top of page
Search

Embracing Change: Heidi Emad's Journey from Egypt to Barcelona

The Randal Osché Podcast: Season 1 | Episode 9




Join us on The Randall Osché Podcast as Heidi Emad shares her inspiring journey from Egypt to Spain. Discover how she navigated cultural challenges and pursued her passion for dance, ultimately finding a supportive community in Barcelona. Heidi opens up about the societal pressures she faced and her transformative path to personal freedom and artistic expression.


What You'll Learn:

  • Heidi's cultural transition from traditional Egyptian norms to embracing independence in Barcelona.

  • Her deep connection to belly dancing and how she challenges misconceptions about this art form.

  • Strategies Heidi uses, like journaling and meditation, to navigate her journey of self-discovery.


Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Youtube, Podcast Index, Podcasts Addict, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.


Subscribe to Our Newsletter for More Inspiring Stories:


About The Randall Osché Podcast:

Each episode embarks on a journey of meaningful conversations with ordinary people who have extraordinary stories to share. Exploring life's complexities, each episode navigates the ups and downs, the challenges and triumphs, and the lessons learned along the way.


Contact Us:


Highlights


  • Pursuing Dreams and Embracing Change: How Heidi’s move to Barcelona showed the courage to break norms and pursue personal aspirations.

  • Manifestation and Self-Belief: Believing in oneself and working towards goals demonstrates the power of clear intentions and persistence.

  • Finding Personal Expression and Community: Finding safe spaces for journaling, dancing, and creativity is crucial for freedom and happiness. Seek environments that align with your true self.

  • Resilience and Trusting the Process: Overcoming challenges illustrates the importance of resilience and trusting that setbacks lead to growth.


SHOW NOTES





Heidi Emad Quotes:


"I felt like I could go through anything, just to be free and do what I want and not feel controlled by culture or family."
"I was always watching series on Netflix...I would put the subtitles in Spanish so I could read while listening and it would help me understand things better."
"I learned very little about manifestation. That literally changed my life, you know."
"Have no fear of judgment. Take the risk and follow your heart."
"The journaling that I do, the format is it always starts with I guess it's like a gratitude journal in the morning."


Randall Osché Quotes:


"Journaling feels odd to say it, but it changed my life. It's made me a more positive person."
"Like we all want that but you only have so many years on this planet making the most of it. Yeah."
"Like a breakup is an opportunity to meet your potential husband right?"
"Honestly I used to date a girl who was from Portugal and I was like I'm gonna I'm gonna learn Portuguese. And then we don't we don't date anymore. But I've invested enough time into learning it. I'm not going to stop. It's like an outlet I guess I suppose. I hate it but it's helpful right? Like if you want to learn the language you got to try to speak the language but it's hard."

What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments!


And that's it for today's conversation here on the Randall Osché podcast. Thank you so much for joining us and we hope that you've enjoyed listening as much as we've enjoyed recording it.


Many many thanks to our guests today for sharing their knowledge, their experience and their life lessons. If you found today's conversation insightful, interesting, inspiring, please join our growing community by subscribing. Randall Osché podcast on your favorite podcast platform, and never ever miss another episode.


 We'd love to hear your feedback. So keep the community alive by sharing your takeaways from today's episode and use the hashtag Randall O'Shea podcast. Your feedback and interaction fuels our continued efforts to build a safe space for meaningful, long form conversations. So thank you so much for the support until next time, stay curious, stay inspired and keep the conversation going.





The Randall Osché Podcast - Heidi Emad (Episode 9)

[00:00:00] Heidi: They sexualize it too much, you know. Even those very cultural dance, you know. Bellydance was made in Egypt, and it wasn't meant to be seen by men, actually. It was like a fertility dance for women.

[00:00:11] Heidi: But unfortunately it turned into this sensualize dance, and women who do belly dance in Egypt or other dances in Egypt are usually voted out as bad women. 

[00:00:20] Randall: That's odd, right? Because it's part of the culture. 

[00:00:24] Heidi: Exactly! 

[00:00:25] AI: Hello, and welcome to the Randall O'Shea podcast, where we create a safe space for meaningful and thought provoking conversations. We have long form interviews with entrepreneurs, thought leaders, artists, and change makers in order to deconstruct their journeys and to pass out valuable life lessons and life changing perspectives for listeners like yourself.

[00:00:49] AI: So that you can, as Randall says, learn their lessons without their scars. So, whether you're tuning in on your daily commute, or during a workout, or cooking dinner, we are happy to have you join us. So, take a seat, relax, grab a cup of tea, and join the conversation. Now, let's dive into this week's episode. 

[00:01:14] Speaker: You made it.

[00:01:30] Randall: Heidi Emad, welcome to the show. For the people who don't know you yet. You're welcome. Why don't you go ahead and take a brief moment and introduce yourself. 

[00:01:38] Heidi: Sure. So my name is Heidi I'm a 29 year old Egyptian. I moved to Barcelona three years ago. I work as a model and a content creator.

[00:01:48] Randall: Excellent. Thank you for taking the time and joining us today, Heidi. There's things that other people do that intrigue me. One of those things is moving countries and especially from somebody in the United States. Yes, we're multicultural. We see a lot of people from a lot of different places, but the United States is so large.

[00:02:08] Randall: We move states, we don't move countries, and in Europe, a lot of people, you can be in one country, every other day, right? For many reasons one of them is because it's smaller another is because the transportation system is much better, but anyways. Tell me about your journey from going from Egypt to Spain.

[00:02:29] Randall: How did that manifest? 

