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"A LOT with Audra" is the podcast for women juggling big dreams and full lives. Each episode, host, Audra Dinell, Midwestern wife, mom and neurodivergent multi-six figure entrepreneur encourages women to embrace their many roles holistically by living a values-based life with confidence and joy. Through candid discussions, practical strategies and inspiring stories, this podcast is your guide to designing and achieving success without losing yourself in the process.
Ep74
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Welcome to Carolina
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[00:00:00]
Audra Dinell: [00:01:00] Welcome back to A Lot with Audra. I know you are going to enjoy my conversation today with chef and owner of Argentina's Empanadas, Carolina Freeman. I have had the opportunity to interview Carolina multiple times in multiple spaces over the years, and her wisdom just always hits me soul deep.
Enjoy today's conversation. Carolina, Thanks for joining us today. Thank you. I have gotten to hear different versions of your story over the years. Mm-hmm.
Second Acts and Identity
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Audra Dinell: And when I was thinking about this season of talking about second acts, you definitely came to mind because your perspective around chapters in life, I think, is so beautiful.
Carolina Freeman: Yes. So your story carries so many different layers. Identity, leaving behind a country and a career, building a new community, and then eventually creating a business [00:02:00] that brings your old home- Mm-hmm ... to your new one. Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. When you look back now, just tell us that story- Yes ... and maybe where you think a second act began for you.
Well, I'm always been a kid that ha- moved to different countries and been different schools. So that opened my mind to be able to shift not my soul and who I am, but kind of like try to fit in in new circles. Hmm. And that helped me a lot to just not being very attached to, okay, this is who I am, these are my friends, these are my circles, this is my stability.
I think stability's great, but only when it's served the purpose for growth. Yeah. Like, if you're stuck in something and it's very comfortable, it's great, but for me, something always, a part of you always dies in there, where you, I think you can go deeper to really get to [00:03:00] know yourself, and I think you only achieve that when you put yourself in uncomfortable situations when you find your group of friends when you move countries, when you move jobs.
I think that's just the beauty of life, and I think people are just so scared of doing that. I don't know what's the real fear of that, but for me, it wasn't easy, but I definitely pushed myself to do that.
Moving to Wichita
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Carolina Freeman: And I would say that the big change for me, even if I had several before, like I was an exchange student here before was when I moved from Argentina to Wichita as an adult already.
I think that was just the, the difficult one. Because when you're a kid or a teenager, it's easier. You don't have complete agency, so you just, you go where- You go where you go ... you have to go. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Exactly. But definitely as an adult, it was one of the most difficult changes in my life, because I left behind a career, my family.
I already [00:04:00] had friends. I loved the nei- my neighborhood. Hmm. I had a circle. My university meant a lot in Argentina, but when I moved here, nobody knows anything about me. Yeah. And if I say, "Hey, I did this back home," or, "I did that back home," feeling proud of that- People cannot connect. It's not that they don't care.
Audra Dinell: Yeah.
Carolina Freeman: It's just you cannot connect to something that you don't know. Yeah. You know? If you tell me, "Hey, Carolina, I did this in the past. I, know I ran a marathon." If I know what it is, I'll be like, "Oh my God, that was amazing." Good
Audra Dinell: job.
Carolina Freeman: Yeah. But if I don't know, then I'll, "Okay.
Culture Shock and Language
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Carolina Freeman: Yeah." So for me, that was kind of like heartbreaking f- to me, for me to build a life where here people kind of like, "Mm, wasn't very interested in me," or, or just interested in what I have to say, or maybe thinking, "Okay, her English is also not perfect. She has to learn, learn another language." And a language is not just a language.
A language, a, a, a [00:05:00] country and a, and a, and the place where you live, there's ways of being. Mm. Ways of, the way you, you talk to somebody the way you small talk with somebody. There's just different habits in the way that people talk to each other, and the way, you know, you may think, you, you may wanna say something that for, for another person it could be uncomfortable or crazy.
So you just need to adapt to the culture.
Audra Dinell: Yeah.
Carolina Freeman: But all of that for me was very difficult, but it was beautiful at the same time.
