We’re looking forward to introducing you to Mariela Ayala. Check out our conversation below.
Hi Mariela, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day to share your story, experiences and insights with our readers. Let’s jump right in with an interesting one: What are you being called to do now, that you may have been afraid of before?
Many people want to know the story behind my weight loss and the glow up. Yes, I was blessed to lose 191 pounds, 25 prescriptions, and a 23-year disability naturally without medical intervention. A mindset pivot that changed my life forever. In 2016, I found out I was misdiagnosed for over two decades of my life. MTHFR Gene mutation is a genetic disorder affecting my Folate and B12 absorption, which has been ongoing for this entire time. The doctor stated, “ Mariela, 93% of the prescriptions you were on for the past twenty-one years were against your genetic makeup. The medications were never helping you. This entire time, they were making you sick. I know this news may come as a shock, because you’ve tried everything else and with the last prescriptions ended up getting dysphonic medication reaction, let me assist you and place you on methylated vitamins and slowly start taking you off the medications”.It’s like I woke up from a nightmare, a sleep paralysis. A rush of emotions came over me. Thoughts screaming, “ I could’ve owned a house. I could’ve had a career. I could’ve been a mother of the children I prayed for my entire life. Stuttering. “Am I actually free?” From a disability that had no distinct look.
Imagine, instead of being on medication, you needed vitamins and whole foods. Your pharmacy was in your kitchen this entire time.
My whole life, all I ever did was stay alive. Living life cautiously to make sure I stayed safe and putting all dreams, wishes, and desires completely buried in a graveyard for life, because I was too sick to do anything beyond the bare minimum.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Mariela Ayala (MariWithThe411). I am a motivational speaker, health coach, humanitarian, philanthropist, and paralegal.
I have shared my transformation from nearly 500 pounds and two decades of disability to health freedom. I take the “ hard “ out of building health, confidence, and purpose through wellness strategies to overcome shyness with people who crave adventure.
I have shared my story with nonprofits such as Wheels of Success, a transportation-access initiative, and leadership | education | humanitarian organizations such as Toastmasters International, 200 Muslim Women Who Care, Redefiner’s World Language, and Envision Resolution to further impact through visibility and advocacy.
Inspired by my journey, I created the MariWithThe411 brand in 2019 to publicly share my story across social media, podcasts, magazines, and the local news. In July 2021, I was featured on ABC Action News’ “Latinas On The Go,” highlighting my resilience in wellness. I made sure my message centered around embracing not being knowledgeable, my imperfections, falling in love with failure, and honoring personal timelines, regardless of societal expectations. I am placing myself in several rooms surrounded by women doing better than me so that I may learn and build the life of my dreams. A welcoming, inviting space together where I can find empowering words and get encouraged and learn from each other,” stated Sarahi Terreforte, founder of Latinas On The Go.
We are here for a short time, not forever. Make sure the currency of time is well invested.
Okay, so here’s a deep one: What part of you has served its purpose and must now be released?
My hyper independence: I love her, but she needs to go. I prayed for this version of myself to show me what I am capable of. The help I needed was unavailable. Every time I ask or cry, all I get is a pep talk.
The one I hate the most
“ Mariela, you’re the strongest woman. Please don’t give up now. I admire that you never needed anybody. You will figure this out on your own.”
“ You have 15 minutes to cry and then man up.”
I was the person no one worried about because I was strong, not weak.
I am blessed to be alive today to tell the story.
The phrases that keep repeating in my head,
“You’re not a burden to someone who sees you as an investment.”
“You are worthy and deserving of the love you give.”
My hyper-independence, which we can call “ Corporate Mari,” was built on the resilience of staying alive. Asking for help of any kind was considered selfish, inconsiderate, and a burden. Vulnerability was frowned upon. 95% of the time, I do not have an emotional reaction, but humor and positivity.
My hyper independence was continuously put on a pedestal of admiration.
I knew it had to eventually end when I ended up homeless in my car in 2020 for 72 days during the shutdown.
While the world was coming together with their family members then, we all thought we were enjoying the last of our days.
I was in my car alone, with nowhere to go but a parking lot, receiving messages.
“ You are an independent woman, you don’t need anyone.”
We are all human and deserve somebody sitting next to us, knowing they are wanted, loved, and adored just for their presence.
We are made to be in community. Hyper-independence ending is not about becoming a burden but about letting people into your life.
It is beautiful to let your loved ones know their presence is wanted. It is a privilege to be in your life. Let people love you with acts of service.
Yes, you need people
You need to be celebrated
You need to be loved
You need to be shown affection
You need to share a meal with someone
You need to learn from somebody who is doing better than you.
You need to be provided for and protected in the areas you can’t see, but others can see for you.
You are not a burden to anyone who sees you as an investment.
So please let somebody love you.
What have been the defining wounds of your life—and how have you healed them?
I had to learn how to love myself before I decided that I was worth the investment.
For 20 years, I had a disability that was not visual. You cannot look at me and tell me I was disabled. All you can see is the societal discrimination that I was someone who was overweight. If my disability had a look, I probably would’ve found out. I had MTHFR Gene mutation as a child versus 20 years later. I had to ignore the number of times I was called lazy by people who did not know what I went through daily. I was honestly miserable physically. Weekly visits to the ER, home visits from nurses, and only being able to work 5 to 10 hours a month.