[00:02:31] Heidi: So I've always been a traveler. I've always loved traveling. And from a really young age, I wanted to move countries and actually I wanted to move to New York because I've been there so many times and I just fell in love with it and I really wanted to go there and, you know, do my thing, but my dad wouldn't let me cause I was too young.

[00:02:50] Heidi: And he was like, Worried and like how the Egyptian culture is, women don't really leave from their homes until they're married or until they're old and independent enough. So it was like a no, a straight no for me. So then I was going on trips with my friends, traveling, traveling with my family as well.

[00:03:08] Heidi: And one year I decided to go to Barcelona with one of my best friends because I was learning Spanish when I was in Egypt. And I just, I wasn't working. I wasn't doing anything with my time. So I thought, why not do something useful and learn a new language? So I started learning Spanish and during learning Spanish, you're learning about Spain, Andalusia, Barcelona.

[00:03:29] Heidi: I was like, Oh my God, why don't we go for the summer? And, you know, spend the hot gray summer there with my best friend. So we went and I fell in love with Barcelona. I met so many people. It was a different experience for me because I could speak the language, more or less, I couldn't speak Spanish very well back then, but I could communicate with people, I fell in love with the culture, I fell in love with how diverse it is, how cosmopolitan it is, it has a beach, it has mountains, loads of activities, so I was like, oh my god, I want to move there, you know?

[00:04:05] Heidi: And I went back home and I was like, I need to do something to go back there. So I kept going back on vacation, basically. I didn't make a plan by then to move there. I kept going back on vacation. And then I came back one day and I was like, why don't I make a plan? And actually like to stay local.

[00:04:21] Heidi: I need to move there and stay for a while, even if it's not for a long time, but maybe for a few months, we'll see how it goes. And I did that. I got a job. It was a job in logistics and writing. It was an office job, which I hated. And I only worked for three years, that's to say, well, to be able to move to Barcelona for eight months or something and see, how I'm gonna feel because I've always lived with my parents.

[00:04:46] Heidi: Back in Egypt, I never lived by myself. I never shared an apartment with anyone. I was never, all by myself, you know? It was a bit scary and challenging, but I'm glad I did it, actually. 

[00:04:58] Randall: Awesome. Just taking notes. I always wonder about from a podcasting perspective, people see me looking down in the video all the time.

[00:05:06] Randall: They're like wondering what the hell he's doing. Like, I'm not sleeping. I promise. 

[00:05:09] Heidi: Okay. 

[00:05:10] Randall: So a bunch of questions quickly though, I also, I've been to Spain a couple of times Madrid and Barcelona, love Spain. Love Madrid and Barcelona. It's vibey. It's a lot cooler than United States for many reasons, in my opinion.

[00:05:26] Randall: But what was your favorite part about Spain and maybe in particular Barcelona? What was just, I love this place. 

[00:05:36] Heidi: It's a big city. I love this city. There's a lot going on. You could never get bored. There's a beach. There's so many people from all around the world.

[00:05:44] Heidi: You learn about so many cultures. You make friends from all around the world. It's very diverse. . You have everything over so that it's safe as well. 

[00:05:52] Randall: So it's like, yeah, that's my place. 

[00:05:54] Randall: Yeah, I like it too. I like that the two cities I've been to, Madrid and Barcelona. I like Madrid, but I think Barcelona has the edge because it's on the Mediterranean.

[00:06:05] Randall: Yeah. I like the water. 

[00:06:07] Heidi: Exactly. 

[00:06:08] Randall: Yeah, it's very nice. The other thing is about Europe in general, in my experience, is you have better access comparing the U. S. to European countries. 

[00:06:18] Heidi: Mm hmm. 

[00:06:18] Randall: In my experience. You have better access to better food, more accessible, anywhere you go, you can have delicious food.

[00:06:25] Randall: That doesn't work that way here, at least not in maybe major cities like New York City, but not in your average city in the United States. 

[00:06:33] Heidi: Where are you? 

[00:06:34] Randall: I live in Florida now. I live in like a beach community where there's a lot of vacationers coming and going, which is also by the, the Gulf of Mexico, which is gorgeous, but outside of going to the beach.

[00:06:48] Randall: There's not really going on here. 

[00:06:50] Randall: So you traveled and you took trips and you spent time in Barcelona with your friends and you were like, I need to figure out a way to make this more permanent or semi permanent part of my life. And then you said that you made a plan.

[00:07:06] Heidi: Yeah. 

[00:07:07] Randall: So, as far as parsing out life lessons in these conversations, I think you have to have a plan. Your target was, hey, I want to move to Barcelona. That's just not going to happen itself. I have to make a plan. This is what the plan looks like. How did you come to that realization of one, I love Barcelona.

[00:07:24] Randall: We know that already, I guess, but what was the point where like, Oh, to make this happen, I need to make a plan. And then this is what the plan looks like.

[00:07:32] Speaker 3: My answer to this question would be, I felt like I deserve to have this life for myself, and I deserve to like, experience this, experience this at some point in my life, and I was like, 26 back then, I think, when I decided to move to Barcelona, I was like, I'm 26. I still live with my parents. I'm still living in this small circle of my friends and my family and the things I'm allowed to do and the things I'm not allowed to do. I was like, I deserve freedom. I deserve to live my life. I deserve to take a risk and be adventurous and explore the world and see what I really want in life.

[00:08:09] Heidi: Maybe I won't, I won't like it and I'll come back. So I was really open to everything. 

[00:08:13] Randall: I love that. And the fact that I think sometimes people feel bad for saying things like I deserve this, but people, you're allowed to want things, you're allowed to pursue things that make you happy. You do deserve certain things.

