Episode Transcript
Hello, my name is Aziz and I'm the son of a divorced mother. She is really my superhero. That's why it's important for me to support women to share their uniqueness, their personalities, perspectives, and emotions about life. Too many women in this world feel alone. They worry about the judgment of others and they struggle with their mental health. But when they listen to the Rare Girls podcast where empowered women share their voices and tell their stories, many women will feel inspired to live a life of freedom and to overcome all insecurities. They will feel it is a safe space to find their confidence, to remember their unique beauty and to feel their self-worths. And they will connect with the sisterhood of Rare Girls who encourage their success and support their dreams. That's what this podcast is all about. My guest today is Martina Simova. Martina is the first girl from Bulgaria in this podcast. She grew up in Sofia and she has studied fashion design and marketing. And she likes traveling, shopping, reading, as well as sports such as tennis and pilates. Martina loves creating art and spending time with her friends and family. She is a model and an influencer who loves what she does. Martina, how are you today? I'm very good today. Thank you for asking. How are you? I feel blessed. I'm super excited to know a lot more about you for real, for real. I begin with this nice usual question, which is, Martina, if your friends could describe your personality, what would they say about you? Well, they would say that I'm always positive. They would say that I'm really friendly, you know, cheerful and very disciplined and always going after my dreams. And a bit brave. A bit, but just brave, you know. So I guess that that I was hearing from my friends, you know, they think about me like that. Thank you so much for sharing that. And I'm curious as well, do you feel or find that people, because you're an influencer, when they meet you, they think, oh, you're nicer than I expected. I thought you could be a snob, but you are not. Anything that happens to you often like that, where people judge you because of what they see on social media without knowing the person, or is it that you do something in your captions and in your texts that tries to fight with that? Or how is that experience? You know, it's very funny because when people see me on social media and they always, before they have heard me speak, like, for example, in a vlog, when I first started doing the stories with the voice and everything, and you know, when people hear me and they're like, wow, you're much nicer than we thought. It's very funny because they think that I'm not down to earth. And that's not true. I'm very down to earth. And I feel like social media sometimes can portray us in a different way in front of others. So sometimes, you know, it's not impossible so that you see the pictures of someone and that you have the idea of what is their personality. So I totally understand that. Thank you. And for the people that don't know, can you share your story growing up and about your life so far so that anyone who doesn't know you will understand who you are, where you come from? I know you're from Sofia and you're born there. And how you became who you are today? Well, when I was a child, I have always been very creative. I love fashion. I used to always draw, watch these Disney movies with the princesses. And then I discovered the fashion design. And I was so much into clothes that I actually started studying this in university. And at the moment, my mom was a bit doubtful because, you know, it's art. And you know how the parents react. You know, it's art. And they think it's just not the most stable career that you can-- yeah. So at first time, my mom didn't believe so much in this. But as soon as I started studying it, and I had a lot of art exhibitions, and also the teachers in the university really liked my fashion design and my creativity. So yeah, I used to study this. I really enjoyed it. And I'm so much into fashion. And I started developing my Instagram while I was studying fashion. It was just another type, the form of art for me because here you're sharing beautiful pictures. You know, you create your look. You create your outfit. And it was a creative hobby for me then. But it started growing up a lot. It was back in 2019. And Instagram was starting to develop in Bulgaria. And I didn't even expect that it would happen. But I had more and more people coming to follow me. And then I was discovered by an influenza model agency. And I became a part of it. After that, I just left the agency. I continued on my own. And it was a nice experience. I started having a lot of brand deals, partnerships, a lot of collaborations, and of photo shoots for different brands, clothing, jewelry, cosmetics. It was so nice because Instagram really gave me that opportunity for people to find me through my social media. And all of my opportunities came from there. And it was so beautiful because you just-- you grow something. It's like a business because you grow it. And at some point, it just gives its fruits. So basically, it's always nice to have social media and develop it no matter what you do. For example, if you have a clothing store or something like that, you can always do that because if you develop your social media, in that case, you will have more sales. So that's how it started. And now it's like that. And I also participated recently in a Bulgaria reality show. It's called The Bachelor. And for now, I'm thinking because I got so inspired by-- I just enjoyed it being on television, to be honest. It's nice. At first, I just want to share that it was-- it's not always so nice, as I explained it, because-- how to say-- I overcame a lot of challenges. For