An interview with Dr. Bharat Sangani
Turn your career into your purpose. This is the fastest way to align to your true self. In our society, this is where we spend the most time. It is where we are encouraged to excel. By making your career your purpose it is easier to align!
Finding and living in alignment with your true purpose can be a transformative journey. Yet, many struggle with identifying their life’s purpose and aligning their goals with it. In this series, we aim to explore how individuals discover their purpose and create a life that reflects their authentic selves, leading to greater fulfillment and success. As a part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Andrea Belzer.
Andrea Belzer is a spiritual life coach helping people remove blocks to living their purpose and aligning to their true self. Using a blend of intuitive tools, traditional goal planning and self-discovery work, she assists her clients in reclaiming excitement for their life. She has her BA in Finance and her MBA, plus she has been trained in meditation, life coaching, past life regression, Shamanic healing methods and is a Reiki Master. Learn more at AndreaBelzer.com.
Thank you so much for your time! I know that you are a very busy person. Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?
My path to doing this work was a winding road. My early years were all about finance. And by early, I mean 6th grade! That is when I bought my first stock. And while I love the world of finance, as I got older it felt like something was missing.
Added to this I started working on healing some past traumas in my life. This combination led me to explore many different areas and topics. With each one bringing me closer to understanding more about purpose. And more importantly what my purpose was!
Which is to help others see their own truth. To discover who they are and live that truth.
None of us can achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person that you are grateful for, who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
I am very grateful for my son. He is the reason I started all this work in the first place. I started the trauma healing so I could be a better parent and not react from my old wounds. At least not react as much!
Without him, I don’t know if I would have even started down this road. I started my journey for him and not me. Over time I realized how powerful it was for me in every area, and how it impacted my own overall happiness.
Now I continue to heal and grow for me.
You are a successful leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
To me the most important traits have been persistence, being open minded, and being willing to ask for help.
Anytime you are doing work to learn more about yourself and come into alignment with your true self, you will need all three.
We often can’t see our own stuff clearly and it is layered. Because of this you must ask for help when stuck. And you must keep an open mind as to what you might hear. It might not be something you want to hear or might not currently believe it. Persistence comes into play because you may need to do this repeatedly to really make headway.
For example, I once had a situation where I didn’t want to hear I was part of the problem. I was being very stubborn about it, to the point of extreme denial. But I also wanted it solved. So, I asked for help. The practitioner that I went to was lovingly tough and honest with me. I mentally fought it, but I made a verbal commitment to not immediately say her feedback was wrong. I gave myself time to explore the truth in it. Within 24 hours, I was able to start to see my role in it all! And then start the healing work around that.
Ok, fantastic. Let’s now turn to the crux of our interview. Was there a defining moment or experience in your life when you felt a clear sense of your purpose? How did it influence the goals you set from that point forward?
For me it wasn’t one aha moment. Instead, there were a few of them over a couple months. It was like I was being given little hints! Those all came about during my practices of journaling, meditation and shamanic journeying. I was given a part of it and then a few weeks to explore that idea. Then I would get another piece of the puzzle.
With each step I contemplated how that could show up in my daily life. Exploring all the ways I could bring that into reality. Once I was clear on what and how I wanted to do it, I did start setting goals around how to make that happen.
What practical steps can someone take to begin uncovering their life’s purpose if they feel lost or unsure about their direction?
The most important thing is to start learning about yourself. Not surface self-discovery like what is your favorite fruit, but deep work. Why do you get agitated? What triggers fear? What emotional founds need healed.
There are many ways that you can do this. I recommend people find the tools they like best.
Some of the best ones are: journaling, counseling, meditation and EFT (emotional freedom technique).
How do you differentiate between external pressures — like societal expectations — and the inner calling that aligns with your true self?
The biggest differentiator is how you feel and think about it. Does it make you excited? Do you want to do it even on tough days. Are you daydreaming about it when you can’t do it?
And most importantly does it feel right? Do you feel like this is your calling even when others might not like it?
Can you share an example of a time when you adjusted or abandoned a goal because it no longer aligned with your deeper sense of purpose? What did you learn from that experience?
First, I will say that contrary to what many say about purpose, it isn’t very detailed and specific. It tends to be a broad-based theme. For example, it won’t be I am here to help Joe become a better person. It will be I am here to guide youth to their best self.
