Latest / The Arise with Anita Podcast / Beyond the Makeup Chair Creating a New Light New life Featuring: Veronica Robles

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Beyond the Makeup Chair Creating a New Light New life Featuring: Veronica Robles · The Arise with Anita Podcast

• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: Each conversation is a callus for your next breakthrough.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: You're not breaking, you're breaking through.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: Let's go ahead and rise together.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_01: Alright, welcome back to the Rise with Anita podcast.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_01: On today's episode, I have the honor of sitting with Veronica Robles, an internationally acclaimed makeup artist and the founder of New Light, New Life.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_01: For nearly three decades, Veronica has worked with some of the most influential clients in the world, preparing them for red carpets, luxury weddings, and fashion runways in places like New York, Paris, and the Meldives.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_01: Her artistry has graced the Tony Robbins events, fashion weeks, and stages across the globe.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_01: But what makes Veronica's story so powerful is that her makeup chair became more than a place of beauty, it became a place for transformation.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_01: As she's rushed on color and created timeless looks, Veronica came in to see something shift in the women who sat before her.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_01: It wasn't just about how they looked, but how they felt.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_01: Confidence rose, self-love sparked, a remembering of their worth came alive.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_01: She realized she wasn't just helping women become radiant, she was helping them see themselves as radiant.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_01: That realization has become a seed of New Light, New Life, an organization dedicated to empowering survivors with dignity, confidence, and new beginnings.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_01: Veronica's mission now goes far beyond beauty.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_01: She is committed to creating opportunities for survivors to reclaim their lives.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_01: And she redreams of one day employing them within her organization, giving them the chance to step into independence and hope.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_01: She is a visionary, a servant leader, a woman devoted to using her gifts to create transformation from the mirror to the heart to the future.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_01: This is a conversation about resilience, rebirth, and the extraordinary ways a woman's craft became a movement of healing.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm honored to welcome Veronica to the podcast.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you for being here today.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you for having me.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_02: I'm so grateful.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_01: So I always start off with this question, which I think is kind of unfair because you've already heard this.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_01: But what is bringing you joy this current season?
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_03: Just see all the miracle of things that are happening.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_03: The world and just right now we're really doing such great things and seeing this come to life.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_03: There's just no words.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_03: Every day, the synchronicities, the collaborations.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_03: Oh my gosh, the collaborations, the beautiful hearts that people have willing to serve a community that really needs it, such as women victims of human trafficking, domestic violence, incarceration.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_03: You know, we're actually serving a community that really needs it.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_03: And people are selfless.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_03: They're willing to help.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_03: I was just at the Magic Convention and I met the most incredible people that are just wanting to serve and are just like, what can I do?
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_03: What can I do to help you?
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_03: Just was wonderful.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_03: So it's all about aligned connections for you right now.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_03: It sure is.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_03: Everything is aligned connections right now.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_01: I love this.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_01: So for those who don't know, I had met Baraka like a year ago, and it was at a woman's luncheon.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_01: And I remember just hearing bits of her story, and I was like, we have similar aligned missions.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_01: I need to help her.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_01: And let's connect.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_01: And it kind of felt like a year in the making.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_01: We weren't ready yet.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, but now it's like divine synchronicities opened up.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm just so excited to have this conversation with you because your mission and your passion for what you do is honestly so breathless.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_01: So I think let's go ahead and start off with being that makeup artist and how these conversations sort of started to stir these deeper connections into what now brings you to your mission today.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_03: Well, so the way it all just everything in my life has been in different phases as everybody else, right?
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_03: But one of the things that happened, so I've been a national makeup artist for 27 years.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_03: And I've worked with, you know, in every red carpet event you can imagine, every celebrity you can imagine.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_03: And but and I traveled doing Fashion Week, New York, in Paris.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_03: And that was amazing, right?
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_03: I thought, I will do this till the day I die.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_03: I will be a makeup artist forever, just because I loved it since I was a kid.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_03: And but 12 years ago, I was working for the House of Chanel, and I was the national makeup artist.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_03: And coincidentally, I was here in Las Vegas at Neiman Marcus.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_03: And this lady comes in and says to me, you know, this woman was a European woman, and she says, You know, I'd like to hire you to do makeup tomorrow.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_03: Would you be interested in having coffee?
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_03: I said, sure, let's go.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_03: We go and I we have our coffee, and the lady starts giving me the look on what she's wanting.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_03: And she says, Are you able to do makeup tomorrow?
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_03: I said, sure.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_03: I show up to do the makeup, and she tells me these women don't speak English.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_03: So she gave me the looks.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_03: She says, These are the dresses.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_03: This is what you're gonna do.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_03: You won't really communicate with them because they don't speak English.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_03: I said, All right.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_03: I start doing the makeup, and eight makeups into it, one of the girls just gives me this stare.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_03: And I'm looking at her like, Are you okay?
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_03: Did I hurt you?
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_03: What happened, you know?
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_03: And the woman just just continues to stare at me.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_03: And I finally said, Are you okay?
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_03: And my assistant says she doesn't speak English, remember?
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_03: And I said, I know, but something's up here.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_03: And I said, Do you understand me?
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_03: And she goes, And when she said yes, I I looked at her and I said, It's okay, you can tell me.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_03: And the lady says, I'm scared in broken English.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_03: A few minutes later, after me trying to pull it out of her, she says to me, We don't know where we're going and if we're coming back.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_03: You know, for me, it was a really big deal for that to happen because I really didn't know how to handle it.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_03: I was just the makeup artist, right?
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_03: So I turned around, I grabbed my phone and I messaged a friend of mine with the police department.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_03: Now, now, fast forward, right, to where we are.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_03: I end up going and I continue to work with so many different houses, you know, trying to just do hair and makeup for graduations for whatever, just trying to help them.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_03: And during COVID, I started the process of wanting to start this nonprofit, but I really just didn't know how to do it.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_03: I was like, how am I gonna do it?
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_03: Then I attend Tony Robbins' event where Sage invites me to attend as a guest.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_03: And uh I go to his event for his birthday, and that was right at COVID.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_03: And when I get there, the whole event was on human human trafficking.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_03: And I said, Okay, God, what are you doing to me?
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_03: Is this really what you want me to do?
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_03: And, you know, I I leave the event and I'm like, okay, maybe this is what I need to do because you keep, you know, guiding me in that direction.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_03: Then three weeks later, we shut down.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_03: And I'm just like, all right, well, maybe this is my job, is to sit at home and focus on how I'm gonna get this going.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_03: Then I'm like, well, maybe I need to wait because you need more pieces to the puzzle.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_03: And I keep saying, this is a puzzle God put in a bowl, and he threw it on a table and said, build it.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_03: And I still haven't had everything I needed in order to build the puzzle.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_03: Two years later, which was two years ago, here we are, building this puzzle, making it happen, and the amazing people that are now partnering up with us.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_03: It's awesome.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_01: That's such a beautiful story.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_01: And I remember when you first told me the story a couple of days ago, because everything is fresh.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_01: I remember just sitting in that coffee shop and being like, I could not imagine the position you were in to have that happen to you and to realize, oh, something is gone.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_01: Incredibly wrong.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_01: So did you have kind of an internal gut feeling that kicked in at that point too?
