105 : Embracing Your Powers and Envisioning Your Dreams with Nadia Carta

Nadia,welcome to the Mindful Fire Podcast.I'm so glad to have you here.Thank

you for having me.Adam and t g i f.

Yeah,it's Friday,we made it.Although I'm on paternity leave,so every day is Friday or Monday or whatever day.It's every day.Seems the same but welcome and,I'd love for you to start by sharing a little bit about your journey and what you're up to in the.

Yeah,well you and I met here in New York,even if virtually,I moved to Manhattan from Italy in July,2020,July1st,and I'm very precise with the date because that marks the start of my second life.That's how I say it.We moved here during the pandemic,so we were really in the middle of it.When we arrived in the city,there wasn't one car in the street,so that was fascinating.I have to say with my husband,I meet with my two girls,Lavinia and Olympia,and I work at Google.So we are colleagues there.And my mission in the world where I have two mission re missions really,one is that I'm a corporate executive.So I'm a woman in at tech and I'm all about helping agencies and helping clients in transforming their processes and their businesses through,technology.That's one.But then the second thing that I'm really passionate about is that,I define myself as a modern witch.If I can use the words which is all about kindling.Energizing others.getting people to reconnect with their sparkles and really getting a hold of what's important for you and finding the resources and the tools and the connections,whatever you might need in that moment to go get it.And,I dream about writing books,publishing podcasts,or launching events.Really do whatever it takes to create communities around this concept.because,as I was saying earlier,we're just in this life for,if we are like a hundred years,110,I don't know how Max Day will be.And so I want to make a lasting impact,for my children,my grandchildren,and the people who know me,they will remind them,how important it is to be happy.

Very interesting.I have not heard the term Modern Witch before but that is,that's a good one.That's a good one.it,brings me back to Broad City.Have you watched Broad City?No.What is it,Man?it's a comedy show that takes place in New York City and it's these two young women,just trying to like,live in New York and like make it work.And there's an episode where she's like talking about being a witch and it's like,Oh,I have to watch it.like,Is it on Netflix?

Where do I find it?

it's on Hulu.I think it's,I don't know.It's one of these,it's a comedy central show,so whichever show that is or whichever channel or streaming thing that has,it's hilarious.

I'm gonna watch it.eventually I strongly believe that we are humans,part of Planet Earth and.Especially women.you said you're on paternity leave,so I assume you had a baby recently,but especially women,we do create life And if there's nothing that is,which,that's what it is,creating and making miracles and the biggest miracles is giving life.And we create this life in our bodies.And so for all the women,even if you have children or not have children,we do have the potential to have them.And for me,reconnecting with my deeper self of being a woman and having those powers is being one of the most important revelation in my life lately.

That's a very interesting perspective.Yeah.going through the process of,watching my wife grow a human being out of her body is pretty wild.Like wild is the term that I think about because it's,we are animals,we are,you know,she created life in her body and.So it's an interesting perspective and to hear you think about how you bring that energy into your work and your life to uplift other people is,and to give them life and help them live the life that they're meant to live,how did this come to be so important to you?it's a big area of your life,you mentioned that you moved from Italy in2020,starting your second life.what happened over the intervening10year,like you started to Google in2009?how did this become such an important part of your life and your career?