Audra Dinell: There's so many threads I wanna pull on.
Carolina Freeman: Mm-hmm.
Resilience Through Change
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Audra Dinell: The first is moving around as a kid and having to embrace different friends and groups and, and spaces. I think that's also important.
My sons were both born in different states. Mm-hmm. We've only lived in the United States. Yeah. We've only lived, you know, in this country. But even [00:06:00] watching my oldest, who has more of a memory of what it's like to live outside of the Midwest-
Carolina Freeman: Yes ...
Audra Dinell: his resilience- Mm-hmm ... in new groups of people-
Carolina Freeman: Yeah ...
Audra Dinell: it is very different.
Mm-hmm. And of course, that could be wiring, it could be some personality things. But I do partly attribute that to, you know, he was born in Colorado, we moved to Hawaii. He lived there, you know, grew up there until elementary school. That's a lot.
Carolina Freeman: Mm-hmm.
Audra Dinell: Yeah. And I do see that resilience in him. He's more comfortable going-
into new situations and new- groups, and that's something that makes me proud. So I agree. As a parent- I think that's important ... it's
Carolina Freeman: very important, and it doesn't have to be from another s- not necessarily a country, to a different country or a city, which that is huge, but it could be just a new sport.
Audra Dinell: Yeah. That's a good point. It does not have to be- Mm-hmm ... I mean, it's accessible to everyone. [00:07:00] It could be, you know, a new place of worship, a new school, a new- Yes ... sport, a new activity. Walking into-
Carolina Freeman: Mm-hmm ...
Audra Dinell: Scouts when- Yes are signing up for that.
Carolina Freeman: Exactly. I think that opens the possibilities to know who you are way more than just staying always kind of in the same environments and the same circles and the same situations.
Making Friends as Adults
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Carolina Freeman: But in my case, the most difficult part was just making friends. I think you can get a new job if you, you know, have certain kn- knowledge. Okay, fine. You can, I don't know, meet a new boyfriend or... But honestly, the hardest part for me was just having friends, 'cause I'm, I'm a person that I cannot have just the, "Hey, how are you?
Let's meet for coffee," and then goodbye. I have to just engage in a real, genuine connection. And when you are past 30 or 35, people are already so saturated [00:08:00] with the amount of things that they have to do with their kids.
Audra Dinell: Yeah.
Carolina Freeman: That it's like, like their nervous system don't have a 10% to just make new friends.
Audra Dinell: Yeah.
Carolina Freeman: Even if the other person is amazing. Right. It has nothing to do with that.
Audra Dinell: Right.
Carolina Freeman: And that is a, a huge part. You cannot, never take anything so personal when it comes to entering new friendships and entering new cycles or new spaces. People are just, they don't know what they don't know.
Audra Dinell: Yeah.
Carolina Freeman: And it was just super hard for me to, to find friends because not a lot of people at our age is open to say, "Hey, yeah, I'm, I'm willing to, to invest in you, even if I don't know where you come from," or, or, or it could be anything. But with time, I find that there's a lot of people that want a little bit more from life, especially now.
I think there's just two type of personalities in there. The one that are after 40 are completely settled and say, "Hey, you know what? [00:09:00] I don't want anything else. I already has my husband, my house, my kids, my friends, my sport. I'm, I'm completely content."
Audra Dinell: Yeah.
Carolina Freeman: And there's the opposite, the people that are star- starting to discover who they really are- Mm
after 40 or a- after 35, where maybe the situation before 35, it was like, well, all my life I kind of been in an automatic or just doing what my parents wanted me to do or what my husband wanted me to do or just kind of like what society dictated that I was supposed to do, or maybe, you know, we just divorced.
And those people that are after 35 that really want, now want to experience life with their own eyes and their own perspective are kind of the people that I connected a little bit more.
Audra Dinell: Oh, I love that. Yes. Mm-hmm.
Defining the Second Act
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Audra Dinell: And that's the whole thought behind this second act lens of the podcast- Yes ... of like sort of waking up.
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And a second act doesn't have to necessarily do with an age or-
Carolina Freeman: No ...
