My name is Laura Lopez
And I’m just a girl who decided not to give up
I see all my challenges as lessons and necessary steps
I was born in Malaga, south of Spain, and my life truly changed when I decided to leave the comfort of my own home and culture to learn English.
Since then, I have gone from living in a charming town in the south of England to learning how to speak with my hands in Italy, to have a taste of the American dream, to being delighted by the kindest of New Zealanders and astonished by the wildlife of Australia.
But what has shaped me the most as a person and as a coach wasn’t found in any of the countries I have lived in, but in the challenges that I have faced and overcame along my journey.
In 2019, my life was shaken by a series of unfortunate events that made me feel like I had two options, fall into a dark hole of pity and sadness that would lead me to an only destination, depression, or do what I needed the most, heal and work on myself to TRANSFORM my life.
Growing up, I knew my environment couldn't give me what I needed
There was a LOT of family drama during my childhood, and I lived in a neighbourhood where sitting at a park for hours while using drugs was on many people’s daily agenda. The other many worked very hard to have a humble life.
Early in my teenage days, I made the conscious decision that I didn’t want my future to look anything like any of the people that surrounded me, and I craved exploring out of my bubble.
I knew there was more to life
I became independent at the age of 17 and moved to a completely different neighbourhood, a touristy one by the beach, which inspired me to learn English.
I moved to England at the age of 20. There, I struggled with many insecurities that I had built growing up.
I didn’t feel smart enough or strong enough, to adapt and build a life in a new culture that spoke a new language that I hadn't learned yet. But going back to my waitressing job back in Spain, working over 70 hours a week for 3 euros an hour, didn’t appeal to me at all, so I stayed and worked through the language barrier and built a new life.
That’s when my personal growth journey really started with the decision to push through the challenges.
I felt empowered by all the challenges I was overcoming…
I found a job without speaking the language, I got a place to live and eventually made some friends, this made me realise I was capable of more than I thought.
Which made me push the biggest limiting belief that I have been carrying, “I am not smart enough” and started studying at university in England. Degree in hand and ready to keep challenging my comfort zone, I started life from scratch and learned one of my favourite languages in Italy before heading to my forever dream home, California.
Where after working for what I thought was my dream job, event planner, in my dream home, I felt more lost than I ever felt in my waitressing days. I didn’t feel fulfilled doing what I was doing, and I started to question if the American dream that idealised for years was worth pursuing.
Shortly after, I received some unexpected news from my doctor…
“Rare saliva cancer” he said.
Two surgeries later and many medical exams, I was cancer free and I promised myself to live a full life, whatever that looks like for me.
I left California, travelled America and love took me to New Zealand but ended being enchanted by its neighbor country, Australia.
Once again, I started building a life from scratch, but now grateful for everyday I have to live and the opportunities that my new country was offering me.
I had a management role that I didn’t dislike in an industry I loved, Tourism, I was living in one of my favorite cities in the world, I had a partner waiting for me home and friends to share laughs.
Three years of building a new life in Australia before my breaking point.
I was hit by a wave of unfortunate events.
My visa to stay in Australia got rejected and I received a 30-day notice to leave the country. Instantly, I lost the life I had built in Australia, I lost my job, my recently leased apartment, my friends and I had to say goodbye to my partner at the time not knowing when I will see him. It was a lot to take on but I was looking for the opportunity within the challenge so I decided to go to Sri Lanka to volunteer with animals until I could find my way back to Australia but then something else happened… My mum passed away and I was hit by the heartbreaking news.
I was at a point where I had nothing to grab on, I felt like I had nothing but myself. After spending in Spain the most painful weeks of mylife organising the funeral and all the paperwork that the passing of a family member involves, I still went to Sri Lanka. There, I realised I was running away from my feelings, keeping myself busy and social so I could numb my feelings. So I stopped running and started facing them…
I will not spend another minute ignoring my feelings
I spent close to a month in north Bali by myself, journaling, meditating and disconnecting from my phone to fully be present and face what I was most afraid of, my fears.
In this period I had a lot of breakthroughs and one of them was, I was fully responsible for my own happiness and so far I unconsciously expected my partner, job, home to make me fulfilled.
I was hungry for a purpose, so I made the conscious decision to find what I wanted to do during this chaotic period.
When I found my way to return to Australia, I wasn’t allowed to work until my new visa came into effect, COVID-19 hit just when I was legally able to work, a forced “holiday” gave me once the opportunity to focus on healing and finding clarity on my purpose.
The answer was using my unique talents to serve others
I’ve always been a natural people’s person and an empathetic leader at work, and my skills expanded in my previous role managing a team of 30 people, so I used my professional and life experiences and my passion to help others with things that I once struggled to create and a business around it.
My online community started growing once I started sharing my past struggles and how I overcame them, and getting my coaching certification allowed me to go deeper in my past wounds and heal many.
Even though, I was terrified of putting myself out there and starting my own business.
I knew in my heart, my mission was bigger than my fears.
I strengthen my existing skills and used them to help a mission that I cared about, help expats and immigrants
Once I started coaching others, I saw one common problem between all of them, they weren’t passionate about what they were doing and that affected their whole life.
What if I help others find their purpose, just like I did?
When I made the decision to specialise in what I knew best and go ALL IN on myself and helping others, life began working in my favour.
Within a WEEK of launching my coaching program, I made close to $10,000 with a location-independent business that allowed me to work from anywhere, set my own schedule, and work with clients I loved. More than that, I was helping others connect with their own voice and find their meaning in life so they could also help others and change the world in their own way, the domino effect.
When I gained 100% clarity on my purpose, I tapped into the greatness INSIDE ME and built a business around it, I started making my dreams a reality:
✓ Quit my day job to work full time for myself.
✓ Became location and financially independent.
✓ Grew my online community.
✓ I was personally invited to share my story in podcasts, blogs and online magazines.
✓ I started collaborating with leaders in the expat and personal development network.
MOST IMPORTANTLY, KNOWING MY PURPOSE HAS GIVEN ME A DIRECTION, A MISSION THAT IMPACTS OTHERS. And that's priceless.
We are all unique and have something different to offer the world, and that’s our greatness. Why not build a life around what you love and live with meaning? Ask yourself...
✓ Do I feel fulfilled doing what I do?
✓ Is this what I want to keep doing?
✓Am I proud of the life I’m building?
✓ If not ... what am I going to do about it?
Your new life starts when you make the decision that you want to change
Take the first step…
Are you ready
…to build a fulfilling life?
