Meet Diana Grippo

We had the good fortune of connecting with Diana Grippo and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Diana, do you have a favorite quote or affirmation?
My favorite quote is “Be An Alchemist”. An alchemist is defined as a person who “transforms or creates something through a seemingly magical process”. This represents my life journey and even my journey to becoming an entrepreneur. When the world around you appears dark and hopeless, see yourself as the light that is meant to shine and inspire people. You have to believe in that spark of magic within yourself and have a vision beyond your current circumstances. I overcame many struggles and adversity to become the person that I am today. I thought that I had everything figured out after college, but I still didn’t feel fulfilled in the normal 9-5 job that I was working at. I hadn’t found my life purpose, which felt like a part of me was missing. I knew I was meant for something greater than to be on the hamster wheel of the work, eat, and sleep schedule that most people were on. I knew I wanted to help and inspire people, which I already did naturally on a regular basis. I just didn’t know how to turn it into a business or a lifestyle. Nevertheless, I continued to learn and develop the skills needed to make that a reality. I found myself in a very dark place years ago, in the throes of substance addiction (with unresolved mental health, relationship, and family issues that I had been dealing with since I was a teenager lurking beneath the surface). I was unaware that the darkest time of my life would be the most transformative time, where I would grow the most and receive the most inspiration to live my purpose and dreams. My substance addiction eventually worsened and my whole life crashed down on me. I felt broken. I lost my job, health, relationship, dignity, my family was upset with me, and I was almost homeless. Sometimes everything that is not meant for you needs to fall apart, so what is meant for you can come together. Despite my challenges and adversity, a golden opportunity arose for me to go to a holistic rehab to recover from addiction. I finally surrendered and left everything behind to attend a holistic rehab for 4 months. This drastically changed and even saved my life. I learned how to live a fully balanced healthy life, instead of just merely existing. I learned how to heal myself from a holistic perspective (physical, mental, emotional & spiritual). I was like a phoenix rising from the ashes, I had destroyed the old version of myself. I was reborn into a new better version of myself that was aligned with my life purpose. I had to leave everyone and everything from my old life behind to become the person I was destined to be. I had to be uncomfortable and alone for a while. Growth only happens outside of our comfort zones though. I started replacing my substance addiction with content creation. I also took classes to learn Reiki energy healing (and eventually learned Integrated Energy Therapy (IET) later on as well. Just as things were starting to look up, I received the horrible news that my mother had passed away (she took her own life). This was very traumatic, devastating, and heartbreaking for me. Despite this tragic event and pain that I experienced, I still was an “alchemist”. We are often faced with a crossroad in our lives. We have to make the choice between being a victim who is defeated by their traumas and negative experiences, or we can choose to be an alchemist and transmute the energy. I chose alchemy and used those experiences to empower myself. I allowed myself to feel what I needed to feel and continued to channel my energy into the content creation, coaching, and facilitating energy healing sessions. I then realized my own inner strength. I realized that the purpose of me experiencing all of those horrible experiences was to use my wisdom and healing journey to inspire, coach, and teach people how to heal themselves (as I have done). I had to go through the journey first, before I could help and teach other people. I had to find inspiration and inner strength in dark places, where many people feel defeated. Being an alchemist opened up a world of opportunities for me. It also inspired me to become a coach, content creator, and healer that inspires people and transforms lives. I was able to grow in discomfort and turn my pain into power. I transmuted my past mental health struggles, traumas, addictions, and negativity into wisdom to empower myself and inspire others. Being an alchemist also means using every challenge and experience (even the negative ones) as an opportunity for learning and growth. This is how we evolve into the person we are meant to be!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am a woman of many trades and hats! I am always evolving, expanding, learning, and finding new interests. I am always taking classes and watching content to develop my skills and expand my knowledge to align with my purpose and goals.

My current work consists of the below:

Transformational Coach: I inspire and transform people’s lives by using my wisdom and intuitive/empathic gifts to guide people through their self improvement, spiritual, and healing journeys. I facilitate this through a holistic approach. I help them make healthy positive changes in their physical, emotional, physical, and spiritual aspects of their lives that are in alignment with who they aspire to be. I help them identify and become aware of their behavioral patterns, limiting beliefs, attachments, and blockages that are holding them back from reaching their goals and true potential. I also help them eliminate their toxic patterns as well and find healthier outlets for expression. I coach them through my videos, podcasts (personal and group podcast), social media posts, and 1 on 1 coaching.

