Alicia Morga: Telling my Story on Camera

Alicia Morga's resume is chock full of brand names, like a B.A. from Stanford University, a JD from Stanford Law School, an investment banking position with Goldman, Sachs & Co, and time at the Carlyle Group, but it doesn’t tell the whole story.  She was born number eight to a Mexican-American family of 11 children, and due to a lack of resources, found herself in foster care for most of her childhood.  Having recently sold Consorte Media, a digital media company she founded five years ago, Alicia finds herself eager to tell her story.  You can find her personal blog here and her posts at Fast Company here.

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“You live in a fantasy world,” I was once told.  It stopped me cold.  From talking about my dreams, from talking about me.  It’s taken a few years, but I finally reached the point where I wanted, needed even, to tell my story.

Recently Angelica Perez-Litwin who runs a website called NewLatinas.net asked me to tell my story on camera. I had put my story in writing, but not on film.  So I reached out to a few friends who had expertise in filmmaking and asked them to help me.  The process was illuminating.  I found it difficult to talk about myself and my experiences.  I was also a little unnerved by the cameras and the need for makeup. 

That said, I really enjoyed learning about the craft and found that telling my story on camera has helped pull out different threads.  More importantly, I have found that, regardless of the medium, telling my story is paramount to acknowledging it, growing from it, and ultimately, letting it go.  Freeing me to write another one.

What Entrepreneurship Means from Alicia Morga on Vimeo. 

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Do you struggle, as Alicia has, to talk about yourself and your dreams?

Have you shared any of your story?  What medium have you used?

After you watch Alicia's video -- what did you learn about her?  About yourself?  

P.S.  Thank you to Jill Hubbard Bowman for introducing me to Alicia. 

Comments

[lisle]

Cool! I love that Alicia got where she was going, and then had to stop and look around to see what else there was. I'm also really impressed that when she was at Goldman Sachs she actually realized that she was unhappy, and that she changed it. That's such a hard thing to do sometimes, especially if it means leaving a 'good' job to go do something that isn't quite as concrete.

Way to go, Alicia!!

[Amy JO]

Having such a difficult childhood, and being so happy and optimistic and forward thinking and looking is an admirable quality.

[Laura]

I really liked how Alicia recognized that her past experiences prepared her for running her own company. She had the tools she needed before she even know the goal. That gives me hope for my future dreams, not yet conceived.

[Maddy]

What tremendous insight. Thanks, Alicia, for courageously sharing yourself with us -- and thanks to Whitney for posting this.

Whitney, I love the questions you usually pose at the end of a post. Today's questions really "hit home" for me. For the past few weeks, I've been evaluating where I am and making concerted effort to clear space for my dreams. (I even literally cleared space in my office for a new computer and a place to put my "wall of dreams.")

Today as I've been home sick from my day job, I thought more about this -- and reading/watching Alicia's story seemed to make things clear for me: I am unhappy. It's telling that even when I'm not at home, I'd rather think about what to post on my blog than to answer work email.

To answer your question about whether I struggle to talk about myself and my dreams: YES. Yes, I do. People expect a certain version of me; they want to hear about my successes and my world travels. No one wants to hear that the "perfect" job for me isn't turning out to be that at all. No one wants to hear that I want to break away from what's expected of me to do something completely un- "Maddy"-like: to risk, to jump not having a pre-determined plan.

So, thanks for sharing. You've given me much more to think about.

[Maria]

Alicia, I was spell bound as I watched you tell your story! So compelling and inspiring. I want to meet you and get to know you sometime.

[Alicia Morga]

Wow Ladies - thanks for all your comments. I am honored you took inspiration from my story. I can't wait to hear yours.

As for you Maddy, it sounds like you are on the verge - not of a breakdown but a great discovery: yourself.

Abrazos,
Alicia

[PJ (a twin inspired by your story)]

Beautiful. Gentle. compelling. Love to know what your twin is doing.