Cultivating Confidence
Finding that sustainable goodness starts on the inside.
Reading time: 2 minutes / 454 words
Leilani Mañulu, spiritual badass and author, is wearing Otito’s Purpose Piece: Madagascar Rose Quartz bracelet. A portion of all Rose Quartz bracelet proceeds goes to organizations that support kids in the adoption and foster care constellation.
“The most beautiful thing you can wear is confidence.” — Blake Lively
Feeling good starts from the inside. Asking yourself who you are and what you stand for are important questions to consider, especially when you find yourself at a personal or professional crossroad like I did last year.
Before starting Otito, I didn’t truly appreciate what starting a business from the ground up would look like! Sure, I underestimated the time and costs required, but what really threw me off was how much I got in my own way. Otito’s brand purpose is to amplify the work of talented creatives and provide them with a global platform to showcase their craft. By serving as a bridge between diverse communities around the world, we strive to promote cultural awareness and inspire meaningful dialogue. This tall order required that I authentically connect with people and talk about my company to drive awareness and elevate our artisan and creative partners. Plain and simple, once I got started, I quicky realized that I was intimidated by putting myself out there. After decades and layers of self-doubt balled up as insecurities, to make this vision work…I had to do the work on me.
Releasing the fear
When I met spiritual badass and author, Leilani Mañulu, I received a gift. Leilani offered kind and patient perspectives to my painful and self-deprecating thoughts. She was the perfect guide to work through the stench and stink to help me dig deep enough to meet the 13-year-old me. The confident, carefree beauty she was, wise beyond her years, who quietly endured the pain of simply existing. That was the last version of me who didn’t give a shit, until I did. Maybe that’s when life started “life’ing” and the insecurities (plural) started to creep in and pile up as the years passed.
I’ve learned to be grateful for the brave, resilient (and at times messy) me who took care of us. But it took years of intentional self-work before I was able to release the fear, insecurity, anxiety and lies I routinely told myself about my capabilities and creativity. My work with Leilani revealed how much I love that little girl and how deeply grateful and proud I am of her – it’s because of her strength, decisions, and tenacity that we’re here today.
Saying goodbye
Through my work with Leilani, I realized the time had come to let that old version of me go. With a calm, confident whisper I told her “It’s okay. We are okay.” And then, almost immediately, she faded peacefully away. She was gone. It was as if she had been waiting for this moment, knowing it would come. Waiting to be released, wise beyond her years…
Although she disappeared that day, I have felt her relocate into my heart space. But a different version of her, powering me forward as she always has, and operating under a new agreement to speak up, stay calm, be confident and vibrate at a higher energy, with intention, in constant exploration of joy, wonderment and belief that the life we imagine is available to us — it’s our birthright. I move forward now, confident in who I am, what I’ve endured and where I am going. And I wish the same for you.
More about Leilani Mañulu
Leilani is a spiritual badass making sense of the unseen. She is a shaman, Earth angel, spiritual philosopher, and divine channel, guiding intuitives to reconnect with their divine gifts in service of living into their soul’s purpose. She is the author of Paradox of the Water Bearer, which recounts the story of her spiritual awakening, and the host of “The Intuitive Activist” podcast. Leilani is an interpreter of spiritual messages and amplifier of divine energy, aiming to bring more hope, joy, and balance to our human collective.
Resources
- Work with Leilani: Sign up for the Earth Angel Activation Workshop (3/30/23 @12p PST) and discover other ways to work with her here.
- Book details: Purchase your copy of Paradox of the Water Bearer here.
- Connect with Leilani: On her website www.shamanleilani.com and on Instagram: @shamanleilani.
In the cover photo: Leilani is wearing Otito’s Purpose Piece: Madagascar Rose Quartz bracelet. A portion of all Rose Quartz bracelet proceeds goes to organizations that support kids in the adoption and foster care constellation. Purchase this purpose piece here.