Meet Mindset and Confidence Coach, O’Shea René. She is the Evolving Empress behind @glo.guidance, Self Growth Journals, and more. This workbook queen helps womxn level up their inner + outer worlds by tapping into their confidence + aligning with their higher selves.

1. Tell us about yourself, childhood, and what brought you to personal development today.

I grew up very shy, but not timid. I was extremely confident and expressive when I was very young but as I grew older, I began to feel as though I did not fit into this world. Academically, I received amazing feedback in all subjects. I was well-rounded for a kid. I was engrossed in studying life and learning about anything interesting. At my school, we studied African dance, ballet, the Italian language, the Spanish language, specific artists (such as Claude Monet and Vincent Van Gogh), the beliefs of Hinduism and Buddhism. We were really lucky to have such great teachers. I had an opportunity to skip the third and fourth grade, but as a kid that did not make me feel special. It had only confirmed that I was different, and for some reason it did not sit well with me.

I was very spiritual as a child, and was very committed to understanding life and people. In a way I felt that my desires to “know” more dominated my desires to just be a kid, and so it was a conflicting matter internally. Being that I was a child, and did not know how to manage my emotions, I became depressed at a young age and struggled with it until my freshman year in college. There were times where I was very committed to experiencing a different reality--one that was more positive and rewarding, and that is where I would turn to books and mentors. Anyone that I met, I would look to them as a mentor to see what they could teach me. When they spoke, I listened to them without judgement and with complete interest. I just became very intrigued with the human mind and the experiences that seemed to be inevitable for many people. I questioned a lot of things, and when my questions were not answered,  I turned to books and philosophy to make sense of it on my own. In short, it was a very long journey to the person that I am today, but it was due to every single resource and experience, that I developed the knowledge that I have and the wisdom to make use of it profoundly.

2. One piece of advice you would give your 20-year-old self.

I would tell her to be patient with her progress, spend more time networking and push even harder to get her journals in the university! I let my fears talk me out of really going for it, and although I was not entirely mentally and emotionally prepared for that ride, it would have still benefited me to go for it anyway. I also would have encouraged her to save her money and stick to her plans no matter what or who may try to influence her decisions.

3. Name your favorite self-development, self-help, or personal development book.

The Four Agreements and The 48 Laws of Power! If I could only have two books to read for the rest of my life, it would be these two! I admire both authors, and absolutely love reading them over and over. They are two of the very short list of books that I could read everyday and still learn something new.

4. Which area of life are you evolving in right now?

My Creativity and Spiritual Health simultaneously because for me they both compliment each other. I grow spiritually through my creative work. Whenever I am seeking more insight, peace and awareness, I find that I am much more creatively inspired and driven.

5. Tell us more about @glo.guidance + the pink vision book!

GLO Guidance began as a reflective blog for myself at a time where I was experiencing some transformations in my life. Though I have always had the intention of inspiring others, the main purpose was just to express myself freely in a creative way. It has since grown into a remarkable community of women that seem to all be prioritizing their well-being and happiness in ways that are always so inspiring to me.

When I am inspired, I create--and I create A LOT. This is why journals are so meaningful to me. I have written so many workbooks, and created so many websites, some that which no one has seen--and I love that. My creative process is for me, and it is very helpful that I don’t feel like I have to create something to keep up. I create whenever I am inspired, and if I decide to share it, it’s because I strongly believe that it can help someone. When I was in high school, I created my first workbook. I felt that as students, we were not really prepared for life after high school. Now, looking back, I realized that my school wasn’t insufficient in their resources, but rather they were doing what many other schools did. I just knew that I needed more guidance and more structure. I created a planner that began with pages for my academic studies, and ended with pages for planning my future in five years based on which university I decided to attend (and which major, location, job opportunities etc.) I actually had pages with prompts to prepare for my college applications and essays. Such a weirdo haha. I was outed as a perfectionist by many of my teachers and advisors, but I decided to embrace it.