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_03: Yes.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_03: Yes.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_03: And it's it's one of those, you you know, intuitively, you kind of know something's not right.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_03: You can feel people's energy.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_03: And I walked in and I was just like, yeah, this room feels very heavy.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_03: And they definitely did not look like models.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_03: The way I was sold is that these girls were models that were going to attend a celebrity party.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_03: And they they certainly weren't.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_03: But it's it was okay, right?
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_03: Because it was this is what they knew, and that's what I thought, right?
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_03: Until they said, We're scared.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_03: We don't know where we're going and if we're coming back.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_03: And when you say something like that, you know, we you know there's something wrong.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_01: So going back, I would love if if you would touch on your friend's story that really made this kind of a mission and a turning point for you that you shared.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_01: I believe her name was Ava.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_03: Emma.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_01: Emma.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_01: Sorry.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_01: Emma.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_03: Emma.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_01: And if you can share that story, because I think it sews the heart of this organization into such a beautiful light and the way that you want to honor her and her passing through your foundation and how it became sort of your lifelong mission that you're passing down as their legacy.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_03: It is, it's huge.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_03: So all of this happens.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_03: I'm continuing, like I said, I was working with human trafficking victims and just very lightly, like a graduation or whatever.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_03: And six years, almost seven years ago, I'm going through my divorce and it was so traumatic for me.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_03: You know, a lot of things had happened.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_03: I, you know, I was married at the age of 21.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_03: I get a divorce.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_03: I start the process for my divorce, and I went from living with my mom to moving in with my husband.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_03: And when I'm living with my husband, I'm there for 20 years.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_03: So I allowed him to take over the reins of our home and and me, and there was so much control there.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_03: And I didn't know how to function as a human without him.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_03: I didn't know what credit was, I didn't know life skills, I didn't know anything.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_03: I just knew how to work.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_03: That's what I knew.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_03: So I leave my marriage, and I am really going through a really difficult time teaching myself how to survive, right?
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_03: And one day she says, you know, he should come to Nashville.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_03: We have a big event.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_03: My husband is, he was part of the CMA family.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_03: And so she says, Why don't you come out and work the red carpet event in Nashville for the CMAs?
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_03: I said, I would love to.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_03: Oh my gosh.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_03: Yes, she goes, This will give you a chance to just not think about what's going on with your divorce and just have a good time.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_03: Come out and have a good time.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_03: So I was with her for 10 days.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_03: I was in this beautiful home in Nashville, in Brentonwood.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_03: And as I'm there, I attend the CMAs, I attend all the amazing events that she had.
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_03: And I thought, this is amazing.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_03: This is like an incredible life.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_03: Like I can see myself having this wonderful life, right?
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_03: We fly back from Nashville on Friday, and we were supposed to see each other that day and have lunch.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_03: And uh, she says, You know what?
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_03: I'll be back in two weeks.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_03: I won't be able to go to lunch, but we'll see each other in two weeks.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_03: We're planning a trip to Aspen.
• 12:37
  SPEAKER_03: It was amazing.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_03: And Monday she texts me and says, Hey, missing you here in Nashville.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_03: She goes, We love you.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_03: See you in two weeks.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_03: And I said, Love you too.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_03: See you when you get here.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_03: On Tuesday morning, he murdered her.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_03: He stabbed and killed her in front of her children.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_03: And I had such a heart that because she was such an incredible human being, huge fashionista.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_03: Huge.
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_03: And uh she was a stylist for the House of Chanel.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_03: And so that's how I met Emma.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_03: And she was such a light, such a woman filled with so much wisdom and so much happiness.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_03: And she just always gave you her wisdom and told you you can do anything, you can create anything you want in life.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_03: She just never had an ounce of negativity.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_03: She always tried to give you positive feedback.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_03: Just an amazing human.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_03: So at first it was just like a shock for me.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_03: I was like, wait, this isn't impossible.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_03: He was a good man.
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_03: And once I started hearing the stories, I was like, because I didn't, I couldn't believe that.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_03: So now I didn't see it.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_03: I really didn't see it.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_03: I spent all this time with them.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_03: And I just I couldn't imagine that he would do something like that to her.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_03: But it it just goes to show you you don't know people, right?
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_03: So then, you know, I I go through my process of understanding, you know, there there was some serious domestic violence issues there.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_03: Then I started realizing, you know, the little things after breaking down the story of my time there.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_03: It's like there were signs and I didn't see it.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_03: And not leaving in time.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_03: She would have left before.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_03: She would still be here with us.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_03: And and I think it was her commitment to her marriage and to her children and everything.
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_01: So what would you say some of the signs were that you missed when you were on your trip that having looked back at it, kind of as you're reevaluating, stuck out to you once you fit found out about the loss of your dear friend?
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_03: Well, the signs I would say was the broken lamp.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_03: I slept on the third floor, so I had to take an elevator to go up to my bedroom.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_03: Wild.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_03: This beautiful home.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_03: And so I uh I didn't know that the broken lamp was broken because there had to have been an altercation with them the night before.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_03: And I was in the home.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_03: And again, I feel that was God taking care of me because it could have been bad, right?
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_03: And so they there was a broken lamp, and when I asked, they said, Oh, it broke.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_03: And it was the most beautiful lamp.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_03: I noticed that lamp right when I walked in the home.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_03: So the lamp was broken, and then after that, she kept wearing hoodies every day.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_03: She was covered in, she would wear her hoodies, she'd cover her head and she'd wear gloves, even in the house.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_03: She'd be wearing gloves and her hoodie and just all covered up.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_03: And I was like, that's weird.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_03: But you know, it was cold.
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_03: So I kept thinking, well, she's just cold, right?
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_03: But there was probably something happening that I didn't know.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_03: And she was just trying to put on a good face because I was there.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_01: So for someone who's listening to this that might be actually struggling with this right now, what would your advice be in terms of either for getting help or reaching out to someone that's trusted in order to at least have a safe space?
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_03: If she if she would have said something or believed that she could do more, she would be here with us.
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_03: She would be with her children.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_03: And if she would have just gotten out, she, you know, we'd have a different story, right?
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_03: And she'd be sitting right next to me, which she is.
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_03: You know, she would be sitting right next to me speaking about why it's important to walk away from situations that are either holding you back or are not serving you.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_03: Everybody can get out of these situations.
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_03: And that is why I created new light.
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_03: New life.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_03: Because you need to see yourself in a new light to create a new life.
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_02: I become very emotional because of it.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_02: Did you think we were gonna get this deep?
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_03: No.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_03: But you know, it's interesting because when I created this organization, it was out of a need.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_03: And I remember being at one of the Robbins events, and I looked up at the screen because I was behind the stage, and I kept hearing I was watching the event, and as I'm watching the event, I'm looking at it and I'm just like, he he made a comment, and I can't remember exactly what it was, but it was almost like you can't do anything unless you work on your mind.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_03: And it was like a ton of breaks fell on my head.
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_03: It was that moment that I said, wait a minute.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_03: You do have to change your mindset in order for you to create a life.
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_03: So then I said, okay, wait, hold on.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_03: The puzzles are coming together for new light.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_03: And I kept saying, it has to.
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_03: You can't just have a physical transformation because you can look beautiful on the outside, but you could be dying inside, right?
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_03: So you really do have to work on your mindset in order for you to create this life that you want.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_03: You can't work out unless you change your mindset.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_03: You have to be ready mentally to do it, right?
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_03: Can't eat different unless you say, I'm ready to change everything about my life.
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_03: So you have to really work on the mind in order for you to say, I'm ready to never go back.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_03: I'm ready to never be a victim again.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_03: I will not be a survivor.
