Renee Israel Has Chispa

NovDec-Renee-Israel-Shes-Got-Chispa

Renee Israel: Co-Founder & Mama Pop, Doc Popcorn

What have you overcome? In my mid-30s, I had a rather traumatic and unexpected break-up with my live-in “thought-I-would-marry” boyfriend. I almost can’t remember the six months that followed because I just went through the bare minimum motions necessary to get through a workday and merely exist. During this time I experienced pain in my stomach that, I didn’t understand at the time, were a result of holding in all my emotions. Convinced I was seriously ill, I called my doctor after hours, insisting that she see me first thing. After she examined me, and even had her colleague provide a second opinion, she took me into her office, closed the door and asked me if I was willing to share if anything major in my life changed recently.

Through uncontrollable tears, the first since the breakup, I explained my situation. She listened intently to the whole story, took a deep empathetic breath and said that there was absolutely nothing wrong with me—at least physically—and that I just needed to go through the pain of morning my relationship. More importantly, she said when I was ready, that I needed to spend some time understanding its demise, so I could apply the learnings to my next relationship.

Somehow, those words were a huge turning point for me. The pain I was feeling ceased almost immediately. In time, I realized that I made many choices, conscious and unconscious, that prevented me from really connecting in an intimate way with my partner, and my own self. Choices that had me feeling trapped and stuck in other areas of my life as well, include work. I left my position at a top marketing agency to pursue a different direction that could help me achieve both my personal and professional aspirations. Although I didn’t know exactly what that looked like, I did know that working 60+ hours a week on someone else’s clock wasn’t going to help me achieve my goals of getting married, starting a family, and doing more of what I loved to do—and do it on my own terms.

Through a series of explorations, I wound up consulting for two start-ups, one for profit, and one non-profit. Although I still worked crazy hours, greater flexibility, more meaningful work and less travel made me more available and receptive to develop a more committed relationship. That’s when I met the love of my life, entrepreneur husband and his idea for Doc Popcorn. We built the company and our family together, and the rest, as they say, is history. Over a decade later, my personal, work and family life are completely intertwined, something I never could have imagined…and now it’s impossible to imagine life in any other way.

How has your past adversity helped you grow as a person, how has your endurance grown with the process of your tests how you will you use your past to operate now and in the future? Overcoming adversity of any kind builds strength and the ability to persevere. It prepares us for all of life’s lessons, big and small. When I was younger, I would have looked at any roadblock as a negative, something to bulldoze through, ignoring all the uncomfortable feelings along the way. Now I try really hard to appreciate life’s tough spots as exciting puzzles and challenges to solve—an opportunity to grow and learn, whether it’s personal, family or business, all roads lead to Rome. I want to look at any given situation and ask, how can I do this better next time?

For more of Renee Israel, and the many faces of perseverance order your copy of the November | December, Overcoming Issue here

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Mavian Arocha-Rowe

Mavian Arocha-Rowe

Editor-in-Chief at Chispa Magazine
Mavian Arocha-Rowe is known as an asset to the business and communications industry and is motivating and advocating “your authenticity should be your strategy,” for all women, regardless of their season and roles. For the past 20 years she has directed magazines, plus multiple art and marketing departments as creative director and brand manager. What supersedes all of her great career moves is her role as wife and mother living in Atlanta. Challenging herself to discover and bravely pursue the calling for her life, Arocha-Rowe helps other women discover and pursue their life’s assignment. She is a passionate, and loud-laughing speaker on the topic of purposefully redeemed, and mentors young women so they can exercise a mind that is doctrinally pure, along with a heart that beats toward sanctification. She will almost never turn down Marlow’s Tavern double-tavern cheeseburger, a cooking-demonstration from Leaning Ladder, or any opportunity to head to Miami to spend time with family.
Mavian Arocha-Rowe

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Mavian Arocha-Rowe

Mavian Arocha-Rowe is known as an asset to the business and communications industry and is motivating and advocating “your authenticity should be your strategy,” for all women, regardless of their season and roles. For the past 20 years she has directed magazines, plus multiple art and marketing departments as creative director and brand manager. What supersedes all of her great career moves is her role as wife and mother living in Atlanta. Challenging herself to discover and bravely pursue the calling for her life, Arocha-Rowe helps other women discover and pursue their life’s assignment. She is a passionate, and loud-laughing speaker on the topic of purposefully redeemed, and mentors young women so they can exercise a mind that is doctrinally pure, along with a heart that beats toward sanctification. She will almost never turn down Marlow’s Tavern double-tavern cheeseburger, a cooking-demonstration from Leaning Ladder, or any opportunity to head to Miami to spend time with family.