that's a very insightful question,which is making me think right in this moment.I tend to be an extremely aware human being.I'm a Virgo,and so Virgo tend to be,very self critic with themselves.if we keep connecting into the astrology and stars and the moons and all that,I've always knew in my life that when people meet me,I have a lasting impact on them.Is really rare and uncommon that you would meet me and you forget about me.and I say this in a humble way,of course with a little bit of pride,but it does happen.You would spend some time with me and generally the dynamic would be,Oh my God,I wanna see again.Oh my God,your energy really changed me.even your voice,your presence.So throughout the years,Before coming to New York,this was happening very much in the work environment.It would either be a client or it would be a colleague,or sometimes it would be a friend.But it was happening and I wasn't paying a lot of attention to it.It was just part of who I was.And I was like,Okay,I'm just,a funny and a fun energy bunny.I would call myself and I wasn't really,putting any thoughts into it and I wasn't considering it a special power.I was just leaving by it.And I was always like that,even when I was a child,when I was a teenager.even if at school I was the unpopular one because I had a very weird upbringing,but I knew that there was something.And then what happened is that in2019,there was a life event.That for me was one of those,tough frog to swallow.I know we were talking about failure and unexpected events and all this,something happened in the work environment that really made me sad,unhappy,and it was really very tough to process.And eventually it was kind of a wake up call.because through that experience I started getting very close to coaching and,I started my coaching education.I became an executive life coach and.I made peace with my dream of moving to a big city with my family.And then from there,everything really started unfolding.I started doing some inner search work.I started learning about mindfulness.I started learning about spirituality,but more on a personal,I like I'm not part of any religious establishment anymore,even if I grew up with a very strict religious education.but let's say that New York,really we eats inclusive approach and with its opening opened for me the gates to make peace with my powers,really embrace the ability that I have,not only to step into a coach position.And so through more traditional,of course,coaching education help others.But really using this power that I have to connect energetically with others to sparkle something in them so that they want and they wanna get to it,which I know is a bit of an explanation that is very advancement,if I might say by the way it translates,is that after you spend an hour with me,you'll be like,Oh dang,I really wanna go and do that thing.And this is happening a lot on linking as well,of being experimented with my communication and advocating all my time.You cannot imagine how many people,when they see me in person,they keep referring back to my linking past.So even if I don't have crazy followers,Whenever someone sees me,they're like,Oh,what you said on linking three days ago,Help me do X.Even you did it,you said it now.Like you,you commanded me on and then you gave me energy.So I don't know what's in there,Adam,but I keep exploring this powers and I keep experimenting and see what's in there.

Very interesting.So it sounds like you've had these powers,these this way of being,that you can connect with people easily,you can inspire them to make them believe in themselves and wanna move and do the thing that they're meant to do.

Yes.you summarized it beautifully.

Thank you.I'm just trying to make sure I'm on the same page.and it seems like this move to New York was.a new opportunity to step into that power and to really recognize like that pattern is actually your superpower and you can step into that and make that a focus and a priority for you.That's

exactly what it is.You use the beautiful word,the step into my powers,That's how I call it.And I've been working with a personal coach.I have two personal coaches that I work with,on a regular basis and with one specifically,we've been doing a lot of work in defining those powers and talking about those powers.Cause what happens is that I feel it,right?And I see people when they feel it.And because we are in a word that is based on communication.And of course I wanna launch my website and I want to invest more in this.I was like,how do I talk about it?Like what does it mean?What do people get for me?What is the value exchange,especially in the corporate environment?We speak often about this value exchange.assuming you pay me for one of the services,what are you getting in return?And the reason why New York for me was a bit of a revelation,assuming that maybe I was living here before,I'm growing very passionate about the foods upstate and everything that is planet Earth.And I've been discovering and searching,so maybe I was living here you in a previous life.For me,the fact that a city like New York's so open,it's a city that is nonjudgmental.It's a city where you can be whatever you want to be.It's a place where if tomorrow morning you wake up and you're gonna go in the street,dress in a different way,or,dye your hair white or do whatever you wanna be.No one says anything.You can truly be yourself without fear that someone is gonna judge you.Now,I don't wanna say that in Italy you get judged,but probably the fact that it's a culture a little bit more conservative and,smaller cities,I always felt that I couldn't be fully myself.Whereas in New York,it's almost like I was dropping every tie that I had of being,conformed human being and I could embrace my.true self,which is being also a little bit different and having my beliefs and exploring and speaking in energies.And of course it doesn't mean that I'm not an corporate executive,that I can talk about data and business plans and,lending the numbers and all that.That's my rational brain.but I do believe that we're guided by our intuition,and I do believe that there are forces.I do believe that we are connected,there are energies.and when we try to leave by this,our life gets better and it's happier.Yeah.

