This blog is based on an interview with Jacinta Simons. It is a summary of the conversation, not the exact transcript. You can listen to the whole interview on the podcast!
Welcome on the show Jacinta! Let’s start with an introduction: who are you and what do you do?
My name is Jacinta Simons. I’m half Dutch, half Belgian but I live in Spain at the moment. I’m a photographer and online brand expert, which means that I help women with their personal brand on their social media and website. My bigger vision is to empower women to go after their wildest dreams and grow their confidence, because I believe we still play it too small.
I love that you moved to Spain! I heard you talk about freedom and chasing your dreams. Does moving to Spain have something to do with that?
Well, I grew up in a small village where my environment encouraged me to keep myself small. Moving abroad really broadened my horizon. I live in the city now (Valencia) and when I moved here I didn’t know anyone so I didn’t have anyone to influence me. In Spain and on my travels I met people who didn’t judge me for wanting to live a ‘different’ life. Instead of holding me back they encouraged me to go after what I wanted.
Also, my move brought me more business opportunities.
Look for examples of people who did achieve what you would like to have.
That’s so interesting, I fully agree with you on that. I traveled myself to Australia and Asia and it opened up my eyes for different lifestyles. I did realize that money would be important and I began to see finances in a different light. May I ask what your mindset is about money? Do you feel positively or negatively about it?
Very good question, I don’t always know (laughs). I like to think I have a positive feeling towards money, but then I realize I still have a lot of limiting beliefs about it. When you say that you need money to travel, I think that’s a limiting belief. You see, there is so much you can do to travel nearly for free: work in a hostel, swap apartments with someone…
It all depends on what you want to do of course.
Download the expense tracker I used to get out of debt. It’s for free!
When I think about money, I envision it as a tool to create the life of my dreams. Nowadays there hardly is anything you can do without any money. But I do see your point and I like that you dove straight into the “how”. Like, “how can I do this?” instead of “I can’t do this”, that’s a powerful mindset that puts you miles ahead.
Yes, I strongly believe that if you want something bad enough you will find a way to do it. It’s all about priorities. If you really want money to travel, you can sell your car or your clothes. But if you don’t want it bad enough you’ll use that car or those clothes as an excuse not to go. There are so many ways to travel and if you want to make it happen, you can.
Definitely, the mindset is crucial. The key lies in thinking in possibilities, not in problems. The same goes for money: if you want more money, tackle those limiting money beliefs first because they are holding you back. On my travels I pivoted to actually liking money instead of hating it, because it can buy you the experiences you like and the freedom you’re after.
A lot of those limiting beliefs stem from our childhood and education. What is your experience with that? Did your parents teach you about finance and money management?
No, it’s really bad actually. I have two siblings and my parents are middle class. Growing up we were neither rich nor poor. Compared to my siblings I’m the worst with money, because I have the biggest yolo attitude (laughs). My brother on the other hand is really into finance, which is funny because we had the same upbringing.
So your education matters but your personality plays a role too. I’m more of a creative person and I never attached a lot of value to money. I don’t like sticking to a budget. Also my parents used to say that you can’t earn a living with a creative profession. In the meantime I have learned that’s not true, but those ideas are still engrained in my mind.
It’s a good thing you are aware of those beliefs so you can work on them, because you cannot just easily ditch them overnight. Oftentimes people around you impose their own limiting beliefs on you. They don’t want to see you succeed in something they’re afraid of themselves, and I really don’t think that’s intentionally, but it’s a way of self protection.
Therefor breaking loose and taking distance is a very good thing. Another good tip: look for examples of people who did achieve what you would like to have. It helps to see that your goal is actually possible.
Yes! Seeing women on Instagram travel the world really triggered me to do it myself. I thought “if this triggers me that much, I should do it”. If they can do it, I can do it too. Being jealous of someone is often a good indicator of what you want.
That being said: Instagram is amazing but you also need to realize that most people show the good things only. On my travels I showed the beautiful views but not the dorms. Talking about the stuff that’s less nice is necessary. But in my business I like to focus on the positive: share the lesson but not the drama.
That’s a good one! People turn to me for help with their finances and investing but I struggle too from time to time, I’m only human and life happens. I don’t shy away from discussing those things because I want people to see that I understand them, that I have been there (I was in debt years ago) and that I can help them based on experience.
Exactly, you need to understand what someone is going through. We need to be more open and honest about that. Even about money.
Especially about money. We have no financial education and it causes tragedies. People don’t want to admit they struggle financially out of fear that society will judge them.
I disconnected from that mindset by taking my distance. Money doesn’t influence my self worth anymore. In the West we seem to measure success by the number in your bank account and I don’t agree with that. It’s not because you have a big house and a fancy car that you did well in life. I used to live in a big house and had a good paycheck, but I wasn’t happy.
True. I do believe that money is important in this world but not to measure your success by. I would go as far as saying that the more you let go of that belief, the easier money will flow towards you because you stop chasing it desperately. A healthy attitude is everything.
To me, the definition of succes is to reach whatever makes you happy, not what’s in your bank account.
I also wanted to ask you about investing. Is that something you have done in the past, or planning to at all?
That’s a bit of a thing. I never invested before, but my brother is trying to convince me to start. So I am starting to consider it but I want to find a way of investing that suits me. For example, crypto is not something I’m interested in but I would like to invest in real estate. I think it’s important to find something that is a good fit for me. I would like to have multiple money flows, for security, the future etc… The past few years money was the last thing on my mind but now I want to get more serious with my finances.
The stock market and the whole concept of investing was always like Chinese to me. So when I start I will probably ask someone to help me out with that.
>>> Blog: How to start investing
You’re absolutely right, you need to find something that suits you, that’s the wise thing to do.
I’m going to wrap up this interview with the question that I ask everyone: imagine that you win millions in the lottery and you never have to work again. What would you do?
Travel, definitely (laughs). I would also make a plan to make more money with those millions to help more people. I really believe that more good people need more money, that would be such a good change for the world.
Omg I am so happy that you said that. I always say this: money is a neutral tool. Bad people with lots of money do lots of bad things, but good people with lots of money do lots of good things. I think that’s a nice conclusion for this interview.
Yes, I agree!
Get in contact with Jacinta:
FREE GUIDE ‘POSE LIKE A BADASS’: https://www.jacivibes.com/free
Website: www.jacivibes.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/jacivibes_photo
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacintasimons-jacivibespersonalbranding/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBeRer0c6FbYCHTpIYpvzCA