NAME: Mariana Missakian
AGE: 44
INSTAGRAM HANDLE: @mariana.missakian
JOB TITLE: Best Selling Author, Storyteller and Scholar
Mariana Missakian is a Best Seller Author and Doctoral Student who spent her 20’s and 30’s making great THINGS happen. And now, in her 40’s, she makes great PEOPLE happen, by sharing stories to change the narrative and ignite change, on mothers, on identity and on community, and providing safe spaces and stages for women to trust their voice and share their story, loudly, proudly, unapologetically.
Her book "That Suburbia Lady," is a satirical memoir that delves into the true and tear-jerking challenges she faced when navigating the complexities of motherhood while struggling to be recognized as more than just a new mother.
Mariana shares her 3 greatest #LifeLessons with us...
#LIFELESSON – 1
Learning comes from saying YES but growth comes from saying NO!!
I learned this lesson in 2023, the hard way when I was trying to be all things to all people, all the time.
For the past few years, I have been on a YES streak. Yes, to speaking engagements, yes to running workshops, yes to teaching, yes to showing up whenever and wherever. Until I realized that each YES to the world was a NO to myself. I was so busy trying to be seen, to be heard that I let it consume the limited time, energy, and focus I had; I was sidelining my dreams,
Saying NO isn't about quitting or compromising. It's about making smart choices, and intentionally focusing on what’s truly important for the life I’m trying to build. With every NO I am stepping out of what is familiar and comfortable, and stepping into something bigger, because every NO is an opportunity to create rather than to conform. It is a chance to lead rather than just go along with the flow.
My time is finite as a mom, an author, a speaker, and a scholar. So, I learned to make sure that I wasn’t saying YES from a place of fear and scarcity and saying NO from a place of hope and abundance.
#LIFELESSON – 2
This is a lesson that I learned quite recently: To lead or to learn. Know your role.
.
Over the past weekend, I stood on a stage and told the audience “I know you are not here to see me.”
I was the MC at that event, and my role on that stage was simply to introduce the keynote speaker, the main attraction. I have stood on many stages in different rooms in front of different people. Sometimes I am there to inspire them, and other times to train others. But on that day, I was the opening act to the star of the show.
We can’t be everything to everyone all the time. In some rooms, I speak but in so many other rooms, I listen. In some rooms, I lead but in so many other rooms I learn. In some rooms, I facilitate connections and conversations but in so many other rooms I am the one that seeks connections.
So now, before I enter a room, I ask myself:
“Am I here today to learn or to lead?”
“Am I here to be seen or to shine the light on others?”
As I move from room to room and navigate from role to role, I remind my readers that each room and each stage offers a unique opportunity to learn, to grow, and to contribute. And to approach each room, each stage and each role with humility, and openness to both lead and learn.
#LIFELESSON – 3
Life is seasonal.
I learned this a few years back, and it was the single most significant and profound AHA! moment in my life.
When I became a mom, I lost my identity. I didn’t know who I was anymore, and I thought if ‘I can’t be who I used to be, then I am a nobody’. But I learned that life - just like nature - has its seasons too. And just like nature can’t survive and thrive in a constant state of winter, spring, or summer, so can’t I. My life will unfold in stages, and in each stage, my environment will change, my role will change, and most importantly my purpose will change.
We often fall into the trap of thinking that our roles are permanent, and should define us forever because we worked so hard to get to where we are. But just like storms, rain, and wind change direction, power, and intensity, so do we. We are not meant to be static or stagnant. We can't just say, "I've reached my destination. Here I am. That's it. I’m done."
Our life assignment, our purpose, will change throughout the seasons of our lives. I spent my 20’s and 30’s making great things happen. And now, in my 40’s, in my new role in this season, I make great people happen. Who knows what impact I will be making 20 years from now. What matters is that now I am aware that I am meant to change, to grow and to evolve, and to unleash my full potential beyond one, single, limiting role.
Comments