Create & Cultivate 100: Health & Wellness: Angela Davis
FULL OF SOUL.
Angela Davis turns a 45-minute workout into a life-changing experience. She's friends with Oprah and is Beyoncé's chosen Soul Cycle instructor. As if that weren't enough she's also a five-time All-American Team USA track-and-field star.
All-in-all, Angela Davis is a badass source of inspiration to everyone she meets, and has built a career on the SoulCycle mentality of blending fitness with inspiration. She does it all and according to her Instagram bio: Mom, Wife, Motivational Coach, Fitness Evangelist, Speaker, Co-Founder.
More from Angela below.
Name: Angela Davis
Instagram Handle: @shapewithangela
What’s your definition of inspiration?
To inspire means to breathe life. So when you’re inspiring someone you’re literally breathing life into them. Into their hopes and dreams and reminding them of what is possible.
When a client of yours is having a tough time with a workout or a health obstacle how do you encourage them?
I always encourage every client to do their best, be their best, and hold themselves accountable. My mom once told me the definition of accountability is accounting to your own ability. And with that, your best is always good enough.
What advice do you have for women working towards cultivating the career of their dreams?
Well, if they’re already in the process of cultivating the career of their dreams, then they’ve already won. The privilege of living a purpose driven life and operating in your gifts and talents is the ultimate dream come true.
What is your biggest pet peeve?
People faking. Faking in a workout, faking in life, just being fake annoys me.
What's something you'd like people to know about your job that they probably don’t?
A job is an exchange of time for money. Some people have jobs and it's not necessarily something they love to do or want to do. What I get to do is my life’s work, therefore it doesn’t feel like a job. I’m literally doing what I was created and designed to do and I’m having the time of my life!
I’m literally doing what I was created and designed to do and I’m having the time of my life!
What about your career makes you feel the most complete?
On a daily basis, I get to co-labor with the One who created me. And inspire others to live the life that was intended for them.
If you had to trade jobs with anyone else in the world, who would it be and why?
I wouldn’t want to.
At what point in your career did you find the confidence to really take charge and become the woman you are today?
When it became clear to me that people pleasing wasn’t a good look for me and that no matter what I did, I could never make everyone happy. So I decided to follow my heart at any cost and honor the whispers that were my intuitive guide.
What's the best advice you've ever been given? Or your favorite piece of #realtalk?
That “no” is a one-word answer. Don’t feel like you have to explain yourself to people. Your “no” is enough.
When you hit a big bump in the road, how do you find a new road or a detour?
I make one. A bump in the road doesn’t mean it’s impossible. Sometimes it just calls on you to push through a little bit harder.
"A bump in the road doesn’t mean it’s impossible. Sometimes it just calls on you to push through a little bit harder."
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What song do you sing in the shower when you’ve had a bad day?
I don’t really know that I sing in the shower, but a go-to song for me when I’m feeling down is "No Weapon" by Fred Hammond.