Episode Transcript
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Theresa Cesare (00:07):
Hey guys.
Welcome to Heart to Talk thepodcast.
I am the host and creatorTheresa Cesare My intention for
this podcast is to deliver toyou wisdom, inspiration, and
consciousness.
Through solo episodes andconversations amongst insightful
people.
It is my greatest honor to bringto you talks that come from the.
(00:33):
Welcome to another powerfulepisode.
Today, I am thrilled tointroduce a truly inspiring
guest, Maria Cochran.
Maria is a beacon of courage andpurpose, making a remarkable
impact as the executive directorof Freedom Warriors.
Through her work, she has notonly found her voice, but has
(00:54):
also become a voice for thevoiceless and a catalyst for
change in the lives of countlessindividuals.
Maria embodies resilience andcompassion, demonstrating an
unwavering commitment to hercommunity.
Her dedication extends beyondher role at Freedom Warriors, as
her and her husband have builtan array of diverse businesses
(01:17):
that reflect her passion formindfulness, health, and
wellness.
In this episode, Maria is goingto share her incredible journey,
her advocacy efforts, and herwisdom get ready to be inspired
as we dive into her story
I
bring to you my
conversation with Maria Cochran.
I am so excited to have you onthe show.
(01:37):
Welcome to heart to talkpodcast.
Thank you.
I'm super honored to be here.
Thank you for having me on theshow.
So I want to go ahead and startMaria, tell us about you, who
you are and what you do.
So I, first of all, I am a wife.
To an amazing man we've beenmarried for almost 25 years and
(02:01):
he's just being been a full,support.
And one of the things that, forme is The most important part of
our relationship is that he hastaught me and shown me what
unconditional love is.
Then I'm also a mother to threeawesome kids one adult and two
(02:22):
teens.
And I enjoy being their mother.
I'm also a fierce advocate forchildren.
And I'm also a business owner.
We have European wax center.
We have, three locationslocally, and then we have other
locations outside of Arizona,What is so amazing about
European wax center, it's mostof our employees are single
(02:47):
mothers, as part of the beautyindustry.
It's, the amazing women that,decide At some point that that's
going to be their career.
and so for me that is just avery special piece of knowing
that, they have a job and they,the police.
there's so much growth thatcomes within the business and if
(03:10):
there's the potential of someonewho's, working the front desk
and they really, want to, Makemore money, whatever that means.
And, we will invest in thatperson and we will, make sure
that they get their licensing,whatever they require to be able
to level up and get to the nextlevel.
Whether, to become a waxer andthose types of things.
(03:32):
And for me, like I said, it'sbeen a very amazing experience
the beauty about it, too, isthat till this day, we have
people that started from dayone, are still part of our staff
at European Walk Center.
um, and then, you know, SpangaTucson, for me, is become my
(03:53):
sort of my sanctuary.
Spanga is, new to Tucson and itwas born in Chicago.
But I love the concept.
It's based on three differentpillars of 20 minutes of spin,
20 minutes of strength, and 20minutes of yoga.
So it's a 60 minute workout.
(04:14):
packed into one hour.
But the best part about it isthat the yoga part for me is
just 20 minutes, what they callit is revive and what it
actually does revive you.
And it allows me to not only,remind myself what I just
finished doing, I went all outfor 40 minutes doing my cardio
(04:39):
and my strength workout.
And then I get these 20 minutesto just sort of, bring myself
back and and be ready to tackleanything really for the rest of
the day.
And that's just a part that I amaddicted to.
and just so everyone listening,all these links to these
businesses, will be in the shownotes as well, so that people
(05:00):
can link and explore, I'm justso excited to share this as I
just learned about it.
and I'm like, Oh my gosh, thatis going to be something that
will be a game changer forsomeone's not only physical
health, but mental health,emotional health, I've heard so
many women, they're like, I feellike it was made for me.
For me personally it's all aboutlongevity these days.
(05:23):
longevity is, is about takingcare of ourselves, wholly,
right?
Our hearts, our minds, I'm 51and my goal is to get stronger.