I was not prepared to start building my life at 33 years old. I was diagnosed as a child. I dreamed, but never created a plan. I never travel. I did not have a career. I had dreams, but they were never going to be a reality because I was sick. I didn’t even own a car. For 19 years, all I did was go home, go to the doctor, and work my couple of hours a month. When my disability ended in December 2019, I had to genuinely believe in my soul that God is the best planner to build a life. I had no idea what I was going to do. I will not concentrate on my years of life that were stolen from me.
Hit the ground running on a path that had no choice but to be placed in God‘s hands.
(Tawakkul)
My first attempt at learning was becoming a member of Toastmasters International to perfect my speech. I will tell the most incredible story of my lifetime, and some very important people need to hear me. I need to be able to speak eloquently to be heard.
Wheels Of Success, located in Tampa, Florida, blessed me with affordable, reliable transportation and the knowledge to take care of my first car on my road to independence to build the life I never thought I would have.
Susan Jacobs, founder of Wheels Of Success, has been a blessing to me and many people for the past 20 years, not only by providing reliable transportation and a listening ear, but also by being empathetic, stern, and will push you to dream bigger.
I then learned what a networking, humanitarian, philanthropist, and entrepreneur is for the first time. The rest was history.
Healing pushed me to focus on the happiness of freedom of being healthy and look at everything as if it were exciting, like a two-year-old with an unlimited credit card at a candy shop. I was not supposed to be alive today, and now I am living and learning. I do not know everything, but the extraordinary adventure of meeting people who know more than I do and can teach me what I don’t know. Nobody wanted to invest in me before because I was disabled, but now I am not a burden anymore. I have people who love me, and God is blessing me with strangers who want to see me win.
The final wound, which is a very sensitive topic, is children. For many years, because of the treatment I was on, it was in my best interest not to have children due to their health concerns. The medication wreaked havoc, and I pray with my focus on Whole Foods and with a team, I can continue restoring the damage from being on medication that I was not supposed to be on for over two decades. Also, it’s not about having children; it’s about how I want to raise them. My childhood, even though I had fun, I had to put my health as a priority, so that was to do many things I could not do because of my health concerns, and I want to make sure that if I am blessed with children, they’ll be able to be children first and not adults. There is a quote saying “ Survival parents raising suburban children”
I want to provide a haven of financial, emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being that I was not blessed with before.
My prayers begin with a two-parent household, as I work to ensure I am healthy and that anyone chosen for me to be my family will also reap the benefits of the blessings I earned. I look forward to the most incredible adventure of my lifetime with my future children, whom God has blessed me with to continue to build.
As I did before, with the topic of children.
“God is the best of planners,” and I will say no to everything and everybody, which is different from my prayers for a family of my own.
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. Where are smart people getting it totally wrong today?
Your network is your net worth. Cultural and religious intelligence provides you with empathy and respect for your peers.
You eliminate judgment and speak from a place of understanding. You automatically become a safe haven for individuals who enter rooms different from their norm to gain knowledge that they cannot get from where they were.
Before immersing myself in entrepreneurship, Religion, and Culture, I truly believed that you have to have a degree to have the highest income possible and get the respect you deserve. I had no idea about the power of networking
I had to see firsthand the power of confidence and communication skills.
Education is essential and a beautiful achievement, but if you don’t immerse yourself in clubs, committees, causes, and beliefs that help people other than yourself, you’re not going to learn the empathy and communication skills to always be a student and not judge others. You need to be able to talk to everyone. The same respect you give to the Founder is the same respect you give to the custodian.
I have met successful convicted felons and homeless doctors.
I’ve seen two individuals go to the same college. One was a 4.0 student, received a full scholarship, and was in the honor society the entire time. Graduated, making less than $50,000 a year. The other was a student who aggressively participated in their school’s events and local non-profits. An employer noticed them, and the first job out of college was making close to six figures a year.
Showing up authentically and connecting with people with similar visions or more will take you farther than any certification you ever obtain.
You have to bless others to receive blessings for yourself.
Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. Could you give everything your best, even if no one ever praised you for it?
I had no choice but to give my best. I had zero support when I went on this health / Wellness journey of a lifetime. I was told to ignore the doctor who told me I was misdiagnosed and to look for another provider because she was lying.
I need to accept that I’m disabled for the rest of my life, and that it’s impossible for someone who has been sick for over two decades to wake up and not be sick anymore. I lost count of how many people I had to let go with their limiting thoughts to save my life.
I had to leave everything to let go of the title “ Disabled,” which haunted me for over two decades, to learn what I was capable of.
I packed up my things and moved to a new town. I concentrated on the road ahead and fell in love with a version of myself created by surrounding myself with people who were doing better than I was.
People only give advice based on their exposure. Being socially delayed is real, and it’s essential to continuously surround yourself with people who are doing better than you, expose yourself to new opportunities you did not know before, and never be comfortable with routine.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.MariWithThe411.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/MariWithThe411
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marielaayala
- Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/MariWithThe411
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MariWithThe411
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/MariWithThe411
- Other: https://linktr.ee/askmariwiththe411
Image Credits
Toastmasters International public speaking contest
for the photo with the yellow dress