example, I had a lot of hate on my social media. I remember I was 19 years old. And I had a lot of hate. At first, of course, I was very sad and emotional about it. But now, I feel like I don't even read the comments. They cannot make me feel bad or something like that, because if you know who you are, then no opinion can actually harm you. So it's very important to stand on your ground, just to know what you're pursuing, to know who you are. That's very important. Also, I was very shy as a kid. I don't know if you can tell, by the way, that I'm speaking right now. And I had to overcome it. Also, when I was on that reality show, I was very shy at first, in front of the cameras. We had to make a lot of doubles, just repeat it and repeat it. It was so funny. And no, it's not nice. And I feel like a lot of people come through this. And they're like, oh, how to be more confident speaking in front of a camera or something like that. I feel like it's a bit cliche, and everyone would actually say that. But it's true. You have to practice. Practice is the real way, because I practice it a lot. I went on that show. After that, I went on the television interview. After that, I went to another podcast. Now I'm to this, this is my second podcast, actually. And now I feel like this experience, experience that really shaped me, and I feel like, even if you feel fear, even if you feel that you can't do it, you just have to continue and just keep doing it. And I feel like, no, as a woman, it's a bit harder. But it's not. You just have to really believe in yourself. And you just develop that in time. It's not possible to feel like you believe in yourself in just one second, and just everything falls into place. It's not possible. You just really have to go through the different challenges. And that's not to stop for me. With this reality show, this is not the last thing. It's actually only my first step into television, because I actually enjoyed it. And yeah, I feel like just believing in your dreams and pursuing them is the real deal. I agree 100%. I have three different questions related to this, and I'll begin with the first one. You spoke about your family and how, because you were doing something artistic, they were resistant. There could be women and girls in this world who dream about being an artist, but their parents say, no, become a doctor, become a lawyer. Do something else that will make money and be safe. What is your advice to them? Because you said we live in a world where social media exists, where things are different, to do two things. One, to be brave enough to follow their heart and dreams. And two, to manage that relationship or disagreement of their parents. Yes, that's a very nice question. Actually, I have experienced that. So I remember on the first year of my university, and then I had to go to two different universities just to show my mother that this is the thing that I really want. So she wanted me to go study pharmacy, because she felt like this is a attainable career and everything. And then I was like, OK, well, I will try this. Maybe I will like it. Who knows? But I will also go to the session university, because they accepted me there as well. So I went to both universities in one year. It was so crazy, no, because there was a lot of lectures. I had to go here, there. Wow, it was crazy. And after that, yes, so I feel like the best thing to do is actually to prove your parents that this is the thing for you and just be very active and just show it through actions, through results, like I did, because I showed them that I'm very good at what I do and I have a potential. And all my professors at the university, I had very good grades. They were very happy with my art. And then my mom was happy. She was also coming to these exhibitions to see my art. She was truly happy for me. And then she believed in that idea of fashion design. So I'm so happy I actually did it the way I did it, because at first, it's not possible. You know, parents are parents, they think the best for you. But think is that sometimes your idea doesn't match their idea. So I feel like that's the way to do it. Also, the other thing is that sometimes you maybe feel a bit like you don't believe in yourself because it's art. Not a lot of people do it. And yeah, so I feel like if you start doing that, you should really use your social media to your advantage and just start posting your art, whatever you do there. And believe me, people will appreciate that. They love that. And don't think like that, oh, there's a little people that buy art, that buy this expensive, because you might be doing this jewelry with beads and something very, how to say, special, and therefore more expensive. So don't think like that. Don't think my product is very expensive. Who will buy? No one buys art, blah, blah, inflation. We know that. But don't think like that. Trust me. You don't know if people have money. You don't know what people like. There is people for everything. So just expose yourself to the social media, because that's the quickest way in the time that we are living. You just can reach a very wide audience. And it's just a miracle. I feel like it's a miracle to social media. Think it does. Because you can also have the power to inspire people. And that's very beautiful. You never know who are you saving from what, because some people might have woken up today. They're very depressed. They don't know what to do. And they just see your video that you're re-conspiring people. And you change their entire day. And it's so beautiful. Thank you so much. I agree. And I also notice that you are speaking about being creative or creativity as something very important for you in art. You said it is creative in fashion. You said it's also creative the way you choose