The Making Of Kia Storm...is now the Evolution of Kia Garriques: Reinvention: strive for the unknown

PART ONE

Have you ever felt the need to do something else in your life but feel afraid of the thought of change? Maybe your family has told you that it is too late to change careers or that you have too much commitment and responsibility to ever get out of the rut you now find yourself in?

“The truth is most people are so afraid,” says Kia.

“Most people are living their lives under labels and once you have been labelled as something it becomes a task in itself to break free of that perception of yourself. Mainly because the people around you will fight pretty hard to ensure you stay in that category they have created for you.”

As we were chatting, I tried to think long and hard about the time when I have been labelled and I can certainly see this ideology as a fact as I struggle to live up to the image of my loved ones.

Now, I know that entering new territory should never be frightening but exciting.

When you reinvent yourself at a young age, change always has the potential to be great. Some have said that we can be happier if we de clutter and cleanse our lives.

Leave your baggage behind whether it is objects or people. Other individuals should not have the right to drag you down with them.

Once you have restored your mental state, it is time to get physical. The best way to feel alive again is to energize the body. I find that if I start the day with 20 minutes of yoga or gentle exercise, I am much happier for the rest of the day and the general ‘tube rush’ in London does not bother me. I am able to deal with difficulties that arise as calmly as possible and know that it is just part of life.

A friend in India recently told me that she is afraid of changing careers. She studied sciences at university and cannot deal with the voices that will ridicule her for not being great at the main subject that she studied.

We are all fearful of our future at some point in our lives but it is how we deal with it that is most important. We need to trust ourselves and ignore the negative voices that tell us, there are no ways out of our current situation. Don’t let these voices stop you from progressing to a new level.

“I never accept labels,” says Kia. “If you think I am one thing today, I will be another tomorrow. I just never want to be boxed in, caved in, blocked into anything because I love the taste of freedom and I love the buzz that the unknown brings.”

“I am very good at creating possibilities for myself but my fear comes with meeting new people. People are often too quick to tell me I am successful because they somehow see success within me that I can’t recognise within myself.”

“How do you mean?” I asked.

“I guess I cringe when people say that because as in my eyes I am not and there are still so much to do to get to the level I want,” Kia says.

“It will take tremendous level of patience and passion, determination resilience, commitment, discipline- all the things I pray that I develop on a daily basis because they are not easy at all. I think the key though is to constantly give, because people don’t realise that success lies in giving, really it does,” she smiles happily.

“I just desperately want to share my book with the world and will wait in anticipation like a little kid asking ‘so what do you think of it? Do you like it?’ This can be both scary and exciting but in order for me to get to the point of sharing I must reinvent,” she explains.

“I must enter into the unknown and I must be willing to give. This is how I view success. I don’t view it as monetary gain meaning that I can now afford to buy the latest designer handbag. I view success as in how many people have I inspired with my vision, my work and if I haven’t moved enough people with my craft, then I aspire to inspire more. It’s that simple. “

I must admit that I have become very fond of Kia. She really is very genuine. I do believe that she pushes herself to the limit and she always strives for something.