January 3, 2025 • 27 mins
Join Gia as she sits down with the incredible Marina Tolentino, a multi-talented realtor, podcast host, mentor, and devoted mother based in Hawaii. In this episode, Marina shares her remarkable journey from wedding planner to serial entrepreneur, revealing the secrets to breaking free from chronic overwhelm and embracing a life of authentic confidence.
As we approach the new year, Gia and Marina dive deep into the world of New Year's resolutions and goal setting. They discuss the importance of recognizing the seasons of life, the power of delegation, and the necessity of self-reflection. Marina offers invaluable insights on how to set attainable goals, build healthy habits, and foster meaningful relationships, all while giving yourself grace and permission to grow.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Welcome to Your Future Starts Now, the go-to podcast for
extraordinary women who are ready to step into their next chapter with
authentic confidence. I'm your host, Gia Lacqua empowerment coach,
motivational speaker, children's book author, and girl mom. Whether
you're a corporate powerhouse or an entrepreneur, this show is
designed for you. Your Future Starts Now is more than
(00:20):
just a podcast. It's a movement, a movement towards rewriting
the rules of success for high-achieving women. Are you ready
to get unstuck and step into your next chapter? If
so, you are exactly where you need to be. Your future starts
Welcome to Your Future Starts Now. I'm your host, Gia Lacqua. Thanks for tuning
(00:41):
in. Today, I'm so excited to welcome Marina Tolentino to
the show. Marina is a realtor based in Hawaii. She's
also a podcast host, mentor, and an amazing mother. She
runs three businesses. She invests in real estate and homeschools, so
she knows firsthand that working smarter and not harder is the
key to breaking the cycle of chronic overwhelm. Marina
(01:02):
is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to all things motherhood, entrepreneurship,
business mentorship. Marina, welcome to the show. So happy
to have you here today. Yes, I'm so glad to be here. It's going to be fun. Excited
to talk. Absolutely. So I'm sure you have
a lot of backstories, but tell us a little bit about your backstory and what led you
to where you are today. Yeah. Well, the cliff notes version is
(01:23):
I was a wedding planner for 10 years. So I did that right after I got my,
I had my own wedding and I was like, Ooh, this is a fun career. Um, so I did that
all over California and then moved to Hawaii in 2016, which
is my husband's home of record. So we had just left the coast guard. We're coming
back home, um, brought the wedding planning business to Hawaii, but that started
the next business in the next business. So ended up starting a furniture rental
company that evolved into a staging company. Um, we ended
(01:46):
up starting a honey company cause that was like family business. They were just giving
away honey for free. And we're like, And then
fast forward, COVID hits and we realized really quickly we are not
going to have weddings and events for quite some time. I had brides
in Australia, New Zealand demanding deposits back that we'd already used that
money for other things. So it was like a crazy time. But just
(02:07):
thought, hey, I might as well just get my real estate license. I'm already helping sellers
list their homes for sale and decorate them. I have this skill set with sales. So
did that very quickly with a five-year-old and a newborn at the time.
So I had my second one January 2020. And
by June, I was licensed up and running and had a great first two years.
Of course, it was like drinking from a fire hose during the real estate time at that
(02:28):
time. It experienced burnout for the first time in my career
ever in those first two years. And then
just realized, like, what is this? Is this a bait and switch? Like, basically,
in real estate, you only eat what you kill, right? And so I just realized This
is more like a job. This is not a business. And so very quickly
by year two, got my first assistant and changed my
(02:49):
life forever. Once I realized I could delegate like half of my workplace, I
was like, oh, this is where the margin is. This is how the successful people
are doing it. This is how they have seven streams of income. It's because they're
not doing it all. So just changed my life completely. And
then as of this last year in twenty twenty four, I'm now homeschooling both kids. So
preschool and fourth grade. But I'm loving it. I'm loving the
(03:09):
freedom and flexibility that we have. I love my work-life balance
right now in this season. And I'll talk about seasons probably later in this
conversation. But right now it's really, it feels good.
And so I'm just embracing the feel good season that we're in. That's
incredible. What an amazing story. And
so you're a serial entrepreneur. and clearly
(03:29):
have a lot of experience with pivoting and sort of reinvention. So
there's so much there to tap into. Today, we
are going to talk about we thought it would be
appropriate since we are approaching the end of the year, we thought it would be
good to talk about New Year's resolutions and goal
setting and would love your perspective for
(03:50):
our listeners on what that could look like for them.
First, I mean, before we pivot to that, though, I would
love to know based on your experience, because our audience is, you know, essentially
the high-achieving woman, right, who's doing it all, managing it all. And
you mentioned outsourcing and delegating some of your work and how that was sort of
life-changing for you. Are there any other tips,
(04:13):
tools, pieces of advice you would offer for people who feel stuck
in that cycle, right? Because looking at you, it's like, wow, she's figured it
out, right? She's figured out the mythical quote-unquote balance
of, you know, having it all, doing it all. So
curious what, you know, what advice you would have for others who are
listening. I think first thing that comes to mind is just accepting and
(04:34):
recognizing the season that you're in, right? Because it's not always cruise mode.
That's impossible. Life doesn't work that way. You're going to have ups and downs. And
then if you're in the beginning of a business, it is really, really hard to feel balanced because
you do have to put in 150% to move the needle. And a
lot of times in the beginning too, money's tight. We don't have that extra funds to
delegate and hire out and take things off of our plate. You do have to do it all.
(04:56):
But I also think in a sense, as a business owner, you should be a master of all
skills so that you can train the next people. I feel like when you're a
business owner and you can't, you know, do the accounting and you don't know what's happening, there's a
little bit of margin there that's like, are we sure? But just recognizing
the season that you're in so that you can get to the next one and have that with
clarity and that vision and goal to get to. Because if we're just
in survival mode constantly in reactivity, like it's so stressful
(05:19):
and we never feel in control. which then has us doing more and more and
more because we're not feeling in control. And so it just is like this downward spiral. So
recognizing season, getting very clear on where you want to go,
and then recognizing, like, basically, you have to build a business to
the point that you have too much business to then be able to do the next
step. And I think a lot of us are at that 75% where it's
(05:40):
going, it's going, but it's not quite overflow yet. And once
you hit that peak, you're going to know it because you're not going to be able to respond to people in time. That's
your sign to be like, okay, now I have the availability and
funds to delegate at least 25% off my plate to
start with a goal to delegate more in the future. But it takes time.
