Bonus Solo Episode: How I Built A New Life with Taylor Rae Almonte-Roman

In this episode, I share my personal experience around self-improvement, transitioning careers and pursuing new passions.

Summary

In the “On The Outside” show, host Taylor Rae shared her personal experiences and journey towards self-improvement. Initially intending to discuss her academic path and Masters in Human Rights, Taylor chose to focus on self-perception and life building, stressing the essential role of her family's unconditional support, particularly from her father. Despite societal pressure, she remains steadfast in her belief in her own abilities. Taylor discussed her transition from acting to working at a fitness studio, eventually leading to her enrollment in graduate school. Her experiences with financial instability and debt influenced her decision-making, encouraging her to pursue opportunities that didn't feel like wasted time. Inspired by Oprah Winfrey, she stressed the importance of being open to new opportunities and having a clear vision for one’s life. Taylor plans to share practical advice for content creators, entrepreneurs, and others looking to change their careers or achieve new goals in her future episode.

Transcription

Taylor Rae Almonte-Roman

Hello, welcome back. My name is Taylor Rae and this is another solo episode of “On the Outside”. And honestly, I've loved recording these solo episodes. I feel like I've had so much fun and been able to just share a little bit more about me, which I think is really necessary, especially on the first season of a show. So this week originally, I had planned to talk more specifically about the decision to go to grad school seven years after undergrad and pursue my masters in human rights. But then I kind of shifted gears a little bit. So I made my schedule for the topics. I wanted to talk about months and months ago at this point and this week was supposed to be about my master's program next week and it still will be, was supposed to be about more pivoting careers and creating a brand for myself as a multi hyphenate.

I still do want to talk about that and will talk about that next next week, but that feels a little bit more like what other people see, what is the marketing, what is the brand? What does the world, see and what kind of opportunities are open to me based on kind of that image that I'm creating out in the world. If that makes sense for this week's episode today, I was really moved to talk more about what I see how I view myself and how I have really built the life that I have.

That definitely does include being a part of this master's program and pursuing that journey. But it also includes so many different things and kind of thinking about the through line of my life and how I've done that in so many different ways. That's a little bit more what I want to talk about today. You've already met my mom on the podcast.

And if you haven't listened to her episodes, please, please do. It's really funny because we went to my grandfather's 95th birthday party a couple weeks ago and everyone there, my cousins, my aunts, my uncles to me and my mom, they were like, we listened to your episode, which I thought was really funny. But you've already met my mom. My dad literally hates public speaking so so much.

He probably will never be on the podcast. But my dad as well has always just poured so much positivity into me throughout my entire life as a kid. I don't really think I ever developed kind of limiting beliefs or, you know, a limiting mindset or mentality. I truly have thought my entire life if I want to do something, if I put my mind to it, if I learn about it, if I educate myself, if I train myself, I could do it.

I've never really genuinely thought that there was something that I couldn't do and I guess that's pretty wild to a lot of people because constantly, I mean, the world all the time is telling us, especially as a woman of color, especially as someone that's part of any marginalized group. You're constantly being told that there are so many things that you can never do that, you'll never be good enough.

You'll never make it to the highest level. You'll never be able to do it like that person and then kind of compound that with social media and the way in which we are perpetually seeing other people that seem to be more beautiful, more wealthy, more successful, have it together are just better than us in every way. It definitely makes it really hard to have that, you know, unshakeable, unwavering faith and belief in yourself.

And while I definitely wouldn't call myself confidence unshakeable, especially after my life as an actor, which was basically just being beat down at every audition all the time. I would say my mentality that I could do anything if I work hard. That that is pretty, that is pretty true to my core. So today I want to just talk you through some of the leaps that I've made in my life to build a world and a reality around myself that really makes me feel so fulfilled, so full of purpose.

And when I was doing my 2024 vision board, I started thinking about what is my 10 year goal. And while I have so many goals for myself, what I found that was the most kind of eye opening to me. It was that I didn't really have any huge changes. Sure, I would love to live in a bigger house. I would, you know, definitely love to start a family and have, you know, one or two kids, but there's not really big huge changes that I want to make to my life that 10 years from now, I, I think, wow,

everything is gonna be so different, pretty much what I do on the day to day, how I feel about myself, how I feel about my family and my friends and the work that I do. I'm pretty good and I, I don't think I expected to feel that way at 30. I, I feel like I thought I would still have so many ways that I was not necessarily living up to my expectations, but I feel like I kind of am, which is pretty wild. So how have I built this life? And what tangible takeaways can I give you? So you could potentially follow a similar path to create the world that you yourself want to live in first. And foremost, for me, it has been very true that finding my path and my purpose has really, really required me being flexible and open, not only open when someone offers me an opportunity or a possibility, but truly just being open, energetically, emotionally, spiritually, just having an open heart and an open mind and really believing that good things are coming my way.

