The Blogalicious Weekend experience has been incredibly empowering so far and there is so much I’m going to share with you! It’s been a joy to serve as a Social Media Ambassador and as a judge for the Perfect Pitch IV, by Wells Fargo, as well as to see my 13 and 14 year old daughters’ speaking!

Of course, Elisha and Elyssa’s session was my favorite by default, but I will tell you that Nely Galán’s keynote, sponsored by Coca-Cola truly resonated with me and I was thinking of you as she shared her story and her secrets to becoming a self made mogul and gain financial self-reliance.

If you have not heard of Nely Galán, then my oh my, I recommend you get familiar with her, her book (aff link), and her movement. She’s a women’s empowerment advocate a true testament of the hustle of entrepreneurship. She’s an empowered single mom, too!

Originally from Cuba, using freedom of expression, using her voice, and following her intuition launched her in a journey that led her to become the first Latina President of Entertainment for a U.S. television network (Telemundo). She is an Emmy Award-winning producer of over 600 episodes of television in Spanish and English, including the FOX hit reality series “The Swan”.

Galán Entertainment has helped launch 10 groundbreaking television channels in Latin America, and has also produced 700 episodes of programming that cross all genres, from reality series to sitcoms, telenovelas to talk shows, in both English and Spanish.

Speaking of her secret to rising to the top, she said: “I stopped making TV shows and started making TV channels!” Though you and I may not be TV producers, we can take her story as an analogy to think bigger and expand our possibilities in both our personal and business life.

7 Simple Ways To Gain Financial Self-reliance

Though there are certainly a lot more ways to gain financial self-reliance and empowerment that Nely shared with us, I chose these five that I know will serve you and you can take action on right away!

Self Made Woman Rule #1 ~ Take Ownership In All You Do.

Think like an owner in everything you do, in every job, in every circumstance, and always have a side hustle!

Self Made Woman Rule #2 ~ To be chosen, you have to choose yourself FIRST!

Power is taken, NOT given, so you must be louder, bolder, and braver each time, displaying the confidence and belief in yourself that you want others to have in you.

Self Made Woman Rule #3 ~ Be Your Own Prince Charming

I am definitely my own Prince Charming and I love this message so much, because it refers to taking personal responsibility and being your own advocate. A man is not a plan, whether he’s your husband, your boss, or the president of the country you live in.

You have everything within you to be your own Prince Charming, to create your own rich life in every way. I loved the analogy of how he should be the icing, not the cake – you are the cake, and you’re always baking the cake to make it better.

[tweet “To become a #SelfMade woman, you must become your own Prince Charming! #motivationformoms”]

Self Made Woman Rule #4 ~ Set Money Goals

To create a rich life, you must change your mindset from instant gratification to goal orientation. Your self-made journey is made up of MISSION and MONEY!

The money is an important piece because you can’t be a wounded healer. Many of us grew up thinking that RICH is a bad word, but though money doesn’t buy you happiness, it does buy you freedom. Your goal must be to make money, then you can save money, which leads to invest money, and then you make money while you sleep!

I think we all loved her catch phrase: “buy building, not shoes,” because it really represents a higher level of thinking and planning for your future.

[tweet “You cannot be a wounded healer” @Nely_Galan #SelfMade #motivationformoms”]

Self Made Woman Rule #5 ~ Change Your Relationship With Fear and Failure

We must become best friends with fear and failure. They teach us, they refine us, they help us grow. We’re always going to feel fear, so we must do it afraid. Nely kept saying “I was afraid but I did it anyway,” and I could absolutely relate because I can say that about every success I’ve ever had. And as per failures, they teach us to fail forward and fail faster, so we can get to our next success!

[tweet “Feel afraid and do it anyway! #SelfMade #motivationformoms”]

Self Made Woman Rule #6 ~ Embrace Pain

Pain can be a wise teacher. Nely said that your pain is the gateway to your most authentic brand. I believe this so much that, in fact, I’ve been sharing my philosophy that “in your pain lies your purpose” for quite a while now. The power of your pain story can create healing for yourself, growth for your business, and transformation for your audience.

[tweet “Pain is the gateway to your most authentic brand! @Nely_Galan #motivationformoms”]

Self Made Woman Rule #7 ~ Pass the torch! 

I am very passionate about women’s empowerment and mentoring in entrepreneurship, so Nely is a soul sister already! Like me, she has made it her mission to teach women—regardless of age or background—how they too can become entrepreneurs and live on their own terms.

And because becoming self made is a lifetime journey of mastery, we do not need to be perfect to empower others. We can simply break down how we did what they want to do, so they can do it. We can empower other moms, and we can empower our kids!

Nely is part of the Coca-Cola Company Advisory Council, and her participation at Blogalicious8 was part of Coca-Cola’s partnership to support the Blogalicious community.

I was so pumped after this keynote speech and I was tweeting like a maniac! I was able to connect with Nely and she was so sweet to gift Elisha, Elyssa, and I an autographed book. She also had her production team interview us about our own passions and projects.

Her book, SELF MADE: Becoming Empowered, Self-Reliant, and Rich in Every Way, was written as a manifesto to ignite the SELF MADE movement, uniting all women on a quest for an economic future they control. She’s also the founder of the nonprofit The Adelante Movement (“Move it forward!” in Spanish), which seeks to train and empower Latinas to become entrepreneurs, and all multi-cultural women.

I love this message and I support women who empower other women to rise up and take ownership in ways big and small, and take financial control of their own lives. And that’s what happens at Blogalicious. It is the common thread to everything I have experienced and it just keeps getting better!

What are your tips to gain financial self-reliance? Share your experience with all the positive moms in the comments below. Un beso!

[ela]