[00:08:25] Randall: You're not entitled to those things necessarily, but you deserve it. And if you know, like Heidi, have a plan, execute on the plan, and you can put yourself in a situation. To experience the things that you think you deserve. 

[00:08:37] Randall: How long did you work at the job? You said you got a job in logistics. So you went to Barcelona. You were like, I need to come back here. You made a plan. The plan was to get a job to save money. Then to move to Barcelona. How long were you doing that job? Did you say, 

[00:08:51] Heidi: Three years? 

[00:08:51] Randall: Okay I thought I heard three years. Three years is a long time.

[00:08:55] Heidi: Yeah 

[00:08:55] Randall: Especially to do a job that you don't like doing. How did you keep your eye on the prize during that three year period and continue to save money for your move to Barcelona? 

[00:09:07] Heidi: I was still traveling, but I was working there. I was just saving up a bit more on the side, you know, life is that a thing and even when I felt busy, I was making plans and traveling inside Egypt as well because it helps them.

[00:09:20] Heidi: Beautiful spots, which are like cheaper to travel abroad. And I have myself motivated. I was always looking out schools to like go and continue studying Spanish in Barcelona and also Corona came and there was like a year you couldn't travel, you couldn't do anything. So this was also a pause for me and it was a good time for me to save up money. 

[00:09:42] Heidi: I was always manifesting myself in the streets of Barcelona, having shoots and walking around and having a job. And I was always manifesting the life that I have now. 

[00:09:52] Randall: And it happened, right? 

[00:09:54] Heidi: Yeah. 

[00:09:55] Randall: As you say that back to yourself now, how does that make you feel? 

[00:09:58] Heidi: Oh my God.

[00:09:58] Heidi: I feel like I have goosebumps now. 

[00:10:01] Randall: Yeah. Good for you. Good for you. The thing also intrigued about is how people's association with risk in life and, you know, you said that you were living with your family and then moving, it was a lot of new things for you sort of all at once, right?

[00:10:19] Randall: How were you comfortable taking the chances that you took to move to Barcelona, after you had saved the money, after you had left the job in logistics, how did you get comfortable with taking that sort of risk? 

[00:10:31] Heidi: I felt like anything was worth my freedom and being independent, actually.

[00:10:35] Heidi: I felt like I could go through anything. Just to be free and do what I want and not feel like, not feel controlled by culture or family. I wanted to be free and I wanted to be myself unapologetically. I wanted to pursue my dream. I felt like if I stay where I am now, in my comfort zone and trying to make everybody happy and trying to make my family happy, trying to make the people around me happy.

[00:10:59] Heidi: I want to be on my deathbed and think, Oh my God, what is this life that I have? I want to be grateful and I want to laugh and I want to remember all the memories that I did, even if I failed, even if I did crazy and stupid things. I want to be able to look back on that and actually be happy about it, you know?

[00:11:16] Randall: Yeah. I love that. It's beautiful. You said a couple times that, part of the motivation was to leave Egypt to go somewhere else because culturally, you didn't feel as though you could beyour full self, right? Tell me a little bit more about that.

[00:11:31] Randall: what's the culture like in Egypt for say a 26, 29 year old, femalewhat would be the cultural standards there that, precluded you from being the person that you are now in Barcelona? 

[00:11:46] Heidi: Well, the ultimate goal for a woman in Egypt is to study, graduate, get married, have kids.

[00:11:52] Heidi: That's the norm, you know? If you try to, be rebellious or try, you're like a rebellious bad girl, you know? So I was a rebellious bad girl. I couldn't fit in the culture.. My parents were always pressuring me to like, well my father's like why don't you like get to know somebody and get married, like look at all your friends, you're always going to weddings, for your friend's weddings from high school, na na na, it's about time, give it a chance, and they were pressuring me as if I was made.

[00:12:24] Heidi: To do that and that's it, you know, yeah, I mean, they were very encouraging also about working and I studied marketing in university and they were always encouraging me about my career and then and now, but their ultimate goal was that they get married, you know. 

[00:12:39] Randall: So very traditional, I guess is what we would, very traditional,study, meet somebody, get married, have kids.

[00:12:46] Randall: Yeah. Alright. I guess, after, the having kids part, that's the part of the traditional, like, traditionalness of that. It would be, the stay at home mom, is that, like? 

[00:12:57] Heidi: Or get divorced. Or get, 

[00:12:58] Randall: or get divorced. Okay. Is the divorce rate high in Egypt? 

[00:13:05] Heidi: Yeah. Actually, like, many of my friends are divorced now, with kids.

[00:13:09] Heidi: It's crazy. 

[00:13:10] Randall: Yeah. I think the United States the divorce rates 50 percent or over 50 percent at this point. 

[00:13:15] Heidi: Wow. 

[00:13:16] Heidi: I also feel like one of the reasons I didn't do freelance in Egypt because, there's a lot of misogynism, like men are allowed to do things that women aren't and I couldn't wear, whatever I want anywhere. I could only wear the things I want to specific places. I usually could walk in the street and enjoy the sun and na na na.

[00:13:37] Heidi: I have to be in a specific place so I lived in, like, a compound. You know, a residential area, which is a compound, which has a lot of green areas. I could only like, be able to walk there, or like a sporting club or whatever, but go outside in the streets of my country and be able to enjoy it and not worry about anybody looking at me in a certain way, or harassing me, or perhaps calling me.

[00:14:00] Heidi: Yeah, that's crazy, like I didn't want to spend my whole life trying to limit myself, or be scared. 

[00:14:07] Randall: Is the inability for you to walk down like a city street in Egypt is that because you didn't feel safe or is that because you didn't want to put up with the misogyny of the men there or both?