Healer (Energy Healing) : Reiki and IET (Integrated Energy Therapy). Integrated Energy Therapy is a therapy that balances and enhances the flow of energy within the body. It consists of working with the energy centers, angelic healing, cellular memory, and emotional release to promote well-being on all levels. I help clients get the “issues out of their tissues” so that they can release what no longer serves them and live a more healthy and balanced life. Reiki is an energy-healing practice that helps unblock and balance the universal life force energy in your body. I provide healing sessions to my clients (remote or in person). These two healing modalities have been very powerful and transformative in my life as well. I will also be taking additional classes to learn alternative healing modalities and to integrate more eastern medicine into my practices. My clients don’t come to me for “healing”. I am just a vessel for healing energy. I teach them how to tap into their own healing energy to heal themselves.

Content Creator: (Youtube, Podcasts,TikTok, Instagram, Facebook). I help and inspire people through my content. I use my past struggles, suffering, empathic abilities, and intuition to tap into the energy and emotions of others so that I can create content to help and inspire them. Whether it’s sharing inspiring content or my life adventures, I seek to bring light, healing, and authenticity into this world. I also like to motivate people to share their authenticity, creations, and gifts with the world as well.

Other Aspirations For The Near Future: Writing A Book and Motivational Speaking

I am most proud of my perseverance, despite all obstacles and adversity that I endured. It wasn’t an easy journey. I was able to succeed because I was willing to get outside of my comfort zone, be authentic, heal from trauma, and push past my fears and limiting beliefs. I learned to see every challenge, struggle, and negative experience as an opportunity for growth. I learned to transmute my negative experiences into wisdom and as a tool to help and inspire people. I want the world to know that anything is possible for them. However, we have to be willing to get uncomfortable, be consistent, and remember their why. The sky isn’t the limit, your belief system is! Believe in and show up for yourself, every day even if no one else does.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
A few years ago, I moved farther away from where I used to live in the Washington DC metro area (northern Virginia) and into Winchester, Virginia (in the Shenandoah Mountains).

The mountains are beautiful and healing. This is the same area where I went to my holistic rehab to recover from addiction, so it is very meaningful to me.

Top Spots In Winchester, VA :

Museum Of Shenandoah Valley- the historic Glen Burnie house dating to 1794 is located here. It is surrounded by seven acres of gardens and unique miniature houses. The galleries are home to Shenandoah Valley artists. There are more than three miles of walking trails as well.

Downtown Winchester-Loudoun Pedestrian Mall-it has great restaurants,bars, shops, and historic landmarks, including the below restaurants:

Red Fox Creamery- delicious homemade ice cream!

Village Square Restaurant & Water Street Kitchen- delicious food, drinks, and a great atmospheres with outdoor seating

Bright Box Theatre-Bright Box has hosted more than 2,000 shows of bluegrass, jam, punk, reggae, jazz, rock, comedy, drag shows, burlesque performances, and themed private parties and fundraisers.

Patsy Cline’s house is here as well and you can do a tour of it!

Nearby Winchester, VA:

Harpers Ferry- a historic town in Jefferson County, West Virginia.It has 19th-century buildings, a Civil War Museum and John Brown’s Fort (a key site in an 1859 abolitionist raid). The Potomac and Shenandoah rivers meet at an area known as The Point, which offers views of Maryland and Virginia as well. You can hike the trails and go tubing down the river!

The State Arboretum of Virginia- is part of Blandy Experimental Farm (a research field station for the University of Virginia). It includes a Virginia Native Plant Trail, the largest variety of boxwood cultivars in North America. It has more than 6,000 trees,woody shrubs ( including a third of the world’s pine species). A beautiful nature sanctuary!

Shenandoah National Park (The Front Royal Entrance)- extends along the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia. The Skyline Drive has breathtaking mountain views and great hiking trails along the Appalachian Trail. This park is home to many bird species, deer, squirrels and black bears.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to dedicate my shout outs to:

Gen Grippo (my mother): Her unconditional love, support, and belief in me inspired me to become the person and entrepreneur that I am today. She never gave up on me, despite all hardships we both endured. Even though she is no longer with us, I know she is still supporting and guiding me from the other side. She was a great mother and nurse. She was a kind soul who always put others above herself, she is dearly missed.

Eric Grippo (My brother). He has always been a grounded and stable person in my life. He is supportive, caring, and always has motivated me to be my best self.

Shane Mills (My boyfriend) He is originally from the LA area. His unconditional love, support, and friendship mean the world to me. He always makes me laugh and I enjoy our adventures together. He is a great boyfriend and an amazing person!

Sarah Kamer, Jay Stefanson, Cortez Medford, Solomon King- I would also like to shout out to my friends and Life Theories Podcast co-hosts. This is my soul tribe! We all met on our journeys to becoming entrepreneurs from a facebook group for aspiring spiritual entrepreneurs. We have been close ever since! We do content collaborations and are on the same mission (to inspire people and uplift the planet). They have been there for me during difficult times and have been an important part of my healing and entrepreneur journeys as well.

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