Today we’d like to introduce you to Linda Sousa.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Life is so precious and far too short. I want to live it fully, freely, faithfully and boldly.
I think for a number of years I thought I was doing just that, but when I glance back to before my joy in the journey began I can clearly see that I was doing just the opposite. I was holding myself captive in my overweight and out of shape body and as much as I wanted to do something about it, I always fell short and could never muster up the courage, strength and determination or motivation to do something about it. Not realizing at the time, that without a shift in my mindset and thinking I would always continue to fall short.
When I look back a few short years ago, I was taking medications for type 2 diabetes, and I was up to 4 metformin a day. I was being stubborn and not taking the prescribed medications for high cholesterol that was on the rise. And I was on again, off again taking my meds for the neuropathy that I was experiencing as a result of the diabetes because of the side effects. I suffered with the pain and discomfort of the neuropathy that was increasing every day because I was not taking care of myself. I was fearful of losing a limb to the diabetes. Wounds were not healing. I was dealing with vertigo, always out of breath, and exhausted no matter how much sleep I got. Sleep apnea was at an all time high, I was not addressing it. No wonder I was tired all the time, had no energy and was always sick. I had sciatica, back and neck pain that was a relative constant because my core was so weak and out of shape. I wasn’t happy in my skin and self-conscious all the time. My physical issues were taking an emotional toll on my confidence and self-image.
Thanks be to God, I found another way. I accepted the reality I was living in and where I was headed if I did not make the change, hold myself accountable and didn’t stop making excuses for myself to change the things that I knew I could change.
With the Lord’s grace, I dug deep into my faith and I found the strength that I did not have on my own to develop a mindset that gave me the strength and courage I needed to work on myself from the inside out and to find my way to a realistic lifestyle and not a diet.
For the longest time, I avoided the doctor at my heaviest weights, avoided the scale and didn’t take my weigh or measure when I first started my journey in May 2015. Since then, I have lost weight, managed my diabetes and came off all medications, reversing my diabetes to non-diabetic range, no longer have high cholesterol, arrested the neuropathy, made my body stronger, more fit and flexible, strengthened my core reducing back and neck issues, regained my self-confidence and feel fabulous in my own skin with all its imperfections. I am committed to living a healthy lifestyle, not a diet.
I am on a mission to grow and to be the best version of me that I can be and the woman of God that I was created to be. I know from own personal experience that staying the course, keeping my heart filled with gratitude and seeing obstacles and challenges as an opportunity for personal growth and development and being intentional about my daily actions are key to keeping a positive attitude, a healthy mindset and not only identifying my purpose and mission, but moving towards it.
And I am having fun, learning new things about myself and challenging myself in ways I never thought I could in the process. Last year I found the confidence to go paddle boarding for the first time ever and I am back to playing tennis something I had given up years ago. I also recently gave myself the challenge to do 50 burpees a day ( it a workout move) until I am able to do them without modifying. And for the first time, I could not tell you how many years have started to jump again. To most it may not seem like a big deal, but to someone as morbidly obese as I have been, and with the various physical issues I have had its a milestone for me.
I started Joy in the Journey to keep myself accountable to living a sustainable healthy and balanced lifestyle, lose weight and manage serious health issues that I was dealing with at the time. In the process, I have discovered a passion, mission, and purpose through this platform to serve, mentor, inspire and empower others who also want to live a healthy and fulfilling lifestyle with more freedom of time and finances for themselves and their family.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
There have been a number of events in my life that have set the trajectory of the paths that I have taken. I know that I am right where I am meant to be and I am grateful for all of those experiences that have to lead me here because they have helped to shape the woman that I am today.
Today, I am living a life and love story that I could only have dreamed of. I am married to my beloved John who is truly a gift from God and I am so grateful to be living my purpose and helping other women find theirs.
But that does not mean that the journey has been easy. Just the opposite, I have experienced a number of struggles along the way and I suspect that I always will.
My love story with my beloved John began when we met over 10 years ago while we were both volunteering at a retreat house where we are involved in the ministries there. It’s the second marriage for both of us and I have two adult bonus children through my marriage to John.