[00:14:20] Randall: I think both. Yeah, it's difficult being a woman in an Arab country or like a Muslim country. What would you tell the younger version of yourself that might be listening to this, that might be in Egypt right now, that wants maybe some of the things that you have now, but doesn't know how to pursue it?

[00:14:41] Heidi: I would say I've always promised you that we're gonna do it and we made it. 

[00:14:48] Randall: Yeah, that's incredible. 

[00:14:50] Randall: So language learning, 

[00:14:51] Randall: How many languages do you know? 

[00:14:52] Heidi: I speak three languages, Arabic, my mother tongue, English. I studied English since I was I don't know, like one year old or something. And Spanish, I started to learn Spanish four years ago. 

[00:15:05] Heidi: Tell me about your language learning journey with English and Spanish.

[00:15:10] Randall: Like English started early, how and why? 

[00:15:13] Heidi: Because in Egypt, they're really good private schools. They're either English, French, or German. So, my parents chose English. I don't know if this is like the global language, and I, sometimes I even think in English, you know. I feel like it's my, again, mother tongue language, I would say.

[00:15:32] Heidi: And Spanish I wasn't working back then when I learned Spanish and I wanted to do something useful. I've always loved to listen to Spanish music and Redon and Sazda, Machata. But I really wanted to understand the lyrics and I thought, how cool would it be to understand the lyrics of the music that I love and yeah, I learned Spanish and I felt like it was all written out for me, you know, without me, like noticing it. 

[00:15:58] Randall: Four years, you, are you pretty fluent? Are you fluent in Spanish? 

[00:16:02] Heidi: Yeah. 

[00:16:02] Randall: What was the thing that you did when you were learning Spanish that helped you the most? 

[00:16:06] Heidi: I was always watching series on Netflix. I would put the subtitles in English at first, but then I decided to put the subtitles in Spanish so I could like read while listening and it would help me understand things better.

[00:16:20] Heidi: And learning to speak Spanish, I had a lot of friends who don't speak English. So I was forced to train myself in Spanish. That was the way to practice for me. And so I was always listening to music in Spanish, looking at the lyrics. I love music, and I love listening to Spanish music, so I would always want to understand the lyrics, and I would memorize the lyrics, and that would help each have more vocab, you knoW?

[00:16:43] Randall: How did you get comfortable having the conversations when you were forced to speak in Spanish when you moved to Barcelona? 

[00:16:51] Heidi: I don't know, I feel like it just came to me. I would feel comfortable right away. Yeah, 

[00:16:56] Randall: yeah. I'm trying to learn Portuguese and it's tough to I mean it's tough because I don't know any other languages and I'm learning my first, second language.

[00:17:06] Randall: But doing it consistently helps me, but one of the things that I'm looking forward to is a time that I can be, somewhere where they speak Portuguese so I can just, hear it, remember it, regurgitate it I think that would be a significant help for me. 

[00:17:21] Heidi: I have a tutor who, like, makes 

[00:17:24] Randall: me speak in Portuguese when we have meetings like when we have lessons.

[00:17:32] Randall: I hate it, but it's helpful, right? Like, if you want to learn the language, you got to try to speak the language, but it's hard. 

[00:17:39] Randall: Honestly, I used to date a girl who was from Portugal, and I was like, I'm gonna, I'm gonna learn Portuguese. And then we don't, we don't date anymore. But I've invested enough time into learning it.

[00:17:49] Randall: I'm not going to stop. 

[00:17:50] Heidi: Yeah, nice. 

 

[00:17:52] Randall: you mentioned dancing, right? Tell me about your relationship with dancing. I think that you had said when you were in Egypt, you would dance. You love salsa. I know that you do that now, but tell me about your sort of the start of your love of dancing.

[00:18:06] Randall: What draws you to it? Why do you love to do it? 

[00:18:08] Heidi: I think because of my mom, actually, since I was a little kid, my mom would teach me like belly dance moves and you'd stand in front of the mirror and she would teach me how to move my hips and my waist and stuff. So I just fell in love with dancing and music since I was so young.

[00:18:23] Heidi: And I've always been like in the end of year parties and school, performing dances, I was learning choreographies and. I started training in Zanzibar in Egypt. When I was in Egypt, I feel like dancing is the only thing that got me through those three years where they're having this office job before I moved.

[00:18:43] Heidi: And I just fell in love with Latin dancing and ballet dance I love belly dance as well, but unfortunately, it just is very, like, looked down upon, you know? 

[00:18:53] Randall: Yeah, I was gonna ask based on our previous conversation about the difference of culture, how the dancing was received in Egypt.

[00:19:01] Randall: So, not good, right? From your standpoint. 

[00:19:04] Heidi: It's not good. 

[00:19:05] Randall: Yeah. 

[00:19:05] Heidi: They sexualize it too much, you know. Even those very cultural dance, you know. Bellydance was made in Egypt, and it wasn't meant to be seen by men, actually. It was like a fertility dance for women.

[00:19:17] Heidi: But unfortunately it turned into this sensualize dance, and women who do belly dance in Egypt or other dances in Egypt are usually voted out as bad women. 

[00:19:26] Randall: That's odd, right? Because it's part of the culture. 

[00:19:30] Heidi: Exactly! 

[00:19:31] Randall: And, even if it is over sexualized, I guess I'm making an assumption that because it is over sexualized, people like it, but people over sexualize it, which means they like it.

[00:19:40] Randall: But then they also look down upon it, right? So that's 

[00:19:43] Heidi: They judge women big time, like, it's crazy. 

