Codie Lea (Artist & Life Coach)
- Elisabeth Caraballo
- Apr 16, 2019
- 6 min read
I am Codie Lea. An Artist, a Soul Explorer and Coach, and a huge tea lover. I have a passion for learning new things (Self-Help junkie over here!), teaching and guiding, exploring the world, creativity in all its forms, and huge belly laughs. I have an ever growing tea fascination (currently crushing on homemade Kombucha), and a yearning to aid others toward wholeness. I am a fun loving, generously honest, down to earth lady that would love to know you!
EC: Can you tell our readers a little more about your art and life coaching business?
CL: My art has been a long time love affair. It started when I was in kindergarten and has lasted ever since. I remember being really young and I created this beautiful little drawing of a lady and gave her a feather headpiece. I was at a community gym and notice a woman that looked a little down. So I gave her the drawing and I remember her lighting up with joy and gratitude. From that moment forward I wanted to create something that would light people up like that.
As a life coach, I have continued my passion for bringing people joy and lighting up their lives by helping them discover their truth, their value and their worth. I think even as a young child I always wanted to make the world a better place, and as I have grown this has never changed. What has changed is how I go about making that change. I am a firm believer that our lives are our own creation, and that when we go within, we can really transform our life into the life of our dreams. And our dreams, the dreams that live in our heart and soul, are ours for a reason. They are meant to be realized.
EC: How has travel influenced you as an artist and life coach?
CL: I traveled a lot when I was in my early 20’s. When I was 19 I went on a long three month road trip across the United states. It was absolutely amazing for two reasons. One, I really got some amazing one on one time with myself, and was given the opportunity to truly like the company I keep. I was able to learn how to trust myself, listen to myself, and explore life in a way I truly wanted to. Second, I learned that this world is truly filled with AMAZING people. Everywhere I went there was someone that was kind, generous, curious and wanted to talk. I made friends in every state, and almost all of them were complete strangers.
Both of these things helped teach me how to express myself, how to connect with others, and how to be present to all that life has to offer. With every single trip I have taken, I learn a new way of relating to the world, and new perspectives of how people live life. This has a huge impact on both my art and how I coach. I believe I learned young how to be flexible, expand my understandings or the world, and learned the benefit and impact of seeing different viewpoints.
EC: What kind of traveler would you consider yourself to be?
CL: Maybe a mixed bag traveler! Ha ha ha, really just enjoy all kinds of travel. From camping and canoeing with my Fiance, to family trips on cruises, to solo adventures for art retreats, to romantic European getaways. I am truly into it all!
EC: Where in the world is your favorite place to visit? Why?
CL: In college I did a year living abroad in Italy. I lived in Rome and was blessed with some of the best and easiest travel experiences of my life. Want to go to Venice? No problem, pack a bag and grab a train! Want to visit London? No worries, get a cheap flight to visit the city for a weekend. It was amazing!
Overall, living in Italy was probably my favorite and one of the most transformative experiences of my life. Not only did I get to travel all over, but I was challenged and stretched as an artist and as a person. I learned self reliance and resilience. I discovered new parts of myself, deepend my trust in myself, learned truly what it is to be spontaneous and flexible. While at the same time cultivating patience, curiosity, openness, friendship, and a broader perspective of the world. Italy had such rich history, such amazing art, and was the best base for traveling all over Europe and meeting all different kinds of people. That’s probably why I loved it most. I also truly loved who I became through my year living there.
EC: What do you think is the biggest sacrifice you have done for the sake of traveling?
CL: I think I learned early on in my travels that I had to sacrifice control while traveling. For one, things always happen. Planes get delayed, transportation issues come up, stores or museums are closed, routes are detoured, etc. So you have to remember to remain flexible. Second part of the biggest adventure is allowing things to be spontaneous. I once was in Paris with friends and we stumbled upon a fun live band playing out on the streets. We all decided to stop, dancing, and enjoy the music, and we ended up meeting this woman that became a dear friend. She ended up joining us on our walk for the day, then invited us over to her house for dinner. She has since been a long time friend that I absolutely adore, and by giving up control of plans, how things should go, what we should do, we were all able to have a fun adventure together.
EC: How many countries have you visited?
CL: 10 countries.
EC: Have you had any scary moments while on your travels?
CL: Yes! I think the scariest moment I had was one that truly taught me what I was capable of. I was traveling to Ibiza, joining up with some friends. I was supposed to have a connecting from in Barcelona, but my plane was running late and I missed the connecting flight. There wasn’t another connecting flight until the next day. So in my mind I started panicking because I was in Barcelona, and had to find a place to stay on a very limited college budget. I was scared because I didn’t know how to navigate the city, what hostels may be open, how to find one. This was also the days before google on all our phones (or at least mine at the time), so I sat down, took some deep breaths and then walked through a game plan for what I could do next. Once I got my bearings, I decided to turn it into a fun adventure, and just have fun with it. I ended up finding a great hostel and had a fun adventure and the process. So what was at one point a very scary moment for me, turned into a great adventure that taught me what I was made of.
EC: Where is your next travel destination going to be? Why?
CL: My next big trip is my Honeymoon with my Fiance we are headed to the great lakes, specifically the Lake Superior, on a fun road trip. We found some beautiful cabins on AirBnB that we are excited to relax in. I am excited mainly because it is the beginning of Mike and I building our life together, the greatest adventure of them all.
EC: How has travel changed you?
CL: Travel has given me the gift of perspective, flexibility, spontaneity, and trust in myself. I have found through my travels the world is an incredible place. People truly are incredible, generous, kind, and helpful. The landscape of the world is breathtaking and a wonder to behold. And I think all of it has helped me open my heart and soul to the wonder of life. I am more open minded, more willing to see where people are coming from, from the perspective of their culture, their life, and how that informs their story. I find the traveling keeps me curious, keeps me flexible, and keeps me open. It has also helped me hone my intuition, my “gut instinct”, and discover who I am and who I want to be.
EC: What advice would you give to someone who’s thinking about a career as an artist & life coach?
CL: I would say, if you have a calling in your heart to be an artist or a life coach, or anything for that matter, follow it without relenting! Make the dream in you heart non-negotiable, and go after it. It is in your heart for a reason, and most likely the world needs what you have to give. Just remember to surrender control and allow spontaneity to be a part of the experience of making your dreams come true.
