So here you are, wondering how you ended up on this website and asking yourself “how” and if I can really help you? 

I’m glad you asked…

I’d like to share a little bit about myself, so you can better understand.

Growing up, as most children do, I aspired to many things. Not having been exposed to much early on, we “just know” that the dreams in our minds and in our hearts are somehow reachable; attainable. Do you remember what childlike simplicity felt like? (What I would give to be that brave again).

My earliest childhood memories dated back decades and decades ago, (let’s not get technical about numbers and age here) are the reason why I ventured into this journey that I am currently traveling. 

You see, life handed me a very, very rough start as I am sure many of us have had. Somewhere between poverty, being sexually abused as a child, living under a household of dysfunction where codependency, addiction and emotional abuse made a daily appearance, and of course the desperate confusion between being loved and rejected all at the same time; all of this made my childhood dreams come to a screeching halt.

Now, if we’re going to be honest here, I want you to know that I cherish every scar, every heartache, every trial, every battle and every storm. Every single one of them. My heart wouldn’t beat and bleed the way it does without my past experiences. I wouldn’t have turned out to be the best version of myself had I not lived through my darkest hours. Quite honestly, I’m very happy with the way I turned out. 

Fast forward a bit to my adolescence; As those years creeped in, with them, so did my lack of identity that arose from all that took place during my first experienced in life. 

Experimenting with drugs and alcohol, completely immersed in debauchery trying desperately to fill the voids that my shattered childhood dreams had once occupied, I entered what would soon become one of the most difficult periods of my life.

Drifting in and out of many realities or maybe illusions I had created, I found myself drifting into the arms of “love” or maybe hoping and fixating on the idea of what love was supposed to be.

Young, broken and more lost than ever, I married. Don’t worry, not everything was all bad. I was blessed with two of the most amazing and charismatic human beings ever to imagine; my children. My most beautiful experience and accomplishment till this day. 

I didn’t know much growing up but if there was something I was sure of, it was that I wanted to be a mother more than anything in the world. The best mother at that. 

Not long after I had my children my my marriage ended.

In my confusion, I hurt many people along the way. I destroyed the family I had promised my children they would always have. I damaged the heart of a man I once vowed to be with for better or for worse. I let myself down in more ways one could imagine. 

I had failed miserably; Failed my children; Failed to keep my dreams alive. Failed to keep a grip on the little bit of sanity that remained. I had simply failed at life in every single way a nightmare could be experienced. “Failure”. Can you relate?

Failure; My biggest fear and ironically, my greatest victory. I had become a master at it. Would you believe me if I told you that constant failure turned out to be one of the most incredible blessings of my life?

Years of struggle and of course fear, paralyzed me beyond my capacity to move forward for as long as I could remember. It kept me from believing that I was more than failure. That I could do more and that I could be more.

I saw seasons and seasons come and go and still, I remained trapped by my own thoughts and fears that lived only inside my head. I continued on a downward spiral, all because of the fear of failure. Ironic, wouldn’t you agree? 

Overwhelmed with years of helplessness, I finally decided I’d had enough. I was tired of all the emotional beatings I had inflicted on myself. In the midst of all my inner battles, our creator (who I came to know) our heavenly father brought me through those dark moments. Had it not been for his love and grace, I wouldn’t be telling this story today. My life changed because of him; saved my grace you could say.

I’d made a choice; to finally stop fighting with my past. I’d decided to use my story to reinvent myself and step into a completely blank canvas, venturing into a road I had never traveled before.

Tragedy, failure and sorrow were my trigger to pursue and rediscover happiness and success by helping others on their journey to do the same...

So, this is me. “Life as I know it”. Having seen it all, having experienced it all and most importantly, having survived it all. 

It is a terrible thing to live with fear; but it’s even more terrifying to have lived a lifetime knowing that you could have changed the course of your path and destiny had you made the choice to.

Remember:

“The Sweetest of dreams are the ones we have while we are wide awake”.                  

Dare to dream with me!

Sandy Salgado