[00:19:45] Randall: Yeah, that's the, I guess hypocrisy, right? 

[00:19:48] Heidi: Definitely, yeah. 

[00:19:49] Randall: Like, they want to see it because they've over sexualized this thing, which I'm assuming that means they want to see it, but at the same time, they're look down upon the people doing the dancing, right?

[00:19:57] Heidi: Exactly.

[00:19:58] Randall: 

[00:19:58] Randall: So thank you for sharing your love of dancing. And learning it from your mom. But you teach dancing too, is that correct?

[00:20:04] Randall: Yeah. In Barcelona? Tell me a little bit of that. 

[00:20:06] Heidi: I teach belly dance and I always think, even about the history of belly dance, and I always like to go deep into that stuff. If someone has the thing, I don't know about belly dance, it's just like a sexual dance where women move their hips and that's it.

[00:20:20] Heidi: I always try to make it more original and make it like, That's a way for women to connect to their body and then feel their feminine energy and prepare for menstruation and so many other stuff. 

[00:20:31] Heidi: It's not just a dance, it's a meditation. 

[00:20:34] Randall: I love that. Somebody wanted to connect with you to learn how to belly dance in Barcelona or any of the other dancing that you teach?

[00:20:40] Randall: Where can they find you or connect with you? 

[00:20:42] Heidi: You can reach me on Instagram. 

[00:20:45] Randall: What's your handle on Instagram? We'll put it in the show notes, but just if anybody's listening. 

[00:20:49] Heidi: Heidi's Jungle. 

[00:20:50] Randall: Heidi's Jungle. How did you uh, uh, I'm, I'm knowing that's what your Instagram handle is, but how did you arrive at Heidi's Jungle?

[00:20:59] Heidi: Because when I first started my Instagram, I was making like, curly hair tips, how to like, style your curly hair. So it was all about my hair, but it was right below since they're innovating content. 

[00:21:10] Randall: Nice. 

[00:21:10] Heidi: And then I started feeling like, oh my god, my life is a jungle actually, so I'll just keep it that way.

[00:21:15] Heidi: It's my hair and my life. 

[00:21:16] Randall: I think it suits you. I think it suits you.

[00:21:19] AI: Let's take a quick break from today's episode. If you're enjoying the conversation, please take a moment to look us up. You can find Randall on Instagram at Randall O'Shea, that's spelled at R A N D A L L O S C H E.

[00:21:38] AI: And you can catch the show notes and other resources at randallosche.com and now back to the episode. 

[00:21:44] Randall: So I saw on Instagram that you just came out in a digital magazine. Is that correct?

[00:21:49] Heidi: Yeah. 

[00:21:50] Randall: Tell me a little bit about what that is, that project, and maybe where people can go find it. 

[00:21:54] Heidi: So yeah, Ossidiana Magazine reached out to me and I felt like I was really inspirational to other people to read it and learn about me and learn about my life lessons and all that. So you can find that link in my bio to read Ossidiana Magazine and learn about everything that is in my life, my struggle. My family where I grew up how I moved, everything. 

[00:22:19] Randall: Is that publication, just about you or is it other people, other stories, or is that your story? 

[00:22:24] Heidi: No, it's just about me. 

[00:22:26] Randall: I love that. For listeners, we'll include that link in the show notes. I'll get it from Heidi, but if you want to go to her Instagram find the link.

[00:22:33] Randall: I think that we're doing a great job, Heidi. I keep looking at the notes from your bio of what we covered and we're getting through it without having to pay much attention to it. 

[00:22:40] Heidi: Yeah.

[00:22:41] Randall: All right. So now how long have you been in Barcelona? 

[00:22:44] Heidi: Three years. 

[00:22:45] Randall: Three years. And you model, teach dancing, and a full time content creator. Am I getting that correct? 

[00:22:52] Heidi: Yeah, correct. 

[00:22:53] Randall: Which one of those three is your favorite?

[00:22:55] Heidi: I feel like I have a part of me in all three. Okay. Because content creation gives me the chance to express and act and like, ' cause I've always wanted to be an actress, I believe I'm gonna m ake it one day. So that part gives me the freedom to do that. Modeling allows me to express myself also.

[00:23:15] Heidi: And dancing is just, it makes me feel alive, and takes my head off of any anxiety, or indigestion from everything. Dancing, it's just life for me, you know? 

[00:23:27] Randall: Yeah.What do you tell people, or what would you tell somebody? If you look online, if you Google or YouTube, how to start a business or even create content. Everybody would say most people, the general rule of thumb is you have to niche down, do one thing, focus on one thing. But you know, people are multifaceted. You're allowed to have different interests and you're allowed to pursue different interests and you're pursuing three things.

[00:23:49] Randall: They're all, probably a creative outlet. Right. I think they would fall in that category. But what would you say, if somebody gave you. Some feedback and said, Hey, you need to niche down. You need to focus on one of those three things. What would your retort be to them?

[00:24:05] Randall: I feel like I wouldn't be complete without one thing apart from the other. I feel like all of those things complete who I am and my personality and what I love to do. I feel like I can balance it out quite well, actually. Yeah, so two of the three things feed into the others, right?

[00:24:23] Randall: So you might not be as good or as passionate about dancing if you weren't creating content or the same with modeling, right? All three of those make the other two or any one of those make the other two increase your passion or your love of doing them, right? 

[00:24:40] Heidi: Exactly. I also love singing 

[00:24:43] Randall: Oh, yeah do you do that at all or are you just waiting for your opportunity to do that? 

