Inspired by Lila Micevska

For my next post in this series, I want to spotlight one of my other cousins who I find quite inspiring. What can I say? I’m blessed to be surrounded by some awesome people in my life.

Lila Micevska may not be a household name (yet), but she has built up an impressive résumé in my eyes. Lila is an Actress and Mindset Coach based in Sydney, Australia.

I’ve always thought Lila was cool, and not just because she has an Aussie accent (although, I think that does give her some extra ‘coolness’ points 😎). Once Lila graduated university, she moved to the UK on a working holiday visa. With that decision alone, I thought Lila was one of the coolest people I knew, especially because nobody else in our family had ever moved to another country for travel and work before. Her plan was to travel and explore Europe for two years and then move back home to Australia afterwards. Naturally, however, two years turned into ten.

“Do what feels right for you. Find what lights you up…”

While Lila was in the UK, she worked as an accountant, became a Chartered Management Accountant and a Director of an International Tax and Accounting firm. To me, her journey was amazing and really influenced me to pursue my own corporate career. I aspired to be like her, even though I wasn’t interested in accounting specifically.

Eventually, Lila decided it was time for her to return home. The decision not only affected where she was going to live, but her career as well. After a few more years in the corporate world, Lila started to explore all the work she had been doing in self-development and mindset, and this naturally led her to becoming a Life Coach. It was during her years working with clients, helping them understand and direct their own life passions, that she reconnected with her own. That was to become an actress and be on stage- the dream she had as a little girl. She now works as and pursues her career as an Actress and Mindset Coach.

Although Lila and I live in different continents, every time we chat, it feels like we’re just picking up where we left off. I wish I could’ve been able to speak to Lila in person again, but until I return to Australia, for now, another video call would have to suffice. Here’s what Lila had to say:

GET TO KNOW lILA MICEVSKA

I have a lot I want to cover today, and I think the best way to go about this is to work backwards. Let’s start by discussing your career today as an actress and some of the exciting work you’re doing and have done.

What a time to become an actor. At the beginning of the pandemic, the industry, like so many others, basically shut down. However, even with the many lockdowns that followed, things had to adapt, and they did. A play I was scheduled to do was converted into a radio play and we just finished recording it. This was such an incredible learning experience. Firstly, because it was in Macedonian, which meant I had to re-learn how to read traditional Macedonian writing. I learned how to read this as a kid, but it’s been a long time since I had to read, let alone perform in the language. Secondly, as we were not allowed to go into the studio to record with all the COVID restrictions, we all had to set up mini recording studios at home, and then record together online with the help of a sound engineer. Let’s just say, I learned a lot during that process!

In terms of other exciting things happening, I am in pre-production for a short film which is scheduled to shoot in a few weeks and I just accepted a role at my local theatre for a one-off performance next month. I was also put on hold for a TV commercial, which is new for me and another step forward. I am just so excited to be in the game, to be auditioning, learning, and doing work that truly excites me.

When you were younger, you did some performing, specifically singing and dancing, so in some ways, it’s like you’ve come full circle. Have you always enjoyed performing?

Yes, I was that little girl always performing. I started doing Macedonian dancing from a very young age and I just loved it. It was such a social sport, and we would get together with other groups around Australia and perform for our families and other guests.

Eventually, this led to me singing with the group and after a while, I was encouraged to enter singing festivals. I even got to record my own song and work with a very famous Macedonian singer who coached me and helped me make the record. It was a joyous time for me, and I just absolutely loved performing.

However, life had its own plans and when my parents separated when I was 15 years old, we moved to the big city with my mum and little brother, and I kind of had to leave that girl behind and join the real world as they put it.

So now, I finally feel like I am that little girl again, picking up where I left off and ready to live the life, I had always dreamed I would.

You’re also a Mindset Coach. Tell me what inspired you to get into this field.

I have always been fascinated with the mind and why humans do what we do. I remember early on in high school, we were the first school in our region to have Philosophy as a subject. To say I loved it would be an understatement. I came first in the class.

In hindsight, I think it was mainly because I kept asking the teacher, “But why sir? Why?”.

I am just as fascinated now, as I was then, if not more so. I have spent many years and lots of $$$ learning, exploring, and studying the mind, human emotions, and behaviours. And the more I dig, the more I learn and the more fascinated I become. For me, this is a lifelong passion, and one that I will continue to explore and learn from for the rest of my days.

My work as a mindset coach is about helping people unlock their dreams, find their passions and giving them the tools and support, they need to make it their reality.

Our lives on earth are just a moment in time and are such a blessing. I intend to live my life to its fullest glory and hopefully this inspires others to do the same.

Australia just recently came out of lockdown. Do you think being a Mindset Coach helped you get through that challenging time in some way? How have you trained yourself to have the ‘right mindset’ in difficult situations. What is your advice to others who may be having a rough time these days?

My best gift to share as a Mindset Coach is perspective. After the initial shock of COVID and the worldwide lockdown, I used perspective to help me see these opportunities in front of me and not just the challenges.

To give some insight on what I mean, just before the first major lockdown in Sydney, I had just quit my accounting job and was ready to go out and grow my coaching business and become a working actor. Then of course, the industries shut down and I had to adapt.

The second time this happened, it was the day before the second major lockdown in Sydney, and I had just signed a lease for a business room I was going to use to, again, grow my business and expand my services. I felt so empowered in that moment and then, again, it was taken from me, and I was unable to work and had to adapt. For me, it was either I could adapt or not adapt. Both times, I had to choose. And both times, I chose to focus on the opportunity in front of me, instead of just the challenge.

I used the additional time in lockdown to become a Hypnosis, NLP and Time Line® Therapy Coach and a Reiki Practitioner. I learned skills and tools that would help me to become a better coach, a better actor, and a better human, all while connecting with some amazing teachers and people from all around the world.

