Best Selling Author of “Eat with Intention” and the upcoming “Manifesting Through Meditation” (available for pre-order now). Host of the “Divine Downloads” podcast and creator of the Transformational Online Program “Divinely Design Your Life.”
Cassandra Bodzak is a thought leader, best-selling author and sought after on-camera personality and speaker in the mindfulness and personal development world. She is also the host of the popular spiritual podcast, "Divine Downloads.” You may have seen Cassandra on ABC’s “The Taste” with Anthony Bourdain as the “happy, healthy living guru” or in her work with SHAPE, Eating Well, Huffington Post, Teen Vogue, Thrive, Fabletics, Lululemon, SoulCycle and many more. She has been called “an award-winning thought leader and intuitive coach” in Forbes and “a spiritual leader” by Well + Good. Cassandra helps people all over the world learn The Process for bringing their soul's desires into their everyday reality through her online group program, “Divinely Design Your Life,” as well as through all the free content she shares on her YouTube and social media.
Cassandra Bodzak is doing things WerthWatching:
- Best-selling author
- Helps people create their “next level” life through food, meditation and self-care
- Started a recipe blog in college after being sick with food allergies that has become a holistic lifestyle source
What led you to mindfulness and personal development as a career?
My own healing journey led me to my career in personal development. It was through using the tools that I now teach about during some of the most dark and confusing moments of my life, experiencing these tools transform my life that I knew I had to share them with others. I often feel like this career chose me, it was so naturally a part of who I am and what I believe in.
Tell us about your upcoming book.
Manifesting Through Meditation, walks you through my four-step manifesting process for creating the life you dream of and has 100 specially curated meditations to assist you in transform your life from the inside out. This book is great for anyone who wants to begin a meditation process or for those who are ready to utilize their meditation practice to start consciously creating their life.
How did UConn prepare you for where you’re at today?
I definitely learned a strong work ethic from my time at UConn that I still have today. I also received a lot of critical feedback and learned how to believe in myself in the face of adversity from my time earning a BFA at UConn.
Where do you find your inspiration?
My inspiration comes from following what lights me up, honoring my soul’s desires and you bet… my meditation practice!
Describe a time you took a risk. Did it pay off? If not, what lesson did you learn?
My whole career has been a huge risk. Being willing to create your own path and march to the beat of your own drum when there’s not a well-worn path in front of you can be terrifying. It has paid off beyond my wildest dreams and continues to do so as long as I keep taking risks!
What’s your favorite UConn memory?
My favorite memory at UConn was getting to perform in a play called “4:48 Psychosis” by Sarah Kane. It was a three-woman cast and the experience embodying such a deeply disturbed and complex character was one that made me feel so alive. That play and working with its director, Christin Kennelly, was such a highlight of my time at UConn and brought me such confidence in my work.
What advice do you have for today’s students or emerging entrepreneurs?
Follow your passion. Ignore what you “think” is going to make you money and pursue the thing that sets your soul on fire. Use your time at UConn to try out different things, take different classes, create things in your spare time and explore what that thing you feel deeply drawn to doing is. PS. - Don’t be scared if no one else is doing it yet either – maybe you are meant to create it!
What advice do you have for young future female entrepreneurs when it comes to work/life balance?
There is no such thing as balance! Stop chasing some perfect way of doing things, it doesn’t exist. You have to take care of your body – eating healthy, sleeping enough, getting sunshine and movement – you need to remember that NOTHING works when YOU don’t work. So do your best to keep yourself in working order but realize that sometimes your passion, your project and your calling will have you putting in more time than the average bear. That’s okay!
Describe a professional moment you are most proud of, and why?
Being on “The Taste” on ABC and having Anthony Bourdain call me his favorite vegetarian was very cool. I think I’m most proud of being on that show because it took so much courage and belief in myself to hang with so many extraordinarily talented chefs who already had a slight bias to my healthy cooking and get them to open their mind.
Which business tool or resource do you recommend to others, and why?
I recommend two Steven Pressfield books, “The War of Art” and “Turning Pro” to any entrepreneur or ambitious individual out there. He talks all about honoring our creative calling, showing up to our work and beating the resistance and fear that we all inevitably face.
Of course, I obviously also recommend Manifesting Through Meditation, because that is the secret sauce to everything I have been able to create in my life thus far!
What are you passionate about outside of work?
I am passionate about traveling, exploring other places, countries, cultures, food, traditions, etc. It’s expansive and soul nourishing for me. Travel is such medicine and gives such great perspective in my experience.
