About Maya

Maya Mathias, Founder & Creative Change Queen

Hey there and welcome to my corner of the Internet, a place I like to call creative change heaven.  (Cue choir of angels…)

If you’re a highly-skilled professional looking for more sanity, self-expression and fulfillment in your life or business, this could be the start of a beautiful conversation

I’m great at making the process of change doable and fun, no matter how big or scary it may seem to you right now.  And I specialize in helping you design choices and options that you may not even have thought of before.

So…why should you listen to me about all this?  Here’s a quick story about the life and work that got me here.

I’m always up for a challenge and a chance to change or grow.  I was fearless as a child, curious about everyone’s business and telling them what to do.  I remember, as a 5-year-old in nursery school, being asked by the teacher to look after the class and continue teaching the lesson (I was the smart aleck) when she had to step out.  She would give me the ruler that she used to control misbehaving students, so I literally ‘ruled’ the class in her absence.  And I got my first taste of teaching others.  I loved it!

I also hate to see animals and other people in pain.  Many people I loved died young (e.g. my Dad when I was 8 ) and I experienced first-hand the effect of poor life choices, or of life throwing you a curve ball.  My childhood dream was to be a doctor or a vet, so I could heal the sick.  Folks I met through the years noticed my healing nature and encouraged me to nurture it.  I became a masterful student of Biology.  It’s such a cool subject because it teaches you to approach things holistically (systems thinking).  Just before enrolling in medical school, though, I had a life-changing chat with a cousin who is a doctor.  She told me that the life of a doctor wasn’t all it’s cracked up to be, and told me I would be buying into a crazy-ass way to live as much as it would be a call to serve.  That was the first time anyone was honest with me about a prestigious occupation, and I was grateful to her for that.

So, I didn’t become a doctor (I felt I had a bigger voice in the world than practicing medicine) , but I continue to adore the healing arts (meditation, yoga, massage etc) and sciences (Biology, medicine, advances in health & wellness etc).  Through the years, I began to realize that pain can show up in many forms, and that healing didn’t only happen on the ER operating table.  Even though I’d built a very successful career in marketing & communications strategy along the way (I had the creative chops and strategic-thinking skills to do well in the industry), I kept aching to fill my desire to serve and heal.  So I spent many of those marketing & communication years doing corporate training too – I love nurturing the best in others and it was my way of ‘healing’ colleagues who needed the skills or mindsets to take them to the next level.

The other cool part of my story is my passion for the performing arts.  Ever since my first on-stage performance at age 6 (an Asian fan dance), I’ve been president of drama clubs, mastered some ballroom dance styles, won nationally televised singing contests and studied and performed theatrical improvisation at San Francisco’s famed BATS Improv Theatre.  Creativity, imagination and self-expression come very easily to me.  And I love teaching others how to unleash their creative best in life or at work.

Finally, the most recent piece of this life puzzle.  It was 2010.  I’d just relocated 8500 miles from my hometown, with little more than a dream about starting my own business.  The thing is, I wasn’t sure exactly what to offer my clients.  Should I continue to be an online marketing consultant and sell my time to Fortune 500 and high-growth technology companies?  I knew I wanted to build a business on a BIG vision, but I was also sure I didn’t want to create and run yet another marketing agency.  I’d helped hundreds of clients and coworkers clear their chaos around online marketing, and had helped them design brilliant and innovative product ideas or campaigns for their business.  Been there, got burned out from that.  No thank you, ma’am.

A friend had been following my journey from full-time marketing strategist to bootstrapping entrepreneur.  She was inspired by the bold steps I’d been taking to change my life, and asked me if I could coach her through her career transition.  The healer in me said a big fat YES, and I knew I’d finally found my new calling.  I love the fact that coaching doesn’t get you stuck in the pain of your past.  It’s a powerful tool that gives you clarity, direction and momentum to achieve what you want in any area of your life or business.

Coaching her also helped me realize that my strengths and passion lie in helping hardworking, highly-skilled (and probably battle-weary) professionals like you figure out what floats your boat, what makes you leap out of bed each and every day to take you or your business further than it’s ever been.  And I believe you need to do two important things to get there – 1) learn & apply the tools of change and 2) tap into your creativity.  I specialize in doing both, and often, for my clients and myself.  I can’t wait to help you do the same!

If you’re curious about the brands, businesses & people I’ve helped, you can read my LinkedIn bio here.

The best way to get started with us is to sign up for our regular North STAR newsletter, where I share game-changing ideas for you or your business with healthy servings of fun and goofiness: