them at the eyes. But if you raise the hand, so I create the rules that work in the environment that I am. So that's how I deal with that.

And that goes back to, where do I put the focus? I don't put the focus on the lack, but I put the focus on, okay, this is functioning. Now, how can I make it work? And the meaning I gave at the time was that this came to me to help other people. That gave a purpose to me that helped me overcome my anger and my sadness and my pissed at the world for that happening to me. And then it's okay now what are

you gonna do with it? How are you gonna function in the world? So that's how I deal with that. Well thanks thanks for that explanation, as we talked about previously, I do suffer from tonight's, you can't see it in the podcast, but I'm actually wearing hearing aids. And for me, it is something that I've learned to live with, but that constant ringing is ever present.

So you do have to figure out ways to move that out of, out of your kind of conscious or else it will take up your attention. Yeah. I also wanted to go back to something that you were saying about being present in the moment because being in the military, I got to serve with a lot of Navy SEALs,

and I've now had a chance whether it's been on the podcast or just talking to them to discuss their training. And all of them give slightly different reasons when you ask them, what does going to bud's training do, but ultimately it teaches all of them. How do you reach that point where you think you're unbreakable and get past it? You're a human breaking point.

And if you really dive into it with every single one of them, it's that you have to be present in the moment. The second that you lose that presence is when people quit. And so I think that that is a great analogy for the point that you made. Now I just wanted to go into kind of the end of the interview, which is a couple of fun questions for you, hopefully. The first is, and it can just be one of these, is there a favorite book podcast or website that you have found recently that is striking your interest? Well, there is this a lot. Actually, I spend my mornings listening to podcasts and listening to YouTube, you know,

teaching videos and stuff like that and reading. And I have like two very different sides that I'm studying. One is very related with energy and let's say spiritual side. And the other is very productivity side because that's the two things that I bring in in my coaching. So one guy that I like a lot is, So one guy that I like a lot is, there's many, so it's hard to put them, but I love the Atomic Habits book. I like that a lot. I like Mark Divine. He has some amazing teachings.

Actually, this beginning of the year, I follow him for something that he did in his ambitable mind program, where he really focused on how to be productive and because I bring that a lot with my clients, so I went back again and studied him and he's refined his ambitable mind thing, so I like how he's progressing also, so I like him a lot. And then I follow also spirituality things. So I like to enjoy dispensers meditation. Sadguru, it's a Indian guru and I like him also very much on how he views life and how he's down to earth in so many things. So and yeah, there's there's And yeah, there's there's many people that I follow. Well, I actually have a copy of Atomic Hobbit habits on my kitchen table.

I just I just finished rereading it again and marked the vines the friend of mine. So he was on the podcast a couple months months ago. That you have him, yeah. Yeah, he is one of the wisest people I know, such an always such a joy to be around him and hear his inspiration. Yeah. So my next question is last night, I was fortunate enough to get to watch the SpaceX crew three mission blast off, and we could actually see it here in Tampa Bay.

So that was pretty exciting. And I have a friend on that mission, Kayla Baron. It's her first time to the International Space Station. And I will ask you a question that I asked her. If someday you would get the opportunity to go to Mars and the powers that be gave you the opportunity to implement one rule or law, what would it be and why? As respect the planet, I cannot think it like whatever planet we're in respect the planet because the planet will keep leaving We have to respect it and so that that comes out. That's what comes out at the moment

You know the earth will live without us Mars will live without us. So when you're landing a planet Learn how that planet works and respect it Okay, I've never heard that one before, but especially with all the recent meetings that the world community has had about climate change and taking care of this planet, I think it's a timely information. Yeah, maybe. So the last question would be, do you have a personal mantra or motto that you live by? Well, one that I've said for many times, I don't know if that catalogs as a mantra, but is, is respect others, the way that you respect yourself and respect yourself, the way that you will respect others.

Okay, that's a great one. Yeah. Well, Christina, yeah, if the audience wanted to find a way to connect with you and force up with this in the show notes, but what are some ways that they can reach out to you? Some ways is all the Instagram, I'm in Instagram, and Facebook, and I have a podcast. It's bilingual, so there's an English site and whoever wants to practice Spanish, there's a Spanish episode. So I alternate between English and Spanish and that's also another way to be in contact with me and also my website,

which is www.tuitumente.com. It's a Spanish name, but if you put it on the on the full homes then that'll be great. Yeah, that's best way to reach me. I will. Well, Christine, it was such a pleasure to have you on the show. And thank you so much for sharing your inspiring wisdom. I know the audience is going to love it. No, I thank you for your invitation for your talk. And I really think we have a lot of parallel things. And I love the word that you're doing,

because it feels similar to what I want to put out. And I'm so happy that you're doing because it feels similar to what I want to put out and I'm so happy that you're doing that and congratulations and in your future book. So look forward to that. Yes, thank you. I had such a huge relief when I finally turned the manuscript over to the publisher because you know it's an ordeal to get these things out especially in the post-COVID publishing world. Well thank you very much for that and I have to say this I love the name passion struck. I really love that name and I think that's one of the things that stand out when I when I saw this podcast that the name is just perfect. And I love it.

Well, thank you. I feel like I've been blessed by God for putting it into my mind. So I really appreciate that. Thank you so much, Christina Pujole-Gensen, for coming on the Passion Start podcast. And I hope you all enjoyed that episode with her and all the valuable information she was able to unpack. And during our conversation,

she mentioned, as well, did I, a number of people who've been on the podcast in the past. One of those was Gail Swift, who talks about taking action in your life and specifically, how parents can help their kids, take actions by giving them freedom to make choice which results in them finding their passion. We talked about my friend and former Navy SEAL commander Mark DeBine who is the

CEO of Unbeatable Mine and SEALFET and his amazing journey to creating his brand, the Unbeatable Mind. We also talked about astronaut Caleb Aaron, who right now is up on the International Space Station and my interview with her. And I wanted to thank the audience so much for helping us achieve our goal of having over 2005 star ratings,

which we were able to do this week, and also for helping us on our goal, for creating a worldwide movement around helping people regain their passion and unlock a no regrets life. Thank you, each and every one of you, for coming here, participating in the Passion Start podcast.

And if there's a question that you would like to see me answer, or a person like our guest today, who you would like to see me interview on this show, please feel free to DM me on Instagram at JohnRMiles or hit me up on LinkedIn also at JohnRMiles. Until next time, be PassionStruck. Thank you so much for joining us. The purpose of our show is to make Passion Go viral. And we do that by sharing with you the knowledge and skills that you need to unlock your hidden potential. If you want to hear more, please subscribe to the PassionStrike podcast on Spotify,

iTunes, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to your podcasts at. And if you absolutely love this episode, we'd appreciate a five-star rating on iTunes, and you sharing it with three of your most growth-minded friends so they can post it as well to their social accounts and help us grow our passion-struct community. If you'd like to learn more about the show and our mission, you can go to passionstruck.com where you can sign up for our newsletter, look at our tools, and also download the show notes for today's episode. Additionally, you can listen to us every Tuesday and Friday for even more inspiring content. And remember, make a choice, work hard, and step into your sharp edges.

Thank you again for joining us. you