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_03: I'm gonna thrive.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_03: I'm gonna show you how I thrive.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_03: And those are my core values, which is to survive, thrive, and then you shy.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_03: It's not just being, oh, I'm gonna be this beautiful woman.
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_03: No, you have to be able to thrive and come out of the life that you've been living, whether it's human trafficking, whether it's domestic violence, or you've been incarcerated because of all of that.
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_03: You're able to come out and you're able to see yourself and say, I'm gonna work on me.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_03: So you work on your mindset, you work on your physical appearance, you learn the life skills that I needed to thrive.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_03: Because that's why.
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_03: Remember, I had to learn how to survive.
• 20:21
  SPEAKER_03: And Emma's like, come get your mind off of it.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_03: And I'm living in survival.
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_03: I'm like trying to stay above water.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_03: And so it all just kind of became full circle.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_02: I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you cry.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_02: No, no, it's not I love it.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_02: But it's but that's really where it this is where it stems from.
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_03: And it was a my a very much needed program to really kind of close the gap in what people need and women need.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_03: So many people, so many women.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_03: 80% of women go back to their traffickers or to their partner that abuses them because they're just like, I don't know how to get out.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_03: If I get out, I can't survive.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_03: He supports me.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_03: He is the person who gives me what I need.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_03: And if you only know that you don't need anybody, you just need yourself to believe in yourself that you can get out.
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_01: Oh God.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_01: Wow, what a beautiful perspective.
• 21:33
  SPEAKER_01: And I love that you brought it back to the mindset.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_01: Because I think regardless of what situation you're in in life, it becomes a block if you don't have the right tools, and especially in the right beliefs, to actually push through.
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_01: I think that on my journey, what I found is we find and we connect with the right people at the right time.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_01: And that can look like mentors.
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_01: It can look like people who are just willing to lay out a helping hand.
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_01: And what really inspires me about you, and I just want to take a moment to say this, is you've turned your story and the story of Emma into a greater purpose and a mission that's going to live far beyond you.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_01: And it's going to help tons of women, and it's already doing so.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_01: And I just I want to acknowledge how amazing it is to see that A, your heart is what's shining through.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_01: But B, this is a God-driven organization.
• 22:41
  SPEAKER_01: And I don't mean this from a religious perspective.
• 22:44
  SPEAKER_01: I mean there's a higher power that's been guiding you, making these connections and making it possible for you to actually start helping women in this light.
• 22:53
  SPEAKER_01: Because honestly, I didn't even know the statistic was that high.
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_01: 80% stay with their abusers.
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_01: And it's just that shift of giving them the belief that they can take care of themselves financially, emotionally, mentally on their own.
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_03: Well, and if you think about it, so many women go back because they're like, this is what I know.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_03: And you have to understand that they make you believe.
• 23:18
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_01: But I love you.
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_03: I love you.
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_03: And, you know, come back to me.
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_03: Things are going to be different.
• 23:25
  SPEAKER_03: I'm not going to hit you anymore.
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_03: You know, we're going to just do this one more time and then we'll be out.
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_03: You know, the convincing, you know, it's like he convinces you to stay in that life, whether it be whatever it is, right?
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_03: Human trafficking, domestic violence, it's no different, right?
• 23:40
  SPEAKER_03: They're lured into human trafficking.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_03: And then you become one of these people who are like, no, how much money we're making.
• 23:48
  SPEAKER_03: But how much money are you really keeping of that money that you're making for him?
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_03: He buys you nice things, he gives you the things that you think that you need.
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_03: But what you need is to believe in yourself because you can make that money on your own.
• 24:05
  SPEAKER_03: Absolutely.
• 24:06
  SPEAKER_03: And no one needs to own you, right?
• 24:11
  SPEAKER_03: And so it's just it's it's interesting.
• 24:13
  SPEAKER_03: It's interesting to see how the perspectives are, but it's it's what makes sense at that moment.
• 24:20
  SPEAKER_03: And I understand that because I stayed in a marriage for a really long time.
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_03: Not knowing that I could get out.
• 24:27
  SPEAKER_03: Not knowing that I could make it on my own.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_03: Because I did, right?
• 24:31
  SPEAKER_03: And it's really difficult because you're just like, wow, I'm able to get out of this.
• 24:37
  SPEAKER_03: And, you know, and there was no domestic violence in my home, but it it was just the belief of like, no, I tell you what to do.
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_03: This is how you're gonna do it.
• 24:46
  SPEAKER_03: Speak when you're spoken to, that kind of thing.
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_03: And it was like the snapping of the fingers.
• 24:50
  SPEAKER_03: That is my the my biggest pet beef, because he would snap his fingers at me and I'd be like, don't snap your fingers at me, you know?
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_03: But it was just one of those things that he did.
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_03: And it's like a you don't realize it little things are triggers, right?
• 25:04
  SPEAKER_03: So wow.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_01: See, I was gonna ask you your defining moment, but your defining moment really comes from Emma's story.
• 25:14
  SPEAKER_01: I would love if you would just share how you're going to honor her, because when I found that out, honestly, my heart like was so happy because it's like her light is continuing to shine.
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 25:29
  SPEAKER_01: So I would love if you would just share with our audience what your intention is with Emma's closet.
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_03: So the interesting part of this whole story is that again, everything lines up, and there is no accident whatsoever.
• 25:46
  SPEAKER_03: There isn't.
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_03: Me working in the house of Chanel in a boutique, meeting Emma, seeing how she was as human and just a very loving woman.
• 25:59
  SPEAKER_03: And a few, I would say about a week ago, a good friend of mine, Rachel McCord, who's incredible, I reached out to her and I asked her, I said, I want to attend the Imagic Convention.
• 26:13
  SPEAKER_03: I want to meet designers, I want to meet people that are influential that can help us create this incredible closet.
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_03: She says, Tell me about the closet.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_03: I said, I want to create a closet within our facility where the physical transformations will happen.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_03: We have partnered up with John Paul Jajoria, the Paul Mitchell Schools.
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_03: The students that graduate from the Paul Mitchell School will cut and color hair for survivors of human trafficking and domestic violence.
• 26:45
  SPEAKER_03: And I said, wow, we have Tony's program from Tony Robbins programs, and we'll be doing the mindset program.
• 26:54
  SPEAKER_03: And I said, My, but I need a closet.
• 26:58
  SPEAKER_03: I need clothes.
• 26:59
  SPEAKER_03: And everyone was like, just get people to donate clothes.
• 27:02
  SPEAKER_03: And I'm like, yes, that's great.
• 27:04
  SPEAKER_03: But I would love for them to have nice new things that, you know, they can feel proud of, right?
• 27:10
  SPEAKER_03: And so I said, you know, Rachel, do you know anybody at the Magic?
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_03: And I know she's big within the Magic Convention world, right?
• 27:19
  SPEAKER_03: She got me entries to go to the Magic Convention, invited me to come.
• 27:24
  SPEAKER_03: So I show up, I meet all these designers and people that are, you know, executives within their brands, and they donate so much stuff to us, so many things.
• 27:34
  SPEAKER_03: And Emma's closet is going to carry the most beautiful clothing for our girls.
• 27:40
  SPEAKER_03: And we are going to keep her legacy alive by putting Emma's wardrobe that she had in her own personal closet because everybody loved being dressed by Emma.
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_03: This woman wore the most incredible clothes.