I am the daughter of immigrants who made Lawrence their home over 62 years ago. My parents, brother, and two sisters immigrated to Lawrence from Italy. I arrived four years later the unexpected surprise change of life baby born to my mom at the age of 40. We spoke predominantly italian in our home. I learned to speak english when I started attending school and I was the first in my family to attend and graduate college. Our home was filled with love, faith, big Sunday dinners, generous hospitality, and traditions. I grew up to know the security and blessing of a loving home as the youngest in a family with older parents and adult siblings.
I am healthier and stronger than I have been in a long time. I am more confident in my skin and energized with a strength, desire, and purpose to use the gifts and talents, including the life experiences that I have had to make a difference in the lives of others and in the world around me.
And it is through the trials and challenges that I’ve experienced that I’ve come to not only appreciate the grace of self-knowledge but to also be reminded that I have the capacity, the intellect, the will and the freedom to strive to attain something greater for myself. I have learned that I have the ability to choose to not be defined by my circumstances. I can make choices. I am a decisionmaker and a choicemaker.
I can choose my attitude and I can shape my destiny, good and bad, toward whatever goals I desire in this life and I can strive to be something greater and work towards a vision. But I didn’t always see this as clearly as I do today.
When I was 24, out of college and still living with my parents I was feeling pressure to marry. I was in my first serious relationship and even at 24, I was still very sheltered and naive. We were engaged within a few months and married a year later. We came from two different worlds. I was unprepared for the life I had chosen and there were problems from the start. He was making a lot of bad choices and the more out of control his life became the more I tried to control things outside of myself that I didn’t have the power to control. Over the next 14 years, our marriage was a roller coaster dealing with the effects of living with drug addiction, alcoholism, gambling, and infidelity.
The worst was the violent outbursts, increasing verbal emotional and physical abuse. I was threatened, strangled and almost killed. It all but destroyed what little self-esteem I had left. I lived in constant fear and struggled daily with anxiety and uncertainty. My self-esteem would have been destroyed if it wasn’t for the fact that all the while I wore a professional mask. I was the sole supporter, commuting daily to Boston, Traveling and working long hour in an executive position. My professional mask hid my shame. I was in denial and found myself isolating from family and friends. Pride, insecurity, and shame kept me from letting anyone close enough to see or know what was happening in my life. I was stuffing my feelings and emotions with food and had been building a wall of protection around myself gaining a lot of weight almost from the start of the marriage.
In the middle of all this turmoil, my mother died. She was my rock, but she knew nothing of what was going on in my life. I was 37, numb, beaten down, broken and full of self-pity.
On a particularly difficult day, I remember a passing thought, thinking I should just save him the trouble and join her myself. It was a dark, lonely and overwhelming time. And although I had stepped away from practicing my faith for years, the faith that was instilled from my childhood was firmly in my heart and I knew that God was there helping me to hang on, pulling me through and protecting me through every difficulty. His strength helped me to hang on through the very dark days after my mother’s death. And His strength woke me from my denial and helped me to find my voice and say ” NO MORE”.
Finding my voice and saying “NO MORE” wasn’t easy. It was, in fact, the beginning of a long road of court dates, hearings and trials. It was necessary and it was empowering. But not without struggles. I considered running way, leaving my home and family to hide from the threats and to start over where he could not find me. I went through much of it alone, mostly because of my pride. A year later when it came time to renew the restraining order I was offered a permanent one by the court that continues to be in effect today.
Even though I may not have realized it at the time. I know today without fail that God sent his angels through my mother’s intercession. She could now see what I could never share. And I also know that without Jesus’s intervention in giving me the strength to fight and pull through, I would not be alive today to share my story, to change the narrative of my life and to be living this beautiful life of intention, purpose, peace and great joy with my beloved and those I serve, help and mentor.
But I am here and I intend to make every breath count and I also took every lifeline that was tossed my way.