Audra Dinell: a season of life. It's just more-
Carolina Freeman: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm ... [00:10:00]
Audra Dinell: you know- activating yourself, taking more agency, deciding, you know, this is what I want the next chapter of my life to look like. Yes. I recently learned that mid-life is officially 45 through 65.
Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. And so when I was thinking about this concept, you know, I, I drew from the, the play, like act one, act two, act three. Yes. Act one, someone comes in and, like, you just kinda see the clean version of what's going on. Mm-hmm. But then act two, it just gets messy and meaty. It gets messy,
Carolina Freeman: yes.
Audra Dinell: So you're finding yourself in the second act, new country, leaving behind a career in HR, starting your own business.
Carolina Freeman: Mm-hmm.
Audra Dinell: A desire to find your people here- Yes ... and the people that you're most attracted to are those people- Mm-hmm ... who are in that messy-
Carolina Freeman: Mm-hmm ...
Audra Dinell: season of reckoning with themselves and discovering who- Yes ... who they wanna be in the world.
Carolina Freeman: Exactly.
From HR to Empanadas
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Carolina Freeman: I think my second act was about I want the complete [00:11:00] pic- picture.
I, I turned 41 yesterday.
Audra Dinell: Oh
Carolina Freeman: my gosh. Yes. Happy birthday. Thank you. Aw. And I, I d- I don't wanna say, "Okay, I'm 41. I'm already live in a different country. I left everything behind." I, I wanted, I wanted everything, and I want it all.
Audra Dinell: Hmm.
Carolina Freeman: So I, I, I definitely put a lot of effort of having my support system, having good relationships, having something that I enjoy doing.
Like you said, I was working in HR. And it's, it's not something that I didn't enjoy. It's just a career I picked when I was 18.
Audra Dinell: Yeah.
Carolina Freeman: And I did it for a long time, but when I moved here, I think it was time for me to say, "Okay, this is an opportunity for me to do something different." And I always struggled within the nine to, nine to five commitment.
It's not that I cannot do it, but I like to maybe shift in the day. Like, maybe if I wanna have a coffee, or maybe if I wanna wake up a little later, or if I wanna [00:12:00] do an activity in the, in the middle of the day. That is something that I al- it was my dream to not be so much having something that I can't control.
Audra Dinell: Yeah.
Carolina Freeman: So, I think Argentina's empanadas is that, personally.
Audra Dinell: Yeah.
Carolina Freeman: Now, it was kind of like a bridge for me to connect my past with my present and my future because I didn't wanna forget who I am.
Audra Dinell: Yeah.
Carolina Freeman: Like, you never wanna forget where you come from. And I think other than that, in Wichita there wasn't any empanada place or anything.
Just the obvious commercial and financial reasons why you do something. I think it just represents who I am what I wanted to say about me, about my culture. I wanted to, people to eat what I usually ate before. And just, You know, add to Wichita the, in, in, in the food culture. But honestly, it's not just about food.
I, I, I always wanted to make it more about, hey, this [00:13:00] is just different.
Audra Dinell: Yeah.
Carolina Freeman: Yeah.
Authenticity and Acceptance
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Carolina Freeman: And I'm all about being different, and I, I think that's the second act, what it's about, is just being authentic. Finally, you know, you have so much pressure for any, for just fre- just life. Yeah. It's just life. And I think the second act is just about-
Audra Dinell: Embracing who you are
it's
Carolina Freeman: about embracing who you are.
Audra Dinell: And bringing that into the world. Yes. Oh. Mm-hmm. I, I so, so agree with that. And I think before you can embrace who you are, you know, there's, like, an acceptance too- Mm-hmm ... of like, this is who I am.
Carolina Freeman: Exactly.
Audra Dinell: I'm gonna look this person in the mirror and accept them- Mm-hmm
and then love them, and then share the appropriate parts of them with the world. Yes. I say appropriate parts because-
Carolina Freeman: Yes ...
Audra Dinell: you know, some parts are just for us, but to say, "This is who I am. I'm embracing it." Mm-hmm. And- Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm ... now the world can see.
Carolina Freeman: Yes.