• 27:56
  SPEAKER_03: And before I left Nashville, she gave me a pair of Louis Vuitton boots that I actually wore the day I met my good, my dear friend Gary Spellman from the Paul Mitchell world, right?
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_03: And that's the day I actually wore them and I never wore them again.
• 28:15
  SPEAKER_03: I said, Emma, these are so expensive.
• 28:17
  SPEAKER_03: I'm not taking your boots.
• 28:18
  SPEAKER_03: And she says, take them.
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_03: I never wear them.
• 28:21
  SPEAKER_03: You can have them.
• 28:22
  SPEAKER_03: They look great on you.
• 28:23
  SPEAKER_03: Keep them.
• 28:24
  SPEAKER_03: Do you know?
• 28:24
  SPEAKER_03: I took them home, and that's the only thing I have of Emma's.
• 28:27
  SPEAKER_03: And so my goal is to put her boots in our closet to show, you know, is a symbol of what Emma's heart, how giving she was, right?
• 28:37
  SPEAKER_03: So I'm putting her boots in our closet and I am partnering up with her children who will now be helping me with the organization.
• 28:47
  SPEAKER_03: And in hopes right now that they'll all be able to participate and create Emma's closet, and we will keep a light on at the facility to keep Emma's legacy alive.
• 28:59
  SPEAKER_03: We will always have that light on because that's what she was in this world was a light.
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_03: So Emma's closet will happen, and our girls will get beautiful clothes and we'll have a stylist dress them too.
• 29:11
  SPEAKER_01: That's so beautiful.
• 29:12
  SPEAKER_01: And honestly, your entire organization, your mission really speaks to my heart at such a high level, just because you don't know what you don't know.
• 29:23
  SPEAKER_01: And when I started realizing about the human trafficking and the sex trafficking again, I just remember being like, wow, how is this world so cruel?
• 29:37
  SPEAKER_01: And unfortunately, it's just a part of the world that's been here for years, and it's not gonna be something that unfortunately, as much as we'd love for it to be completely dismantled, not likely to happen.
• 29:50
  SPEAKER_01: Lord willing, maybe one day.
• 29:51
  SPEAKER_01: One day, one day, I have a belief that it has to come to an end.
• 29:58
  SPEAKER_03: It's been happening.
• 30:00
  SPEAKER_03: Oh, this is before time, right?
• 30:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 30:03
  SPEAKER_01: But for me, I'm gonna pivot this.
• 30:07
  SPEAKER_01: And I really wanted to start off, and I'm sorry, you're just so encapsulating that I literally was like, let's talk about the mission.
• 30:14
  SPEAKER_01: But before that, you spent years transforming women.
• 30:18
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 30:19
  SPEAKER_01: So for you, A, where did your passion for beauty come from?
• 30:24
  SPEAKER_01: And then the secondary part of that is what was your favorite part about watching the transformations?
• 30:31
  SPEAKER_03: You know, it's funny you say that.
• 30:32
  SPEAKER_03: I have so many videos saved on my phone from transformations I've done.
• 30:38
  SPEAKER_03: But originally.
• 30:40
  SPEAKER_03: So it's again, I keep saying all of this happened from the day I was born.
• 30:46
  SPEAKER_03: I came on this earth knowing, not knowing.
• 30:49
  SPEAKER_03: That this was going to be my life, but the day I was born, my mom was really good friends with Mary Kay from Mary Kay Cosmetics.
• 30:57
  SPEAKER_03: And Mary Kay was at the hospital and she carried me.
• 31:01
  SPEAKER_03: And she says to my mom, Oh my God, she's the perfect color because she's so pink, you know?
• 31:07
  SPEAKER_03: And so my mom was like, Yeah, she is.
• 31:09
  SPEAKER_03: And so she says, one day she'll work for me.
• 31:13
  SPEAKER_03: And, you know, I never worked for her, but I went into makeup.
• 31:18
  SPEAKER_03: And the funny thing is that it was my counselor in high school that just finally said, Listen, girl, you need to focus on school.
• 31:27
  SPEAKER_03: And, you know, you're so good at what you do.
• 31:30
  SPEAKER_03: Why don't you go to cosmetology school?
• 31:33
  SPEAKER_03: We'll actually pay for you to go to cosmetology school.
• 31:36
  SPEAKER_03: And I was like, oh my God.
• 31:38
  SPEAKER_03: So I said, let's do it.
• 31:40
  SPEAKER_03: So I started focusing on school.
• 31:42
  SPEAKER_03: I went to cosmetology school.
• 31:43
  SPEAKER_03: They paid for it.
• 31:44
  SPEAKER_03: I couldn't believe it.
• 31:45
  SPEAKER_03: All I had to do was show up and do my job, right?
• 31:48
  SPEAKER_03: And go to school.
• 31:49
  SPEAKER_03: And so I did it.
• 31:50
  SPEAKER_03: And I graduate, I do my whole thing, and I moved to Las Vegas.
• 31:55
  SPEAKER_03: And I get here and I'm working.
• 31:57
  SPEAKER_03: I literally was walking through a mall, and this lady looks up, looks at me, and she sees me talking and just having a good old time with my friends.
• 32:06
  SPEAKER_03: And she says to me, Hey, do you work here?
• 32:09
  SPEAKER_03: And she had seen my makeup.
• 32:10
  SPEAKER_03: And the lady says to me, Do you work here?
• 32:12
  SPEAKER_03: And I said, No.
• 32:13
  SPEAKER_03: She goes, Where do you work?
• 32:14
  SPEAKER_03: And I told her where I was working at the time.
• 32:15
  SPEAKER_03: And she says, You know, we're hiring here.
• 32:19
  SPEAKER_03: And I said, You are?
• 32:21
  SPEAKER_03: I would love it.
• 32:22
  SPEAKER_03: You know, I went to cosmetology school and I'm telling her all about it.
• 32:25
  SPEAKER_03: I was so excited.
• 32:27
  SPEAKER_03: And that was my first makeup job.
• 32:29
  SPEAKER_03: And I, you know, 27 years ago working in a department store.
• 32:34
  SPEAKER_03: And I didn't work there very long.
• 32:35
  SPEAKER_03: I worked there maybe six months, maybe a year at the most.
• 32:39
  SPEAKER_03: Then I was recruited by another company, and that was Chanel.
• 32:43
  SPEAKER_03: And I went to work for Chanel.
• 32:44
  SPEAKER_03: And then I stayed with Chanel for 15 years as a makeup artist because I just loved it.
• 32:49
  SPEAKER_03: And then from that point on, I just continued doing what I did.
• 32:53
  SPEAKER_03: And I always said, I will be 90 years old doing makeup.
• 32:58
  SPEAKER_03: And, you know, now I'm phasing out.
• 33:01
  SPEAKER_03: I keep telling everybody this is my final hurrah doing makeup because my mission's greater and my life will be centered around my girls.
• 33:12
  SPEAKER_03: And I will be doing makeup, but it'll be for a different purpose and it'll be to see them transform into who they're supposed to be.
• 33:21
  SPEAKER_03: So it won't be me serving the people that I love, which is my clients that I love dearly, or me traveling Fashion Week, which I loved Fashion Week.
• 33:32
  SPEAKER_03: But maybe that's another piece of it because we are going to have our girls graduate on a runway show.
• 33:39
  SPEAKER_03: They walk on a runway feeling confident, loving who they see in front of their peers, people they that have empowered them and have, you know, given them the platform to stand on their own.