I had a job that I truly just could not be at for a moment longer.

And I was sitting at the very table, I'm recording this podcast at and I was saying out loud to myself in my house. Wow, I can't wait for my new job that's coming my way. And I had no new job. I had not a single offer, like wasn't even applying to jobs. I was just like, wow, can't wait for this new job that's going to come my way. I kid you not that within two weeks, I was having an interview for an absolutely incredible job that I ended up getting and moving forward with.

And so just energetically being open and, you know, tangibly being open, being open when someone offers me a possibility. I, you know, if you're not necessarily familiar with my story, I was working as an actor that was really beating me down, beating down my self esteem, beating down my confidence and also just financially a hot mess girl.

Ok? It was really giving nothing. It was a hot mess like I was not getting paid for things for 90 days and you can't really live like that. So that was not great for me. And I went on tour and started exercising more and came back and worked the front desk at a fitness studio and someone goes, you'd be a great instructor. And I thought, ok, if, why not, if all these other people could do it, I could do it was I athletic not really, was I trained in any modality?

Absolutely not. Have I ever lifted weights? I actually don't think so. Like I went to the gym all the time on tour. I would like, do the elliptical, do a little quick treadmill, maybe do some bicep curls. I feel like that was potentially the only weighted exercise I ever did in my life was like a little bicep curl. But I think that was it. So, I was, I was, offered the opportunity to audition for this role as a trainer in a bar studio and quickly was like, ok, well, if they would let me do

this job, who else would, started auditioning at tons of different studios, got offers pretty quickly, started getting my certifications and thought, ok, let's just do this the best that I can guess. I'm gonna be a trainer, like, while the hard work was definitely there. Once I set my mind to that being a goal, I thought, ok, if I'm going to be a trainer I'm gonna be the best trainer I can be.

And I'm going to do it as big as I can. But it didn't start that way. Honestly, I was just open and I was working in a spin studio and someone goes, you should audition for this boxing gym. And I said, I do not know how to box. And they said, oh, they'll train you. And I said it sounds good to me. And I went and then I had a new dream and I thought, yeah, I could really kill this.

And did that take a lot of hard work. Yeah, girl, it's six years later, I'm still boxing two days a week. I just boxed this morning and I'm not even a trainer anymore. But that became a huge passion for me. That became such a huge part of my identity and my life. And that only happened because I was open.

So I would say having that flexibility has been imperative. That's been the number one key for me when I'm open and flexible. And I have an opportunity presented to me. It is also about my second little negative wisdom that I'm gonna give, which is being brave coming from a background as an actor, you are constantly told that this career is never gonna work out.

You are constantly having door slammed in your face and you constantly have to pick yourself back up, find your why and get yourself back to that audition.

And while that life wasn't necessarily for me after doing it for, I mean, I started acting when I was six years old and I continued to act until I was 27.

I think. So. It was a long road. It was a long time. But that being said, what it instilled in me is a bravery and a, a courageousness that I can pick myself up.

And if I don't have that set salary, which is something I've only had in one job in my life for one year, for one year of my life.

I had a salary. I've never had a salary.

Other than that, I've always either worked freelance on a contract. sure.

When I was on tour, I had a weekly salary, but that's like, not real, it's a contract and like, you know, it's up in six months or whatever it was.

So being brave, willing, being willing to bet on yourself.

That has also been something that's come relatively easy to me because I had no choice but to do that. Right. When I was acting, I had no choice. That is the life of a performer and having that allowed me to be a trainer and then decide, oh, this isn't necessarily what serves me anymore. I'm gonna go over here and do that. Huh? This grad school program sounds interesting.

Let's look into it. Oh, the early decision applications are due in three months, say no more I wrote a 20 page research paper after not writing a paper for seven years since undergrad, wrote my 20 page research paper, filled out my application took my GRE, which I actually didn't even need to take. I was just being an over achiever and sent it that application and got in, got a scholarship and in grad school now and made that decision honestly so quickly it was something that I'd

thought about a little been open to a little bit. Looked, looked at the, looked at more into what the program was and one day I was standing in the shower and I thought, yeah, that's right for me. I'm just gonna do it. What's the worst case that happens? I don't get in whatever. If I get in, then I can decide and I applied and I went for it. So I think having the ability to be brave and keep in mind this is not coming from someone that has a plan to fall back on. Right.

