It’s our pleasure to present this week’s #MogulMoxie Maven, Zara Green. Zara received her B.S. in Psychology and Mass Communications from Xavier University. She is a Certified Christian Minister and Counselor, a Certified Workshop Leader through Heal Your Life the Owner, and a personal relationship coach and author. Zara is the Operator of her company Your Consigliere as well as co-Founder of The Grown Zone, which she owns with her husband. Let’s delve into our interview with this phenomenal “Mogul with Moxie.”
You have a range of impressive degrees and certifications. Tell us about your educational background.
“Life has a way of leading you exactly where you need to be, just trust the process even when the path diverges from where you thought you were headed. I’ve studied many things, but I don’t currently practice all of them. While I’m not at all surprised at the work I do today I’m totally surprised by the journey that brought me to it.
I’m most excited that through the journey life forced me to examine my values and ask myself why I believed them. They’ve certainly changed throughout the years. It takes courage to vet what’s between your ears, and I’m proud of what remains. Everything in my mind and heart serves me.”
Having a mind and heart that serves you seems essential to personal growth!
Tell us more about A2Z Personal Growth Enterprises.
“A2Z Personal Growth Enterprises has 2 legs: Zara Green, Your Consigliere and The Grown Zone. Your Consigliere is a culmination of the professional development and personal growth work I’ve done for years. It provides emotional support for high-achieving women facing life challenges, even crises. What I know for sure is that emotional changes always lead back to one or two things: erroneous belief systems or a flawed perspective. Once I remove the obstacle, she’s free-flowing.
The Grown Zone, run with my husband Alfred Edmond Jr., provides a relationship education through coaching and live events. Many people are trying to create relationships on unhealthy foundations; it won’t work! We basically tear down all the conventional ‘wisdom’ of relationships and focus on the only foundation that can create healthy love: self-love and healthy standards for your own treatment.”
Tell us about a typical day in your worklife?
“My days aren’t typical. I don’t function well if I’m too structured, but there are certain things that happen practically daily: Quiet Time, coffee, and then lots of conversations. Some with clients, others with potential clients. Some conversations are deep dives – deconstructing mindsets and belief systems while others are minor tweaks in perceptions. I also answer emails and work with planning teams on what’s next. At least five days a week, I make room for CrossFit. I hate the gym, but I love my box!”
That’s great. Being as physically healthy as we can be is so important to being as healthy as we can be in other areas of of lives, including financially. Let’s move to building a healthy business.
What advice has been the most helpful to you in increasing and managing your cashflow?
I encourage others by letting them know “If you haven’t figured [cashflow] out yet, make it a priority but don’t beat yourself up about it. It doesn’t help.” I’m better at managing and increasing our cash flow – and I’m still learning.”
Great advice! It’s important not to let our own self-doubts inhibit our growth.
Have you ever struggled with confidence or courage in your career? Tell us about it and how you’ve overcome the struggle.
“Girl, YEAH! It’s interesting though, earlier in my career I never struggled with courage. I’d always step into things even if I wasn’t confident. I don’t have to feel courage to act. If I act, courage will come.
After a few ‘failures’ (there’s not really any such, but repeated times of things not going as I’d hoped) and life seeming to ebb more than it flowed, my courage waned and I was slower to act, even stifled, despite my confidence in my abilities. I had my eyes on fear of failure more than possibility and learning opportunity.
Today, I recognize the ebb and flow, and I don’t let how I feel dictate what I do. I can employ courage and confidence whenever I choose.”
Wow! Your self-awareness is impressive. Tell us about one of the toughest things you have had to do in business or your career and what you’ve learned from it.
“My gosh, there are many! I’ve changed careers several times and have moved many times. I was Director of Public Relations for the City of New Orleans in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina blew through. I lost all my physical possessions except the clothes on my back and the additional two pairs of panties, two bras, three short sets, pair of flip-flops, toothbrush, comb, Chi curling iron, and my Shih Tzu, Bailey, I had in tow.
Through it all I learned to embrace it all. There’s no straight line to success and life is never happening to you, always for you.”
You have an amazing outlook to share, especially after such a traumatic event – and you have accomplished so much!
We’d like to know what have you accomplished, created, or built that makes you the proudest or brings you the most joy?
“‘What Is Your Priority?’ is my system for understanding temperaments that’s now part of my program, “Drama Free Zone – End the Drama and Get Back to the Love” that’s helping families squash conflicts.
I’m also proud of my book with Hubby, Loving in the Grown Zone: A No-Nonsense Guide to Making Healthy Decisions in the Quest for Loving, Romantic Relationships of Honor, Esteem, and Respect. It maintains a 5-star Amazon rating and we hear from readers every day!
Reflecting on your book with your hubby is the perfect segway into thinking about the power of words.
What’s your favorite word and why?
“It’s not a word, it’s a phrase: ‘They’ll be all right.’
I think people, particularly women, need to balance caring about others with self-care. Husbands, friends, and especially children – they will all be all right! Do what’s healthy for you!”
Your professional aptitude is no match for your personal challenges. You must invest the same energy and money in your personal education as your professional one. Life will be as kind to you are to it.
How do you treat unpleasant circumstances that show up in your world? They’re there because you’ve summoned them, intentionally or not, or you need them. We’re always doing one of two things: serving or sabotaging ourselves. How you respond to your circumstances is the litmus test and demonstrator of your real depth! Your personal life doesn’t stand on your professional aptitude, it’s just the opposite!”
Brilliant, sound advice. Do you consider yourself unusual/strange/weird or pretty normal?
“If we’re all honest, although most try to fit in to the ‘normal’ boxes, we’re all pretty damn strange. Let me catch a peek of you in your natural environment when nobody’s looking – strange! lol.”
Your last comment made us literally laugh out loud. Funny! Let’s move to what is on the horizon for you.
What’s coming up that you want our readers to know about?
“’Successfully Single MasterClass’ via teleclass and the release of our new e-book: ‘Buy Love, Get Troubles. Sell Love, Get Screwed.’” You can learn more on our website at www.GrownZone.com.
How can our readers keep up with you?
Twitter: @ZaraGreen
Facebook: /ZaraGreen
Grown Zone:
Facebook: /GrownZone
Twitter: @GrownZone
Thanks for reading another installment of our #MogulMoxie Maven interview series. We hope you are as inspired by this journey with Zara as we have been.
If you are a fan of our site, you know that we’re all about UpwardAction here. So … in the spirit of using what you read to make your business more profitable and meaningful … here are a few golden nuggets that you can take from our time with Zara and apply to your own life, starting today:
- Invest the same energy and money in your personal education as your professional one.
[Tweet “Your personal life doesn’t stand on your professional aptitude, it’s just the opposite! ~ @ZaraGreen”]
- If you haven’t yet learned how to maintain or increase your cashflow:
[Tweet “Make it a priority but don’t beat yourself up about it. It doesn’t help. Beating yourself up doesn’t help. ~ @ZaraGreen”]
Now that you’ve been inspired by our MogulMoxie® Maven – it’s your time. What are you going to do differently in your own life or business? We want to hear about it!
