Once a week, The Swell Collective features a tribe member living the tribe values out loud.
BE GOOD. DO GOOD. SEE GOOD. SHARE GOOD.
Name: Becky Mendoza
Occupation: Lawyer
Contact Info:
Website: www.actionsportslawgroup.com
www.naturalrawmedies (coming soon)
Facebook: Action Sports Law Group; Natural Rawmedies
Instagram: @actionsportslaw; @naturalrawmedies
What change in the world would you like to see through the work you’re doing?
I love what I do as an attorney. I help professional athletes, cinematographers, photographers and artists achieve their dreams by helping them get to the US where they can find more opportunity and rise to higher levels in their sport. I also do contract work, which involves helping parties agree on terms for a mutually beneficial relationship. In my specific line of work, everybody wins. That is incredibly gratifying for me. That is why I started eating clean and making healthy and natural recipes. I post pictures of my food along with the story behind it on social media and the feedback I have gotten has been a huge inspiration for me. Friends and strangers have been sharing stories with me on how my ideas and photos have inspired them to make some changes in their lives, beyond just food and fitness. I hope to grow this labor of love into something on a larger scale so that I can reach the masses and inspire change in the way people look at food. This will affect generations to come as people are having children and hopefully passing this knowledge on. It all starts with us, as individuals. We can inspire change so easily, especially by sharing information through social media outlets. Things go viral.
What or who inspires you? Why?
I’ve been seeking inspiration for myself beyond my profession in the last year or so. I have recently been getting more and more involved with Waves For Water, a non-profit foundation, which brings clean water to people in areas that need it the most. For example, I just helped organize a big fundraiser at Fish 101 Restaurant in Leucadia, where we raised $8,800.00 and ½ of those funds went to Waves for Water’s Hurricane Odile Cabo Relief effort. I am also headed to Nicaragua at the end of October on a surf trip and have been fundraising to take several water filters with me on my trip so that I can implement them into some of the communities in need. I will be acting as a Clean Water Courier, and hope to share my story when I return to inspire others to do the same when they are heading on leisure or surf trips to places in need. A small gesture makes a big difference for these people and places. Nothing has inspired me more than service work. It is the most rewarding thing I’ve ever been a part of.
What is your greatest personal or professional challenge at the moment? How are you working to overcome it?
My greatest personal challenge is that I do eventually want to start a family and settle down, and I have a dog. Both of those things make it challenging to plan a life that allows me to travel the way I would like to in order to be of more service and get more involved in charity work. My greatest professional challenge is that my business is a priority for me. I have worked hard to build it and I am committed to providing the best service to my clients, so it is difficult for me to justify traveling to remote places where my clients cannot reach me for days on end, in order to do this service work. I have alleviated some of that burden by hiring help, but it is still something that will continue to be a challenge. I am doing my best to try to make it work.
What advice would you give your 18 year old self?
If I was giving my 18 year old self advice, I would tell myself to go travel and see the world. I would tell myself to think outside the box and get involved with things and people who are going to lift you higher. Don’t waste time worrying about other people’s opinions and judging other people. You have no idea what people are dealing with. I would also tell myself to eat clean, meditate, do yoga and get outside more. There is nothing like a nice long walk on the beach or a jog or a hike. These things inspire you to make better choices about the things you eat, where you put your trash, saving water and electricity and recycling. Go swim in the ocean. These are some quotes that have stuck with me: “On the other side of fear lies your dreams” “The greatest risk is not taking one” and “It is none of your business what other people think of you.”
Anything else you’d like us to know or share with our fellow Swell mates?
To see some of the organizations I have been involved with and/or have supported please check out:
www.wavesforwater.org
www.keep-a-breast.org
www.poseidenfoundation.org
~Photo credit to Dean Bradshaw~