My parents are incredible, but I did not grow up with the ability to think, oh, if this doesn't work for me, my parents will pay my rent. Oh, if this doesn't work out for me, you know, my parents will be able to spot me financially to get through this. That has never been an option for me for my life. So when I take these moments to make these leaps, they are because I could not imagine living my life doing something that truly makes me so miserable when I have an ounce of hope that there is

another way that there's another option for me, that there is another path I've been in so much credit card debt. I was in, I think 30,000 was the highest credit card debt that I was in. And I know what it's like to not really be making the money that you need to make to live your life.

So this is not advice or I don't even know if this is advice.

What I'm sharing, this is kind of just my experience that potentially might spark something in one of you guys. But this doesn't come lightly and it doesn't come from the privilege of saying yeah, just go out and follow your pa fashion with no understanding of the consequences that that might lead to because girl that $30,000 in debt, that was the consequence, right?

I was living my consequences.

I've lived that consequence. I've lived through that.

I've paid that debt off and I've made it to the other side, but it really took having that bravery to make the leap.

And I think the last little nugget that I'll leave you guys with is what has helped me to build the life that I have, which is a life that feels full of meaning and that I don't feel that my time is wasted. So even when I'm doing admin tasks or, you know, you guys know by now I feel like I don't even just say again that I do everything for this podcast myself.

So when I'm, you know, doing the transcript and uploading the website and making the social content, like those things aren't necessarily like, wow, I'm having the most raging time of my life, but they're for me, they're for something that I believe in and something that I want to grow and from that comes meaning and comes purpose and it doesn't necessarily feel like I'm just working for someone else that doesn't care about me. Right? I'm creating something and building

something for myself that I care about that has given my life passion and fulfillment. And the reason that I stress this is because most people that I know most people I would say don't really feel like that about their lives. They go to a job that they don't really care about or they are in a relationship with someone or have friends or community around them that they don't really feel is the community or the person or the partner that they wish they had.

And all of that is to say, girl that doesn't need to be your life, girl, you deserve more than that.

I'm telling you that right now and it can be yours. So my last little nugget that I want to leave you with and this I got from Oprah. OK. I got it from the OG Oprah Winfrey. I was listening to one of her audio books. I'll put it in the show notes because it's, I'm drawing a blank right now. But she talks about that.

Every leader, every world leader, every icon that she's met, told her the same thing that they clearly saw the vision for what they wanted their life to be and they acted on it and for me being able to have that vision, which I think kind of goes with bravery, right?

Because when I was even this podcast, for example, I saw the vision.

I said, OK, I'm an activist, I'm an athlete. I want to be speaking to people.

I want to be moderating panels.

I want to be having conversations.

I want to be building community.

And how do I create that platform for myself?

I'm going to start a podcast. How do I start a podcast? Girl? You started with that microphone that you got collecting dust in your closet and you do it yourself and you figure it out and having that, the motivation and the drive to see a vision to see the future of what you want to create.

That is key. That is what it is. When I was a little tiny girl, I used to tell my mom, I don't want to have a regular job. I don't want to get up and go work for someone else. I just want to do a bunch of fun things and I'll find a way to make money. That's what I told my mom when I was, I don't know, seven or eight years old, all of all of my friends in school.

Of course, you do a million projects. What do you want to be when you grow up? What do you want to be when you grow up? I just wanted to be happy. Honestly, I wanted to make an impact. I used to think all the time, how can I help people? Mom? How can I help people that are in need? What can I do to make the world a little bit better? And I have really tried to be true to that little girl.

Honestly, when you were like five years old, you probably knew more about yourself than you do right now. At least that's how I felt so many times in my life when I was a little kid, I had so much more clarity and vision about what I wanted my life to be than I have as an adult. So that those are my little nuggets for you friend. That's how I have really tried to move forward, building a life that I can feel proud of and a life that I don't want to run away from right at the end of the week, I don't

think, oh my God, I can't believe I have to do this again. Do I feel tired? Yeah, girl. I do. Do I feel tired are all of my hours in a day crumbled together, doing a million tasks. Yeah, they are. But I don't want to run away from my life and I think that says something pretty good. So that's it. That's the episode for today.

Next week, I'm going to have some more really tangible takeaways if you are a content creator. If you are an entrepreneur, if you want to start a podcast, if you want to go to grad school, if you want to pivot careers, if you want to rebrand yourself, if you want to create a new online identity, if you want to achieve new goals in your career, that's gonna be episode for you.

I'm gonna give it to you a real clear, plain and simple with things that you can activate on today was kind of just vibes. You know, I didn't even have any notes. I was just, I was just vibing.

I was just letting you know my thoughts. So that's it.

Thanks for being here as always.

See you out there.