Have you ever felt that you were destined to do bigger things? Amalia shares her personal story of how she overcome fear and left her banking career and choose to follow love for her purpose!
I choose to believe there was always a voice inside of me, telling me that I could do more than just the usual path which Romanian society was dictating: finish a university degree in economics, have a nice job in a bank, get married and have kids. And there is nothing wrong with this path; I just knew it wasn’t for me.
Being a member of the International Student Organization AIESEC gave me a taste for traveling and the realization of my potential in working with people and not with numbers.
In March 2008 I came to Portugal for a six month marketing & consulting traineeship. I loved the experience, the people, the places, the food and again, that voice was telling me to stay longer. It’s like it was written in the stars for me to stay longer here, and even my name, Amalia, is a very traditional Portuguese name. After six years, I still love my experience in this garden next to the Atlantic Ocean.
January 2011 found me moving to my 3rd city in Portugal, Lisbon, unemployed after two different jobs with economic and financial background, having a broken relationship with my father, in a long distance relationship with my boyfriend at that time, and very confused about what to do with my life.
But at the same time, that year was one of the biggest turning points in my life:
- I reconnected with AIESEC in Portugal, participating in all of their conferences
- I was taking the opportunities of any personal development event
- I made one of my dreams come true and went to India for a three month internship
- I learned about meditation, the power of now, astrology, reincarnation, numerology and reiki
- I showed myself as never before, made friends from all over the world and integrated into a new culture
- I gave up smoking and started to pay more attention to this great tool that we all have: the body
- I reconnected with my father
- I took a coaching course which showed me what I want to do next
- And, the cherry on top of the cake, I realized that Love is the answer to everything.
And as life works in cycles, the beginning of the new year found me in one of the darkest places in my life. The realization of Love as the supreme power came with the internal conflict of not loving myself, therefore how could other people love me, with seeing a three-year relationship coming to an end, and with the big question of “How can I make a living with what I love doing?”
I did not have the energy to get out of bed, I was trapped in my mind and didn’t know how to start making money or how to finish a relationship that was not serving any of us, and ultimately I did now know how to start loving myself.
But what I knew was that LOVE is the answer to everything. So I forced myself to get out of bed in the morning, look at myself in the mirror, and loudly tell to myself: “Amalia, I love you” “Amo-te” “Te iubesc!” Every day, over and over again, until love started to grow inside of me, and I felt how I was gaining confidence and respect for myself. I knew that I deserved to be loved as I am and I felt that I was worth it and that I was enough!
In March 2012 I finished the relationship with my boyfriend on good terms. I had my first two paying coaching clients, I ran a half marathon, and I completely loved myself.
Shortly after, the man of my life found me and I was ready to receive all his love with an open heart and to give back as never before.
Almost two wonderful years have passed since then. I live now in a great place that I call Fairyland, surrounded by fresh air, nature and a wonderful Portuguese family. I have travelled to new countries and met amazing people who changed my life. I did around 1000 hours of coaching with more than 100 people from more than 20 countries.
I constantly practice gratitude, meditation, yoga, biodanza, jogging and cut the red meat from my eating habits. I am looking forward to every new experience and opportunity to learn and serve others.
My next step is to have my own retreat only for women, and based on my experience, I want to address issues like:
- Self-forgiveness, self-acceptance and self-love
- Giving and receiving in relationships
- Sexuality and the power of orgasm as a force of creation
- Living our lives from our body: alimentation, movement and posture
- Femininity and womanhood
With all of this, I want to serve myself and others to embrace their true Woman.
And when it comes to the paradox of love, I know that it is completely integrated and that my next step is to live my life from a place of love. I know that we all are love, and I want to BE LOVE.
Author Bio: Amalia Ghiban, Co-Counder of Beautiful Individuals
I consider myself a global citizen. Born and raised on the shores of the Danube in Romania I am now hosted by the power of the Atlantic in Portugal. I have tried most of the areas that my economic background recommended me for: banking, project management, marketing and finance, but my passion for people was not being expressed in any of them. Coaching came to give a name to what I was already doing but without knowing it, and it freed me from the system, where I was not fitting. Since I took this path, I am constantly designing my life and myself along with it. I am expressing my passion for people and use it as a catalyser and I am making this world a better place with each step I take. I am a believer in the energy of love as the driver for everything that I do.