[00:24:48] Randall: I guess I'm just waiting for my opportunity, I'm planning this project as well, and I've always wanted to sing, you know, always, and I sing sometimes, singing a bit in the future about it, but then I was like, now is the time, it's now or never. Tell me about the project. 

[00:25:04] Heidi: ha! So, I'm going to sing this song with Carlos Mangante. And with Dante Aguirre Farra, I'm going to record it at Caves in Andalusia. That's going to be like a Flamenco Egyptian fusion. 

[00:25:22] Randall: I love that. I love that. I'm looking forward to that coming out. Is it going to be?

[00:25:26] Randall: What's the plan? Audio, video. Where can people find that when it comes out? 

[00:25:31] Heidi: We're still not sure. We're trying to like brainstorm everything right now. 

[00:25:35] Randall: Yeah. I love it. I love it. I love a good project. 

[00:25:38] Randall: So your fiance is Carlos, right? 

[00:25:40] Heidi: Yeah.

[00:25:41] Randall: So, I know when we were speaking earlier, you had actually moved from Barcelona to another part of Spain and that's where you you met him. You didn't of course To move from Barcelona, I forget the other city that you moved to.

[00:25:55] Randall: So tell me about why you made that move. Because the question I had there was again, you picked up and you left Egypt to go to Barcelona, and then you left Barcelona and you went to this other part of Spain for a few months to learn dancing, like, tell me about that transition as well.

[00:26:09] Heidi: Yeah, so I went on two trips to Andalusia. I've always been in love with flamenco since I lived in Egypt. I would always listen to flamenco songs and feel things inside me. I would get really moved. I would want to cry. I would be like really, really moved by the voices of the singers and how these things, how super similar to traditional music and how it's super passionate and intense.

[00:26:33] Heidi: And one of my roommates was from Ada a city in Andalusia and she's like, oh my God, I feel like you have a g so like the of, you know, you need to go to Andalucia, you know, you're gonna f all in love because Andalusia is all about flamenco like the cultural music on. So I decided to go on a solo trip on Andalusia and to Granada. I fell in love with everything. I would go to live Flamenco shows and with stunning cool bars and all that stuff.

[00:27:02] Heidi: Met a lot of people there. And then I went to Seville. I also like Seville very much. I went to Malaga as well. And I came back to Barcelona I was super happy. I said, it's not gonna be my last time, I'm gonna go back for sure. So one of my best friends came to visit me from Egypt, and she was like, let's do something, I'm gonna come to Barcelona but let's, like, go to another place in Spain where we could discover stories yeah, put lenses on those videos.

[00:27:28] Heidi: I can put in there and not lie, it's a pretty severe. I went to Calis right after. And on this trip, I decided I'm going to move to Andalusia for sure, because I was obsessed with Flamenco at this point, obsessed with the people there, people there are super warm. They're very, very welcoming. They're very nice. They're very generous.

[00:27:46] Heidi: And they actually remind me of my people. You know, I felt like I'm home in Andalusia. So I was okay, I want to move there, I'm gonna learn Flamenco. I'm going to learn about this culture. I'm going to meet Andalusian people and I just packed my things, I'm in an apartment in Cali by myself, so it's so much cheaper than to rent an apartment and to like, live.

[00:28:08] Heidi: It's so much cheaper, nothing compared to Barcelona it's just perfect and I'm going.. I did it, and that's how I met Carlos. 

[00:28:16] Randall: So one of the things, I read a book once it was called Nomad Capitalist. And the basic premise of the book for different reasons is to go to where you're treated best, right?

[00:28:26] Randall: A lot of people. Grow up in a certain city or in a certain country and they feel as though they're fenced in and this is this is just life. Like I live here because my family's here. I live here because this is where I was born or why I was raised. But what I appreciate a lot about your story is that you've been to other places and then you've recognized that this place aligns with who I am as a person and I need to make it happen to go to where I'm treated best and to go where,it aligns. And speaking to you, I want to say, it aligns with your soul. You're like, oh, this place aligns with my soul. I want to be here. I think it's super important to you know, people thinking out there, I need X, Y, Z to move or I can't move or I have to be here close to my family.

[00:29:07] Randall: Like we all want that, but you only have so many years on this planet making the most of it. Yeah. 

[00:29:12] Heidi: Yeah. And I felt like it was calling for me. I felt like, Oh my God, I'm, I've become so overwhelmed with Barcelona. I'm done with Barcelona. I got so bored of everything. I need to move to Andalusia right now.

[00:29:23] Randall: Yeah, it sounds fitting. 

[00:29:25] Randall: So the other thing that we had mentioned before we started recording is sort of your routines and some of the things I think that, I would call it a recipe for yourself, right? So, You had mentioned that you love meditating, doing affirmations, journaling, reading, like, self help books.

[00:29:43] Heidi: Yeah. 

[00:29:44] Randall: So, how did you get started down I don't want to know if we want to call that personal development or just maybe learning about yourself, but how did you get started going down that path? 

[00:29:54] Heidi: I actually started going on that path when I was in Egypt. I was super depressed. I wasn't working.

[00:29:59] Heidi: I really wanted to move. That's when my dad told me no about moving to New York. I felt like I was having depression and anxiety, insomnia. Everything, so I would buy books, read books, learn about meditation. I remember the first time I meditated ever was like, one minute or two minutes? I started with really really short timings until I said 30 minutes, na na na, and really I felt like a difference, I felt like it helped calm me.

[00:30:26] Heidi: It helped change who I am, change the way I think. I would read books on the way, like on an airplane going somewhere, I would still have anxiety so I would read some books, I would try to like connect my breath to my body and it really really helped me. And I learned very little about manifestation.

