About Laila

I thought I was fine.

The effects of stress and being in fight or flight mode for a prolonged period never crossed my mind. But I sure did enjoy my wine to wind down, and coffee to jump start my early mornings (a bad habit I developed in college). But little did I know, I was running on adrenaline.

After two years of working and reporting in disaster-response mode, I landed a job back in New Orleans, taking me from one recovery zone to another that was even worse. And I embraced every minute of it.

I discovered a new normal in New Orleans. While working as a full-time reporter, I decided to open a consulting business. I worked with clients in several industries to help them with media and image training, public relations consulting, and communications strategies.

But I knew I could achieve more.

I started to feel some internal rumblings calling me to take more control of my life and my own destiny, and not be owned by a broadcasting entity. Or any company, for that matter.

I also realized that the broadcasting industry was changing, and I didn’t fit in anymore. I wanted freedom of self and creativity. And I knew the potential for a higher income stream was somewhere else.

Around that time, I met my now husband, Tim. I was 35. It was special, different. I was on a roller coaster of love!

I remained focused on my career development.

It was time to make a strategic career move. I took a job outside of broadcasting for the first time in 13 years as a Public Relations Executive in a mid-sized agency. As I looked at it, this was my opportunity for me to achieve my communications “master’s degree.”

In my new role, I managed campaigns for clients in tourism and hospitality, higher education, food and beverage, non-profit, government, banking, and more. At first, I was excited to learn new things. I was upgrading my operating system (knowledge) and learning how the business/corporate world worked.

But in time, the opportunity that gave me so much education started to chip away at my soul. I was not an office kind of a girl. Every day I walked into that building, I felt like I was walking into a coffin.  I was stifled… bored. It didn’t fit my personality. But I couldn’t quit.

Tim and I were engaged and happy. But we were faced with a huge challenge… a scary diagnosis.

Tim was experiencing excruciating knee pain. When we could get him in to see an orthopedic surgeon, Tim was diagnosed with a torn ACL and meniscus tears in his right knee – but also MRSA: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

He was rushed to surgery to have his knee scoped. It didn’t work, and he went through another surgery. The antibiotics weren’t working either, and his organs were shutting down. He was becoming septic and the words “amputate his leg” were even mentioned.

But, by the grace of God, his doctor was able to find an antibiotic to try. It actually had to be flown into New Orleans from New York! After a month of being in and out of the hospital, Tim’s body was finally responding to the antibiotic.

We overcame the experience together.

Tim’s journey continued: he was on home health for more than three months with a PICC line to his heart. Needless to say, I ignored my own health for quite a while.

Fast forward: Tim is now happy, healthy, and back to his athletic self. And we are happily married.

I also left the agency world to pursue my own dreams, which included communications and marketing consulting.

For YEARS AND YEARS, I didn’t stop. And it took a toll.

I ignored my body, my mind, and my intuition, until my body wouldn’t let me anymore.

By the time I was 38, I was stressed. Tired. Miserable. Unmotivated. I gained 50 pounds. I couldn’t get out of bed. And it took every ounce of energy for me to push through the depression and horrible anxiety that manifested in my gut.

I lost my spirit.

This time, Tim was bearing the brunt of my exhaustion and depression. So I started seeing doctors, acupuncturists, holistic healers, nutritionists, and more. Eventually I was diagnosed with hormone imbalances, including hypothyroidism and adrenal fatigue. I was prescribed pills, supplements, tonics, exercise regimens, diets, and the list goes on.

But NOTHING worked. I had it! I felt like my body was attacking itself.

Somehow, though, I knew the answers were inside of me. And just like I did with my career, I took control of my own path with my health, and with the help of only those practitioners who really listened to me.

MY PATH TO MOTIVATIONAL & WELLNESS COACHING

Through exhaustive research, trial and error, help from Above and more, I have been able to put an end to the maddening cycle of health issues, doctor appointments, and prescriptions. I regained my energy, my happiness, my motivation, my joy, and most importantly — my spirit.

The journalist in me kicked back in.

I learned about toxicity, our environment, our food supply, how food affects our bodies and brains, vitamins and supplements, holistic and natural remedies, exercise, meditation, spirituality, neuroscience, and personal development. I also learned about the FDA, EPA, and other governmental agencies and how they operate.

Now, I realized that I needed to make changes from the inside out. I figured out what works for me. While I still seek holistic and medical interventions and advice… the chase is over. Now, my health choices, my LIFE choices, are intuitive decisions for me.

I took things even further: Certified Health & Wellness Coaching

My desire to help others became so overwhelming that I went back to school to become an International Coach Federation Certified Life, Health & Wellness Coach because I know we can all make changes from the inside out! I’m proof – and many of my clients are, too!

I started a community devoted to whole soul wellness.

I also founded LikeMinded Ladies, a membership organization comprising women in business and/or those interested in launching new careers or undertaking new professional endeavors. We support each other both professionally and personally to accomplish our goals. I want our members to have an impact in their respective communities. It is ultimately about women being kind to fellow women, encouraging inclusion, support, professional encouragement, and networking in a safe, loving atmosphere.

We focus on WHOLE SOUL growth, and the only requirement of our members is to be kind and supportive of each other and themselves.

You see a trend here?

HEALING THEN...COVID, CANCER

After Tim was healed, we began trying to have a baby. Clomid, Letrozole, HCG and other hormone injections started. I was trying to stay away from IUI and IVF at first, but alas, we ended up having to go through IVF after many years of trying with medication support. We went to one of the best doctors in the country but after all that time and having an embryo (we named him Michel), nothing worked. In 2018, we ended our journey of hoping for parenthood, which was completely devastating to me as a woman and a wife. But I was able to support myself and still feel the emotions to this day!

In 2019, I began the process of healing in therapy. Using EMDR, I released trauma and things were going well! Things were calm and we were healing. But life still happens, right? At this time, all of us were facing this new virus that was beginning to blanket the world – COVID. And with Covid came all the layoffs. But this was an opportunity for me to move into my coaching business full-time … something I had always wanted. So, I went full steam ahead and started working with Georgetown University, nurtured my coaching business and was incredibly happy with what I had built during a very difficult time, globally. I was thriving. Then … LIFE. In November of 2020, after a routine mammogram (and a normal mammogram in 2019), I was diagnosed with breast cancer.

My left breast was very angry and had to go so what followed was mastectomy, 8 months of chemotherapy (and Hurricane Ida that totaled our car and ruined our home), and then in 2022, we topped it all off with 32 rounds of radiation! Wha hoo!! But I was never alone on that journey and it taught me how to receive. I was unable to do it all and I was not going to repeat what happened a few years ago when I put myself last. I’m happy to say that I kicked breast  cancer’s ass, and developed another business – a podcast called Breast Cancer Unleashed: Where Every Topic is Appropriate. But the best part about this is the sisterhood I developed with my business partner and fellow survivor Lia Augoustidis. The love and relationships that have followed breast cancer have been nothing short of beautiful and miraculous. And that is our wish for all going through cancer – to have as easy of a journey as possible with a little laughter and humor to go along the way.

Today, we are thriving! We feel the emotions that we need to feel but embrace all that comes with this crazy, beautiful life that we have.

You see … deep down, I know there is more for you, just like I knew there was more for me.

You have the answers inside you and you may just need a little help with the reveal! That’s what I’m here for. To help you find what is going to work for you to achieve the life you want and have Your Exquisite Life … Revealed!

- Laila xoxo