S2 | E1: She’s Not Starting Over. She’s Starting Fully Expressed.

Transcript

Welcome to The Christina DiStefano Podcast.

This isn’t a rebrand. It’s a revelation.
And it’s for every woman who’s ever felt like she had to erase her past to start again.

You’re not here to “start over” like you’ve done something wrong.
You’re here to become fully expressed — to finally take up all the space you were born to take.

I know this deeply, because this is the chapter I'm in too.

For years, I kept looping through the same patterns. Moving from one corporate chapter to another. Leaving, returning, shifting — always trying to find the “right” place.

But the truth is… I wasn’t just searching for the right place.
I was running from something much deeper.

I was running from the fear that if I fully aligned with who I really am — if I really found my voice and expressed it out loud — I wouldn’t be loved.
I wouldn’t be liked.
I wouldn’t be approved of.

So for years, I compartmentalized my life.
I separated my spirituality from my career in real estate.
I believed I had to take on a persona — someone tough, but not too tough. Smart, but not too smart. Vocal, but not too vocal.

I felt like I had to keep shrinking just enough so that other people wouldn’t feel insecure around me.
I felt like I had to dim my light, to put myself in a box.

I couldn’t share my spirituality.
I couldn’t share my deeper beliefs.

I tried a few times. I would weave it into my early podcast episodes — that’s actually why I started this podcast back in 2018.
I needed an outlet to express the parts of me that felt too big, too bold, too layered for my everyday world.

At that point, I had already been working in real estate for a few years. I started in 2013, and that’s when I stepped into this “real estate persona.”

It felt like I had to wear a certain mask to be taken seriously, to be successful.

But inside, I was still teaching yoga.
I was practicing Reiki.
I was studying coaching.
I was painting.
I was designing.

It was like I was living ten different lives — each with its own website, its own channel, its own separate little box.

I had my art website.
I had my design website.
I had my YouTube channel for design and interiors, which I started in 2023.
I had my podcast website, which I recently closed.

I kept trying to find a “home” for each part of me. But I couldn’t see how they all belonged together.

It took going through some of the most challenging years of my life to finally understand what it means to be whole.
To understand that authenticity isn’t about choosing one part of yourself and discarding the rest.

It’s about weaving all of these expressions together into one unified, powerful message — the message of your soul.

When I finally found my soul’s message, everything started to make sense.
I saw that I didn’t need to compartmentalize anymore.
I didn’t need to dilute or hide.

Instead, I could channel my creativity in a new way — not by separating it, but by anchoring it in one aligned, coherent mission.

Yes, there’s the podcast.
Yes, there’s my YouTube channel.
Yes, there’s my real estate career.
Yes, there’s my book.
Yes, there’s my art.
Yes, there’s social media.

But now, I don’t see them as separate.
I see them as different doors to the same house — the house of my soul’s true expression.

I no longer feel the need to “pick one” or to water myself down to fit into someone else’s mold.
I finally feel fully confident.
Fully aligned.
Fully expressed.

And that’s what I want for you too.

Because when you find your soul’s message — the true core of who you are — everything else starts to fall into place.
All the pieces, all the projects, all the chapters start to weave together into a single, beautiful tapestry.

That is when you stop starting over.
And you start living fully expressed.

But the truth? I didn’t need to start over.
I needed to come home to myself.
I needed to stop asking for permission to be seen, to be bold, to be beautiful, to be powerful — all at once.

So many women feel like they have to delete everything before.
The job title, the failed relationship, the business idea that didn’t work out, the version of them they think was “too much.”

But what if we didn’t start over?
What if we built on everything we’ve learned and simply allowed ourselves to be fully expressed?

You don’t have to erase your past to become her.
You don’t need to burn it all down to rise.

You just need to stop hiding.
Stop shrinking.
Stop performing.

And start embodying the woman you’ve always been — beneath the layers, beneath the conditioning, beneath the noise.

Today, I invite you to think about one area of your life where you’ve been telling yourself you need to “start over.”

What if instead, you asked:
How can I express more of my truth here?
How can I show up fully as the woman I already am?

Where have I been shrinking to stay safe?
And what would it look like to step into that space fully expressed?

This is the season of no longer asking for permission.
This is the season of stepping into your next chapter as the woman you were always meant to be.

You’re not starting over.
You’re starting fully expressed.

And I can’t wait to see her.

If this resonated, I’d love for you to share this episode with one woman you know is ready for her own next chapter.
And if you feel called, leave a review — it helps other women find this space and step into their own expression.

And on that note, sending you so much love from New York.