your outfit. Et cetera. To you, what is the meaning of being creative? How does it make you feel? And why is it important in your life? Because it seems to be a big part of your personality. Well, yes, I have been very creative since I was a kid. As I mentioned, I draw it alone. Also, I used to think-- I used to go to dancing classes. And I was to a competition with Latino dancing. I have always been doing things which are related to creativity and now to social media. Also, in everything I can see in art, something unique. And also, I also do some video of logging. That is also on art for me because you create a unique project. Yeah. So yeah, creativity has always been a part of my life. And I feel like we are also creators to our own life. So it's always we create. And if we don't create, I don't think we can go forward. And also, we need to be unique, every one of us, and be authentic. And because a lot of people struggle and they compare themselves to others, no, you need to create yourself. You need to be authentic. See what is unique about you. No one can tell you that, only you. So I feel like everything is creation and part of the creation process, even if you don't do anything so creative like art. But you also create in these lives. And you create yourself mostly. That's very, very interesting. You said that you create yourself. And earlier, you spoke about how important it is to know yourself. How is that process working? Because some people will think, if you know yourself, you are not creating, but you are just understanding so that you live yourself. Or other people say, you can create anything you want. Be free. And let your imagination and confidence open to create any person you want. How does it work for you? Is it like step one, you must know yourself so you know how to create yourself? Is it step one, you imagine who you want to be and you created? How did you go about making the Martina of today, you as a teenager, did you create her? Did you understand who she is and know her? How did it work for you? Well, I understand your question. That's very nice. Yes. I feel like it's a combination of both. So I feel like you're born with some qualities. For example, you have some percentage of talent that you have to discover. And I'm happy that I discovered one of mine, which is the drawing and the creative something with the hands. So this is part of it. But then as you go through life and as you grow up, you definitely need to create yourself, like develop your character because you cannot develop your character if you don't face the challenges. For example, if you have a challenge and you choose to step up and just back up and be like, oh no, I can't do this. So you don't develop yourself. You don't create yourself. And it's very important to create the qualities within you. And yeah, the most of the qualities, I feel like we have the power to create in ourselves. But then you also discover, so yes, you also, as I say, it's a mix. So you also discover a lot of things for yourself and you learn a lot by going into different challenges. For example, when you travel, one of my favorite things. When you go to travel, you discover a lot about yourself, how you will react in different situations because when you travel, anything can happen. You're in an unknown place. So you need to do things by yourself, kind of. So yes, I feel like you discover yourself also through this and also through different challenges as you go through life, whether it's type of working challenges and also a lot of relationships, friendships, all type of relationships. You also, how to say, you create qualities because for example, in order for people to like you and want to be with you, you have to have some type of qualities to be valuable in a relationship. Everyone is like that. So it's a mix of both. So yeah, none of us, even me too, I don't know, and my entire personality. I haven't discovered like everything about myself, but that's the beauty of it. You always have something to discover. You need to know yourself. That's very important. As I said it in the beginning, in order for you to be confident, truly confident and not to care what other people might say about you, hate you and all of that, you need to know, I am Martina, I am this, this and this and this. These people told me that I'm stupid, but I know I'm not. So you need to have like a very strong sense of identity. So you need to spend a bit time, maybe get to know yourself more and so that you feel more confident. - I love that. And I love that you mentioned confidence because I'm curious to know, you said as a little girl, you were shy and now you're doing podcasts, you go on TV, et cetera. What is your advice to other women and girls who are growing up who are being very shy and therefore they cannot experience themselves in different situations because you need confidence in order to experience that. And how did it go for you? Did you push yourself? Did you tell yourself affirmations in the mirror? Or how was the process that allowed you to, even if you felt shy, you choose confidence, you choose to grow and to overcome that fear, worrying and overthinking that many women struggle with? - Yes, that's a very nice question. I feel like that could help a lot of women. I struggled a lot because at first I was very shy as a kid. I didn't stand up for myself. I was, how say I didn't believe in myself. I wasn't confident. I couldn't go in front of the camera and speak. You know, I was even, I told you that I was, I could sing, but I couldn't sing in front of a lot, like a large audience. I was shy to go in front of a lot of people, only in front of my family, you know, small group of people. But I feel like the only way to develop that is just to go through it. You need to