I think patience and time. So often we think we're behind
(06:00):
or that it's not going fast enough. Give yourself two years to
just fail forward and give it your all before you even realize if
it's a valid business or not. Because sometimes they just don't work too. Yeah,
that's such great advice. And it is we always feel like we have to be perfect 100% all
the time, right? And that's not, that's not reality. No,
there's so many failures that are not on social media. I
(06:23):
love that. Okay, so on to our topic for the day, New Year's
resolutions and goal setting, you know, resolutions has
such a connotation. And And, you know, personally, I think
I've stopped making resolutions because I got so sick of setting them
and then not following through with them. And so, you know, for
some people, it can be a little bit
(06:44):
of a dirty word. So tell
us, what is your take on New Year's resolutions? So
I think I'm in the same boat as you. Something happens as we age where we realize after
15, 20 years of trying to do this resolution thing that it's a bunch of BS. But
I do think it's a great natural reminder with the calendar to
kind of reset. And it doesn't mean we're going to go hard and do 75 hard
(07:05):
and do all these crazy things, but it's just like, again, taking inventory of
where you are. And then I think giving us grace and permission to
just improve ourselves in one area or two. Again, we're not going to
extremes, but like, if I could change anything or what would
make me feel a little bit healthier, a little bit better about my life? How would I
just feel better about body acceptance? It doesn't mean weight loss. I
think always we think like resolutions and weight loss. No, it could be
(07:29):
like, I'm not going to have screen time in the morning the first hour and before I
go to bed for the last hour. That's a great way to reset for the new year
and just clear up mental space. So just giving yourself
grace and permission to improve your life if you're not happy. Or
I know for a lot of us who are those type A overachievers, we want the
checklist. You can make a checklist if you really want to, but don't let
(07:49):
it consume you. Don't obsess about it because it's just not going to be realistic
or stick. So I think I just saw there's something
about like a 66 day habit thing that women are doing right now where it's
more like a soft goal. Nothing is hard. Nothing is firm. If you miss
a day, you just pick up again. You don't start over. And I love that approach to
just a reset for the year. Yeah, that makes a
(08:10):
lot of sense. And I think for many of us, like you said, the high achieving women,
the type A, you know, we set these lofty goals that
sound really great, but then we become very quickly overwhelmed
and discouraged, right? Whether it's lose 20 pounds or
buy a new house or get a new job or start my own business. Right.
And then it becomes insurmountable and life happens. Right. And
(08:32):
then it sort of falls to the wayside. So I love what you said about, you know, maybe their
micro goals, maybe their recent moments, maybe their smaller opportunities
to incorporate wellness habits into
your life. You know, the screen time, I'm glad you brought that up,
actually. So the one hour I know they say before you go to bed, you're not supposed to be on
your screen. And then when you wake up, that for
(08:53):
a lot of us is a really hard habit to break. So
even though that seems like a really small goal, it could be really difficult
for some of us. Yeah. What would you say, you know, when
we're trying to implement some of those habit changes that can be really difficult? Well,
some of us, we just need to go to bed earlier anyways and wake up early. So
that's a good habit. You don't need to be checking your phone at six if you're up at
(09:14):
five. Business doesn't start for me at that time. Business starts at
nine. And so if I can just give myself again margin in
the morning, I think what it is, is use an actual alarm
clock, not your phone, because that's the temptation right there. They
actually sell block boxes for your phone, I think, on Amazon, so
you could set a timer for when you're able to open it. Because truly,
(09:35):
nothing is usually urgent in those hours. Past 10 o'clock
at night and before 6, what is going on in your business that's going
to be urgent, hair on fire? Not a lie. Um, and then most other
ways they can call your spouse if they really need to, like set up a backup system. But,
um, for the most part, it's just recognizing that is such sacred time for
your brain, you know? And so we always talk about habit stacking our
(09:55):
mornings where we're having alone time. And obviously for young moms, that
is a challenging season. I've worked through this constantly and it's
always like, oh, it's not working. Let's try it again. Communicating with your
spouse, I'm going to have five minutes to myself. Is that okay? I'll
just be in the other room and can you handle breakfast or something? Or
just making that time other in the day if he's not available in the mornings, vice versa. But
(10:17):
I love the mornings to do my devotionals, to read a personal development
book of some kind, at least 10 pages. And just
recognizing, again, the day will continue when I pick up the phone, but
I don't need to do it that first hour. So often we think it's urgent and
we have that. almost like that addiction to check our
social media, to be like, am I going to get a dopamine hit? Like all these things. And
(10:38):
going to bed, I love the wind down routine where I'm like literally
cleaning my room, making it like a hotel, folding it down before the shower,
turning on the lamps and reading, like really, really
reading. I just got Tim Tebow's wife's book. I
just started it and I'm so excited to dive deeper into it. But stuff like
that, it's like, it's a fun book, but it's also going to improve my life. And
(10:58):
I honestly get sleepier when I read instead of watching so many shows.
doing the scroll. So it does become a little bit of like
a selfish, like, ooh, this is for me. This is a self-care moment. And
just make it special. I love that. And it's true. I
mean, the screens tend to be anxiety provoking and
create more stress, right? I find even if I'm at the end of the day trying to read the
(11:19):
news, it's like the most stressful thing I can do for
myself. Yeah. So
I love looking at that as self-care and the habit stacking. And
the other thing you mentioned that's really important is the communication around those boundaries. I
found when my kids were very small and I tried
to take a few minutes to myself, I found that I wasn't really
(11:41):
communicating my needs and setting boundaries
around that space. And so you know, it was interrupted. It
wasn't my own time because I didn't communicate my
needs. And so I think that can be really hard for us. That was more of a mental block
for me because it was hard for me to admit that I needed something
or I needed time for myself. But I think the communication around
(12:03):
that is so critical. And then, you know, trying to hold
firm. Absolutely. Setting the expectations and
not keeping score with your spouse is going to save your marriage a thousand percent. That's
great advice. So when we talk about goal setting, what,
you know, what comes to mind for you? I know you sounds like you've implemented a
lot of really great, you know, healthy habits and self care and wellness.
(12:27):
What would you recommend for people who are thinking about, okay, I need a reset, I
want to set goals for next year, but I want it to be attainable? What
would you say? Well, first it comes with the reflection like we love to do at
the end of the year. So personally, but also financially, health wise,
all of that. So just kind of going through each one of those buckets. So let's start
with ourself and our soul. How is our spiritual life doing? Do we
(12:47):
like our current habit stack? Are we involved in anything in
our community? What does that look like? What would be the ideal version of
that? And kind of ranking it and then just journaling it all out.