[00:30:44] Heidi: That literally changed my life, you know. 

[00:30:47] Randall: What are some of your, your favorite books in that genre? 

[00:30:49] Heidi: I don't remember the name exactly, there's this one book that, I think it was one of the first books that I read. And, but I don't Not Giving a Fuck, I would say. 

[00:30:58] Randall: Yeah. Mark Manson, I think.

[00:31:00] Randall: I think it's the subtle art of not giving a fuck. 

[00:31:02] Heidi: Yeah. 

[00:31:03] Randall: Yeah. 

[00:31:03] Heidi: That book. And there's an epic Osho, and I would listen to a lot of podcasts as well. I love Jay Cheney, for example. I also send love to the Genie's community for all the helpful access to all his classes, teaching a lot of different things every week, and having like an online meeting weekly to talk about things and ask him things. 

[00:31:28] Randall: What about journaling?

[00:31:29] Randall: I know you journal as well. What's your journaling practice look like? 

[00:31:32] Heidi: I would just write everything I feel on paper. I would just try to get that energy out on paper. And I feel like the first thing that's on my mind is something that's really like getting to me or giving me major anxiety. I don't like to sleep with the things that I need to get it out on paper.

[00:31:50] Heidi: And I'm just write however I feel, you know, curse, womb, state thing, think about anything, literally. And I feel like one day people are going to look at it and write my life story. 

[00:32:04] Randall: Yep. Yeah, I journal as well. I think journaling is part of my recipe and I got started journaling because I read Tim Ferriss's Tools of Titans book, and Tools of Titans is about, so Tim Ferriss has a podcast, he interviews a lot of high performers, high achievers, and then based off of his podcast, he wrote a book, and in the book it's divided into three sections, Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise.

[00:32:29] Randall: And he condensed each of his interviews into two pages. And basically it's like what their recipes for success were, what pieces of information did they give that were valuable? And then how did they get to the position to be high achievers, to be on a Tim Ferriss podcast? And then what Tim Ferriss did for his readers is drew parallels between 

[00:32:49] Randall: all of these high achievers and there was consistent things that all of them did, right? Maybe some of them read similar books, or maybe some of them watched similar documentaries. Maybe all of them had a morning routine. You know, I think all of them worked out in some form or fashion.

[00:33:05] Randall: One of the things that really resonated with me was journaling. I wasn't journaling at the time. And then I started journaling feels odd to say it, but it changed my life. It's made me a more positive person.

[00:33:16] Randall: It's helped me stay focused. It's helped me achieve goals. Really keeps me on track with the things I tell myself that I want to do. I feel as though putting pen to paper. It's like magic happens there. The energy. I think you're, yeah.

[00:33:31] Randall: I think you're influencing me. I feel like I'm starting to talk like you now, the energy, the energy, from my anxiety or frustration or even excitement comes through the pen to the journal. And then like, after I journal I feel better, when I'm really stressed out and I go to the gym, when I'm done working out, I feel less pressure, and I feel the same way with journaling.

[00:33:52] Randall: It's like an outlet, I guess, I suppose. 

[00:33:53] Heidi: Yeah, you're also being able to organize your thoughts, understand your thoughts, basically. 

[00:33:59] Randall: Yeah, I would highly recommend it. Anybody out there that thinks we're nerds for journaling, try it once. See how you like it. 

[00:34:05] Randall: So in preparing for the recording, one of the things you had mentioned to me is you want to inspire women to be able to break free. And be themselves with no fear. I think we touched on a little bit of why that's important to you. But if you know, any women are listening to this and your story resonates with them, you know, what advice, guidance, or wisdom, or support could you offer them to maybe take that first step You know, breaking free and being their full selves.

[00:34:37] Heidi: Have no fear of judgment. Take the risk and follow your heart. 

[00:34:41] Randall: Yeah. What if there happened to be in a culture where like you were in Egypt where maybe it's not as easy just to have no fear or it's just not as easy to saying it is. Right. I know you know this, but saying it's much easier than executing on it.

[00:34:58] Randall: Sure. But if you're not in, an area where that's going to be welcome with open arms. What would you advise them of how to navigate that situation? 

[00:35:07] Heidi: I would say find the right kind of people where you could be yourself freely. When I was in Egypt, I had my Circle of friends and circle of people where I could be myself, authentically, you know?

[00:35:19] Heidi: But I felt like I was also a bit restricted. I wanted to be myself everywhere and anywhere, you know? I would say if you can't move right now, or ifyou're not able to plan something like that. Just find the right people and it's going to be a way for you to express yourself and be free and let go of that restricting energy.

[00:35:38] Heidi: Also journal, find a way of expression that allows you to be you. Like dancing, singing, art, painting, running, sports, it could be anything.

[00:35:49] Randall: One of the things I suppose from that that you did while you were in Egypt is you found your people that you could be yourself around and that was that was like a baby step But then to really be able to be your true self you had to move, right? You had to go to where you were treated best a place that resonated with who you are as a person. So I suppose that could be the framework of which somebody can think through is maybe I don't have the ability to be my authentic self a hundred percent due to environmental circumstances, but find people in that current environment who you can be your full self around and then maybe take some actions Create a plan like Heidi did and go to a place that you're treated the way you want to be treated, right?

[00:36:29] Heidi: Yeah, definitely 

[00:36:31] Randall: What's one of the most pivotal moments of your life or your career?

[00:36:35] Heidi: I would say when I started being independent and I started living by myself and I started feeling the responsibility of taking care of myself and making my own money and being responsible basically for everything. I am the owner of my life. This realization changed me. It changed who I am. It changed the way I think, the way I act, the way I behave, the people I let into my life, my routines even, the ways I grow in my health, everything.