And so, we have a couple ofother franchises and Companies
in New York, and we also partnerwith an amazing organization.
ECLI in New York that also workswith human trafficking
(05:46):
survivors.
And that's just part of havingthe people in the businesses,
the people that work with usjust believe in us and believe
in the mission.
And that's just, the universe,it's so powerful.
And that's how we got broughttogether.
You think of it like we're on amission of impacting, promoting
(06:06):
change building community andsupporting each other in this
space.
I love this podcast because Iget to meet you through
Veronica, bring you on and shareto this audience, these
incredible things that you'redoing, your businesses that are
not only impacting our local,but global, economy.
And then this mission as theexecutive director of freedom
(06:27):
warriors, that's just a wholenother level of impact but to be
the woman to show up for all ofthat is so powerful.
You and I talked before werecorded The significance of the
health and wellness piece andmind, body, and soul.
We talked about the power oflike our surroundings and that
(06:47):
is so significant.
I think as well, as we have biggoals to create big change, can
you speak a little bit aboutlike your personal journey with
that as well?
Cause I could relate.
I mean, to show up and do thework that I got to do, I got to
be real laser focused, beingintegrity with my values and
everyone around me has to be anintegrity with values, right?
Yes.
Yeah.
Yeah.
(07:08):
Thank you.
Yeah, I get excited to talkabout that because I feel like,
yeah.
Well, you know, I think it's soimportant to believe in
ourselves, right.
Believe that we can do anything,and really no matter what, the
past, whatever that, has been,absolutely.
(07:28):
It's part of us, but it's,there's so much opportunity for
growth in that, you know inthose areas.
And then the biggest thing forme has, been not just believing
in myself, but loving myself,right?
It's like, loving myself isexactly sort of what, you
touched upon allowing thoserelationships or people that are
(07:51):
really not aligned with that.
With my beliefs and my corevalues and family values that
are so important to me that'sexactly Where I feel like I've
sort of the new me, like someoneI have evolved into because of
all of my experience, because ofall the people that whether they
(08:14):
were a positive influence or anegative influence all of that
is just so important.
And it allows you to, choosewhat's important to you and
what's not important.
Yes.
I love that so much.
So inspiring.
Tell us how you found yourvoice.
Through the years of, working tobetter myself and becoming, who
(08:40):
I am today, I have definitely, Ifound my voice, through the
people and in particularly thewomen that I am surrounded by, I
have, my mentors and, but alsojust those people that I, go to
(09:00):
coffee with brunch with and,most of the women that, I
gravitate towards at this stagein my life are, big doers and
women that take me seriously.
Action and women that are makinga difference, whether, you know,
it's through business or thenonprofit we are, aligned in so
(09:26):
many ways that we gravitate toeach other.
I feed off of their energy.
I feed off of everything that,their.
Doing right next to me thatthat's where I get my strength
and my energy.
And so.
Finding my voice has been,through that, because of that,
(09:47):
and in fact, one of those women,has been on your podcast before,
and, it's that, Connection andjudgment free, relationships
that, I have been able to growand, and then find this, space
where I can say who I am.
(10:10):
Be who I am and stand up forthose that, don't have a voice
and know that, this is what theuniverse has stored for me,
having, being able to realizethat My voice was never gone.
It was just waiting to berenewed.
(10:34):
Restore.
That is so beautiful.
I love it..
So now back to
the nonprofit freedom warriors,
tell us like the process behindthe scenes, yes, it's, it's a
very interesting journey Ididn't know, what I was getting
myself into.
(10:55):
I knew where I was going.
But I just, didn't know how Iwas going to get there kind of
thing.
I love that.
And so when we started thisnonprofit and, they were talking
about titles and, I mean, do, doI want to be titled like
executive director?
Do I want to just be themanager?
where does that, you know, fitin for me?
And, so I was, I was.
(11:16):
I was terrified, I can, behonest about that and, I really
didn't know anything about,other than having sat on a
board, previously and, talk topeople especially my father in
law who's a, philanthropist and,inspired me a lot in, into, what
this is all about and, So, Ididn't know how to manage a
(11:40):
boardroom, so I felt, veryunprepared, but, I jumped into
it with all my fear, and startedto make all kinds of mistakes
and, and realize, you know, Ineed to better myself.
