Quick Note: We were recently nominated by our friend Esmeralda to be featured in a local Arizona magazine—Shoutout Arizona. Before we sent in our responses, we hopped on Zoom to talk through the interview questions. It turned into a real conversation about how we actually built The Feminine Ethos, what risk has looked like in our lives, why nervous system regulation became non‑negotiable, and the ongoing practice of choosing ourselves.
We decided to share that convo with you. Video/Audio is embedded below if you want the full unedited riff. What follows is a written distillation—the heart of what we said, minus all the tangents :)
Why We’re Sharing This
So many of you are walking similar roads: leaving old careers, healing your nervous system, trying to build something that actually feels like you. We get asked all the time: How did you start? How do you keep going when it’s uncertain? How do you balance life, purpose, and, you know… paying bills?
This is our honest take—not the polished “about page” version, but the lived‑in, still‑learning, sometimes‑messy version. If you’re somewhere between the life you built and the life you actually want—this is for you.
What We Believe Fuels Our Success (So Far)
We do what we say we’re going to do. That sounds basic, but follow‑through builds self‑trust, and self‑trust builds momentum.
We move when energy is hot. We registered the domain, email, and framework for The Feminine Ethos within about a week of getting the download. Acting inside the window of excitement matters.
We bring air—not polish. Our work is a breath of real when so much “women’s empowerment” content feels staged or prescriptive. We keep repeating: there is no one template for womanhood. Your path is yours.
Honesty travels. We talk openly about doubt, money wobbles, starting over, deprogramming, and nervous system repair. That honesty seems to be why our work lands.
Befriending Risk
We were not born thrill‑seekers. Both of us spent years hugging the safe lane: perform, achieve, check the boxes. Risk entered slowly—and then all at once.
Moving in together up north before we had the full plan? Risky.
Leaving the stability of corporate life? Risky.
Starting a public brand around feminine energy, when we were still figuring out our own? Risky.
What changed: we walked the risks together. Having an “adventure buddy” makes the unknown digestible. We’d name the worst‑case scenario out loud ("Okay, if it all implodes, I move in with my mom for a while")—and realize we could survive it. Once you shrink the monster under the bed, the leap feels possible.
Now we’re pro‑risk—not reckless, but willing. Starting over is just turning the page.
Mantra we kept coming back to: Jump and the net will appear. At some point faith is kinetic. You don’t get proof until you move.
Mindset: From Programming to Possibility
Before we changed our lives, we had to notice the invisible scripts running them.
We spent a season devouring books on limiting beliefs, self‑worth, and subconscious programming. That work helped us see how often we were re‑creating old wounds in new rooms: relationships, workplaces, money, even health. Once we saw the pattern, we could interrupt it.
Two big shifts:
Thoughts → Lived Reality. Fear stories repeat until you rewrite them. We started treating mindset like reps in the gym.
Awareness Changes the Game. When a trigger hit, we’d pause: Is this present‑moment truth… or an old script? That question alone saved friendships, family dynamics, and business decisions.
We’re not “done.” But we’re no longer unconsciously acting from childhood programming—and that has changed everything about how we show up for each other and for the women we serve.
Designing Life Before Business
Once we left performance culture, we over‑corrected—straight into deep rest (what felt like early retirement). Nervous system rehab wasn’t trendy language when we started; it was survival. We needed to feel our bodies again.
From that reset we built what we call life by design:
Slow mornings when possible.
Seasons of work, not 24/7 hustle.
Space for regulation: walks, prayer, breath, time in nature.
Saying no when our systems say no.
Because we lived the burnout, we’re fierce about alignment now. We choose clients, timelines, and offerings that let us stay well. When we do sprint (launch, retreat buildout, client intensives), it’s by choice—and we recover on purpose.
This is why our work doesn’t drain us the way corporate life did. We’re no longer spending all our life force proving we’re worthy; we’re pouring energy into work that feels like legacy.
Entrepreneurship: Freedom, Discipline, and the Tug in Between
Let’s be real—building something from scratch is not for the faint of heart.
Entrepreneurship asks you to be: creative director, bookkeeper, operations, legal, marketing, client care, community builder… and also a human with relationships and a body.
Freedom is intoxicating; structure keeps the lights on. We toggle between both all the time. Some weeks are three deep focus days; other weeks are long client pushes; some months are quiet build seasons.
Would we go back to traditional jobs for stability? No. Even on the wobbly days, we’d choose this again. A million times.
The Hardest (and Most Important) Choice: Choosing Ourselves
Brenda named staying on the entrepreneurial path as one of her hardest choices—precisely because the unknown never really goes away.
For Rosaura, the hardest repeating decision has been choosing herself — especially when family didn’t understand the moves she was making. It can feel selfish in the moment, but abandoning yourself to please others breeds resentment later. Listening to that inner pull (call it soul, God, intuition) has required boundaries, uncomfortable conversations, and trust without guarantees.
If there’s a through‑line in both stories, it’s this: choosing yourself is rarely convenient, but it’s always clarifying.
If You’re Standing at the Edge of Your Own Leap
Here are a few reflection prompts pulled from our conversation. Use them in your journal, a voice memo, or over coffee with a friend who “gets it.”
1. What’s one idea you keep circling that you haven’t acted on? What’s one tiny action you could take this week while energy is fresh?
2. Name the worst‑case scenario. Then ask: Could I survive that? (Most of the time…the answer is yes.)
3. Where are you over‑performing to prove worth? What would shift if you believed you were already worthy?
4. What does your nervous system actually need? More sleep? Less social scrolling? A move closer to nature? One boundary at work?
5. Who’s your adventure buddy? Risk is lighter when someone is in your corner.
Gratitude
To Esmeralda—thank you for nominating us. To Shout Out Arizona—thank you for giving women like us space to be seen as we are. And to this community: your stories, DMs, and honest reflections keep us doing this work.
If our conversation hit something in you, we’d love to hear it. Drop a comment: What leap are you considering? Where are you rewriting your story?
With love,
Rosaura & Brenda
The Feminine Ethos
P.S. Want Support?
If you’re at the brink of a transition—leaving a job, starting a brand, rebuilding after burnout, or trying to align your life with your energy—we work with women 1:1 and in small, intentional groups. Reply, comment, or reach out through our site and we’ll point you to next steps.
Thanks for being here. May you jump, and may your net appear.
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