face the challenge, not hide from it. You need to like pick a challenge, but pick something you want to do, you really love to do. Like for example, me, I always wanted to be on TV. And as I was doing it, I was so happy, really. And I didn't even feel so much anxious to do it. Because to practice, as I said, when I was on the reality show, I was very shy to do that. But as I mentioned, you practice it, practice, practice, practice. And then you repeat also. I think another thing that a lot of things don't mention is you have to have a vision in your head, how you want to put yourself in front of others, what version of you. You need to maybe pick a role model and then see what things you like from her. And then just be like, you know, I want, like not copy her, but just like copy the confidence, something like that. And just have a version of your head, have like your highest version of your head that you want to be. And then just be it, you know, it's kind of acting and practicing. So for example, OK, the shy version of myself couldn't go in front of a camera and it would always be like, blah, blah, and just... And I just couldn't say the things that I wanted because I would always be like, how would that sound in front of people? And then I was like, no, that's not how I say it. That's not the way to view things, you know, because I don't want to portray myself as a shy person because that's not who people will follow. So you just need to be like, OK, that's the version of me that I want to be today. And that's how I want to... You just have to practice how you speak and be like, no, there is nothing to be shy about. You just need to practice the tone, the voice. And I feel like it's like a higher version of you, that that's all of that. And as time passes, you just become that person and you're just confident and you cannot go back to this shy person that didn't believe in their self. So that's part of the creating who you are. And also you can do other things, like I can give some practical advices to... How to say, just to be less anxious. You can try to do meditation. That helps you a lot with clear thinking. And just be calm in most of the situation in my life. I'm very calm. Even yesterday, when I was on TV, I was very calm and I was like, how it's possible. I wasn't like that before. And I feel like because I do daily meditation, it doesn't even take a lot of time. It's only 10 minutes. You can also... So women can also do journaling. They can also do like journaling that you just expose your thoughts just to get it off your head and just to see yourself from apart, to see your thoughts more clear. And also you need to have a gratitude journal. That's a must. And you need to be thankful for everything in your life because I feel like that's what attracts more and more and more opportunities in your life. And you will always have a great life if you're thankful, if you think about it. Also, you can try to do something that you like, like yoga, pilates, some type of sports that you enjoy. And I feel like all of this also can help you to be more confident and also to find yourself, your hobbies and yeah, I think that's the advice I can give. - 100%, I love meditation and I agree with the benefit. And I noticed something. You said since you were a little girl, you dreamed of being on TV and you wanted also to be someone that people would follow and you are calm in 10 situations. Usually that comes from a mindset where you see yourself as having a great destiny or you see yourself as the reincarnation of a queen from the past or anything like that. How do you see yourself in the world? Do you see yourself in some spiritual way as being protected and blessed and that gives you more confidence? Do you see yourself as a spirit that is reincarnated from the past? How do you see that allows you to have the sense of destiny? - That's a nice question. I love it. And I also used to say that, I always say that when something bad, because I don't believe in bad things happening to us, I feel like everything in life that happens, it happens not to us, but for us. And I just can't stress this enough, the importance of this, because I really believe it. And before, maybe two years ago, I used to be like, why, what happens to me? I just had this type of moments and now I never have them, because I just, if something doesn't happen the way that, it's the, how to say, the way I picture it in the beginning, because, and that's because of different people and there are a lot of external factors that you cannot control. So if anything like that happens, I'm like, yeah, but that's the best that could happen. You never know. You can see that as bad, but you don't know this bad, if it's good or bad, because you could save you from something very bad and you don't know that. For example, you go for work, you're late and you miss your bus or whatever you go with. And, I just say it as a, because someone said I've done social media, but it's true. And so this bus, I mean, the previous bus could be in an accident and God saved you from that. So yeah, I believe in God. I believe that there is a higher power that helps us. And we're just guided. If something happens, that's not out of coincidence. It's meant to happen. And every opportunity we need to take it. I mean, of course, you should always consider and think, is this my thing, is this not? But even if we, for example, if we try something and it's not for us, we shouldn't view that as a mistake. It's not a mistake. It's actually a path. It's a unique part of our path. And it's nice that we tried. We see that's not for us because that's really the way to know ourselves. You cannot know what if I go to singing and you can always think, what if I go? What if I try this? And if you don't try, you will