Audra Dinell: I think it's beautiful, and I think it's so cool that you looked at this as a fresh start even though definitely I [00:14:00] hear, like, there's some loss and grief, and it's not, you know, easily wrapped up in a bow.
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. But you chose to make this transition and embrace the perspective of opportunity.
Carolina Freeman: Yes.
Loneliness and Starting Over
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Carolina Freeman: I didn't wanna feel... Like, like, the first year was very hard. Like, I, I felt definitely very alone 'cause, I mean, my husband was there with me, but like I said, I need, I need the, the big picture. I need the- Yeah
complete picture. I need to have my friends and my job and the things that I go to. 'Cause I also don't wanna, I don't wanna ruin my marriage or bur- burden people with things that probably doesn't belong to them.
Audra Dinell: Yeah.
No one can be everything for you
Carolina Freeman: No one can be everything. but at the same time, also my struggles were my husband or the people that I just met, they don't know who I was.
Audra Dinell: Yeah.
Carolina Freeman: Like, I remember my husband, when [00:15:00] we go, he always is showing me, "Okay, this w- this was my high school. This was my elementary. Here is where I lived. Here is where I used to hang out with my friends," and I'm like, "I don't know when we're gonna go do that with my side." Yeah. You know? Yeah. It's, it's harder.
So I always just try to remember those things are me, yes, but at the same time, I am me as well, and I have, my own dreams, my own desires, my own personality. Not everything that happened to me is me.
Audra Dinell: Yeah.
Carolina Freeman: So I always just try to, when I make new friends or meet new people or just start something new, I just try to remember- Just to empty myself of everything and just go do something or through something uh, just a little bit more raw.
Audra Dinell: Mm.
Carolina Freeman: I just w- I just want people to know me for, for who I am and not if I did this, I did that. Before, I, I had this feeling of, okay, they're not gonna love [00:16:00] me or, or because they don't know anything. Like, maybe if I... They, they probably think that I, I, I don't know, that I just come from nothing or whatever.
Just, just things that, stupid things that you believe. I'd not just don't think about that. Yeah. I'm just, "Okay, this is me, and I'm a good person."
Audra Dinell: Yeah. "
Carolina Freeman: And I just have good intentions," and we start from there.
Audra Dinell: Yeah.
Carolina Freeman: Mm-hmm.
Community Driven Business
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Audra Dinell: Well, and I love that you took the opportunity to marry your passion or something that represents you, something that you love with now what you get to do for your vocation.
Not everyone- Mm-hmm ... gets to do that.
Carolina Freeman: Yes.
Audra Dinell: And I think it's amazing that you found a hole in the market, you were able to m- marry those things- Mm-hmm ... and now, you know, bring it to Wichita and just enrich- Mm-hmm ... our culture here by infusing some of Argentina in.
Carolina Freeman: Yes. That was perfect for me. It was the, the perfect marriage for me and, my culture, and just show what I am about.[00:17:00]
And I also like, I like to support the community.
Audra Dinell: Mm-hmm.
Carolina Freeman: And I sometimes I felt like, okay, maybe if I, if I just go to a nine to five again, it's not that I cannot support my community, but I needed something that was just more inserted in the community where I can really contribute face to face.
Audra Dinell: Yeah.
Carolina Freeman: And that is something that I, I think is part of the second act. Mm. It is just more... It's just, it's more you out there instead of through something. It's just everything comes more out of you.
Audra Dinell: It's riskier-
Carolina Freeman: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm ... but
Audra Dinell: it's maybe more true.
Carolina Freeman: Exactly.
Taking the Leap
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Carolina Freeman: Mm. I heard a lot of people having difficulty with especially leaving their jobs-
Audra Dinell: Mm-hmm
Carolina Freeman: and just starting something that they always wanted to do.
Audra Dinell: Yeah. I
Carolina Freeman: think that's, that's huge. I think that's one of the biggest fear that any human can have. Yeah. Is just leaving their job to start something that they don't know if they're gonna have a stable [00:18:00] pay and how it's gonna work, and they, you know, envision themselves maybe being broke or bankrupt.