And again, this doesn't have to be a worksheet with someone else's template. This
is just you and a pen and paper. And just like literally reflect on
last year, this is how I felt about my spiritual life. I'm liking this, I'm
(13:07):
not liking that. And then what do I want to do to make it better? You know, where do I
feel like I can improve this year? And just pick one tiny little area. We're not going
to become priests in a year, you know, just one little thing. Next
thing is going to be your body, right? And again, not necessarily weight loss unless
that is a big burden on you right now, but I think just feeling good in our
body is so important. So this last year I noticed I
wasn't feeling very good and there were some issues that were popping up hormonally that
(13:30):
I've never experienced before. So hitting age 36, something changed
and I was like, this isn't a good sign. So I decided to get help and asked
the doctor for help. If that's you and you're recognizing like, is
this it? Is this how good it's supposed to be? Are we just settling? Like journal
all that out. Of course, then we have marriage and we have kids and
family and parenting, like journaling all those buckets out. And
(13:51):
then I think on the family side too, relationships, friendships are
so big. We are living in a loneliness epidemic and
it's been more apparent to me than ever and just my friends and seeing
it online. So like do an inventory count. How
many close girlfriends do I have that I could call at one in the morning if
I needed them? Because we probably don't have as many as we used to. And
(14:11):
so just recognizing, is there anyone in my circle that has potential that maybe I
could invest more into this relationship? I just did a
podcast on mine about how many hours it takes to build
a friendship. So 50 hours with a person is just baseline friendship.
It takes over 100 hours to consider them a close friend. So
as busy moms, that seems impossible. You're like, okay, we'll be
(14:32):
friends in 10 years. Is
there ways that we can kind of combine our schedules or our kids doing
activities in the same area? Maybe there's a mom that's like the cool
mom at a group, but I haven't reached out to her yet. Maybe I could do that because we're
already doing similar tasks and activities. Friendship is
a big one for quality of life this next year that I want to work on personally. So
(14:54):
I'm excited about that. And then we can go into a business, right?
So just reflecting income, but also how
much time you're spending on your business. Do you like the amount of time? Um, where
is your business coming from? Just reflecting on that, you know, is it
from one or two primary sources or you kind of spread thin and
it's a, if it sticks to the walls and do that thing, like where
(15:15):
is business coming from? And then I think doubling down on the things
that are working. And that really helps after year two, year three, you
start to see trends in your business. It's hard to do that in the first two years. But
for me, that's social media and YouTube. So now I cut out all other advertising expenses
and I just do those things. And to me, it's like kind of free. I don't pay anybody,
right? I just pay the editors. So just reflecting on that. And
(15:36):
then for me too, this year, I'm really looking at, well, how many deals do
I actually have to do to be successful or in my benchmark,
you know, have a good quality of life. It's not about being the top
producer or the top 10 realtor in my state. It's more like,
okay, this is the quality of life my family needs to feel good, to be able to travel,
to save. Let's just hit that and then the rest is just cream on
(15:57):
top. You know, it gives give yourself so much permission to just do less,
which I think is a huge goal for next year too. And I
think those are the major buckets. Did I miss one that you can think of?
No, I think that is amazing. There's so much there I want
to dig into, but that's super helpful.
I think thinking about it in the categories of life and, you
(16:18):
know, looking at your life holistically in the different facets and like
you said, sort of an inventory or an audit of what's working, what's not
working, what needs to change. You
know, the piece you mentioned that stood out to me, one of the things that stood
out to me is this concept of settling, whereas women, you
know, we're so busy doing and going. Sometimes we don't
(16:41):
realize that in some facet of our life, we are actually settling.
Oh, yeah. And that can show up in many different ways in
a career, in a relationship. It could even happen
with your health. Right. As a parent. And
so I see that all the time in the women that I work with. And
so as we're going through sort of this inventory and this goal
(17:04):
setting, how would you think about or how would you tell people
to think about kind of evaluating where they might be settling
for the status quo? I think most of us probably know already and
we're just in denial. So just first of
all, you're probably exhausted or overwhelmed and maybe one or two
buckets of your life because you just don't have the capacity to address it
(17:25):
in the manner that you want to. And so maybe you're just like defaulting to,
well, my husband's got to handle it because I can't even think about it. Or for
me, like I live with my in-laws, which is a huge blessing. But there are times with
parenting that I'm like, you know what? I don't have like the patience for this right
now. So I'm just going to let her make dinner and I'm just going to go to the other room or something because she's already
in the kitchen. Um, that's not the parent that I want to show up to be. You know, I
(17:45):
want to be present at dinner too, every night if I can. Um, but
there are definitely areas where if I would have planned ahead and if I would have
made a different like action step to get to dinner time, I wouldn't be
worried about dinner at seven 30. It would have been on the table at six. Um, so
just priorities. It's also a reflection of priorities. And again,
seasons, what is the biggest priority in this season? It's okay
(18:05):
to let a couple of things slip, but realizing when the season's over, we're going to get back
on the horse and tie this all up with a bow. Um, I think health and
wellness is one of the first areas we let slip because it does take
a lot of attention and it does take some planning. If
you're just like survival mode, you're just eating whatever's in
front of you. And sometimes you don't even eat and eat until 2 PM in
the day. Like I'm guilty of this, you know, I would have
(18:28):
planned ahead, like meal prepped, maybe meal prep is a great plan.
Or just having protein snacks in the fridge, ready to go can make
So definitely I think just you know what it is and maybe just pick one
or two that you could actually tackle this year and kind of recognize. Again,
communicate with your spouse because he's probably got some too. Yeah, and
the prioritization, I think, is important, too. That's a great point.
(18:51):
One more question for you as it relates to goals and resolutions. So one
thing I have always struggled with and I struggle with this personally and
professionally in my business, I am guilty of chasing
the shiny object, right? Like I am guilty of not being
consistent. So I say I'm going to do something. I do it a couple of times. And
if I don't see immediate results or an immediate benefit,
(19:14):
I am on to the next thing. Right? So how can
we build in, right, building a habit takes, requires
consistency. So I would love to hear from your perspective, how
can we build consistency into our planning? Yes,
so good. And I have definitely learned through this one too, and I'm still guilty of
it at times. So some of it comes from that lack of patience, right?
(19:36):
Because we're like, it's not working. So why are we doing it? Let's just try the next thing.
This other course is going to solve all my problems, right? And then we don't even finish the
course. 100%. I am so guilty of that.