[00:37:03] Randall: When was the moment in your story where you started to take complete responsibility for who you are and how you move through the world? 

[00:37:10] Heidi: The very exact day I left Egypt.

[00:37:13] Randall: Okay. I love that. 

[00:37:14] Randall: I think success is a broad term and I think success looks different. For different people, but when you think of the term for success, as it would apply to your life, your career, your business your singing, songwriting or all of it, what does success look like to you?

[00:37:29] Heidi: I would say success would be first, peace of mind, health, and responsibility. For me, that's success. 

[00:37:35] Randall: Yeah. I love that. I guess another one of the themes of the podcast, I think people associate success and think of it like money, fame, et cetera. But if you take time to check in with yourself, maybe journal on it, like what it actually means to you, I think you can have a better relationship with what success is.

[00:37:54] Randall: And I think that can really help ground people and perhaps maybe make things that seem unattainable obtainable once you start to really understand what it is that you want to achieve and what's going to make you the best version of yourself. 

[00:38:07] Heidi: Yeah. And gratitude actually be grateful for every little thing you have and that way you attract more good things.

[00:38:15] Heidi: The journaling that I do, the format is it always starts with, I guess it's like a gratitude journal in the morning. I always start with three things at least that I'm grateful for. They don't have to be monumental things. Like I live in Florida So we get a lot of sunshine here and I love sunshine because it makes me feel great. So it's just like I'm grateful for these blue skies and the sunshine. It's a good moment to check in with myself like yeah, I might want more and that's fine But let's appreciate the things that we do have. Yeah, and the small things.

[00:38:42] Randall: Yeah, on the flip side,what's one of your favorite failures and what did you learn from it? 

[00:38:47] Heidi: Hmm, I think my failures, 

[00:38:50] Heidi: I was engaged back then when I was in Egypt. I was really young. I was in the first year of university and I met this guy when I was in high school.

[00:38:59] Heidi: Thought I was in love, thought he was the one, got engaged to him. And we were engaged for about two years and a half. Didn't work out, so many issues. And when we broke up, then we ended things. I was destroyed, literally. I had planned my whole life with that guy, you know, we were looking at, places where to live, apartments, na na na, same with the trans, everything.

[00:39:22] Heidi: And actually now I feel super grateful it didn't work out, because here I am now. I'm so glad it didn't work out, and I would say the same for all my past relationships, actually. 

[00:39:33] Randall: Yeah, I think past relationships, give you the opportunity, Of course you want relationships to work out when you're in them, but I think they inform you of like, the type of relationship that you want to have.

[00:39:43] Randall: Especially if you're introspective, or I guess reflective, like, why didn't this work out? Is this not the type of person I want to be with? Did they not support me the way that I wanted to support them? Did I not support them the way I should have been supporting them?

[00:39:58] Randall: But if you're, open to it. I think that can better inform, how you move forward in the world. So I tend to look at I guess I don't even necessarily like to use the terminology failures, but I guess. In the moment, it can be a failure, but I think it's always an opportunity, right?

[00:40:13] Randall: Like a breakup is an opportunity to meet your potential husband, right? 

[00:40:17] Heidi: Exactly. Yeah. 

[00:40:18] Randall: Yeah. 

[00:40:19] Heidi: I feel like everything happens for ways that we might not realize it now, but we should trust that it happens for our own good. You should trust the process. It didn't happen.

[00:40:28] Heidi: It means it was best for us. There's something greater is going to happen. 

[00:40:32] Randall: I love that. And we had covered this earlier, but one of my biggest motivations for this is advice for my younger self almost, right? Like, you have information that would better inform the younger version of you, right?

[00:40:45] Randall: And I'm not saying that you regret anything or even me. But because we've learned and we've grown from those opportunities. But, I think of it as a golden tablet. Like, if I had a golden tablet to give my, younger self, what would be in that golden tablet? So if you could give a golden tablet to your younger self of, the advice, guidance and wisdom that you've learned so far in life, what would be some of those key pieces in that golden tablet the younger version of you?

[00:41:13] Heidi: would tell her to not be scared. I would tell her, go find your people. You're loved. The third thing would be, just follow your heart and trust the process, and don't stress about it too much. Don't take it too seriously.

[00:41:28] Randall: I love that. 

[00:41:29] Randall: For the uh people listening uh, where , they find you again? 

[00:41:32] Heidi: I'm on Instagram and @heidisjungle on TikTok as well.

[00:41:36] Randall: Thank you. So, Heidi Emad, thank you for your time today. Thank you for sharing your story. 

[00:41:42] Heidi: Thank you, Randall! 

[00:41:43] Randall: you're absolutely welcome. 

[00:41:44] AI: And that's it for today's conversation here on the Randall O'Shea podcast. Thank you so much for joining us.

[00:41:50] AI: And we hope that you've enjoyed listening as much as we've enjoyed recording it. Many, many thanks to our guests today for sharing their knowledge, their experience, and their life lessons. If you found today's conversation. Insightful, interesting, inspiring. Please join our growing community by subscribing to the Randall O'Shea podcast on your favorite podcast platform and never, ever miss another episode.

[00:42:16] AI: We'd love to hear your feedback. So keep the community alive by sharing your takeaways from today's episode and use the hashtag Randall O'Shea podcast. Your feedback and interaction fuels our continued efforts to build a safe space for meaningful, long form conversations. So thank you so much for the support until next time.

[00:42:37] AI: Stay curious, stay inspired and keep the conversation going.

7 views0 comments

Comments

bottom of page