Lid’ya C. Rivera is a proud vitiligo advocate, decorated navy sailor, award-winning filmmaker, and confidence coach. She was diagnosed as an infant with vitiligo, causing her to face childhood bullying and low self-esteem, which later inspired her passion for storytelling and raising awareness about the skin disorder. Lid’ya is a native of Georgia and currently resides in Florida with her three daughters and son. She is a graduate of Excelsior University, where she earned her Bachelor of Science in Psychology.
What’s something new you have been working on?
Lid’ya: Currently, I’m working on the launch of my new children’s book, “I Absolutely, Positively Love My Spots,” which is a celebratory ode about a little girl living with the skin disorder, Vitiligo, and how she loves, accepts, and celebrates her unique skin, and I couldn’t be more excited to share it with the world and with your audience.
Please tell us a little bit about the Confidence BuildHER Academy.
Lid’ya: Confidence BuildHER Academy is my coaching company and also my way of providing support to teenage girls and women by offering various confidence-building tools such as coaching programs to include 1-on-1 coaching, online courses, and digital products meant to cultivate and develop them all around. The Confidence BuildHER Academy was founded in 2021 when I became a certified Life Coach, and since then, I just knew this was my purpose and exactly what I was supposed to do. I absolutely LOVE what I get to do and the breakthroughs that I get to witness. They definitely make my entrepreneurship journey worthwhile.
What does confidence mean to you?
Lid’ya: Confidence means everything! When you have firm trust and belief in yourself, your gifts, and your abilities, you can do ANYTHING! I also believe confidence is key to being an empowered woman. An empowered woman, in my opinion, is a confident, resilient woman who defeats the odds, embraces her divine gifts, willing and ready to step up and fill in the gap where needed, and steps out into her purpose with power and authority to stand in her rightful place to make the world a better place than she found it. An empowered woman is beyond relevant and needed, especially to our young girls and women struggling to find their own voice. As an empowered woman, you become the example and role model for others proving we can, we will, we shall, and we must be who we were created to be. Know that our worth and value is not defined by this faulty world’s metric system but by our own inner warrior. Empowered women are the women that not only our ancestors have been waiting on, but the young girls and women worldwide need as well, so sound loudly!
Can you give our audience a few tips on becoming more confident within themselves?
Lid’ya: Because confidence is found within, it’s important to begin building from the inside out. I would first say, begin to look within and discover who you truly are and start living as that person — the real you. Secondly, once you’ve become so self-aware of who you are, begin to silence the negative self-talk, as well as the negative opinions from others. You had a purpose before they had an opinion, so seek that — your purpose, not validation from others. Finally,
begin to speak life into you. Pour into you. Feed what you want to grow, therefore, feed your mind with positive affirmations each day — even if you don’t immediately believe what you’re saying. Say it until you believe it, and believe it until you achieve it!
Your children’s book, “I Absolutely, Positively Love My Spots,” will be released next month. Tell our audience what inspired this book.
Lid’ya: As a child, I didn’t realize I was different until I was in maybe elementary school when I began to experience bullying for having Vitiligo. That was truly a tough time for me, being a child with a skin condition and not seeing anyone else that looked like me, not even on TV or in books; however, I always wondered what life would have been had I had that representation as a child. Would I have experienced the name-calling? Would people have considered me beautiful and not strange? Would I have been braver and bolder?
“I Absolutely, Positively Love My Spots” was inspired by my own experience living with vitiligo — not so much of what life was like for me, but rather what I hoped it would have been. This not only inspires and encourages self-love and confidence but also educates about the skin condition. It was important that I create a much-needed representation for kids to finally be able to see a main character in a book that looks like them!
What have been some challenges you have faced as an author and entrepreneur?
Lid’ya: If I can be honest, believing that my voice is as powerful as it seems was challenging. Often, I’d find myself thinking, “Wow! Did I just do that?” I amaze myself many times, and even still, not quite grasping how a country girl from Georgia with a big blotch on her face that grew up with very little somehow continued to dream big, never give up despite of, and now a big girl now living in her big dreams! MInd-blowing. Although faced with various challenges as an Author, Filmmaker, and Coach, the most ‘motivating’ challenge of all were the countless amount of no’s I received. Everyone no was added fuel to keep me going and never quit.
What is something you would tell 13-year-old Lid’ya, if she could see your life today?
Lid’ya: I tell my 13-year-old self, “Cassie, you got us here. If it wasn’t for your strength, resiliency, courage, and faith, who knows where our life would have been, but because of you, here we are! Thank you, girl for never giving up, never giving in, continuously bending when they tried to break you, always smiling when they tried to crush your spirit, and forever fighting when they tried to prematurely dismiss you. Because of you, we get to give others hope to never give up, never give in, never to break, always smile, and forever fight! We could’ve become anything in the world, but because of you, we are HOPE dealers! Thank you, and I absolutely, positively love you!”
Keep up to date online:
Website: www.lidyacrivera.com
Instagram: @lidya.c.rivera
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