I found experience, strength, and hope in the halls of Al-Anon. Through friendships that I formed in those halls, I found my way to living a Cursillo which is a retreat on a short course in Christianity, That experience brought me back to my faith and the God of my understanding and it brought me to a Christian community. And when we are going through difficult times it is the community that can help make the difference.
As I began to heal, my own brokenness and my desire to serve others helped me to focus on them instead of myself and I began to volunteer more often and use my gifts and talents in any way that I was called to serve.
My father was a chef, my mom an amazing cook and my brother owned a restaurant, a family business that I worked at growing up and like my siblings, I inherited a love and joy for cooking and sharing food with others. Having done a few cooking workshops as a gift in kind years ago to my Alma Matta that were always well attended and received I was tapping into my passion for cooking and sharing it with others and so I began to volunteer in the kitchen at the retreat house and during the holidays at a local shelter.
Volunteering took my outside myself and helped me to give back. In the process, it helped me to continue the deep and personal relationship with Jesus that was sparked during my Cursillo. And that has brought me healing, understanding, and forgiveness while bringing me closer to wholeness. And when my father died Christmas morning less than a month after my Cursillo, because of my faith, there was hope, comfort and peace mingled with the grief and sadness.
Having always had a passion for journaling and writing. I combined it with my love and passion for cooking and created a cookbook to honor the memory, legacy, and love of my parents, give glory to God and to share my parent’s legacy with future generations of our family. It was a labor of love and in the process brough great healing to my grief and loss. And little did I know at the time, a foundation for things to come with the cookbook I am working on now called Made with Love and Abbondanza that takes some of the family favorites and some of my earlier creations from Made with Love – A Tribute to My Parents and provides a healthier version.
Diving into daily personal growth helps me to make a shift to identifying my purpose and mission, gives me clarity on who I can serve best through my own life experiences, fuels my passion and at the same time gives me the freedom to trust, let go of my fears and get out of my own way. Not always easy, but I do it anyway.
One of my all time favorite personal development authors is John C. Maxwell. Chapter 2 in his book ” The 15 invaluable laws of growth” is titled “The Law of Awareness” and the caption reads “YOU MUST KNOW YOURSELF TO GROW YOURSELF”
That’s where it all starts.
Getting to know myself has not always been easy, nor has accepting, my past, embracing my shortcomings and sharing of myself. But who cares if it’s not easy. When I approach things with intention, it helps me make a shift in my thinking. And when I do things or even try things I didn’t think I could do, I grow.
A brush with death, divorce, losing my mom and dad and the gift of my beloved and the life I have with my beloved reminds me how precious life is and how I want whatever time I have to be lived to the fullest.
We all grow and experience things, but for a long time, I experienced a lot of accidental growth, surviving and moving without intention or a plan. That’s not acceptable to me anymore. I was created to not just survive but to thrive. And that is what I intend to do. There is greatness in each of us, but it is up to us to clear the way for that greatness to be revealed and live its purpose.
The changes that I have made over the past few years to live a healthy lifestyle, become more fit, flexible, strong and confident in my skin are a direct result of a decision, commitment, hard work, and consistency, Having a can do attitude and get right back on track when I fall off helps to. In fact, its key for me.
I don’t pretend to have all the answers because I don’t. And the life I’m living today didn’t make all the baggage of my past go away on its own and hasn’t made the weight magically fall off. It takes work and time.
And it still amazes me that the best part of my journey isn’t the physical transformation, although that is obvious to people who knew me back when, and I am still on that journey with a long way yet to go. And it isn’t coming off medications, wearing smaller sizes, after years of shame feeling confident in a sleeveless top, or any of the non-scale victories I’ve experienced. The best part is the rejuvenation of my mind, soul, and spirit.
And every day through personal development, prayer, books, audibles, intentional action, and being present in the moment I inch closer to the woman of purpose that I was created to be.
Eleanor Roosevelt said “One’s philosophy is not best expressed in words: it’s expressed in the CHOICES one makes. In the long run, we shape our lives and we shape ourselves.”
