Yogi Entrepreneur Part 3: Dreams Actualizing in Costa Rica (+ GIVEAWAY!)

Hey everyone! This is such an exciting post because literally all of my dreams ever manifested into reality. Pete, Zuko (our black cat) & I are finally in Costa Rica for good! I’ve talked A LOT on the blog about what I do in Costa Rica, so I won’t recap that here but you can check out Part 1 & Part 2 to get caught up! There, I talk about the real estate deal that I was helping to broker, which actually finalized. Pete & I have been hired to manage the property: Hotel Nautilus. For me, it’s a very sentimental property, as you will read if you check out Part 1 & Part 2. I will warn you that these series are a bit “wordier” than other posts on the blog. The reason for that is because so many people ask me HOW I get to live the life I live and I want to describe the process vividly. It’s about ACTION & HARD WORK, and this series has chronicled some of what went into making this dream come true.

Psst… GIVEAWAY BELOW!

Dreams Actualizing

I’ll keep this post short & sweet. Please come visit us in Paradise!

This has been a dream that I’ve worked SUPER hard to make happen but rarely talked publicly about, other than what I wrote about on the blog.

I first had this dream in September 2012 when I came to Costa Rica for the first time. Since then, I’ve made it my mission to relocate here with my family. When my husband and I first started dating (and started getting serious), I spoke to him with seriousness about my desire to live in Costa Rica. He agreed, but our timelines were slightly different. While I wanted to accomplish the dream in a year, he saw a 5-year plan. Well, 3 years later we met somewhere in the middle.

The process of getting there wasn’t easy, trust me. Not coming from wealth, I had to be creative, forward-thinking & brave. Being an entrepreneur means that the road isn’t going to be paved for you, and that’s scary as hell for most people. Not having direction and having to pave you’re own way can be so daunting and stressful. If you don’t believe in yourself 100%, it will be very hard to succeed. The reason is because many people will doubt you & tell you to get real. You have to drag yourself through the mud, ignore the naysayers (even though they tend to be family & friends!) and go on with doing what’s right for you in this lifetime.

When I first moved to San Clemente back in the summer of 2014 (after living in Costa Rica for the first half of the year), my heart was confused. I knew deep down that I would end up back in Costa Rica for good, and so I was hesitant to form strong bonds with people in a new community. The idea of doing that, like I did in Los Angeles, and then having to inevitably detach & say goodbye to those people, places & things was more than I could emotionally handle. Plus, I had so much work to do! My “solution” was to not commit to being a full-fledged member of the community. Of course, my nature is be involved, so slowly I built strong bonds & formed connections all over that I didn’t intend to. Being a healer & a mover & shaker does that to you! I won’t go into too much detail about that here, but let me say that leaving San Clemente to live in Costa Rica (my DREAM!) was absolutely gut-wrenching. It was Pete and my first home and we absolutely fell in love with that sleepy surf town.

My point in saying that is to let people understand that following your path or your dreams isn’t always “safe”, “comfortable”, or “easy”. In fact, there’s a dark side to this path – it can be a lonely one. Last year, when I was in Costa Rica alone in July (to meet with my business partners), I was feeling lonely & quite sad. In this story, I talk about a guardian angel in human form that reassured me over my tears. He is a healer himself, & recognized my pain. He let me know that being in front of the pack or separate from the rest is never easy – you miss out on A LOT – but that you gain so much more. People are counting on someone in their circle to be the first to make changes. You set the stage for others in that sense. I called my best friend Jacqueline, again through tears, the day before we left & she also reassured me. “Did you think you were going to be second? Or did you think you would be the first? I knew I wasn’t going to be the first. It had to be you.” She lived with me for a few months in Costa Rica when I got married there & I know she’ll be back!

The last week before we left, I panicked and doubted myself a LOT and even felt like I was losing my power to a certain extent. I could barely eat, I barely slept & I felt like I had to throw up constantly. The day of, I woke up feeling sick & said to Pete, “What have I done?”. The reality of getting what I want was jarring & shocking. As I broke down to various family members & friends, I often heard something like, “But this is what you wanted. This is your dream.” Having dreams is universal but being able to chase them, physically and mentally, is a privilege. But that doesn’t mean you won’t miss those you love & the places you love. That’s a part of spiritual growth – the part about non-attachment. It’s a constant work in progress!

Being here in Santa Teresa and getting back to my yoga practice has enabled me to feel the goosebumps of being alive again – all the stress & chaos aside. It feels so good. I don’t know what the future will hold, but I know that I’m living my dreams with those I love, staying present and aware, rolling with the punches & moving with the flow & believing in my abilities. Most importantly, I’ve learned (and am learning to put into practice each day) how to let go of the meaningless worries of life & to simply live PURA VIDA. That was the goal all along, anyway.