I feel so called out right now. Because
it's not working, it causes insecurity as well, that
I'm not good enough. I'm not doing it the right way. Surely something's wrong with
(19:57):
me. And again, we just go down to this downward spiral and
we're self-sabotaging at this point. And we're also self-sabotaging our wallets
and our bank accounts because we're spending more money than we're supposed to be. So
trust me, from someone who has failed forward way too many times on
this, that just look at what's working, like literally. And
so much of what you're doing, you just haven't done enough of it yet. That's the
(20:18):
problem. And so it's the impatience issue. So
for me, like with social media, you can't expect it to work within one month, it's
just not going to do it. And so so many will like, I'm going to post every single day
for 30 days in a row, and my life will be changed. No, honey, six months,
given six months of every single day, you know, you have to build
trust, you have to build that repeatability with people. So
it's an online relationship when you post. And
(20:41):
so when you realize like, okay, that's the benchmark instead
of 30 days or instead of two weeks, then you have all this grace
and permission to just do your best. That's all I can do. And realizing
a lot of the things that we're trying to control are actually out of our control anyways.
So all you can do is show up as the best version of you, give it your all for that
day at that task or whatever, and then just let the rest go.
(21:03):
Like that's all we can do. And so I feel like so much of business success
isn't about the doing, but it's about the who. So it's
relationships and my business, it's referrals. I just need to be
top of mind. That's all I have to do. So as long as I put all my effort
into being top of mind, I can let the rest go. It's not about doing door
hangers and flyers and all these things in open houses. It's
(21:23):
just when someone thinks of real estate, they think of me. That's all I need to do.
So same with your business and same with 99% of the other businesses.
You know, it's relationships more than anything. So
yes, like courses and shiny objects can help us
scratch the itch and maybe build a skill or two, but it's probably not
going to change your life. So also dropping the bar on that a little bit. Yeah,
(21:44):
it's such a great point. And I think, you know, what did they say? It takes 21 habits to
21 days to build a habit. And yet at the same time, our attention
span is diminishing, right? They're saying we have the attention span of a goldfish at
this point. So maybe it's committing to us
doing something for a certain period of time that you can truly evaluate
whether or not it's been effective rather than be, you
(22:06):
know, fall into the impatience trap. So I love that. I think that's
a great point. I want to add one more thing. Also,
because your mentor has probably tried all the things or they know all
the things too. And so they can save you time and money as well and be like,
okay, if we're looking at buying a course, what's really going to give you the outcome you want?
Not some shiny object syndrome of something else, but like, what
(22:27):
is the tangible result? Maybe you don't even need to buy the course or do the thing because you
might already have the answers within you or know someone who can teach you for free. I
think mentorship is also so powerful because you get to tap into that person's network.
So it's not just yours, but you get to share. So that's a huge tip. Yeah,
great advice. Mentorship, coach, someone who can help hold you accountable and
help show you how, you know, things can be effectively done.
(22:50):
So I love that. Marina, anything else you want to
add in terms of, you know, any advice or
anything you want our listeners to consider changing or doing differently
after listening to today's episode? I think just an extra pouring
of grace and forgiveness and Just acceptance of who
you are today is the version you're supposed to be. You're not supposed to be tomorrow's
(23:11):
version. You're supposed to be today's. So live in the present, accept
the good things, let go of the bad and just keep moving on. We're
so hard on ourselves as women. And so I just wish more of us could be like, it's
okay. The day's going to keep going. The earth's going to spin around another time.
You know, we woke up this morning with breath in our lungs. We're going to have a great day and just
forget the rest. Yeah. So true. Give ourselves
(23:32):
grace. Beautiful. And we talk about success
and redefining success on this show. So I would love to know from your perspective, how
do you define success for yourself and maybe how has that
evolved for you over time? Yeah, totally. So I would say definitely
early 20s. And even up until the last two years previous to this, it
was all about financials. Like I totally had myself on a financial benchmark
(23:54):
that to be successful, I had to make six plus figures x and like, definitely
now with a post COVID economy, like 150 plus is like minimum, bare
minimum. And it's just a crazy world. And so I
totally had to grow through that. And then I hit it. And then I doubled it again. And
I was like, Wait, I'm supposed to be happy now. How come I'm not happy, you know,
and I just had this aha moment of like, Whoa, it's
(24:15):
true what they say money is not the answer. And I figured out
how to be successful with less meaning like, accept that this
is what I need versus what I want. I'm getting really clear on
that. That takes a lot of soul searching and internal wrestling you have to grow through.
No one can just tell you and teach you it in a day. You know, you really kind of
have to grow through it yourself. And then I
(24:35):
think now it's like how I show up every day, how I
feel and how I look and just like the version of me that
is success more than what my achievements are. Who I
am today is successful no matter what money I
make, no matter whatever, you know, the outcome it is. How
do I feel? And do I feel like I'm giving it my all and like the positive, vibrant
(24:55):
person that I am? That's successful. Beautiful. I
love that. And Marina, where can our listeners learn more about you and the work
that you do? Yeah, so I've got a podcast that's new this year. It's called
the Work Like a Mother Podcast. It's been super fun. So definitely jump
into there. Listen to episodes. Very similar topics. We're talking
about mom life, woman's health, all the things to make you a better person. And
(25:15):
just, again, give yourself grace because we're all going through it. There's no
easy motherhood. And then definitely on Instagram, it's
at Marina T. Tolentino underscore. That's going to be the best way to
find me. But would love to connect with anyone if they are looking
for mentorship or they just want inspiration and want to connect and share the
journey together. I'm all about community. That's perfect. I
(25:35):
love that. And I also you mentioned earlier that you're expanding
your repertoire into cooking, I hear. Yeah, so I was sharing
just before this. I'm actually filming for YouTube videos today for
a holiday cooking series on my channel. So if you go to YouTube, search Marina
Tolentino, we're going to have four Hawaiian recipes for the season. But
it'll be a fun experiment, way to switch up the channel. So I love it.
(25:56):
I love it. I'm definitely going to be checking that out. Marina, thank you so
much for being here today, for sharing your insights and your expertise. Yes,
thank you. And of course, you can visit my website at gialacqua.com, reach
out on Instagram at gialacqua. Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and leave
a review. This is Gia signing off with gratitude for your time and energy. Our
mic drops, but the movement continues. Until next time, your next chapter
(26:19):
That concludes another empowering episode of Your Future Starts Now.
Before we wrap up, I want to thank this incredible community of high-achieving women.