Very interesting.That's an interesting take on New York.I,I've heard that before.yeah.I don't know if that's what I feel when I go to New York.I feel overwhelmed when I go to New York.I feel like you can do whatever you want because like everyone's doing their own thing and they just don't care about you.They're just like,they're,they're doing their thing,You're doing your thing.Maybe that,I don't know.

it also depends of,I,I I don't know your roots,but I grew up in a town,what we could call a village that was12,000people and I,the first time I left the island I was18.So I grew up very much,I don't wanna say like Mohan because I was a,my dad was not a fisherman and all that,and the island was with Habitants.But I've always had this desire to go see,go find this propel propelling energy that really meant something bigger for me.And of course back then I didn't want it,but I was literally counting the days until I was turning18to take a plane and go to the mainland in Italy and go study and then branch out and branch child at New York was not even my wildest dreams.So when we speak about envisioning and manifesting and all that,I was six years old and my teacher asked me this is my TEDx,she asked me,What do you wanna be when you grow up?And I said,I wanna be a manager in a large corporation.You said that when

you were

six?I said that when I was six.I didn't say corporation,but I said in Italian,like,I want to be a manager in a big company.back then my mom was,the door to door sellers.I'm sure you remember even when they were,would do those meetings and sell those plaza.My mom was the regional manager of one of these companies in Sarnia.So she would bring me in all of those meetings.And so I learned very young in my age the art of selling.and I grew up as a juva witness,so I learned very early the art of objection handling and resilience in going door to door and fine clients and measuring metrics.I was seven years old the first time I spoke in front of an audience of200people,Wow.So I had all of this in my body,and yet the environment where I was too small.And so I had to have an outlet.And I believe that New York eventually is providing me that outlet to really think big.And of course,thanks to the Google resources,I can allocate time and I can allocate financial resources and is

very interesting that yeah,That makes sense.that,yeah.Wow.That's what a story,Glad I asked so let's talk more about envisioning,right?I know I call it envisioning,you might call it manifesting,it's all essentially the same thing,putting out into the world what you want to create.That's how I think about it.Putting it out into world how you want to create what you wanna create and then making it happen.So I'd love to hear,how do you think about envisioning and what role has it played in your life so far?

Yes,Adam,this is a topic that is so dear to my heart.among the other ones you are catching me in a day where just yesterday got a news that I didn't get what I was envisioning and what I really wanted.So my faith in the practice and my belief today,I'm a little shaky,but I tend to believe that everything happens,for a reason.if I look back at my life,everything that I eventually got is the result of envisioning and manifesting.And it's puzzling to me that I was doing it even without knowing that I was doing it.And only now,in the middle of my life,when I look back,I can see the dots connecting.I can see why something happened and that I was bringing that to myself with my thoughts without realizing.So I often say to my friends,Care,careful what to wish for,because eventually you'll get it.Now,sometimes we get it in a different way.the path is not often linear.There are bumps in the road,and there are turns and there are,sideways.There are many ways.But fundamentally,I believe that a big part of the exercise is taking the time to sink in what is the most important thing,and to align our priorities,align where we're allocating our time,and align what we're building to what we want.Now,there are ways that are more prescriptive.There are ways that are more scientific,There are ways that are more spiritual.As I,I told you about the witchcraft and I started reading a lot of books about it and I started,exploring,a bit of this word.And eventually that's also all about manifesting and envisioning because when they do the spells and when they do those practices,there's gonna be a full moon on Sunday,for example.It's all about envisioning a manifesting,like when we write down a wish,how many times,we say to our children,I'm sure you did as well.What are you wishing for Christmas or for the holidays?What are you wishing to go?It's all about manifesting and envisioning what we want.Now there are several degrees.I could wish to have a pizza tonight or a sushi,and I can say about it.and I wish to be a director in the next nine months And so I do the work to do it.That for me,the common denominator among all of the things that people are envisioning and manifesting is what are you building around this wish?And I often say to my team that one piece of it is identifying what you want.And then the second piece is,what are the work that you're going to build around what you want?What are the people that are going,that you're going to talk to?How are you going to protect your energy?Like what you said earlier when you said you're gonna be on this big podcast,I love what you said that was,I need to get ready.And I'm sure you were manifesting in being in this podcast for so much time and now is how are you going to keep yourself accountable in getting ready so that this experience is gonna be exactly what you want it to be and the outcome is going to be what you envision it to be?for me,this is a part of life that since I moved to New York,again,started to be,let's say,more tied to my awareness of it.I designed my life plan since2015.I literally have a deck where I have one chart for every year,and it's divided between professional and personal.And it's divided in12months,five years and10years.And every year I go back and I strike down what I've accomplished and I said,Okay,this is something that still need to work on.Do I still want it?And I reassess.And I showed it to my husband because in2015I had already written that I wanted two girls.Now,I don't wanna say that was,magic,but when I look back,I'm like,Huh.It happened.