Audra Dinell: Worst case
Carolina Freeman: scenario ... the worst case scenario. And honestly, that, that never happens. I mean, it can happen, but all the stories that I heard are usually very, very successful, and not so much- It could be financially successful, yes, but definitely they're, they're happier.
Audra Dinell: It almost seems like it's worth doing it, right?
Mm-hmm. Mm. Like, it's worth taking the leap. No one's gonna promise you how the leap is gonna... where you're gonna land. Mm-hmm. But it's like the act of- Yes ... betting on yourself or trusting yourself- Mm-hmm ... or just having the courage to-
Carolina Freeman: Mm-hmm,
Audra Dinell: mm-hmm ... live the life that you wanna live. It's like that- Yes
leap is the thing that makes it worth it, whether or not you end up back at a nine-to-five or you're extremely financially successful, or maybe you've [00:19:00] shifted your definition of success and you're happier- Mm-hmm, mm-hmm ... and choosing to be more content with less.
Journey Over Outcome
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Audra Dinell: Exactly. I think it's the leap.
Carolina Freeman: It's the leap, and also so the, the process, in my opinion.
A lot of people picture themselves, "Okay, this is going to be the end result."
Audra Dinell: Yeah.
Carolina Freeman: And you're just completely fixed to the end result, and they don't know that the journey is the actually the reward.
Audra Dinell: Mm.
Carolina Freeman: That was just so hard for me to understand. Because I'm always like, "Okay, we, but when this, when this happen, I'm gonna be feel this way," or, "Now w- when this happen, I'm gonna feel this way."
Actually, it's just what you do every single day. You just need to train your mind just a little bit to go to bed feeling you're already there.
Audra Dinell: Yeah.
Carolina Freeman: Because usually the end result is completely different from what you expected. And I'm not saying completely different in a negative way or in a positive way, just different.
Audra Dinell: I agree. There's been milestones I've hit in my business, [00:20:00] and I've thought, "Oh, when I hit this- Mm-hmm ... I'm going to have it made or feel like this." And there are some that it is true. Like, I hit something and I'm like, "Okay." Mm-hmm,
Carolina Freeman: mm-hmm. "
Audra Dinell: This feels so good." But I have to wrestle with myself to just stay in that feeling and not just move on to the next thing.
Yes, yes. Or sometimes it doesn't feel the way- Mm-hmm ... that I thought it was gonna feel.
Carolina Freeman: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
Audra Dinell: And so I really just love that advice of if you're in that period, it's about every day trying to cultivate those feelings. Yes.
Live How You Want
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Audra Dinell: So what would you say to someone who is maybe, like, making some sort of shift?
Like, they can see a transition coming. Mm-hmm. They're not quite where they want to be. They're, like, in that middle, kind of like where you were when you moved here and you weren't, you hadn't built Argentina's Empanadas into what it is.
Carolina Freeman: I knew that I wanted to do something different, and I knew that I had the heart for it.
Audra Dinell: Mm-hmm. [00:21:00]
Carolina Freeman: So I knew it was gonna happen. Now, I didn't know the results, like I said. Mm-hmm. I didn't know if it was gonna be successful or not. I- I just knew that I, I wanted to live different
Audra Dinell: Mm-hmm
Carolina Freeman: And I think that's the key. Like how do you wanna live? And then starting to live your day based on how do you really wanna live.
Yeah. It's just forget about, especially in the beginning, when you don't know exactly what's gonna happen. It's so, it's great to have a plan, and everybody should have one. Yeah. Of course, we're not just, you know, this is not a fairy tale. You have to have your plans.
Audra Dinell: Right.
Carolina Freeman: But it's mostly how do I really wanna feel?
Why, why am I doing this?
Audra Dinell: Mm-hmm.
Carolina Freeman: Like, there's people that maybe they wanna be, you know, they work in a bank, and they always wanted to play the piano or play the guitar and, and, and you know, I don't know, for a living. Mm-hmm. They wanna join a band.
Audra Dinell: Mm-hmm. [00:22:00]
Carolina Freeman: Why do you wanna do that? 'Cause you, it's how you, that makes you feel.
Audra Dinell: Yeah.
