Life & Work with Marie Hernandez of Charleston

Today we’d like to introduce you to Marie Hernandez.

Hi Marie, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
Travel healed me. Unexpected and huge changes were thrust on me suddenly and unexpectedly. Have you seen the movie “Meet Joe Black”? In the first 1/2 hour, Brad Pitt meets the girl in the diner. They part ways; he goes to cross the street, and BAM, a car wipes him out! That’s how quickly and violently my life changed! One day I was planning a trip to the Maldives to spend a week being wined and dined by sponsors, and the next, I was staring into the abyss of an unknown and uncertain future. Two months before, I had my 50th birthday. I was on a natural high. I started my own business, got lots of notoriety for it, and was interviewed by the travel editor of CBS, Peter Greenberg, who flew out to Singapore to interview in person and was married to who I thought was the love of my life. At first, the thought of starting my life over, at 50, in a way I hadn’t planned, was terrifying. I couldn’t stop asking myself, “Why was this happening to me? What had I done to deserve this? What hadn’t I done?” Typical thoughts of resentment, anger, feelings of failure, loss, and betrayal overwhelmed me. I felt suffocated by it all. I curled up, pulled the covers over my head, and didn’t want to face reality. If I didn’t acknowledge it, it wasn’t real. If I stayed in bed long enough, with the curtains drawn, and ignored the issue, it would go away, and things would be as they were. The pain and embarrassment were more than I could bear, and I decided that after all the failure as a mother, wife (after all, this was my third marriage), friend, daughter, and human, I couldn’t go on. I poured the contents of a bottle of sleeping pills into I had grabbed a glass of water, sat on the edge of my bed, and cried. I cried for my children. I cried for the lost opportunities. I cried for all the people I had let down. I cried for myself. As I stared down at what I thought was the answer, I heard a voice. Now, I know what you’re thinking. This sounds like a movie, and I guess it does. but this voice was as real as yours and as loud as if someone were sitting next to me. I looked over to see if someone had come into the room without me noticing. The voice said, “You’re not done.” I’ll be honest. I was frightened. First by the pure “realness” of the voice and then by what it said. I got up, flushed the pills, climbed back into my bed, and cried nonstop until I fell asleep. After two months of barely doing more than sleeping and watching mindless television, with puffy eyes and a face that looked like I’d been going a round with Mike Tyson. I decided that this way of dealing with life wouldn’t get me the answers I wanted or make my problems disappear. I had no choice but to deal with it all, and as hard as it was, I did what I could to cope. I found my way back to the U.S. and spent some months going between my family. I had given up my home, so they were my support system in those early days. I read many self-help books, watched hours of Tony Robbins videos, took several of Gabriel Bernstein’s online courses, and spent weeks with a wonderful life coach. I skipped a year and a half and did what I needed to embark on a healing journey. Having gone from my childhood home to my marriage home and back to family, I’d never been alone. So, I knew I needed to spend some time just myself. After all – if I couldn’t stand to be alone with myself, how could I expect others to? For reasons I still don’t understand, my heart was drawn to Italy – specifically Tuscany. After a bit of back and forth with different Airbnb owners, I sat outside a beautiful mountain top villa in a small village called Buti. I spent three months wandering along tiered olive orchards, getting lost in small local villages, and drinking gallons of delicious wine (I’d never enjoyed wine before, and now I can’t live without a good Italian red!). I enjoyed morning cappuccinos with sweet pastries, and most importantly, I learned to love myself. I did the hard work I needed to feel whole again, but I attribute much of my healing to my traveling in Italy. A country’s culture, people, traditions, and cuisine can help mend your soul. Because these people didn’t know me or my past, I felt clean the slate, and I could write a new story, create a new, true, healed me – and I did. I got back to who I was. I did things I loved to do. I felt alive, charged, and creative. Am I finished discovering who I am and what I want? hell no! But the journey is the best part. Discovering what I want and doing what I want, where I want, and with whom I want is an exciting place to be. I’ve forgiven those who’ve hurt me and realize that, although no longer a part of my life, I have to be thankful for my experiences with them because it’s led me to this place, this time, this me. I’ve mended relationships with family and friends in a way that I wouldn’t have been able to do had I not learned what I have. I’ve accepted a new, more open way of seeing the world so that I don’t judge or care if I’m judged. I just let things be. I’ve found joy in places I never thought I could, and with people, I never thought I could. I’ve discovered things about myself that I didn’t know, and I’ve reached a level of self-awareness and love that I didn’t know was possible. I am me but better! Along the way, I’ve drawn to myself the most amazing people and experiences. I continue to work on myself and celebrate what I’ve learned about myself. I’m pretty damn great! The best thing about this healing journey is that I’m excited about the rest of it! I’m curious about who I will become and meet, and I know that I’m the creator of my life every minute, regardless of what happens. I’m the one who determines my happiness. I’ve also accepted and embraced the fact that, although my heart was broken and scarred, I’ll love again when the time is right. He’s out there somewhere manifesting me. The greatest passion in my life is that I continue to inspire other women who are faced with sorrow, pain, and uncertainty to reach within and find their power. I’m 56 and find great joy in the fact that I’ve helped so many people overcome their pain and realize their passions. The business and life I’ve created continue to grow and surprise me! I continue to travel. I continue to return to my heart home, Tuscany, and one day will call it home permanently. I’m pretty freaking excited and hope that you, the reader, follow along with me. And if you find some inspiration in my story and journey, I’m thrilled to piece about that and will consider my life successful! And, if you decide to work with me – well damn, we’ll create magic together! Dream big, reach for it all, but most importantly, LOVE yourself and all your imperfections. It’s the cracks that let the light in.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a smooth road?
Sixteen cents; that’s all I had in my bank account one morning 7 years ago. I couldn’t understand how I’d gotten here. I had overcome some devastating kicks to the gut, but I’d risen past it. I’d become an entrepreneur 6 years before, been to 53 countries on sponsorship, and created an awesome course teaching others how to do the same success but still, here I was, broke and depressed. What was I doing wrong? Why couldn’t I have the success I so badly wanted?

I knew I had the skills. I knew I had the determination. I spent 10 to 12 hours every day working on my dream. What the hell is wrong with me? On my knees, praying to my Creator for help, it suddenly hit me – I was missing one of the most important elements of success. (Don’t you just love the subtle smacks the Universe gives you?!)

BELIEVE. I didn’t believe I deserved it. I didn’t believe I could achieve success. I didn’t believe I should or could invest in myself. Something else occurred to me. I was trying to do it all alone – of course. I was – why should I pay someone to help me with what I already knew?! At that moment, I checked myself because it was clear I was wrecking myself! Why struggle? Why agonize over the how? Why do the work when someone else has already done it and could guide me? So that’s what I did. I hired a series of coaches and one that put me over the top, got my shit together, and realized I deserved it all! And you know what. I got everything was hoping for! I live life my way (sing it, Elvis!) I work and live wherever I want (that Tuscan villa is on the horizon!) And my bank account has lots more zeros attached to that number 16 (lots!)

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I help adventurous coaches travel more without spending a dime by using their engaged audience as a market for luxury brands to sponsor travel!

We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
People are resourceful, and nothing will stop them when they want something badly enough. We all can overcome the unexpected, and we can all work from anywhere!

Pricing:

• 1998.00

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.mariehernandezcoaching.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seriouslytravel/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarieHernandezO/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/SeriouslyTravel