• 33:52
  SPEAKER_03: So fashion shows will still be part of my life.
• 33:56
  SPEAKER_01: I love this because it's like honestly, for those of you who probably see this title, it's going to be around beyond the makeup chair.
• 34:07
  SPEAKER_01: But I love that it your mission really stemmed from the conversations you were having with your women.
• 34:13
  SPEAKER_01: And you get to know them and you get to almost sit there as like a counsel for women as you're doing their makeup or their hair, and you become this like confidence light for them.
• 34:26
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 34:27
  SPEAKER_01: So I just think how incredible is it that something as much of your love for makeup and beauty and making a woman feel seen transformed into this greater mission of how can I completely transform a life?
• 34:47
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 34:49
  SPEAKER_01: So incredible.
• 34:50
  SPEAKER_03: And I gotta tell you, everyone, all of my friends that are in the industry with me always said, God, we're therapists and we don't get their paid therapist prices.
• 35:00
  SPEAKER_03: And we really are therapists.
• 35:03
  SPEAKER_03: I love it.
• 35:04
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, you build relationships, though.
• 35:07
  SPEAKER_03: That's the thing for me.
• 35:08
  SPEAKER_03: That has been, that's my secret sauce, I would say, is I am so good at building relationships with people because I believe everybody is equal.
• 35:18
  SPEAKER_03: I don't care how much money you have or you don't have, we're all equal, right?
• 35:22
  SPEAKER_03: And so I treat everybody with the same love and respect, whether you have millions and millions of dollars or you have five dollars to your name.
• 35:30
  SPEAKER_03: It doesn't matter.
• 35:31
  SPEAKER_03: We're all the same.
• 35:33
  SPEAKER_03: And, you know, that's my, you know, if you are an affluent person, well, great.
• 35:38
  SPEAKER_03: I love that.
• 35:39
  SPEAKER_03: But I also love the fact that you could be just the most humble woman and you're still great.
• 35:45
  SPEAKER_03: And so that's what I do is I build relationships with everybody.
• 35:48
  SPEAKER_01: That's so beautiful.
• 35:49
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, your sh light completely always shines, whatever room you're in.
• 35:53
  SPEAKER_01: I just have to let you know this.
• 35:54
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 35:55
  SPEAKER_01: Which brings us to the name of this organization.
• 36:01
  SPEAKER_01: Please, please, please, please share this story.
• 36:04
  SPEAKER_01: And unfortunately, I've given away so much of how much I know.
• 36:10
  SPEAKER_01: Because this was like a fresh conversation, so everything's still right with mine.
• 36:14
  SPEAKER_01: But like hearing how you came up with the name New Light, New Life, I was so touched.
• 36:21
  SPEAKER_01: And honestly, what does that mean?
• 36:23
  SPEAKER_01: Before we get into how the name came about, what does that name mean for you?
• 36:29
  SPEAKER_03: Gosh, the name means so much.
• 36:32
  SPEAKER_03: I've had so many people try to change it for me.
• 36:34
  SPEAKER_03: They're like, that's so long.
• 36:36
  SPEAKER_03: It's so yeah, it's it's you know, it's it's difficult to pronounce.
• 36:41
  SPEAKER_03: And I'm like, I know, I know, but it means something to me.
• 36:46
  SPEAKER_03: So two years ago, everything happens in my dreams.
• 36:52
  SPEAKER_03: I told you, everything.
• 36:54
  SPEAKER_03: It's like I something happens always in my dream, or I get a little something.
• 36:59
  SPEAKER_03: And in my dream, that night, I always light a candle.
• 37:02
  SPEAKER_03: So that's like my routine, my ritual every night.
• 37:05
  SPEAKER_03: I light a little white tea light candle and I say my prayers over it, and I leave it and I go to bed.
• 37:11
  SPEAKER_03: And that night I said, please help me figure out a name for this organization because I was gonna name it Beauty from Ashes, right?
• 37:18
  SPEAKER_03: Or Beauty for Ashes, and you give me your ashes and I give you your beauty.
• 37:23
  SPEAKER_03: But it was it goes beyond beauty, right?
• 37:25
  SPEAKER_03: Beauty is just another piece of the puzzle.
• 37:27
  SPEAKER_03: It's not the full picture, it's not the full picture.
• 37:30
  SPEAKER_03: So I was like, that's not the name, that's not the name.
• 37:33
  SPEAKER_03: And so that night I go to sleep, and at three o'clock in the morning, I hear the song, this little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine.
• 37:41
  SPEAKER_03: And I was like, What?
• 37:43
  SPEAKER_03: So I wake up and I grab my laptop and I immediately start typing away, and I'm like, I gotta find this.
• 37:48
  SPEAKER_03: There's something in this song.
• 37:50
  SPEAKER_03: So I start looking through the song, and I'm like, so I get back in prayer and I'm like, wait, hold on.
• 37:55
  SPEAKER_03: You want me to name it light of mind?
• 37:57
  SPEAKER_03: That's weird.
• 37:58
  SPEAKER_03: You really want me to name it light of mind?
• 38:01
  SPEAKER_03: Well, this can't be light of mind.
• 38:04
  SPEAKER_03: And then I come on.
• 38:06
  SPEAKER_03: So then I start, I wrote down the time and the day that I was doing this, and so I start writing it down, writing it down.
• 38:13
  SPEAKER_03: And next thing you know, it's what are we trying to do?
• 38:18
  SPEAKER_03: Sh have them see themselves in a new light so that they can create a new life.
• 38:25
  SPEAKER_03: So that's why I named it New Light, New Life.
• 38:31
  SPEAKER_01: I have chills, and it's not the second time I'm hearing this story, so it's just as impactful.
• 38:38
  SPEAKER_01: And I think again, I just want to acknowledge Dean beauty in what it is that you're accomplishing with your organization, the way you're putting people together in place to help these survivors, thrivers.
• 38:53
  SPEAKER_01: Let's actually act the survivors, yeah.
• 38:57
  SPEAKER_01: But I want to pivot you for a moment and just if you had a moment to really hone in on what your heart is for this.
• 39:12
  SPEAKER_01: What you want potential maybe donors or people who are partnering with you to kind of know about this.
• 39:20
  SPEAKER_01: This is your foreplay.
• 39:23
  SPEAKER_01: So what what do we want?
• 39:25
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 39:26
  SPEAKER_01: What is your heart?
• 39:27
  SPEAKER_01: What is your we obviously know the mission is to help these ladies, but essentially I want you to just tap into what is it that you're looking in, looking for at this point to help them.
• 39:39
  SPEAKER_03: So right now we are in the process of filming a documentary speaking about what we're doing, showing what the progress we've done with our ladies.
• 39:51
  SPEAKER_03: And right now we just need obviously financial donations, clothing lines.
• 39:57
  SPEAKER_03: If they want to donate clothing to us, that would be amazing.
• 39:59
  SPEAKER_03: Shoes, handbags, whatever it is that we need for Emma's closet.
• 40:04
  SPEAKER_03: And that's been amazing.
• 40:06
  SPEAKER_03: But right now we're looking for seed money to get this off the ground, get our facility, and really make it happen.
• 40:17
  SPEAKER_03: We are already doing the program, even before that.
• 40:22
  SPEAKER_03: And the the biggest thing is donations.
• 40:26
  SPEAKER_03: If we can get people to everyone believes in the mission.
• 40:30
  SPEAKER_03: Everyone believes it.