never know. So you will never know yourself. So the best way is to try, make mistakes. This is for everything, for life, for business, for relationships, for anything. People are always like, they are avoiding mistakes. They think that we need to be flawless or anything like that. It's not like that. No one is flawless. And we just need to accept it. And this is very underrated. We need to accept things that happen to us and then just see it more neutral. Don't see it like very emotional. I don't say just to remove your emotions and be emotionless and something like that. No, we need to have emotions like leave your emotions, but just see things as neutral. Don't react. Like, because you never know. No, it could be beautiful, like a beautiful experience that happens and you're happy with it. Okay, but if something bad happens, I feel like it's even more important for the bad experiences to happen to us because we learn a lot from them. And you need to sit with your, if something bad happens to you, you need to sit with yourself and think or start writing if you like to write and be like, okay, this and this and this happens. Why it went wrong and what I learned from it. This is very important. If you don't do it, the bad things will continue happening and it's so pointless. So you need to learn from your mistakes. We have mistakes everywhere in the relationships, in the business, and we need to learn the lessons. So yeah, that's it. - I agree with that. Life is about learning and growing as a person. And I remembered something and I believe it's an important question to get your perspective on. You mentioned earlier that to go from being a shy person, you take a role model and then you become someone who behaves more confidently like them in order to be like them. Well, a lot of women and people, men and women, will compare themselves to that person. They think, oh, I'm not good enough. Look, they are so much better than me and it destroys their own self-esteem. And the same dynamic happens on Instagram where there are women and girls who watch other women or even if you are an influencer, you watch other influencers and you compare yourself to them and you think, oh, they look like this, they look like that. I don't look like this and they look different. How do you recommend women keep believing in their unique beauty, no matter what they see, but still also be positively inspired by the creativity of people, influencers, role models, without destroying their mental health? - Yes, that's very nice question. Don't watch so much other people. First of all, it's just, you need to pick one or two persons that you want to look like, not look like. Okay, like for example, if you're inspired by a look, you can not copy their look, but just inspire yourself, maybe do a makeup and stuff like that. But anyways, just don't look at it so much like you need to separate yourself from other people. You are yourself, this is the other people. You just watch them, you like them and just think of the qualities that you like in them because the reason that you like these qualities is because you possess them. If you don't possess them, you will never notice. So for example, if someone is very kind, if someone is very, what to say, whatever qualities that you like in a person, for example, being confident, being down to earth, being very like a good person and you admire these qualities, but you have them too. So you just need to start acting like you have these qualities and that's a big part. Like if you, you cannot just be obsessed with another person and I feel like if you just go on more challenges, do your own things, you will not have the time and also the motivation to just go through the other people's lives. So you need to face life on your own and just follow your unique path basically. So that's how you develop yourself and just really pick a role model, that's very nice and see what you like in them. And also you can try to copy their confidence. Sometimes you can try to speak like themselves and stuff like that, but I don't think that will actually copy them because even though I also have my role models that I have liked and I still like, I'm not like them because I speak like myself and you're always unique. That's why I said that you just need to make time to just think, but like watch yourself. For example, you can make a video of yourself, how you speak and just see the unique parts of you. Like be very observant and you just need to respect your authenticity, that's all. There are different people, but you know, and I don't, but I just don't believe in comparison because you never know, especially when you see someone on social media and you think that their life is perfect, they have this, they have that, but you just make the idea and the image, don't know how it is in real life. You can never know, even if you know the person, you might not be knowing everything about them. So that's why I feel like it's pointless to compare because you have your own life. You never know, you might even have your life better than the other person and you don't know what he's going through. So just focus more on themselves, that's all. Just think what you want to do with your life and start making small steps. For example, every time it's like that, if you have a dream, just make yourself small goals, achievable, like every day do something very small. And that's all basically that you can do and it's very easy, you know, and sometimes it might be hard, you know, because we have more tough days, we have challenges, but you know, you can do it all. So we don't have limitations. We never know, that's the thing, we never know what we are capable of doing until we do it. And then we see. So just be more brave and believe and just do it. - Thank you