When you are working on living your goals in line with purpose, your goals can change even if they are still aligned to purpose.
A personal example of mine is that I had a goal to open a retreat center. I even had it almost completely designed on paper. Then the pandemic happened. So, it was put on hold. When it became clear it could move forward again, I decided that it was no longer how I wanted to bring my purpose to the world.
Instead, I shifted my goal to be able to help people have the insights and benefits they would get from a retreat, but at home. I realized that it can be hard for people to get away and I wanted people to get help with this work no matter where they were.
Both goals were aligned to my purpose. But what changed was how I wanted to bring my purpose to the world.
This helped me learn that how you do something doesn’t have to be ridged. It can change as you and your life change. This helps ensure that you can live your purpose your whole life, not just when it is perfectly aligned.
What advice would you give to people trying to pursue their purpose while managing the demands of day-to-day life, such as work, family, and other responsibilities?
Start by asking yourself how you can bring more of your purpose into your daily life. How can you make it a part of what you are already doing?
Using the example above of helping guide youth. Can you change careers? Can you volunteer more at your kids schools?
If it isn’t practical right now to align to your daily life, then can you set aside time once a month to pursue your purpose?
Keep in mind that at different times in your life you will have a varying amount of ability to do anything but the basics.
Don’t stress yourself out over adding more. If you have a new baby at home, this isn’t the time for major changes so you can live your purpose. Instead, the focus should be on you and your baby.
What are “5 Ways to Align Your Goals With Your True Self”?
- Turn your career into your purpose. This is the fastest way to align to your true self. In our society, this is where we spend the most time. It is where we are encouraged to excel. By making your career your purpose it is easier to align!
- Understand your ‘Why’ behind your goals. Understanding the motivation will help you stay aligned to your true self. If you can’t answer why you want something that is a warning sign it isn’t aligned to you.
- Continual self-discovery — this isn’t something that you do and get to an end point. We are continually changing as we experience life. If you stop exploring who you are after the age of 21, you won’t be aligned to your true self when you turn 40. This will directly impact what you set for goals and work to achieve.
- Honor how you function. By this, I mean when setting goals make sure they align to how you operate best. If you are not great at writing, then don’t set a goal to communicate through writing. Maybe instead you communicate better via video. Set your goals to how you perform the best and not what is societally the norm. When you can show up as how you are your best you are aligned to your true self.
- Trust your intuition. If when you are writing down a goal, and something doesn’t feel right to you. Then trust that guidance. Our intuition often is more in tune with the small details that we don’t see yet. So, even if from the outside it looks “perfect”, if you sense it isn’t right, then go back to the drawing board!
What advice would you give to people trying to pursue their purpose while managing the demands of day-to-day life, such as work, family, and other responsibilities?
See answer from above.
How can our readers further follow your work?
They can find all my work on my website: Andrea Belzer.com and sign up for my weekly newsletter where I share quick actionable tips to align to your true self.
Thank you so much for sharing these important insights. We wish you continued success and good health!
About The Interviewer: Dr. Bharat Sangani is a cardiologist and entrepreneur with over 35 years of experience, practicing in Gulfport, Mississippi, and Dallas, Texas. Board-certified in Internal Medicine and Cardiology, he specializes in diagnosing, treating, and preventing cardiovascular diseases, including heart disease and hypertension. In 1999, Dr. Sangani founded Encore Enterprises, a national real estate investment firm. Under his leadership, the company has executed transactions exceeding $2 billion, with a portfolio spanning residential, retail, hotel, and office developments. Known for his emphasis on integrity and fairness, Dr. Sangani has built Encore into a major player in the commercial real estate sector. Blending his medical and business expertise, Dr. Sangani created the Life is a Business mentorship program. The initiative offers guidance on achieving balance in health, wealth, and relationships, helping participants align personal and professional goals. Now based in Dallas, Texas, Dr. Sangani continues to practice cardiology while leading Encore Enterprises and mentoring others. His career reflects a unique blend of medical expertise, entrepreneurial spirit, and dedication to helping others thrive.
Discovering Your Life’s Purpose: Andrea Belzer On How to Align Your Goals with Your True Self was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.