• 40:31
  SPEAKER_03: And once we finally do the the film, people will understand how much impact it's doing for these ladies.
• 40:42
  SPEAKER_01: I love that.
• 40:43
  SPEAKER_01: Isn't that nice?
• 40:45
  SPEAKER_01: Is it nice?
• 40:46
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's beyond nice.
• 40:48
  SPEAKER_01: I'm excited.
• 40:50
  SPEAKER_01: I'm just honestly so touched.
• 40:53
  SPEAKER_01: You have such a beautiful mission, and I just I know I keep acknowledging it, but it's just like we need people to step up and to see you just be like from that one instance of here something was obviously wrong.
• 41:13
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 41:14
  SPEAKER_01: To have that like seed planted in your mind afterwards to be like, well, there's more women out there like this.
• 41:22
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 41:23
  SPEAKER_01: How do I get involved?
• 41:24
  SPEAKER_01: How do I show support?
• 41:26
  SPEAKER_01: How do I make a difference?
• 41:28
  SPEAKER_01: And I think it takes a very special type of person to look at it like that.
• 41:33
  SPEAKER_01: So I just, again, I want to acknowledge you because your heart is so huge.
• 41:37
  SPEAKER_01: So many people have said, but why?
• 41:39
  SPEAKER_03: Why would you want to leave the job?
• 41:41
  SPEAKER_03: Would you make really great money?
• 41:43
  SPEAKER_03: Like, why would you want to do that?
• 41:45
  SPEAKER_03: I said, because, and I've always said this I don't want to leave this earth without doing have done something to really make an impact.
• 41:55
  SPEAKER_03: Makeup has been fun.
• 41:57
  SPEAKER_03: I loved it.
• 41:58
  SPEAKER_03: You see, people, they see themselves in the mirror, they're like, wow, I love it.
• 42:01
  SPEAKER_03: And that's beautiful, right?
• 42:02
  SPEAKER_03: That that just it's great for them for that moment.
• 42:05
  SPEAKER_03: But to really create that impact, for somebody to come, at least one woman, come up to me and say, Hey, this changed my life.
• 42:15
  SPEAKER_03: I actually am married.
• 42:17
  SPEAKER_03: Oh my gosh, can you imagine that that she can actually get married and have kids and believe that she has the dignity that she deserves, which she does.
• 42:29
  SPEAKER_03: We all do.
• 42:30
  SPEAKER_02: And to believe in herself, that's priceless.
• 42:36
  SPEAKER_03: You can't put a price on that to see one person, just one say, I'm on the other side.
• 42:42
  SPEAKER_01: Love this.
• 42:43
  SPEAKER_01: I love this so much.
• 42:46
  SPEAKER_01: So your mission is not only to empower survivors, but also to create opportunities for them.
• 42:52
  SPEAKER_01: Even one day you hope to employ some of them.
• 42:54
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 42:55
  SPEAKER_01: So, can you share more about that part of your vision?
• 42:59
  SPEAKER_03: So, my goal is that once they've graduated our program and they have gone through the mindset, the physical transformation, the life skills, and we actually get them, I get their record expunged if they've ever been ever been arrested.
• 43:16
  SPEAKER_03: That's that's a big thing for them.
• 43:18
  SPEAKER_03: So that they no one needs to know.
• 43:20
  SPEAKER_03: No one needs to know the life they were living.
• 43:22
  SPEAKER_03: So we get their record expunged.
• 43:25
  SPEAKER_03: And obviously they walk on our runway, but they get to attend Tony Robbins Unleash the Power Within, which is powerful, as you know, right?
• 43:36
  SPEAKER_03: Yes, gotta get them firewall.
• 43:38
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, you've got to walk on that fire because you've been living, you know, in a very difficult situation.
• 43:43
  SPEAKER_03: And once you walk on fire, you believe in yourself, right?
• 43:46
  SPEAKER_01: And I think there's actually a metaphor there because they've been through fire, and then for them to be able to walk the fire afterwards, yeah.
• 43:54
  SPEAKER_01: Like nothing, I'm on stage.
• 43:56
  SPEAKER_01: It's the way of them taking their power back.
• 43:59
  SPEAKER_03: Well, and it's like it no one can extinguish your fire, your light in you, right?
• 44:04
  SPEAKER_03: And you know, that's like my thing.
• 44:07
  SPEAKER_03: That the I always say that the light has been with the within you the whole time.
• 44:14
  SPEAKER_03: You just you just it's been dimmed.
• 44:16
  SPEAKER_03: And so now you get to see yourself as a new woman.
• 44:20
  SPEAKER_03: And guess what?
• 44:21
  SPEAKER_03: Now you become a big sister and they become part of our mentors.
• 44:25
  SPEAKER_03: They will be our mentorship program to other girls that need it, and they'll actually be able to work with us, come in and sit in meetings and help the girls.
• 44:37
  SPEAKER_03: Take a little sister.
• 44:39
  SPEAKER_03: You know, when you were a kid and you had pen pals and you would write a letter to them, it's like, so we need someone who will mentor them so that they we are mentors to our girls and our girls will be mentors to the new ones that come.
• 44:52
  SPEAKER_03: Kind of like a lifeline, is the way I would look at it.
• 44:55
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 44:55
  SPEAKER_03: We all have to share our light, right?
• 44:57
  SPEAKER_03: If I'm sharing my light with you, now you share it with somebody else.
• 45:02
  SPEAKER_01: And then it becomes a ripple like the assignment.
• 45:05
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 45:06
  SPEAKER_01: I love this.
• 45:07
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 45:08
  SPEAKER_01: So when you think about women that you're serving, what do you want them to feel about and know about themselves when they walk away from new light, new life?
• 45:18
  SPEAKER_03: Oh my goodness.
• 45:21
  SPEAKER_03: They have a new sense, a new, it's like they put on their new glasses.
• 45:27
  SPEAKER_03: They put on a new set of glasses.
• 45:29
  SPEAKER_03: They see themselves in a new way that they never thought they could, right?
• 45:36
  SPEAKER_03: They literally put on their brand new shade of glasses.
• 45:40
  SPEAKER_03: Well, that's the best way I can describe it.
• 45:42
  SPEAKER_03: You know, if you could see yourself that way.
• 45:46
  SPEAKER_03: Would you do it, right?
• 45:49
  SPEAKER_01: Beautiful.
• 45:50
  SPEAKER_01: So you've held so many roles.
• 45:52
  SPEAKER_01: Artist, entrepreneur, founder, leader.
• 45:55
  SPEAKER_01: When you look back, what do you hope your legacy will be through new light, new life?
• 46:04
  SPEAKER_03: My legacy is to hope that one day my kids will continue this mission.
• 46:13
  SPEAKER_03: And I've had a conversation with all my kids.
• 46:15
  SPEAKER_03: You guys will continue this mission and that it cannot die the day that my heart stops.
• 46:21
  SPEAKER_03: It continues beyond me, and we continue to serve and help as many women and never stop.
• 46:29
  SPEAKER_03: Never stop believing that we can do anything we set our mind to.
• 46:34
  SPEAKER_03: And if these ladies, when these ladies transform themselves, that they continue this mission as well.
• 46:46
  SPEAKER_03: Beautiful.
• 46:47
  SPEAKER_03: We're all lights on this earth.
• 46:49
  SPEAKER_03: That's all we are.
• 46:50
  SPEAKER_01: Actually, we've talked a lot about the women that you're helping, but you actually help quite a few men in your organization as well.