It's pretty interesting.Yeah,I've had a similar experience,right?Long before I knew about the term envisioning or manifesting the,any of this,I was doing it right.I think back to this time where it was like praying I wanted to pass my AP exam.I thought,I'm gonna pray.I'm,I'm begging,God,let me pass this test.And it's like,but I was doing it I was constantly doing that,right?So I was planting those seeds in my mind.And then I was studying,Like I was taking the action.So I really like what you're saying.I guess what I'm saying is that,I've always been doing this as well and looking back,it's easy to see how the dots connected.And I had this experience this year where I it was the culmination of like,20years of of envisioning.I went to this camp as a kid,this,sports camp.It's like an extreme sports camp called Woodward.And I went there as a kid.It was like,I was like a roller blade,as a child.And I am again,as an adult.I had this dream of like,I wanted to go back to this place.Like,I would always think like,Oh wow.Like I would love that place.I wanna create a place like this.I want to go back there.And then,like a year and a half or two years ago,I had this idea,when I moved to New Jersey,I like,I'm only four hours away,like,maybe I can go there and like teach mindfulness.Like,I was like,How can I go there for free,basically?And I was like,maybe I go there and teach mindfulness and I took action.I,one thing led to another and in.March of this year,I opened their corporate retreat with,envisioning and a mindfulness and envisioning workshop.And I got to go there and I got to skate,and I got to teach.And I also had envisioned at the start of the year that I wanted to teach my first paid external envisioning workshop.And so it's just like amazing how this happens.And,and so looking back it's like,wow,this has been,that was like20years in the making.so it's pretty cool to see that.today you're in this place where you went for this job,you didn't get the job and.you had to envision this,right?You envisioned it.and sometimes the path isn't linear,or a straight line to get what we want.And so I,I'm curious if you envision something and it doesn't happen,does envisioning work?Like,what do you do then?

you are asking me all of the tough questions.definitely You're a brave interviewer.a brave host,I would say.and let me first say congratulations on getting your dream.Really feels my heart to,to hear those stories,because listen.It's all that it matters.Like there's moments,the joy and can't imagine the value that you created for these people there.and congratulations on your resilience because20years in the making,it means that you kept thinking about it and you kept one thing in it and driving for it.So really beautiful story.I love it.Thank you.when it comes to what happens when we don't get what we want,look,today I'm very disappointed because the wound is still fresh and why my brain of courses.Gripping to all of the rational explanations that I can possibly,think of.Cause again,I'm a corporate executive,and so I know how these things go,and I know that it's not only about my performance,it's not only about me.That's only a piece of the game and of the puzzle.There are so many other couples.So my brain started immediately to rationalize,Of course,I'm a earth sign,so I tend to be with my feet on the ground and all that,but my soul and my heart is very upset and I feel betrayed by the universe because I say universe.I was manifesting,I was envisioning and did all of my homeworks,I did all my daily practices,all my gratefulness,and I did all of my studying.I applied myself very much.I did all of the things that I preach and all of the things that I teach.And all of the things that I believe.And to your question,does it work?Probably today and tomorrow,and maybe still Monday,I'm gonna be still the skeptic and I'm gonna say,Oh,maybe that doesn't work.What am I envisioning?Come on,this is all,you know,woo woo.Why am I doing that?But then deep inside my heart,I tend to challenge myself.and this is also be therapeutic,talking to you about it because I'm like,what if this was a preparation for something bigger that I need to go for?And one of the things that I do that I didn't mention is that I also read the taro cards.recently I embraced,this year I embraced this practice as a self care practice.And,I sit there and I shuffle my cards and I journal and I reflect and I know who I am.And I don't want for this failure if we want to market as failure,or I don't want for this obstacle to define me.I know and I believe in my worth.And I want to believe that by continuing doing the work,by continuing putting the manifestation out,by continuing to put those.Eventually what I want to land will land now.It's gonna take longer and competition is fierce and I want closure.I wanna know the feedback.What is it that I should have demonstrated more?Could I have,as simplified my examples differently?Of course,I still wanna have that,but,I still manifest that.I get it.My,my time was July next year,so my initial,manifestation was,by the end,by mid2023.So I still have time