Your energy, resilience, and commitment to growth are the driving force
behind what we do. If you enjoyed today's episode, please rate
it, leave a review, and don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode. Your
feedback fuels our mission to empower high-achieving women just like
(26:41):
you. And of course, share Your Future Starts Now with the extraordinary women
in your life who are also on a journey of healing and empowerment. Connect
with us on social media, share your thoughts, let us know what topics you'd like to
explore in future episodes. Stay connected on Instagram at
Gia Lacqua. I encourage you to carry the energy of this conversation
into your day and keep on supporting the incredible women around you.
Welcome to Your Future Starts Now, the go-to podcast for
extraordinary women who are ready to step into their next chapter with
authentic confidence. I'm your host, Gia Lacqua empowerment coach,
motivational speaker, children's book author, and girl mom. Whether
you're a corporate powerhouse or an entrepreneur, this show is
designed for you. Your Future Starts Now is more than
(00:20):
just a podcast. It's a movement, a movement towards rewriting
the rules of success for high-achieving women. Are you ready
to get unstuck and step into your next chapter? If
so, you are exactly where you need to be. Your future starts
Welcome to Your Future Starts Now. I'm your host, Gia Lacqua. Thanks for tuning
(00:41):
in. Today, I'm so excited to welcome Marina Tolentino to
the show. Marina is a realtor based in Hawaii. She's
also a podcast host, mentor, and an amazing mother. She
runs three businesses. She invests in real estate and homeschools, so
she knows firsthand that working smarter and not harder is the
key to breaking the cycle of chronic overwhelm. Marina
(01:02):
is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to all things motherhood, entrepreneurship,
business mentorship. Marina, welcome to the show. So happy
to have you here today. Yes, I'm so glad to be here. It's going to be fun. Excited
to talk. Absolutely. So I'm sure you have
a lot of backstories, but tell us a little bit about your backstory and what led you
to where you are today. Yeah. Well, the cliff notes version is
(01:23):
I was a wedding planner for 10 years. So I did that right after I got my,
I had my own wedding and I was like, Ooh, this is a fun career. Um, so I did that
all over California and then moved to Hawaii in 2016, which
is my husband's home of record. So we had just left the coast guard. We're coming
back home, um, brought the wedding planning business to Hawaii, but that started
the next business in the next business. So ended up starting a furniture rental
company that evolved into a staging company. Um, we ended
(01:46):
up starting a honey company cause that was like family business. They were just giving
away honey for free. And we're like, And then
fast forward, COVID hits and we realized really quickly we are not
going to have weddings and events for quite some time. I had brides
in Australia, New Zealand demanding deposits back that we'd already used that
money for other things. So it was like a crazy time. But just
(02:07):
thought, hey, I might as well just get my real estate license. I'm already helping sellers
list their homes for sale and decorate them. I have this skill set with sales. So
did that very quickly with a five-year-old and a newborn at the time.
So I had my second one January 2020. And
by June, I was licensed up and running and had a great first two years.
Of course, it was like drinking from a fire hose during the real estate time at that
(02:28):
time. It experienced burnout for the first time in my career
ever in those first two years. And then
just realized, like, what is this? Is this a bait and switch? Like, basically,
in real estate, you only eat what you kill, right? And so I just realized This
is more like a job. This is not a business. And so very quickly
by year two, got my first assistant and changed my
(02:49):
life forever. Once I realized I could delegate like half of my workplace, I
was like, oh, this is where the margin is. This is how the successful people
are doing it. This is how they have seven streams of income. It's because they're
not doing it all. So just changed my life completely. And
then as of this last year in twenty twenty four, I'm now homeschooling both kids. So
preschool and fourth grade. But I'm loving it. I'm loving the
(03:09):
freedom and flexibility that we have. I love my work-life balance
right now in this season. And I'll talk about seasons probably later in this
conversation. But right now it's really, it feels good.
And so I'm just embracing the feel good season that we're in. That's
incredible. What an amazing story. And
so you're a serial entrepreneur. and clearly
(03:29):
have a lot of experience with pivoting and sort of reinvention. So
there's so much there to tap into. Today, we
are going to talk about we thought it would be
appropriate since we are approaching the end of the year, we thought it would be
good to talk about New Year's resolutions and goal
setting and would love your perspective for
(03:50):
our listeners on what that could look like for them.
First, I mean, before we pivot to that, though, I would
love to know based on your experience, because our audience is, you know, essentially
the high-achieving woman, right, who's doing it all, managing it all. And
you mentioned outsourcing and delegating some of your work and how that was sort of
life-changing for you. Are there any other tips,
(04:13):
tools, pieces of advice you would offer for people who feel stuck
in that cycle, right? Because looking at you, it's like, wow, she's figured it
out, right? She's figured out the mythical quote-unquote balance
of, you know, having it all, doing it all. So
curious what, you know, what advice you would have for others who are
listening. I think first thing that comes to mind is just accepting and
(04:34):
recognizing the season that you're in, right? Because it's not always cruise mode.
That's impossible. Life doesn't work that way. You're going to have ups and downs. And
then if you're in the beginning of a business, it is really, really hard to feel balanced because
you do have to put in 150% to move the needle. And a
lot of times in the beginning too, money's tight. We don't have that extra funds to
delegate and hire out and take things off of our plate. You do have to do it all.
(04:56):
But I also think in a sense, as a business owner, you should be a master of all
skills so that you can train the next people. I feel like when you're a
business owner and you can't, you know, do the accounting and you don't know what's happening, there's a
little bit of margin there that's like, are we sure? But just recognizing
the season that you're in so that you can get to the next one and have that with
clarity and that vision and goal to get to. Because if we're just
in survival mode constantly in reactivity, like it's so stressful
(05:19):
and we never feel in control. which then has us doing more and more and
more because we're not feeling in control. And so it just is like this downward spiral. So
recognizing season, getting very clear on where you want to go,
and then recognizing, like, basically, you have to build a business to
the point that you have too much business to then be able to do the next
step. And I think a lot of us are at that 75% where it's
(05:40):
going, it's going, but it's not quite overflow yet. And once
you hit that peak, you're going to know it because you're not going to be able to respond to people in time. That's
your sign to be like, okay, now I have the availability and
funds to delegate at least 25% off my plate to
start with a goal to delegate more in the future. But it takes time.
