WTC : 003 – Dealing with Rejection and Staying Motivated

In this episode of the Wartime CEO podcast, Sasha Perea joined the show to share her journey and how mindset plays a big role to reach success. Sasha is a former Miss Virginia World 2016. She recently placed top 5 in the 2020 Miss DC USA pageant. She was highlighted as a top 5 African-American entrepreneur to look out for in 2020 by Yahoo Finance. She’s a model, hostess, and an author of the “Model Mindset: A Beginner’s Guide to the Modeling Industry“.

The book “Model Mindset”

[2:27] The book is a beginner’s guide to the modeling industry. I felt inspired to write the book because I started to see a lot of messages from people who follow me on Instagram and people that I knew personally about how they could start their journey in the industry as a freelance model and independent model. In the book, I share personal stories that I’ve gone through how to really prepare yourself mentally, and physically.

Biggest battle with rejection 

[5:44] One of the main things that I always hear or have during my time competing in pageants is different judges, different results. So that’s one kind of eases the pain of rejection. You may have the place or you may not have the place at all. It’s just you’re putting yourself out there to be critiqued but you also have to have a lot of confidence.

[9:16] I feel like the fact that I was able to bounce back in at least continue to pursue the industry and go into the next show. At the end of the day, these designers have a vision for whatever it is that they created and if I don’t fit that mold, it doesn’t mean I’m not made for the industry as a whole. 

How did she create opportunities?

[10:24] I feel like writing the book was definitely one of those opportunities that I created for myself starting to also help other people figure out how to navigate this industry. It’s a completely different ballgame when you’re really out there and figuring it out for yourself.

Her Motivation

[11:33] I think the most important thing is to remember like that’s normal, we’re human so we have emotions and when you’re passionate about something and you don’t get something right away, it’s gonna hurt so it’s okay to process those emotions and accept it. Feel it and then figure out what is the next step. I think what keeps me going is knowing that I have goals for myself. I have dreams of a life where I want to end up, the impact that I want to have. 

Process of the book

[14:20] It was something that initially just started off as an idea. And then I kind of started to throw something together. I was in the biggest struggle completing it because it’s a long process. Sometimes you’re super passionate about something. 

[16:05] I release it in July of 2019 and I got amazing things like that honestly has no build-up to the book at all. So I kind of let it fall by the wayside and just kind of promoted it randomly. But with COVID actually, everyone had so much more time on their hands. This year 2020, I was really able to take time to develop it into a bigger brand. 

Filling the void

[22:37] It takes time. I feel like for me when I started to do was just dive in more to what I was becoming more passionate about. I would just find better, different communities to tap into where I knew that people were at least having similar goals.

Placing top 5 in pageant during the pandemic

[25:32]  It was actually in January of last year pre-COVID. I honestly enjoyed it. I was really excited to place in the top 5. That was my first time placing that high. So it was an amazing experience. 

The preparation 

[26:49] I am getting back on a post-holiday diet. A lot of working out, eating healthy. It really is about lifestyle. Just starting to prepare myself mentally and physically. 

[29:24] I would define the discipline as self-love. You’re making a commitment to yourself when you are disciplined and I think it’s really easy to make commitments to other people.

Advice for aspiring entrepreneurs, models

[32:45] Do not self-sabotage, believe in yourself, be careful who’s in your circle, and have confidence in who you are and what you’re bringing to the table because everyone on this planet has a purpose and a mission.

A moment to put the wartime CEO hat and overcome a challenge

[35:43] I would say COVID. I was actually laid off because of COVID-19. I was kind of planning a position of what am I going to do next and how am I going to figure this out. This is something that everybody in the entire world is dealing with.

Maintaining sanity

[38:17] I think it’s important to schedule time for yourself as much as you schedule time for productivity. It’s important to stay sane because mental health is so important especially right now with everything that’s going on in the world. So just making sure that you tap into the things that make you happy is key in order to be successful.

Key Quotes:

[5:36-5:42] –  “Whenever you do put yourself out there for any project, you do have to mentally prepare yourself for that rejection.” 

[18:18-18:22] – “I think when you have people in your life for such a long time, you value their opinion.”