Carolina Freeman: And I think that is what you always have to have in mind, and just start exercising a little bit of that every single day. And before you know it, it turns into something huge.
Audra Dinell: Yeah.
Carolina Freeman: I think loving something so much brings so much energy to the table- Yes ... that people start, somebody will call you, somebody will contact you, somebody will see you.
Audra Dinell: Yeah.
Show Up Daily
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Carolina Freeman: usually at, before we take the first step, we're in a negative, very negative state of mind, in my opinion. Because we are in so much doubt. Mm. And that is just terrible, because you just have to take the first step, and the blessings start to happen.
Audra Dinell: Yeah.
Carolina Freeman: And then you're more capable than what you think you are.
That's always the answer, and it, it, it's always accurate. People think that they're less capable sometimes, [00:23:00] whenever, when they're about to turn or transform their life into something different. But I swear that you're more capable than what you think you are.
Audra Dinell: Yeah, it's like just don't stop. Mm-hmm. When you're there, you're at that point, you're having that self-doubt, you don't know what's gonna happen, it's just like keep going.
Yes. When I first started the thread, I wore this bracelet that said- Mm-hmm ... "Show up," because I just promised myself, like if you just show up-
Carolina Freeman: Mm-hmm ...
Audra Dinell: to the places that you know you need to be, in the energy that you want to be in, you're sharing your passion, if you just keep showing up for life and for this mission and this business, something good will happen.
Yes.
Carolina Freeman: Something will happen.
Audra Dinell: Yeah. Mm-hmm. And that was the key for me. Yes. Just show up.
Carolina Freeman: Yes. It doesn't have to be huge.
Audra Dinell: No.
Carolina Freeman: It doesn't have to be huge. That's what, all, another misconception. It doesn't have to be huge. I swear that just a lit- a grain of salt- will make you through the next day and the next week.
Yeah. And then [00:24:00] that big, little grain of salt will turn into something big ball.
Audra Dinell: Yeah.
Carolina Freeman: And that's how it usually is.
Support And Emotions
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Carolina Freeman: And I think another super important thing is having people that know what you're going through.
Audra Dinell: Mm-hmm.
Carolina Freeman: Maybe they don't know anything about the business, that y- maybe they can give you advice related to the industry that you're doing, but definitely that know what you're going through emotionally.
Audra Dinell: Yeah.
Carolina Freeman: Because I think this is an em- more than a financial thing or a change of a career, this is an emotional transformation.
Audra Dinell: Oh my gosh, Yes.
I feel like if you are entering a second act, it is an emotional transformation. If you are starting a business- it is an emotional transformation.
If you're becoming a mother, if you're moving- to a brand new place.
I've learned a lot from you, I don't know if you know this, about that emotional journey. It's something that, I mean, really cracked open in me when I became a mother. [00:25:00] And then when I became an entrepreneur, having been a mother, I just like it cracked me open to-
this person and this, these feelings- that I never allowed myself to be or feel before.
Carolina Freeman: Yes.
Audra Dinell: And when you were in your cohort of the Thread- Mm-hmm ... you said, "I notice a difference here versus Argentina. In Argentina, everyone just allows themselves to be and feel." Mm-hmm,
Carolina Freeman: mm-hmm. "
Audra Dinell: And here it's a little bit more like buttoned up- Yes
and about the way it looks versus the way it feels." I think
Carolina Freeman: emotions are just a little bit more taboo here, thinking that emotions are weakness.
Audra Dinell: Mm-hmm.
Carolina Freeman: And I mean, in Argentina, they're just crossing the line to crazy a little bit. So but here I think is the other extreme where I think, yeah, when you show emotions, it could be misinterpreted, oh my God, you're weak or you're too sensitive.
And honestly, especially [00:26:00] being an entrepreneur is the most sensitive thing, I mean, ever.
You're so exposed.
You're exposed. I mean, there's nobody that is gonna cover any mistake for you.
That's-
Audra Dinell: you ...
Carolina Freeman: it's you. So of course you're kind of like emotionally naked.
And that will affect you very much.