I think patience and time. So often we think we're behind
(06:00):
or that it's not going fast enough. Give yourself two years to
just fail forward and give it your all before you even realize if
it's a valid business or not. Because sometimes they just don't work too. Yeah,
that's such great advice. And it is we always feel like we have to be perfect 100% all
the time, right? And that's not, that's not reality. No,
there's so many failures that are not on social media. I
(06:23):
love that. Okay, so on to our topic for the day, New Year's
resolutions and goal setting, you know, resolutions has
such a connotation. And And, you know, personally, I think
I've stopped making resolutions because I got so sick of setting them
and then not following through with them. And so, you know, for
some people, it can be a little bit
(06:44):
of a dirty word. So tell
us, what is your take on New Year's resolutions? So
I think I'm in the same boat as you. Something happens as we age where we realize after
15, 20 years of trying to do this resolution thing that it's a bunch of BS. But
I do think it's a great natural reminder with the calendar to
kind of reset. And it doesn't mean we're going to go hard and do 75 hard
(07:05):
and do all these crazy things, but it's just like, again, taking inventory of
where you are. And then I think giving us grace and permission to
just improve ourselves in one area or two. Again, we're not going to
extremes, but like, if I could change anything or what would
make me feel a little bit healthier, a little bit better about my life? How would I
just feel better about body acceptance? It doesn't mean weight loss. I
think always we think like resolutions and weight loss. No, it could be
(07:29):
like, I'm not going to have screen time in the morning the first hour and before I
go to bed for the last hour. That's a great way to reset for the new year
and just clear up mental space. So just giving yourself
grace and permission to improve your life if you're not happy. Or
I know for a lot of us who are those type A overachievers, we want the
checklist. You can make a checklist if you really want to, but don't let
(07:49):
it consume you. Don't obsess about it because it's just not going to be realistic
or stick. So I think I just saw there's something
about like a 66 day habit thing that women are doing right now where it's
more like a soft goal. Nothing is hard. Nothing is firm. If you miss
a day, you just pick up again. You don't start over. And I love that approach to
just a reset for the year. Yeah, that makes a
(08:10):
lot of sense. And I think for many of us, like you said, the high achieving women,
the type A, you know, we set these lofty goals that
sound really great, but then we become very quickly overwhelmed
and discouraged, right? Whether it's lose 20 pounds or
buy a new house or get a new job or start my own business. Right.
And then it becomes insurmountable and life happens. Right. And
(08:32):
then it sort of falls to the wayside. So I love what you said about, you know, maybe their
micro goals, maybe their recent moments, maybe their smaller opportunities
to incorporate wellness habits into
your life. You know, the screen time, I'm glad you brought that up,
actually. So the one hour I know they say before you go to bed, you're not supposed to be on
your screen. And then when you wake up, that for
(08:53):
a lot of us is a really hard habit to break. So
even though that seems like a really small goal, it could be really difficult
for some of us. Yeah. What would you say, you know, when
we're trying to implement some of those habit changes that can be really difficult? Well,
some of us, we just need to go to bed earlier anyways and wake up early. So
that's a good habit. You don't need to be checking your phone at six if you're up at
(09:14):
five. Business doesn't start for me at that time. Business starts at
nine. And so if I can just give myself again margin in
the morning, I think what it is, is use an actual alarm
clock, not your phone, because that's the temptation right there. They
actually sell block boxes for your phone, I think, on Amazon, so
you could set a timer for when you're able to open it. Because truly,
(09:35):
nothing is usually urgent in those hours. Past 10 o'clock
at night and before 6, what is going on in your business that's going
to be urgent, hair on fire? Not a lie. Um, and then most other
ways they can call your spouse if they really need to, like set up a backup system. But,
um, for the most part, it's just recognizing that is such sacred time for
your brain, you know? And so we always talk about habit stacking our
(09:55):
mornings where we're having alone time. And obviously for young moms, that
is a challenging season. I've worked through this constantly and it's
always like, oh, it's not working. Let's try it again. Communicating with your
spouse, I'm going to have five minutes to myself. Is that okay? I'll
just be in the other room and can you handle breakfast or something? Or
just making that time other in the day if he's not available in the mornings, vice versa. But
(10:17):
I love the mornings to do my devotionals, to read a personal development
book of some kind, at least 10 pages. And just
recognizing, again, the day will continue when I pick up the phone, but
I don't need to do it that first hour. So often we think it's urgent and
we have that. almost like that addiction to check our
social media, to be like, am I going to get a dopamine hit? Like all these things. And
(10:38):
going to bed, I love the wind down routine where I'm like literally
cleaning my room, making it like a hotel, folding it down before the shower,
turning on the lamps and reading, like really, really
reading. I just got Tim Tebow's wife's book. I
just started it and I'm so excited to dive deeper into it. But stuff like
that, it's like, it's a fun book, but it's also going to improve my life. And
(10:58):
I honestly get sleepier when I read instead of watching so many shows.
doing the scroll. So it does become a little bit of like
a selfish, like, ooh, this is for me. This is a self-care moment. And
just make it special. I love that. And it's true. I
mean, the screens tend to be anxiety provoking and
create more stress, right? I find even if I'm at the end of the day trying to read the
(11:19):
news, it's like the most stressful thing I can do for
myself. Yeah. So
I love looking at that as self-care and the habit stacking. And
the other thing you mentioned that's really important is the communication around those boundaries. I
found when my kids were very small and I tried
to take a few minutes to myself, I found that I wasn't really
(11:41):
communicating my needs and setting boundaries
around that space. And so you know, it was interrupted. It
wasn't my own time because I didn't communicate my
needs. And so I think that can be really hard for us. That was more of a mental block
for me because it was hard for me to admit that I needed something
or I needed time for myself. But I think the communication around
(12:03):
that is so critical. And then, you know, trying to hold
firm. Absolutely. Setting the expectations and
not keeping score with your spouse is going to save your marriage a thousand percent. That's
great advice. So when we talk about goal setting, what,
you know, what comes to mind for you? I know you sounds like you've implemented a
lot of really great, you know, healthy habits and self care and wellness.
(12:27):
What would you recommend for people who are thinking about, okay, I need a reset, I
want to set goals for next year, but I want it to be attainable? What
would you say? Well, first it comes with the reflection like we love to do at
the end of the year. So personally, but also financially, health wise,
all of that. So just kind of going through each one of those buckets. So let's start
with ourself and our soul. How is our spiritual life doing? Do we
(12:47):
like our current habit stack? Are we involved in anything in
our community? What does that look like? What would be the ideal version of
that? And kind of ranking it and then just journaling it all out.