Very cool.listening to you talk about this,it's very interesting,What you're saying earlier,you know about,it doesn't necessarily come in the way that we want it in the timeline that we want it,It doesn't always work that way.And so hearing you talk about you,you took all the actions,right?what I was thinking about earlier is like we have to know what we want.That's step one.Step two is to align our energy and our actions and our thoughts with what we want.And you've done that,but at the same time,it doesn't always come in the way and in the timeline that we want.So listening to you,I fully believe that This was your practice round and the next time you're gonna show up and maybe the opportunity that comes up,you mentioned YouTube,right?Maybe YouTube is gonna come up with a director role soon and that'll be what you end up with.But I think it's only inevitable that's going to happen.It's just that the when and the how and the what.

And I also think that when we get something from the universe is because maybe there's something we need to still work on in ourselves that we were not ready.And I'm not whipping myself down.I still believe I'm ready to be the actor and so I'm just looking for the role.But there is something around purpose.So there is a book,there's a book that I really recommend everyone to read that I've been gifting to all of my friends that is called Into the Magic Shop.I did,LinkedIn post about this.the author is James Dody is a neuroscientist,and I got this book from another friend.So it's a nice chain of passing this along.And so it's a neuroscience,right?So if you are skeptical about this,this is a doctor,a PhD,very known,very important personality that if you wanna hire for your company,charges several thousands of dollars to speak.one might say,I'm skeptical about the woo woo.So if you're skeptical,you wanna listen to him.And James wrote this wonderful book about his life and how he learned the powers of manifestation and envisioning and mindfulness and meditation and all that.And he speaks about purpose.He speaks about how.When you want something,eventually you need to align to your purpose why you want what you want.What are you gonna do it once you have it?And what is the deeper motivation?Now,I'm not saying that my motivation to get this role was the wrong one,but this is giving me an opportunity to reflect and align To what,who I am really deeper.and I have so many projects that I'm pursuing,right?I want to open my podcast channel.I'm writing a book.I wanna publish a book.There's so many things in this world that maybe when in10years from now I'm going to look back at this moment,there's gonna be something that I'm gonna see.That will make me say haha.Now today I'm still upset and I'm still frustrated and I'm still dealing with my emotions.So I,the work today on Friday is to really get over it.So all of my self care,I'm gonna go to Central Park and I'm gonna get a nice walk.I'm gonna probably cry.I'm not ready to talk to friends yet.So I'm creating space and probably it's gonna be like this for the next two,three days.but I do want to believe that there's something for me that I will continue to get.Well,

first thank you for sharing this with me.You're not creating space for you.you're protecting your space to,to be by yourself.You canceled your meetings.You're not talking about it with friends,but you are talking about it on a podcast.So I,that's not,that's not a small thing.So I appreciate you and you showing up and sharing this with me today.

But there is a reason,Let me say this,not to interrupt you,but I moved over if I wanted to tell you or not,and I decided that I wanted to tell you,and I wanted to talk about it with you because if only one person when they're gonna listen to your podcast are gonna say,Wow.She is human and I'm learning from her experience and she's giving me fuel will to keep going because failure is real and we can get up and keep going.That's gonna be my healing bomb and that is gonna serve me as well as we go through this because helping others and supporting others in succeeding is,my mission.So I hope people will listen and will learn about this failure,and I hope that maybe in six months from now we're gonna do another podcast where I speak about what my role was in the end,Yeah,

I have no doubt,I definitely,I fully expect and I look forward to celebrating your director role at YouTube or elsewhere.and,I do like that you called that out,right?That you said that this is healing for you,knowing that your story might help somebody,is healing for you.thank you again for that.I know we're out of time so we can wrap up.All right,so Nadia,let's switch gears into what I call the mindful Fire Final four.The first question is about envisioning.So what is something that you have envisioned in your life that seemed impossible,but that by having it clear in your mind,you made it happen?