N- it's not just that you're wearing all the hats and that's why it's difficult. I mean, yes, of course it is difficult, but when you are trying to achieve something that is very hard, and sometimes it doesn't go the way you want it to be- It's just you and your emotion. Yeah. There's nobody else there.
There's no boss in there to tell you, "Hey, Audra this, this didn't go the way we want it to, but we're gonna do..." There's nothing that will soft the slap in the face that you will get.
So it, it is, you have to be ready, and because you're running a business and b- or [00:27:00] because you're trying to do something important or transform, you wanna feel your emotions, but at the same time, you wanna control them.
Mm-hmm. And you want to overcome them, and you wanna learn from them.
Audra Dinell: Mm.
Carolina Freeman: And that is the important part of all of this. Mm. It's like, yes, I'm allowed to feel 'cause I'm a human, and this is super hard, but once you cried enough, this is when you start building the resilience. And a lot of people are ready to feel the emotions, but I don't know if they're ready to, "Okay, now what?"
Audra Dinell: Yeah.
Carolina Freeman: That's the difficult part. Mm-hmm.
Emotional Agility Tools
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Audra Dinell: So in the past six months, I got to learn from psychologist Susan David. Mm-hmm. She is at Harvard, and she coined the term emotional agility. Mm-hmm. And she has this four-step process that's connected to values and goals and allowing you to show up for your emotions- Mm-hmm
but then have agency, use them as data. Like, what is this- Yes ... feeling telling me? What do I [00:28:00] need to know? What's its function?
Carolina Freeman: Mm-hmm.
Audra Dinell: And how am I going to step out so that I can make a decision using my wise mind- Mm-hmm ... that is aligned with who I am, my values, and where I wanna go in the world, my goals?
Carolina Freeman: Exactly.
Audra Dinell: And it has just been such a beautiful process- Mm ... because I realize how many years I spent not trusting my emotions or not- Mm ... wanting them. Mm-hmm,
Carolina Freeman: mm-hmm.
Audra Dinell: But I always come back to now, like, my body was designed with them, just like it was designed with a- Yes ... brain to think and legs to move. Like- Yes.
Carolina Freeman: Mm-hmm ...
Audra Dinell: it was also designed to feel. There's a function in that. Like, how about I stop working against that function that is natural- Is natural. Mm-hmm ...
Carolina Freeman: and
Audra Dinell: use it to be what it is?
Carolina Freeman: Yes. I think that it, the emotion will tell you a lot of what the next move is.
Audra Dinell: Mm.
Carolina Freeman: I think being a human being, it's beautiful, but it's painful.
Audra Dinell: Mm-hmm, both.
Carolina Freeman: I mean, you cannot a- you cannot avoid it.
Audra Dinell: Both are true.
Carolina Freeman: And [00:29:00] just like when something good happen, you're the first one to celebrate. When something bad happens, I think you also need to be the first one to feel bad.
Audra Dinell: Yeah.
Carolina Freeman: I mean, it's just fair to you, and actually, I feel really good every time either I cry or I, you know, I complain to one of my friends- Yeah
that I know she's the one that I can call- Yeah ... to just talk. I don't wanna say about work. And she knows. And she's perfect for it, and I swear that I empty myself, and then maybe the problem wasn't as huge as I thought
Audra Dinell: Yeah. Yeah
Carolina Freeman: Or maybe the solution was right there-
Audra Dinell: Mm-hmm ...
Carolina Freeman: in the middle of the pain.
Audra Dinell: Mm-hmm.
Carolina Freeman: But that's where you have to go, unfortunately.
Audra Dinell: Mm. Okay.
Redefining Success
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Audra Dinell: So how has your definition of success changed over time?
Carolina Freeman: Well, I think that's more related to what we're talking about, the, about the results. 'Cause a lot of things with in my life this last nine years that I've been living [00:30:00] here didn't go exactly as I planned.
They went amazing anyways.
Audra Dinell: Mm.
Carolina Freeman: But kind of like in a different, in a different way. I think success, honestly, is when you just let life tell you a little bit where to go- Mm ... and you're okay with it.
Audra Dinell: Mm-hmm.