The events in our lives are like chapters in a bood, we can allow them to define us, or we can challenge them, rise and turn them around for good. We can change the narrative of our story whenever we want. We don’t have to be defined by our life’s circumstances, we have choices.
But how do we do that?
First, take some time to get to know yourself. You can start by asking a few questions.
Who am I? Where am I going? Where do I want to be going? What do I stand for? What is the narrative of my life story?
Then observe where your thoughts, free time, money and energy go? What’s important to you? What’s on your calendar?
Then ask yourself how is this working for me?, Is this what I want to be the most important thing in my life? Is this what I want the narrative of my life story to be? Will this vision make me a fully alive and thriving human being?
Maybe the answer is ye, you know exactly where you are going and you like it.
Maybe it’s pretty good, just needs a little tweaking, a little change in direction, a new perspective.
Maybe it needs an overhaul
Whatever the case you get to see the truth and decide.
And while your seeing and deciding, remember what Jim Rohn says ” you cannot change your destination overnight, but you can change your direction overnight”
Our stories are not over until the moment we draw our last breath and then we leave a legacy for those that follow. It’s powerful stuff!
Although some roads may be smooth, it’s my experience that many are not, there are always struggles along the way. I would say “Gnothi Seauton”, its Greek and it means Know Thy Self. Get to know who you are, what you want, where you want to go and stay true to yourself and your purpose and mission along the way. And when the struggles come, and they are bound to, don’t ever lose hope, never give up, believe in yourself. And if you’re having a hard time doing it, surround yourself with other positive people who believe in you and will help you and lead you to a place where you can believe in you. Remember who you are, who you were created to be, that there is greatness within you, it is your birthright, it is in every single human being, and you can be and do anything that you want.
It may not be easy, you need to have a vision, where it is that you want to go, what you want to do and then you need to figure out what it will take to get there. Dream big, figure it out and know the actionable steps that you need to take to get to where you want to be. Set those goals and one by one move toward them. Be willing to work hard. Accept that sometimes things change and that may mean a change in direction of a new plan. Be open, teachable and flexible when the situation calls for it.
But in all things, always be true to your spirit and be kind to others along the way. Glance back to help those coming after you and look ahead and thank those who paved the way. Trust that inner voice of wisdom, be a student no matter how to hold you are or what you already know, learn from those who have had success, be teachable and coachable, work hard, live with purpose, kindness and daily intentional actions. And don’t allow your own fears and limiting self-beliefs to hold you back from following your dreams.
And if you haven’t read it yet, read the poem “IF” by Rudyard Kipling, not just the first and last verses, ALL of the verses. There is so much wisdom in that poem. We were asked to memorize the first and last verses when I was in fifth grade, I fell in love with a poem and committed every verse to my heart.
Please tell us about Joy in the Journey and Made with Love and Abbondanza.
My work involves 3 basic things:
1. Being the best version of myself
This involves working on myself, mind, body and spirit. I work on my mind through personal development. Reading books and audibles, listening to podcasts, videos and attending seminars. Having the right mindset is vital to being my best. The body consists of nutrition and exercise. We all know this is tough but it is fed by having the right mindset and helps to provide clarity, discipline, and character that also improves mindset. My spirit is developed through my faith. Having a close, personal relationship with Jesus is the only way my spirit can survive. There are many ways that I nourish my spirit but the basics are prayer, meditating on HIs Word and the Sacraments.
2. Sharing my journey with others
This life I live was not just meant for me. It’s my responsibility to share it with others because its too valuable and life changing to keep to myself. In living my life out loud I can be an example, a beacon, and motivation for others who follow my journey. This has a two fold effect. it helps to keep me accountable to my journey and shows others that it is possible for them. If I can do this, you can too. My sharing is authentic. I don’t sugar coat any of it. Those who follow me see my successes and failures. My good days and bad. It’s real life. I offer a refreshing view into what it takes to transform your life. It’s not easy, but what is? This is life and I have every intention to live it fully and freely with love and abbondanza tempered with balance and moderation. And like everyone I get off track, and when I do, I accept it, own it, brush it off, learn what I can from it and get right back on, I don’t give up, give into the excuses and pitfalls that once held me back because I have learned a better way. And I share that way. Because mindset is such a critical part of maintaining and sustaining long term success, personal development, positivity and ways to improve our mindset is always part of our online success groups.