so much. I love that you're ending on that and therefore my last question is, what can be your advice for women in order for them to actually live their dreams? So how can they be more brave? How can they believe more? Because society for the longest time since they were little children, they were taught to be people pleasers who are trying to sacrifice themselves for other people, trying to make other people happy, even if they're not happy. So is there a lesson? Is there any advice or anything you can give to women so that they can live happier, be more successful, more brave and learn to believe more in themselves? - There are a lot of things. Just, I feel like there is not one lesson, one answer to that question because you can never say something that could answer all of these. I feel like life resolves and it's just, you don't have to think about it so much. You don't have to overthink how I can be more brave, how I can believe in yourself more. You know, it's just an energy. Feel like you cannot think how to do it. There is not like steps to do it. There is just, you just need to believe. That's why I said it like, first try to get yourself, get to know yourself a bit better. Know what you like, know what you don't like. And with that, you will have little confidence. You will start to believe in yourself. You will have, and then after that, you will become more brave to face new and new challenges. And, you know, sometimes you need to be very brave in some situations. Like if you want, for example, if you want to go to a reality show, a lot of friends of mine said to me, wow, you're very brave. You went to that show and everyone now in Bulgaria comments this show. And I was like, yeah, I did it, but, you know, so I feel like that's the whole idea of how you can believe in yourself more. You just go and do it. And that's all. I feel like it sounds a bit easy, but it's not. Of course, if you step a lot out of your comfort zone, and then you feel a bit anxious and it's normal, it's absolutely normal, but at first, you know, you're anxious and you're like, will I do it? Will I not do it? You feel discomfort, but you just have to go through it and you will pass. And on the next challenge, you will feel a lot more confident. So that's the beauty of it. And you have to do it. And also you need to, we women, I believe we're like goddesses. And, you know, we are more powerful than we think and also project this and inspire other women. - Thank you so much, Martina. Honestly, I'm happy that you're so eloquent and expressive and able to make your point in a very logical as well as very interesting way. And I'm curious about something. You are there in Bulgaria, born and raised, and you are a successful influencer. You go on TV. A lot of people who are like you, who since you were a little girl, dreamed of being on TV, of being someone who leads people, will think maybe Bulgaria is too small for your ambition. And they will go live and try in Hollywood, in London, in New York, in Paris. - Oh, wow. - What keeps you staying in Sofia, Bulgaria? Why did you choose to be living there other than being near your family? But is there any other specific reason for you to be living your life in Bulgaria? - Okay, that's my question. I love it. Yes, I'm very ambitious. And of course, I want to reach millions of people, women, to inspire them on social media. And just, I want to use my influence and that I'm popular to help women. And just to be, how to say, just to be beneficial and helpful to people. And yeah, I just want to make it in a nice way because a lot of people just want to be famous just for being for the sake of it. And it's no point. And they cannot help people. They cannot do anything nice with their fame. So yeah, I'm very ambitious. And yeah, I was staying here in Bulgaria because of the television show. Before that, I had another work type of, I had photo shoots and stuff like that, that I needed to be here. And right now, yes, I will travel in the near future. But now I have to finish my university, my master's degree in advertising. And soon as I finish it, and I don't have any more here in Bulgaria, I mean podcasts and interviews, I will travel, yes. I will definitely go out of the country. I will not say aware, but you will see. And yeah, I'm so happy that my English is so good and I can practice and I can use it just when I go travel, if I want to live somewhere else. So yeah, I will definitely develop somewhere else. I feel like Bulgaria is now a bit small for me. - Well, I believe Dubai is your city and it's calling you. - Okay, but don't tell anyone. But that was my plan, yeah. - Thank you so much. - I love Dubai. I have been there a few times and for models and influences. That's one of the best cities to develop. And it's very nice. I love Dubai really. Just the vibration there is very high and people there are very positive and very nice. - I agree 100%. Thank you so much, Martina. It was my privilege and my honor to have you here, to share your voice. You had so many interesting things to say that this is one of the longer episodes in this podcast, but it's all interesting. - That's nice. - I wish you all the success in the world. I wish you to continue to create and to grow and to face bigger challenges that make you feel so confident and proud. And I wish you to lead more people towards your creativity and towards your vision of the future. Thank you again for participating. - Thank you so much for the invitation to be on this podcast. And it was really a pleasure to talk about the subject. And I'm so happy to be in this role position to inspire other beautiful women to just upgrade their life, feel more confident. And yeah, it's very beautiful, the idea of this podcast. So I'm happy I did it. - You are welcome.