Carolina Freeman: I don't know if it's more related to something tangible. For me, it's more about creating harmony.
Audra Dinell: Mm.
Carolina Freeman: And that is just very different for everybody. My harmony is about so many little things. It, it's not even a, a, something very strict or tangible or huge. It's just very little things that just make me feel that I'm balanced and that I'm in harmony.
Audra Dinell: Yeah.
Carolina Freeman: That I'm just, that I'm in peace.
So it doesn't matter what you do, I think the goal is just to feel peaceful. Yeah. 'Cause extremely happy every single day, it's [00:31:00] impossible. That's just not re- real.
Audra Dinell: Right.
Carolina Freeman: So for me, that is success as more personal. And then when it comes to Argentinas and what I created with my husband, I think it's just more...
I have to think about it.
Freedom And Brand Legacy
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Carolina Freeman: Of course, you want it your business to make money and- Yeah ... but more than making money is the freedom that it gives me.
Audra Dinell: Mm-hmm. I,
Carolina Freeman: I s- I'm not the type of person that if I make tons of money, I want to buy a yacht.
Audra Dinell: Yeah.
Carolina Freeman: I'm just, that's just not my personality. I think it's what allows me to do- Yeah
and the freedom that, today I had to take my daughter to the doctor. She had an appointment, like, at 9:00, and I came, I came here after that. For me, that's success.
Audra Dinell: Yeah.
Carolina Freeman: I can just say, "Okay, I'm gonna go, and then I'm gonna go to the podcast, and then I'm gonna do this, I'm gonna go do that." For me, that, that is just everything I wanted.
Audra Dinell: Yeah. Freedom.
Carolina Freeman: Yes.
Audra Dinell: Not having to ask permission- Mm ... to live your life- [00:32:00]
Carolina Freeman: Yes ...
Audra Dinell: in the way that- You see fit
Carolina Freeman: Yeah
Audra Dinell: Yeah
Carolina Freeman: That is, for me, is just perfect. And then for the business itself more than selling empanadas and if the business makes money or not, I like creating brands.
Audra Dinell: Mm.
Carolina Freeman: And I like just creating something that means something to somebody.
Like when you hear Argentina's Empanadas, you're like, "Oh my God, they're amazing," or, "They're really good," or, "Yeah, I can trust that brand."
Audra Dinell: Yeah.
Carolina Freeman: For me, that, that's just that stamp or of I know this is good. I know that this is noble. I know that this is just well done or, or, or there's just a good intentions behind the brand or, or I know if I do this, I know I'm, I'm, I'm take care of.
Yeah. Or this will be very beneficial for me. That's it. Yeah. It could be a service or it could be like you, for example, with the thread. You know, you say the thread, "Oh my God," you [00:33:00] will have that reaction, "I've done it as well." That, I think that's just, that's beautiful.
Audra Dinell: Yeah.
Carolina Freeman: Mm-hmm.
Audra Dinell: And I think you've absolutely done that with Argentina's Empanadas.
Oh, thank you. Thank you.
Whats Next And Where To Follow
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Audra Dinell: So tell our listeners where they should find you, follow you, and maybe what's next for Argentina's.
Carolina Freeman: Okay. So, we have a food truck that is usually privately booked, but it's always on Saturdays in the farmer's market. We have a location in College Hill that is in Clifton Square.
And then we're possibly open our second location. We don't know yet. We're in the works. The, the... We're gonna open a second location, that's for sure. We're just trying to find the right place to do it.
Audra Dinell: Yeah.
Carolina Freeman: But yes, the second location is coming, and then our dreams is always to keep expanding and, and maybe be in Kansas City and in other, in other cities.
But I have a mentor that is always me telling me to ch- chill out. So just one, one step at a time.
Audra Dinell: And listeners can follow along on your journey on social. You're active
Carolina Freeman: on
Audra Dinell: social.
Carolina Freeman: Yes. We have Argentina's [00:34:00] Empanadas in Facebook and in Instagram. And then my name is Carolina Freeman in in Instagram if somebody wants to follow.
Audra Dinell: Well, thank you so much for coming on the podcast today. Thank
Carolina Freeman: you. Thank you