3. Helping others who want to be the best version of themselves, have more financial freedom and freedom of time.
This platform has made a difference in my life and has opened the door to so much more. I feel obligated to share it and mentor others who want to make a difference in their own life and the lives of the people they serve. It’s an amazing platform to earn income full time or part time simply by sharing with others that which has helped to transform your own life. It can also be the path to creating a life by design, living your dream, paying down bills, paying off credit cards, college, traveling, expenses, savings, retirement or additional income. But as simple as it sounds, it requires hard work, We have to continue to work on ourselves, be coachable, resourceful, and consistent in taking daily actions to be able to continue to inspire others. Just like many other things in life, you get out what you are willing to put into this. Showing up, every day is not easy. Life gets in the way all the time but when you have a purpose and passion to drive it, a business that makes a difference in the lives of those you serve, you show up, find a way and make it work. That is what my work is really all about, helping to empower others to identify the things that they want to work on, find their purpose and the fuel to light their passion, provide a supportive environment and community and training so that with purpose and intentional daily actions they can work towards being the best version of themselves and living the life they choose to live.
Some of the things I hear a lot from people that reach out to me or that I run into that follow my journey is that they love that I share “real life” and not the highlight reel. I would love to say that I have lost all the weight that I wanted to in these three years that I have been on this journey. I can’t, I have lost and maintained and then gone up a couple of pounds and gone right back down and then lost some more and maintained. It’s been and will continue to be a journey because this is life. And also, because it’s not about the scale for me, but how confident I feel in my skin, how strong, fit and flexible my body is becoming. They like that I am consistent, that I have stayed the course, remain accountable and that I continue to inspire and motivate and they continue to see a transformation.
They also like that I share those times when the last thing I want to do is get out of bed and dive into my personal development or my workout which if you follow me know is not my jam. But that I do it anyway and that is what inspires them to throw back the covers, get to the gym or get in some reading that day. There is also no way to skp doing the things that you need to do to move your business forward if you want to achieve any level of success towards your goals, it takes sacrifice now to enjoy the benefits later, embracing the challenges when you want to run the other way, maintaining a positive mindset and setting measurable goals. Anyone who works with me knows that I’m in the trenches and doing or have done the things I am asking of them.
And because I am a self-proclaimed foodie and know my way well around a kitchen the THRIVERS in my tribe can always be assured of recipes, tips and ideas on food planning and meal prep. My faith and belief in a God of love and how it helps me on my journey is also something that I share openly and freely and that resonates with a lot of people who are on a faith or spiritual journey themselves.
I asked my husband what sets me apart and he said “your big heart and that sometimes you care about others more than they care about themselves”
You know he may be right.
To me love and kindness to one another are what makes the world go round, the glass is always half full and I acknowledge that it’s half empty too. And that either way I’m always going to find a way to bring Joy in the Journey.
And I’m always going to share it for that ONE person that may need me to believe in them before they can believe in themselves.
Mel Robbins has a quote I love ” You have been assigned this mountain so that you can show others it can be moved” yes indeed I have and I will keep sharing and showing!
Were there people and/or experiences you had in your childhood that you feel laid the foundation for your success?
I come from a family of entrepreneurs who worked hard and taught me a strong work ethic that has been of wonderful benefit to my employers for the better part of 36 years. The last 25 years with my current employer.
Before starting my journey, I had no intentions of retiring from my corporate position for many many years to come. But this opportunity now makes an early retirement possible. One which will allow me to follow my purpose and my passion working from home, setting my own hours and having the freedom of time to do things that are important to me and my family that I am unable to do in my current corporate position.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.lindasousa.com/
- Email: joyinthejourneyls@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lindajoyinthejourney
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lindasousa.joyinthejourney/
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