Fast forward to this year, I have created and published a few journals, the most popular being my Mean Girls Vision Board Workbook! Back in high school/college, I would use my sketchbooks as a vision board--back when I was addicted to Tumblr and had a very generous printer. So, the idea of creating a vision board journal was not new to me. My creative process is very strange because I will literally just look at a pair of shoes and suddenly, I have an idea for putting affirmations in shoes and having different colors represent different goals. Like that’s a funky idea, but I just came up with me. My point is, it’s mostly random. When I developed the Mean Girls workbook, it was about 5:30 am and I was sitting in my kitchen eating something, and going through my camera roll. I came across an meme from Mean Girls that said “[Keep] trying to make [your goals] happen; [they’re going] to happen.” and I just though “Hmmm, Mean Girls but with a positive spin,” and I logged into Canva and started playing around with designs. I slept for about 3 hours a day for about 2 weeks creating worksheets, designing the book, choosing fonts, confirming the color scheme, setting up a new website, getting quotes, proofing my final book and then starting accepting orders! I won’t go on much longer, but each of my brands are just a reflection of me, just in different ways.

6. What is your top tip to manifesting the life of your dreams?

Hmmm, I am a strong believer that having gratitude for what you currently have and who you are is absolutely essential. Everything else helps, but having and expressing gratitude has helped me to appreciate my journey, understand and accept my pace, prepare my mindset for what’s to come and to always come from a place of love (which is the most powerful energy).

Now, of course you can still manifest your dream life without expressing gratitude, but once you have this new life, you will likely feel like something is missing. I have found that some people that I know that are successful (specifically financially), are always searching for more in more areas of their lives than one. Having an appreciation for what you have now, and for the person that you are now, won’t get rid of any sense of doubt that you may have, but it will help with eliminating a “lack” mentality.

7. What is the biggest challenge you have faced on your healing journey?

Initially, my biggest challenge was being patient with my process. I have always known the importance of healing any emotional trauma, but being such a creative and analytical person, it was difficult to stay on that path without wanting to “move on already.” Once I found that my persistent mindset was getting in the way of me healing thoroughly, I decided to take several steps back and reconsider what I needed. Rather than trying to heal through my creative processes and work (which had worked for me before), I realized that I needed to spend more time with myself without outlets and distractions. I took several months to gather my thoughts, make better sense of them, and I just allowed myself to “be here now.” So, whenever I find that I need more guidance, or that I am overwhelmed, I go back to practicing mindfulness in that moment and take it day by day, without judgement.

8. What mantra do you live by?

Wow! I have so many, but there are two that come to mind as of now! A good friend of mine gave me this advice right around the time that I began GLO Guidance, and I immediately put it in my phone as a reminder for every morning at 11 am. The quote is “life is what happens when you’re busy making plans,” and it has been an amazing reminder for me to prioritize my well-being and happiness, rather than just the success of my brand. The other mantra is one variation of the “your mind must arrive before you do” ideal, and it’s “don’t wait until you’re living in Paris to make it your state of mind.” THIS has been motivating me to keep evolving my mentality every chance that I get. I’ve recognized so many more areas in my life where I could put it to use, and it’s been incredible.

9. How do you continue to build the empire within?

I am very disciplined when it comes to my self-empowerment and evolution. I talk to myself all of the time, and I really listen--again, without judgement. If I feel as though I need a break, I take it without hesitation. If I am not working as hard as I need to be, I determine why and seek to enhance my source of motivation. I meditate and research very very often. I spend a lot of time with myself (and love about 95% of it lol), and when I do I prioritize just being myself and enjoying that. If there is conflict within me, or if something feels off, and I do not have a way to heal myself (if what typically works is not doing it), I go to books, mentors, research studies, etc. and just start learning and absorbing, which opens up my mind and spirit so that I can refocus.

Find out more about O’Shea Rene’ and get ahold of one of her fabulous Y2K themed journals, including the fetch Mean Girls Vision Board Workbook, here:

IG: @glo.guidance

Website: selfgrowthjournals.com