And again, this doesn't have to be a worksheet with someone else's template. This
is just you and a pen and paper. And just like literally reflect on
last year, this is how I felt about my spiritual life. I'm liking this, I'm
(13:07):
not liking that. And then what do I want to do to make it better? You know, where do I
feel like I can improve this year? And just pick one tiny little area. We're not going
to become priests in a year, you know, just one little thing. Next
thing is going to be your body, right? And again, not necessarily weight loss unless
that is a big burden on you right now, but I think just feeling good in our
body is so important. So this last year I noticed I
wasn't feeling very good and there were some issues that were popping up hormonally that
(13:30):
I've never experienced before. So hitting age 36, something changed
and I was like, this isn't a good sign. So I decided to get help and asked
the doctor for help. If that's you and you're recognizing like, is
this it? Is this how good it's supposed to be? Are we just settling? Like journal
all that out. Of course, then we have marriage and we have kids and
family and parenting, like journaling all those buckets out. And
(13:51):
then I think on the family side too, relationships, friendships are
so big. We are living in a loneliness epidemic and
it's been more apparent to me than ever and just my friends and seeing
it online. So like do an inventory count. How
many close girlfriends do I have that I could call at one in the morning if
I needed them? Because we probably don't have as many as we used to. And
(14:11):
so just recognizing, is there anyone in my circle that has potential that maybe I
could invest more into this relationship? I just did a
podcast on mine about how many hours it takes to build
a friendship. So 50 hours with a person is just baseline friendship.
It takes over 100 hours to consider them a close friend. So
as busy moms, that seems impossible. You're like, okay, we'll be
(14:32):
friends in 10 years. Is
there ways that we can kind of combine our schedules or our kids doing
activities in the same area? Maybe there's a mom that's like the cool
mom at a group, but I haven't reached out to her yet. Maybe I could do that because we're
already doing similar tasks and activities. Friendship is
a big one for quality of life this next year that I want to work on personally. So
(14:54):
I'm excited about that. And then we can go into a business, right?
So just reflecting income, but also how
much time you're spending on your business. Do you like the amount of time? Um, where
is your business coming from? Just reflecting on that, you know, is it
from one or two primary sources or you kind of spread thin and
it's a, if it sticks to the walls and do that thing, like where
(15:15):
is business coming from? And then I think doubling down on the things
that are working. And that really helps after year two, year three, you
start to see trends in your business. It's hard to do that in the first two years. But
for me, that's social media and YouTube. So now I cut out all other advertising expenses
and I just do those things. And to me, it's like kind of free. I don't pay anybody,
right? I just pay the editors. So just reflecting on that. And
(15:36):
then for me too, this year, I'm really looking at, well, how many deals do
I actually have to do to be successful or in my benchmark,
you know, have a good quality of life. It's not about being the top
producer or the top 10 realtor in my state. It's more like,
okay, this is the quality of life my family needs to feel good, to be able to travel,
to save. Let's just hit that and then the rest is just cream on
(15:57):
top. You know, it gives give yourself so much permission to just do less,
which I think is a huge goal for next year too. And I
think those are the major buckets. Did I miss one that you can think of?
No, I think that is amazing. There's so much there I want
to dig into, but that's super helpful.
I think thinking about it in the categories of life and, you
(16:18):
know, looking at your life holistically in the different facets and like
you said, sort of an inventory or an audit of what's working, what's not
working, what needs to change. You
know, the piece you mentioned that stood out to me, one of the things that stood
out to me is this concept of settling, whereas women, you
know, we're so busy doing and going. Sometimes we don't
(16:41):
realize that in some facet of our life, we are actually settling.
Oh, yeah. And that can show up in many different ways in
a career, in a relationship. It could even happen
with your health. Right. As a parent. And
so I see that all the time in the women that I work with. And
so as we're going through sort of this inventory and this goal
(17:04):
setting, how would you think about or how would you tell people
to think about kind of evaluating where they might be settling
for the status quo? I think most of us probably know already and
we're just in denial. So just first of
all, you're probably exhausted or overwhelmed and maybe one or two
buckets of your life because you just don't have the capacity to address it
(17:25):
in the manner that you want to. And so maybe you're just like defaulting to,
well, my husband's got to handle it because I can't even think about it. Or for
me, like I live with my in-laws, which is a huge blessing. But there are times with
parenting that I'm like, you know what? I don't have like the patience for this right
now. So I'm just going to let her make dinner and I'm just going to go to the other room or something because she's already
in the kitchen. Um, that's not the parent that I want to show up to be. You know, I
(17:45):
want to be present at dinner too, every night if I can. Um, but
there are definitely areas where if I would have planned ahead and if I would have
made a different like action step to get to dinner time, I wouldn't be
worried about dinner at seven 30. It would have been on the table at six. Um, so
just priorities. It's also a reflection of priorities. And again,
seasons, what is the biggest priority in this season? It's okay
(18:05):
to let a couple of things slip, but realizing when the season's over, we're going to get back
on the horse and tie this all up with a bow. Um, I think health and
wellness is one of the first areas we let slip because it does take
a lot of attention and it does take some planning. If
you're just like survival mode, you're just eating whatever's in
front of you. And sometimes you don't even eat and eat until 2 PM in
the day. Like I'm guilty of this, you know, I would have
(18:28):
planned ahead, like meal prepped, maybe meal prep is a great plan.
Or just having protein snacks in the fridge, ready to go can make
So definitely I think just you know what it is and maybe just pick one
or two that you could actually tackle this year and kind of recognize. Again,
communicate with your spouse because he's probably got some too. Yeah, and
the prioritization, I think, is important, too. That's a great point.
(18:51):
One more question for you as it relates to goals and resolutions. So one
thing I have always struggled with and I struggle with this personally and
professionally in my business, I am guilty of chasing
the shiny object, right? Like I am guilty of not being
consistent. So I say I'm going to do something. I do it a couple of times. And
if I don't see immediate results or an immediate benefit,
(19:14):
I am on to the next thing. Right? So how can
we build in, right, building a habit takes, requires
consistency. So I would love to hear from your perspective, how
can we build consistency into our planning? Yes,
so good. And I have definitely learned through this one too, and I'm still guilty of
it at times. So some of it comes from that lack of patience, right?
(19:36):
Because we're like, it's not working. So why are we doing it? Let's just try the next thing.
This other course is going to solve all my problems, right? And then we don't even finish the
course. 100%. I am so guilty of that.
