Interview With Colleen Gallagher
One of the most inspirng projects of the last years was getting to design the cover art for Introducing Colleen Gallagher’s “Live Your Truth” – a powerful book that inspires you to become “An Intoxicator”, “someone who creates the space to look within, to remove the toxic, and to become what’s left, your truth in the world“. Meet Colleen Gallagher, “the love girl”.
Hi, I’m Ana Grigoriu-Voicu, book cover designer to independent and best selling authors all around the world. My focus lies on creating powerful visual stories for your published masterpieces. Via my blog I’m aiming towards providing you with the unique artistic perspective of someone who wants to turn each project into a best-seller. If you want to find out more about my work or you’d like to stay in contact, feel free to connect with me over Facebook, Instagram or e-mail.
Essentially, what is “Live Your Truth” about?
Live Your Truth is about how each of us have been given a disease from the world, mine happen to be cancer but each of us have an equally traumatic disease the world has given to us. The world has taught many of us to suppress it and be ashamed of our disease which causes our subconscious anger, guilt and unworthiness to build.
I have created a 5-step process for you to go on an adventure to release yourself from your disease and live your truth. Within this book you become inspired and empowered to create your modern-day fairytale, to authentically live your truth, so it will bring you to the ultimate a life with no regrets.
What made you decide to start writing about your journey and how long did it take you?
I decided to write about my journey because it took me nearly a decade of remaining a victim of cancer, I found all the ways I couldn’t be happy. I was remaining a prisoner to fit into the world – by doing a job just get money, hanging around the wrong friends because I thought they were “cool” and always having awful heartbreaks because deep down that’s what I thought I deserved. I thought I had to chase money, pain and paths that were not true to me in order to bring me happiness.
I did this to myself for 10 years and found all these ways to subconsciously manipulate myself and when I found the truth, that you actually can just follow your dreams to bring you to living your modern-day fairytale I figured I have a responsibility to share it with the world because if I would of have a process to help me not suffer from 14-23 it would of been such a gift. So I wrote it to all the dreamers, visionaries and wanderlust out there who have felt beat down by the world, this is the process you can claim your power back and make the world work for you. It took me 10 years really with all my experiences but I wrote the book within 8 months.
What was the catalyst that made you decide to change your outlook on life?
The moment it all changed was at my house in Baltimore, Maryland. I’ll back up and tell a quick story I thought that money equaled loved because when I was 14 I was at the hospital I saw a Dad scream at his wife saying the reason we cannot pay for her treatments (their daughter) was because you are a stay at home Mom so from a young age it imprinted in my mind that you had to have money to have love and always have money so you would not die. So, I always chased money and I was dating this guy I thought I was going to marry – but his friend sexual grabbed my hair and said I was the ugliest girl this guy had dated and the guy I was dating at the time said what do you want me to do about it. It was awful – but I stayed because I had this great corporate job, I was doing great at, I was making money so love should work – well this ended up being an emotionally abusive situation for some time after this. Well my corporate job shorten my on my commission check so now it was showing me that chasing money would not bring me love or this dream lifestyle – So I remember sitting in my house in Baltimore, no soul left in me, balling my eyes out that I had my dream to live international – I looked at Visa’s saw New Zealand was $20 and from that moment I never looked back – it was my ticket to freedom, it was the first time I saw I could live life on my own terms my way and I saw that if you live with your truth and you plan a little bit it will all work out – but that moment in my house when I remember I could do my dream to live international on my own terms everything changed.
You want to empower millennials to “simply live their truth” instead of chasing the elusive money dream. When did you realise that it’s all about the dream and not the financial gain?
When I wrote this book and I start to impact people’s lives by changing their life, perspective and mindset with my story, the process I have created I realized that I couldn’t stay following money anymore I had to follow my dream and put my message out into the world. – When I completely realized is when I had the book done, it was with editing, I was working with my digital strategist for my 6-week online program – I quit my job with $5K left in my savings to follow my dream and spread my message of living your truth to increase love and positivity in the world. When I did this with only $5K in the beginning of 2018 with my intention to travel around the world this year staying nowhere longer than 4 weeks but there was no guarantee but it all has worked out because it’s my truth and dream, I prepared to execute on it correctly and truly it’s my modern-day fairytale that has come true before my eyes.
When looking over your webpage I couldn’t help but notice you use the word “love” quite a lot. When did you realize that love is indeed the secret to your healing, both physically and mentally?
I am in the belief system we only make decisions based out of love or fear that’s it everything stems from love and fear. Either you are doing something because you’re afraid to do anything else – which creates greater momentum around negativity, anger and guilt or we do something from love. When we do things from love, with our heart and our truth – we put more momentum towards creating a world we want to see. So truly love and what love means to you is the secret to have a life with no regrets and living the life you’ve always dreamed about. You just have to put the tools around you that remind you to come back to love.
In your book you discuss about subconscious negativity, truth and unlimited potential. What is in your opinion the best way to start letting go of all those hindering thoughts and start the journey to a life with no regrets?
The first step for sure is letting go of subconscious negativity to starting the journey because you have to become open to finding your truth. You have to start to hold yourself accountable and responsible to start becoming aware of the subconscious negativity you carry.
You started The Intoxicator Movement now with the publishing of “Live Your truth”. What is the goal behind it and what are your plans for the future community of Intoxicators?
Intoxicator AKA is someone who takes the time to look within, remove the toxic and become what is left their truth in the world. The book is one of my first of many tools I have to bring people on the journey to start to see the possibilities that they can find, speak and live their truth. This is to empower people all over the world to rise up and live their truth so we can start to transform the world with love together.
I am working on a 6 week program to go along with the book, I have a Facebook group empowering people to share love all over the world, I am working on an app as well to empower people to connect with others all over the world on their journey to being the best they can and having the support to bring more love and positivity into the world