Leaving in New York?I gotta tell you,it took me two years to eventually make it happen.It seemed impossible financially with a family and all of it.And I gotta tell you,when I took that plane to jfk,it was like,Whoa,

it's happening.Yeah.That's amazing.That's amazing.and we talked a lot about that experience.people can,will have already heard that.the second question is,what piece of advice would you give to someone early on their path to financial independence?

I would definitely suggest to read this book from Ken Honda that is called Happy Money because I believe that if we find a way to change our relationship with money and the way we think about it in money being a mean to an end and our resource to get bigger happiness or bigger support that eventually makes it or break it.So for me and learning about this new mindset is being completely game changing.

Very interesting.I've heard of that book.I think I saw it on LinkedIn or something.definitely will plan to listen to that and I'll link that up in the show notes as well.there's another book you might wanna listen to.I don't know if you heard my podcast,with Sarah McCrumb.You might wanna check that out.it's very much up your alley.it's a book that,it's called Love Money.Money Loves You.And it's as if she claims that the book was,it kind of came through her.It's the energy of money explaining itself to human beings,basically.So it's a very interesting book.it's definitely a little out there,but,Based on our conversation,I think you would really enjoy it.And a hundred

percent those are the things I like.Yes.

I'm gonna,It's very interesting,the one and only time I went to New York City this year,I was listening to it,as I was like taking the ferry,and I remember walking down the street being like,What the hell is she talking about?It was very interesting.

Now I wanna read it immediately.Yeah.

Check out the podcast.it's one of the most interesting podcasts I've had.Like,it's just like,it forced me to reckoning with my own,up and down relationship with money.you mentioned that.We can certainly talk about that another time.I think that would be very interesting.

Oh,I have so many stories about that.You wanna hear those?

Yeah.All right.question number three is,what piece of advice would you give to someone getting started with meditation and or mindfulness?

So I'm gonna share what is being useful to me with cheese.be open to experimentation because when I started initially,I was getting frustrated because I knew only one way.And the moment I started exploring other ways,it became easier.What I mean by that,there's a sound meditation,there's crystal meditation.There are so many options.Like what's important in the end is that you stand still and you focus your thinking and on,on your breath or on the music or whatever.And for me,taking those steps in experimenting with a variety of option,made me aware and eventually gave me the value of recognizing that what matters is the work.But how you do it,you can be flexible.So it's not one size fits all.And what matters is the time and the dedication that you put into it.

that is amazing advice.there's not just one right way to do it,right?it's all about carving out the time,sitting down,getting quiet with yourself and yeah,showing up and ask,looking inward is really what it's all about,and there's many ways to do that.The final question,Nadia,is how can people connect with you and learn more about what you're up?

I welcome people connecting with me.This is part of my manifestation as well,putting it out there and welcoming the opportunities.People can follow me on LinkedIn where I share,posts that are in inspirational and uplifting.People can find me on Instagram where I share about my life,my girls,and about,living in New York.And I always welcome,new energies.And so if people want to email me as well and my address that is nadia dot carte gmail.com,I'd be very happy to connect,through those tools.I'm still designing my website,so very soon my website is gonna be live as well.you can check me out on my website.That is nadia carta.com.

Very good.All right.I will include links to all of those in the show notes and definitely connect with Nadia on LinkedIn.It's inspiration to read her posts every day,and I'm sure that you can reach out to Nadia and she'll answer your questions,reach out in the comments or DM her and you can ask her thoughts on anything.Definitely reach out and Nadia's trying to get to6,000by the end of the year.So get to work.this is gonna come out after the end of the year,so I know you'll have already hit that goal.

Thank you,Adam.I loved our conversation.You're a special human being

right back at you.Thank you for being here.And,have a good weekend,processing the event.And,I know big things are coming for you,you'll get back to that feeling soon enough,and I'm sure you already know it in your heart.have a wonderful weekend and,I hope to see you soon.Thank you.I argue All right,