I feel so called out right now. Because
it's not working, it causes insecurity as well, that
I'm not good enough. I'm not doing it the right way. Surely something's wrong with
(19:57):
me. And again, we just go down to this downward spiral and
we're self-sabotaging at this point. And we're also self-sabotaging our wallets
and our bank accounts because we're spending more money than we're supposed to be. So
trust me, from someone who has failed forward way too many times on
this, that just look at what's working, like literally. And
so much of what you're doing, you just haven't done enough of it yet. That's the
(20:18):
problem. And so it's the impatience issue. So
for me, like with social media, you can't expect it to work within one month, it's
just not going to do it. And so so many will like, I'm going to post every single day
for 30 days in a row, and my life will be changed. No, honey, six months,
given six months of every single day, you know, you have to build
trust, you have to build that repeatability with people. So
it's an online relationship when you post. And
(20:41):
so when you realize like, okay, that's the benchmark instead
of 30 days or instead of two weeks, then you have all this grace
and permission to just do your best. That's all I can do. And realizing
a lot of the things that we're trying to control are actually out of our control anyways.
So all you can do is show up as the best version of you, give it your all for that
day at that task or whatever, and then just let the rest go.
(21:03):
Like that's all we can do. And so I feel like so much of business success
isn't about the doing, but it's about the who. So it's
relationships and my business, it's referrals. I just need to be
top of mind. That's all I have to do. So as long as I put all my effort
into being top of mind, I can let the rest go. It's not about doing door
hangers and flyers and all these things in open houses. It's
(21:23):
just when someone thinks of real estate, they think of me. That's all I need to do.
So same with your business and same with 99% of the other businesses.
You know, it's relationships more than anything. So
yes, like courses and shiny objects can help us
scratch the itch and maybe build a skill or two, but it's probably not
going to change your life. So also dropping the bar on that a little bit. Yeah,
(21:44):
it's such a great point. And I think, you know, what did they say? It takes 21 habits to
21 days to build a habit. And yet at the same time, our attention
span is diminishing, right? They're saying we have the attention span of a goldfish at
this point. So maybe it's committing to us
doing something for a certain period of time that you can truly evaluate
whether or not it's been effective rather than be, you
(22:06):
know, fall into the impatience trap. So I love that. I think that's
a great point. I want to add one more thing. Also,
because your mentor has probably tried all the things or they know all
the things too. And so they can save you time and money as well and be like,
okay, if we're looking at buying a course, what's really going to give you the outcome you want?
Not some shiny object syndrome of something else, but like, what
(22:27):
is the tangible result? Maybe you don't even need to buy the course or do the thing because you
might already have the answers within you or know someone who can teach you for free. I
think mentorship is also so powerful because you get to tap into that person's network.
So it's not just yours, but you get to share. So that's a huge tip. Yeah,
great advice. Mentorship, coach, someone who can help hold you accountable and
help show you how, you know, things can be effectively done.
(22:50):
So I love that. Marina, anything else you want to
add in terms of, you know, any advice or
anything you want our listeners to consider changing or doing differently
after listening to today's episode? I think just an extra pouring
of grace and forgiveness and Just acceptance of who
you are today is the version you're supposed to be. You're not supposed to be tomorrow's
(23:11):
version. You're supposed to be today's. So live in the present, accept
the good things, let go of the bad and just keep moving on. We're
so hard on ourselves as women. And so I just wish more of us could be like, it's
okay. The day's going to keep going. The earth's going to spin around another time.
You know, we woke up this morning with breath in our lungs. We're going to have a great day and just
forget the rest. Yeah. So true. Give ourselves
(23:32):
grace. Beautiful. And we talk about success
and redefining success on this show. So I would love to know from your perspective, how
do you define success for yourself and maybe how has that
evolved for you over time? Yeah, totally. So I would say definitely
early 20s. And even up until the last two years previous to this, it
was all about financials. Like I totally had myself on a financial benchmark
(23:54):
that to be successful, I had to make six plus figures x and like, definitely
now with a post COVID economy, like 150 plus is like minimum, bare
minimum. And it's just a crazy world. And so I
totally had to grow through that. And then I hit it. And then I doubled it again. And
I was like, Wait, I'm supposed to be happy now. How come I'm not happy, you know,
and I just had this aha moment of like, Whoa, it's
(24:15):
true what they say money is not the answer. And I figured out
how to be successful with less meaning like, accept that this
is what I need versus what I want. I'm getting really clear on
that. That takes a lot of soul searching and internal wrestling you have to grow through.
No one can just tell you and teach you it in a day. You know, you really kind of
have to grow through it yourself. And then I
(24:35):
think now it's like how I show up every day, how I
feel and how I look and just like the version of me that
is success more than what my achievements are. Who I
am today is successful no matter what money I
make, no matter whatever, you know, the outcome it is. How
do I feel? And do I feel like I'm giving it my all and like the positive, vibrant
(24:55):
person that I am? That's successful. Beautiful. I
love that. And Marina, where can our listeners learn more about you and the work
that you do? Yeah, so I've got a podcast that's new this year. It's called
the Work Like a Mother Podcast. It's been super fun. So definitely jump
into there. Listen to episodes. Very similar topics. We're talking
about mom life, woman's health, all the things to make you a better person. And
(25:15):
just, again, give yourself grace because we're all going through it. There's no
easy motherhood. And then definitely on Instagram, it's
at Marina T. Tolentino underscore. That's going to be the best way to
find me. But would love to connect with anyone if they are looking
for mentorship or they just want inspiration and want to connect and share the
journey together. I'm all about community. That's perfect. I
(25:35):
love that. And I also you mentioned earlier that you're expanding
your repertoire into cooking, I hear. Yeah, so I was sharing
just before this. I'm actually filming for YouTube videos today for
a holiday cooking series on my channel. So if you go to YouTube, search Marina
Tolentino, we're going to have four Hawaiian recipes for the season. But
it'll be a fun experiment, way to switch up the channel. So I love it.
(25:56):
I love it. I'm definitely going to be checking that out. Marina, thank you so
much for being here today, for sharing your insights and your expertise. Yes,
thank you. And of course, you can visit my website at gialacqua.com, reach
out on Instagram at gialacqua. Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and leave
a review. This is Gia signing off with gratitude for your time and energy. Our
mic drops, but the movement continues. Until next time, your next chapter
(26:19):
That concludes another empowering episode of Your Future Starts Now.
Before we wrap up, I want to thank this incredible community of high-achieving women.
Your energy, resilience, and commitment to growth are the driving force
behind what we do. If you enjoyed today's episode, please rate
it, leave a review, and don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode. Your
feedback fuels our mission to empower high-achieving women just like
(26:41):
you. And of course, share Your Future Starts Now with the extraordinary women
in your life who are also on a journey of healing and empowerment. Connect
with us on social media, share your thoughts, let us know what topics you'd like to
explore in future episodes. Stay connected on Instagram at
Gia Lacqua. I encourage you to carry the energy of this conversation
into your day and keep on supporting the incredible women around you.
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