Wing Woman of the Week with Janis Isaman
Check out this superstar of a #wingwoman, Janis Isaman! Janis is the founder of the one-on-one private studio, My Body Couture. She is also a speaker, facilitator, instructor, and a mother. In our interview, Janis shares how honesty is the key to lasting friendships, how we all need to remember that life is a marathon, and how she found her purpose by unapologetically pursuing what made her happy. Continue reading to learn all about Janis!
1. What makes you happy?
My son. Listening to a podcast, writing, having a clean apartment, flowers from A Small Flower, food from Yummi Yogis, beautiful lingerie, taking photos with my Nikon, reading.
2. What advice would you give your younger self?
Life is a long time.
I remember crying when I turned 25 because my life didn’t look at all like I thought it would! I thought I should own a gorgeous home and have a great career and relationship and be impeccably dressed. In reality, I was single and living with roommates with a starter job and Value Village clothes.
In retrospect: 25 is so young and the best years are ahead rather than behind.
Knowing that accomplishments, accumulation, relationships and achievements take years to develop might have frustrated me at the time, but I also would have been more prepared for the marathon of life.
3. If you could magically solve one problem in the world, what would that be?
Income disparity.
4. How did you find your purpose?
I have always been motivated to unapologetically pursue what makes me happy. So I cycled through a lot of different options and opportunity, most of which were also really great, before I opened my business.
5. What is your biggest pain point in building relationships?
I deeply dislike “managing” my calendar, so the hardest part is the moment I have to open my calendar and physically book a time to see someone.
6. What have you learned from past friendships that didn't work out?
Breaking up friendships is more painful than breaking up love relationships.
Sometimes things happen that change everything, and for me, they are usually values related.
The biggest “lesson” is being honest and not pretending that the relationship has come to the proverbial Guillotine moment. I used to hope that we could forgive and forget, but that has rarely been the case. Now I’d rather address things honestly, openly discuss the issue and make decisions based on real information rather than conjecture.
7. Who are your SHEros (AKA female heroes)?
I have admired Jennifer Lopez since the 1990s. She emerged at a time when she was a different aesthetic than the popular norm, which caught my attention. She has followed her multi-faceted passions which is counter to the oft stated narrative that we must only be good at one thing.
8. What podcasts/books are you listening/reading right now?
I always listen to the Dateable podcast and I’ve never missed an episode of the Mark Groves podcast.
I try to read a book a week, so it depends on what week you catch me. The last two books I read were: “Lessons: A Path to a Meaningful Life” by Giselle and “How we Fight for our Lives” by Saeed Jones, both finds from the Little Free Library by my house.
9. Where can we find you?
Website: mybodycouture.com
Facebook: Facebook.com/mybodycouture
Instagram: Instagram.com/mybodycouture
Twitter: twitter.com/mybodycouture
Elephant Journal: https://www.elephantjournal.com/author/janis_isaman/
LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/jisaman YouTube: https://m.youtube.com/user/janisisaman