My suggestion would be this: ask yourself in every situation, is there any opportunity here? What can I learn? How can I help myself or others here? And then focus on that. It will literally change your life!

And secondly, keep challenging yourself. Keep learning and growing and pushing yourself outside your comfort zone so you can build a resilient mindset. I work on my mind every day. This past October, I turned 40. Instead of looking at what I don’t have (yet), I am choosing to push myself forward everyday. No matter how small the step I take is , it’s still a step, and every step counts. From this mindset, I created the 40 challenges in 40 weeks program. The mind is just like a muscle- the more your flex it and challenge it, the stronger it gets.

Follow along as Lila completes her 4040 Challenge or join the 4040 Challenge Facebook group to meet others embarking on the challenge to support and inspire you along your journey!

“For me, it was either I could adapt or not adapt. Both times, I had to choose. And both times, I chose to focus on the opportunity in front of me, instead of just the challenge.”

Let’s take it back to your career in accounting. What inspired you to pursue this field?

Growing up with immigrant parents in Australia (the land of opportunity), it was ingrained in us, from a young age, how important it was to get a great education and to create a better life for ourselves. I guess it came from my parents never having much and growing up in poverty and minimal education or opportunity. As a child, I was always good with numbers and I enjoyed maths at school plus, I loved analyzing things!

So, when it was time to decide on a career after high school, accounting just made sense to me. I started doing some basic bookkeeping for a local mechanic on weekends, and from there, his accountant hired me as a junior accountant, which I did whilst getting my university degree. Accounting has been a great adventure for me, allowing me to work for some amazing companies and with some truly talented and skilled people. It’s also a skill I will take with me throughout the rest of my life. It has provided me with an understanding about process, structure, and finance. I am a big believer that everything we do in life and every skill we learn builds upon the next in some way.

Something else that people probably don’t know is that you had a lot of celebrity clients. Obviously, you can’t disclose any tea ☕️ , but what was one of your favourite moments in your career during that time?

Yes, at one firm we had a lot of DJs, singers, bands, movie directors, costumes designers (you name it!), as clients. I was living the dream in terms of clients. I was so lucky to be able to travel for work. We had offices in London, LA, and Amsterdam, and would travel to festivals and gigs both in the UK and US.

One of the memories that stands out for me was my first meeting with a very high-profile DJ at the time (now he is a global star). He needed to sign his tax return, so I accompanied my business partner at the time to meet this DJ in his home. It was a beautiful home for sure, but the rest, well, we went in, said hi, chatted, talked business, and left. Just like I would with any other client. He was a human being, he was nice, and he had a job and taxes to pay just like the rest of us.

What it did make me realize though, and what I admired about him, was that the job he chose to do- he was clearly very passionate about. And that is what inspired me- that he could do what he loved and get paid for it.

The last topic I want to talk about is pivoting your career. I’m sure you’ve heard a lot of people’s opinions on this one. What ultimately inspired you to pursue something different?

I remember working with a coaching client early on and I asked, “What is your real dream? What is it that truly lights you up?”, and in front of me, as she described her dream, her face literally started to beam. I could feel the passion and joy coming though her. It was a magical moment.

“But then it made me think, well Lila, what is YOUR real dream? What is it that truly lights you up? And coaching did that for me, yes, but, in that moment, I remembered the little girl’s dream…The dream I had as a child to be an actress and to be on stage, which had never left me.”

Who was I to coach others in following their dreams if I did not have the courage to step out and do it for myself? I believe people follow what you do, not what you say! So, I wasn’t going to make a very good coach if I didn’t practice what I preached. And who says I could only choose one career path? How many people do you know with so many titles now? Entrepreneur, author, public speaker, actor, philanthropist, comedian, and so on. If they could do it, then why couldn’t I? We are only really limited by our own boundaries.

So, in that moment I decided I would purse this dream too. And as life had it, the next day, a bus literally drove past me, which had an advertisement for a well-known TV & Film screen acting studio in Sydney. I called the number, I auditioned, and I got in. The rest, as they say, is history.

Working as a C-Suite, you no doubt had financial security and a fancy title among other things. What advice do you have for people who may want to pursue their passions but are afraid of losing their financial security or worried what people will think?

Well, I have been in positions of both financial wealth and financial debt in my lifetime, and in both, I have been happy, and I have been not so happy. Both are an experience, and both teach you lessons.

Now, I guess it’s not so much the title, money or benefits that excite me, it’s the work and it’s about how I can be of service to something greater than myself- a story or a purpose or a cause, that is what truly excites me.

It might not always be an easy road getting there, and yes, there will be challenges and obstacles along the way. My family and friends didn’t quite understand my choices. Some strongly disagreed with them and tried to convince me to give up the pursuit of my dreams and just stay in my safe accounting job. And for a long time, I listened to them. In the end though, I knew there was more for me. You are the only one who lives your life. You are the one that will experience the highs and you are the one that will experience the lows. So be bold, make your own choices and follow your own heart.

“People will always have an opinion about what you do, whether you follow your dreams or you don’t. My advice is to do what feels right for you. Find what lights you up, invest in yourself, keep exploring, find your tribe of like-minded peers to support you and enjoy the adventure.”

To wrap-up is, what’s one quote that inspires you that has really resonated with you?

“You know you are on the road to success if you would do your job and not be paid for it.” –Oprah Winfrey

There are a few takeaways from my conversation with Lila that I think are important to reiterate: The first thing is that you shouldn’t let your job title define who you are as a person. When it comes to your career, you also don’t have to do the same thing your whole life. Change is good. Lila proves it’s never too late to pivot your career.