I need to do something, that isgoing to not only, help me grow,
but also help the nonprofitgrow.
(12:02):
So I enrolled myself in, Aseries of, nonprofit
certification courses throughASU and, it took me a full year
to complete that.
But I did it and, man, theamazing empowerment that you
feel and just by being around,the professors and.
(12:25):
The peers in, in the classesand, uh, and then realizing
that, you know, most of us areon the same boat.
And this was just purely to,better myself and to be able to
serve, in a much, higherimpactful way.
I love that.
I agree.
(12:45):
Do you have
annual events, a specific event
that you would like some supportor that you want to share with
us?
Yes, of course.
Perfect timing.
we do have our annual fundraiserthis is our third.
year doing it, but we are doingit this January 25th and it's at
Topgolf Topgolf is verysupportive of the organization,
(13:09):
and so we keep going back it'sfrom 9 a.
m.
to 12 a.
m.
It's a 75 ticket for a singleticket and a 500 bay.
So you can purchase a bay thatincludes six players and two
observers.
if somebody doesn't feel like,that's their jam, just come be a
(13:31):
part of it.
mingle and, meet our players.
Wonderful VIPs and sponsors andthat we have coming we, have
special guest speakers and sothere's something for everyone.
And of course amazing raffleprices the community has
responded in a very positive wayand has donated, some really
exciting raffle prices.
(13:51):
So that's always my favoritepart.
I love it.
Well, it will be in the shownotes.
And if someone listens to thisepisode and it's past that date,
you can still visit the website,be involved in this, hopefully
will be an annual, yeah.
And I we want to bring peopletogether and so I will always
take on volunteers and if youwant to experience what, it's
(14:17):
like sitting on a board of anonprofit and it's something
you've never done before.
We are very friendly and veryopen to, having that commitment.
And it's easy, it's just, we're,we're very easy people.
I love that you extended thatinvite you're amazing.
(14:37):
All right.
We're going to pivot now to theclosing questions per tradition.
I'm going to ask the first one.
What is your favorite book?
I Have a book that has reallyhelped my mindset and, and
that's the the book, The Courageto be Disliked and I read that
recently for the first time, andI'm actually rereading it.
(15:01):
And then there's a followup bookthe courage to be happy.
So those are two amazing books,but I have to go back to what
has helped me through my journeyand what really has sort of set
the tone for a lot of things.
(15:22):
a while back, my father in law.
Had a book club.
And at the time we were livingwith him, we had just moved to
Tucson.
And one of the books that heintroduced us to in this book
club was the four agreements.
And so that book has done a lotfor me.
(15:46):
You know, the four agreements isjust things that have always
play in the back of my mind.
And then not only that for thelast couple of years that I have
been able to actually learn tojournal.
I will repeatedly write thosefour agreements down for myself.
(16:08):
And so that way it allows me togo out the door and show up by
being impeccable with my word,by not taking anything personal,
by not making any assumptionsand by doing the best I can.
(16:30):
Beautiful.
I love that book.
And I can't wait to read TheCourage to be Disliked and The
Courage to be Happy.
Thank you for those.
I know it's hard to narrow down,but those are great, great
books.
The next question, what is yourfavorite quote?
Yeah.
So my favorite quote is byGandhi.
(16:50):
And it's specifically for,freedom warriors and where it
just touches my heart.
So to lose yourself in service.
And then the last question,Maria, what do you want to be
(17:12):
known for your legacy?
My answer is simple.
I want my legacy to be beingknown for having the ability to
provide that unconditional love.
And want everyone to rememberthat love heals.
(17:37):
Thank you so much for tuninginto this episode.
Please download, rate,subscribe, and share this
podcast.
Also, be sure to visit mytheresacesare.com to check out
my inspirational merch, connectto my social accounts, and much
more may you continue to befilled with wisdom, inspiration,
and consciousness.
(17:57):
Otherwise, friends, I will beback in two weeks for another
episode of Heart to.