• 46:59
  SPEAKER_01: So do you want to share some of the light on how you helped them?
• 47:04
  SPEAKER_01: Just because obviously for them, it's not so much of a just a beauty transformation.
• 47:10
  SPEAKER_01: I think more of the work with men probably stems from gearing them up to having that confidence back of what it looks like to take their lives back into their own hands.
• 47:20
  SPEAKER_03: Oh, absolutely.
• 47:21
  SPEAKER_03: And you know it's funny, again, I go back to my friend Gary Spellman.
• 47:25
  SPEAKER_03: He's been an amazing mentor for me.
• 47:27
  SPEAKER_03: I love him dearly.
• 47:28
  SPEAKER_03: And I met him in Nashville with Emma.
• 47:31
  SPEAKER_03: That's where I met him.
• 47:32
  SPEAKER_03: Bullsurf, but yeah.
• 47:33
  SPEAKER_03: It's a full, I tell you, it's all connected.
• 47:36
  SPEAKER_03: He he at one point said, you know, you need to serve men too.
• 47:40
  SPEAKER_03: It's not just the women.
• 47:41
  SPEAKER_03: And I said, Yeah, but gotta work on women right now.
• 47:44
  SPEAKER_03: That's that's my mission.
• 47:46
  SPEAKER_03: And recently I was connected to a gentleman that is in prison.
• 47:53
  SPEAKER_03: And they told me this guy is from Chile and he was trafficked into the United States, and he is gonna be sent back, deported to Chile.
• 48:05
  SPEAKER_03: But if he gets deported to Chile, he will be murdered because he is a victim of human trafficking and he was brought here and he didn't do his job.
• 48:14
  SPEAKER_03: And now, if he's getting deported, then they're gonna try to bring him back, and you know, so on and so forth.
• 48:18
  SPEAKER_03: It's like a cycle, a vicious cycle.
• 48:21
  SPEAKER_03: So I got in contact with an attorney.
• 48:24
  SPEAKER_03: The attorney is helping him.
• 48:26
  SPEAKER_03: So we are a few months away from being able to get him his where he'll be able to get his New Light will have our first T visa for a man.
• 48:37
  SPEAKER_03: And a T visa is what's given to survivors of human trafficking that are trafficked into the United States.
• 48:43
  SPEAKER_03: And so New Light is getting him housing and getting him the support that he needs so that he can have a job while he's here and create a new life.
• 48:54
  SPEAKER_01: Look at that.
• 48:56
  SPEAKER_01: See, so we're still reigniting the light, even though it's a man.
• 49:00
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, exactly.
• 49:03
  SPEAKER_01: Beautiful.
• 49:04
  SPEAKER_01: I just again, you're an incredible soul.
• 49:08
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 49:09
  SPEAKER_01: And I just I'm so honored to even have just this tiny seat of like being able to help you and be on this mission with you because honestly, just hearing how much you're doing is just so inspiring and it reminds me, like, so oftentimes we think that we might have a dream that's so big, and it's like, how do we make that happen?
• 49:35
  SPEAKER_01: And you just even in the way you share your story, it's I had one connection, and then one connection goes to another connection.
• 49:45
  SPEAKER_03: It's the most beautiful thing, and it just it's a ripple effect.
• 49:50
  SPEAKER_03: I can't do this alone, right?
• 49:52
  SPEAKER_03: I'm only one person.
• 49:53
  SPEAKER_03: I always say I'm one little light, and I need everybody's light to be able to make this happen and to be able to create that impact that I know we can see in the world.
• 50:05
  SPEAKER_03: And if we all share our light, guess what?
• 50:09
  SPEAKER_03: We'll actually be able to see a lot more clearly, right?
• 50:12
  SPEAKER_03: And you know, so many people, whether they have a little or they have a lot, they're willing to help.
• 50:20
  SPEAKER_03: And if you're willing to help, you know, I would love for you to be a part of it.
• 50:26
  SPEAKER_01: I love this.
• 50:28
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 50:29
  SPEAKER_03: So where can people connect with you?
• 50:31
  SPEAKER_03: They can reach out to me at they can go on our website at www.newlightnewlife.org or info at newlightnewlife.org.
• 50:46
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm sure you guys will be seeing us do something together soon.
• 50:50
  SPEAKER_01: So keep an eye out for that.
• 50:53
  SPEAKER_01: In the meantime, before we get to my quick fire round, which will probably be the lightest part of this entire conversation.
• 51:02
  SPEAKER_01: But I love it because we went deep into the heart and the soul of this mission, and that's exactly what I wanted when I heard about it.
• 51:11
  SPEAKER_01: It was like, how can I just plant a seed and maybe have this ripple?
• 51:15
  SPEAKER_01: Because again, I believe so wholeheartedly in what you're doing and the mission.
• 51:20
  SPEAKER_01: And honestly, just the fact that people can have that new life is such a core premise of mine and the work that I do.
• 51:31
  SPEAKER_01: So lastly, what is one truth you want women to remember about her beauty and her worth and what it looks like to transform?
• 51:47
  SPEAKER_03: It's not the makeup, it's not the putting on all of the glitz and glam, right?
• 51:55
  SPEAKER_03: It's not about that.
• 51:56
  SPEAKER_03: It's about you.
• 51:58
  SPEAKER_03: It's about what makes you feel beautiful.
• 52:02
  SPEAKER_03: And you don't need all the makeup.
• 52:04
  SPEAKER_03: Yes, we get that.
• 52:05
  SPEAKER_03: That just enhances you, it's it's allows you to see yourself beautiful and and how you want to see yourself.
• 52:11
  SPEAKER_03: Because there are women that don't even wear a ton of makeup and they're beautiful all by itself.
• 52:17
  SPEAKER_03: But you just have to believe in yourself.
• 52:20
  SPEAKER_03: Believe that anything you want, you can have, no matter how much money you have in the bank account.
• 52:28
  SPEAKER_03: Because people say, Oh, you know, I can't do it because I don't have X, Y, and Z.
• 52:33
  SPEAKER_03: You can do it.
• 52:34
  SPEAKER_03: There is no limit.
• 52:36
  SPEAKER_03: There literally is no limit to what you can do.
• 52:39
  SPEAKER_03: I'm a proof of it.
• 52:41
  SPEAKER_03: I love this.
• 52:42
  SPEAKER_03: I've literally built this with very little.
• 52:46
  SPEAKER_03: Very little.
• 52:47
  SPEAKER_03: It's just the commission.
• 52:48
  SPEAKER_01: Very little, but you've done it with heart, and you've done it with what ironically, I just had a conversation with Lauren yesterday, and it was she had me pull out one of her affirmation cards, and I got I am love.
• 53:03
  SPEAKER_01: And you are.
• 53:05
  SPEAKER_01: My dear, you are.
• 53:07
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 53:08
  SPEAKER_01: But what I was going to say about that is what's really helped stem your organization as getting it as far as it is, and it's going to be huge.
• 53:18
  SPEAKER_01: I already know this.
• 53:19
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 53:20
  SPEAKER_01: Is the fact that it stems from I Am Love.
• 53:23
  SPEAKER_01: And it's funny that you bring up having belief because if you actually, I don't know if you've noticed, I had a a tattoo that literally says believe with a little dub, and it's been my reminder since I was 18.
• 53:34
  SPEAKER_01: Not that I got it at 18, but I used to write in pen, believe, because I used to struggle with self-doubt and struggle with just life.
• 53:47
  SPEAKER_01: And at one point I realized it's that belief.
• 53:52
  SPEAKER_01: If we just come back to believing in ourselves, believing in a higher power, believing that we are guided.
• 53:59
  SPEAKER_01: And I just this is how you know I have so many thoughts going on at once.
• 54:06
  SPEAKER_01: But one thing that really made me want to have this conversation with you on the podcast is the fact that you turned a situation that was dire and pretty disastrous for your life with Emma's passing.
• 54:22
  SPEAKER_01: And it basically woke up a seed in you for a bigger mission, a bigger purpose, so that her life, her ashes, as you said, would carry on into a huge mission.
• 54:35
  SPEAKER_01: And I just want to acknowledge how beautiful that is that you took it with heart and shined a light.
• 54:45
  SPEAKER_01: And you actually, even though her physical essence is no longer here, you're bringing a new life even to Emma's legacy.
• 54:54
  SPEAKER_03: Absolutely.
• 54:55
  SPEAKER_03: Absolutely.
• 54:56
  SPEAKER_03: And and I I always will, I think that nothing's by accident, nothing, absolutely nothing's by accident.
• 55:04
  SPEAKER_03: About a year ago, I I was at the mall and I found this little store.
• 55:09
  SPEAKER_03: And I love affirmations and quotes.
• 55:12
  SPEAKER_03: And there was this bracelet.
• 55:14
  SPEAKER_03: And this bracelet was at the store, and it says, Trust in God with all your heart.
• 55:20
  SPEAKER_03: And when I went to the conference, the magic conference, there was a guy that was passing out a little flyer, and he says, Go to the booth and get your free bracelet.
• 55:30
  SPEAKER_03: And I said, What is this?
• 55:31
  SPEAKER_03: And he goes, We're in Spire Co.
• 55:33
  SPEAKER_03: And I looked at him, I go, Oh my God, I've been wearing this for a year.
• 55:36
  SPEAKER_03: So I walk over there, and the lady that was at the booth was the owner of the company, and she has been so amazing.
• 55:45
  SPEAKER_03: She's like, We're gonna have your very own new light, new life bracelet for our company.
• 55:50
  SPEAKER_03: And I was like, that's amazing.
• 55:52
  SPEAKER_03: So when I tell you, everything is dead.
• 55:56
  SPEAKER_03: Everything is one connection after another, building relationships, and again, it's all creating this mission.
• 56:04
  SPEAKER_03: Beautiful.
• 56:05
  SPEAKER_03: It's not just me.
• 56:06
  SPEAKER_01: So, final question before the wrap up of the fire round.
• 56:12
  SPEAKER_01: What does rising into your next level look like for you right now?
• 56:16
  SPEAKER_01: Scary.
• 56:19
  SPEAKER_03: It it just it's filled with so much excitement, so much light that I see a huge mission, and my goal is to open up one of these in Las Vegas, and that we are able to open up one in every city across the country and one day be like make a wish for women.
• 56:42
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, I love this.
• 56:44
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so quick fire round.
• 56:46
  SPEAKER_01: This is probably the lightest part of this entire interview, but starting off, what's a song that's like makes you makes your heart sing if you believe?
• 57:00
  SPEAKER_02: It's like if you believe you can loom the highest mountains.
• 57:06
  SPEAKER_02: I love that song.
• 57:08
  SPEAKER_02: I love this.
• 57:09
  SPEAKER_02: For the record, I asked her to sing it.
• 57:13
  SPEAKER_02: Sing along.
• 57:15
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 57:16
  SPEAKER_02: A word that describes your current season outside of scary.
• 57:23
  SPEAKER_03: Excited.
• 57:25
  SPEAKER_03: Excited.
• 57:25
  SPEAKER_03: It's this is beautiful.
• 57:30
  SPEAKER_03: Empowering, yes.
• 57:31
  SPEAKER_01: Empowering, yes.
• 57:33
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 57:35
  SPEAKER_01: Adeally non-negotiable that grounds you.
• 57:39
  SPEAKER_03: Prayer.
• 57:41
  SPEAKER_03: Beautiful.
• 57:42
  SPEAKER_03: Prayer is my, you know, my connection with my God and divine source.
• 57:47
  SPEAKER_03: It's the best thing ever.
• 57:49
  SPEAKER_03: A book or mentor that changed your life?
• 57:52
  SPEAKER_03: Uh Dr.
• 57:54
  SPEAKER_03: Wayne Dyer.
• 57:56
  SPEAKER_03: And Dr.
• 57:57
  SPEAKER_03: Wayne Dyer has just, you know, he was he was what met led me to Tony, Alison Armstrong, learning how to be a strong, powerful woman, and never taking no for an answer.
• 58:15
  SPEAKER_03: You can keep doing it.
• 58:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, persistence.
• 58:18
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 58:19
  SPEAKER_01: And one thing you want women to stop apologizing for.
• 58:27
  SPEAKER_03: Gosh, that's a great question.
• 58:32
  SPEAKER_03: For finding your voice.
• 58:35
  SPEAKER_03: For being able to speak up for yourself.
• 58:40
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, I'm trying not to cry.
• 58:43
  SPEAKER_01: I love this.
• 58:44
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much for being here.
• 58:46
  SPEAKER_01: And so what I love about your story is that it reminds us that transformation doesn't always start in big, obvious places.
• 58:53
  SPEAKER_01: Sometimes it starts in a chair, in the mirror, or in a quiet moment when we're finally ready to see ourselves as we truly are.
• 59:01
  SPEAKER_01: So through your work and through new light, new life, you're showing us that beauty is not superficial, it's sacred.
• 59:08
  SPEAKER_01: It's a doorway back to confidence, to dignity, to remembering our worth.
• 59:12
  SPEAKER_01: And when a woman rediscovers that within herself, she becomes unstoppable.
• 59:18
  SPEAKER_01: So as you leave this conversation today, I want to invite you to reflect where in your life is there.
• 59:24
  SPEAKER_01: Time for a new light.
• 59:26
  SPEAKER_01: Where are you ready to see yourself more fully, to claim your beauty, your power, or your truth?
• 59:32
  SPEAKER_01: Because this is what Veronica's mission is all about helping women rise, not just outside, but in their hearts and their futures.
• 59:38
  SPEAKER_01: So thank you so much for joining us on the Rise with Anita podcast.
• 59:42
  SPEAKER_01: Until next time, keep choosing your voice, keep claiming your worth, and keep stepping boldly into the woman you are always meant to be.
• 59:50
  SPEAKER_01: I will have our social media links down below and obviously the links to Varaka's beautiful organization.
• 59:56
  SPEAKER_01: And until next time, please connect with us on Instagram.
• 59:59
  SPEAKER_01: Let us know how this conversation moved you, and that's all for now.
• 1:00:04
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, thank you so much.
• 1:00:07
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for rising with me today.
• 1:00:09
  SPEAKER_00: If this episode moved you, share it.
• 1:00:12
  SPEAKER_00: Tag me at Arise with Anita.
• 1:00:14
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• 1:00:18
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• 1:00:21
  SPEAKER_00: It helps more women find the space and rise into their power.
• 1:00:24
  SPEAKER_00: Your next level is already waiting.
• 1:00:26
  SPEAKER_00: Now go clean it.
• 1:00:27
  SPEAKER_00: I'll see you in the next episode.