Am I Honoring the Calling of My Life?

The Impostor Syndrome Files

In this episode of the Impostor Syndrome Files, we talk about the power of storytelling to create greater connection and inclusion. But sharing our stories can be challenging, especially if we belong to marginalized groups. How do we stay true to what’s important to us when society tells us we’re not good enough? My guest this week, Mark Travis Rivera, is a Latinx, queer, disabled, gender non-conforming professional storyteller. Here he shares his own personal journey of using the power of stories to connect and fulfill his calling. We also talk about how we can all use vulnerability to empower ourselves and those around us.
We talk about the power of storytelling to create greater connection and inclusion. My guest shares his own personal journey of using the power of stories to connect and fulfill his calling. We also talk about how we can all use vulnerability to empower ourselves and those around us.
About My Guest
Telling stories is at the core of Mark Travis Rivera’s purpose in life. He is an award-winning creative entrepreneur and the Chief Executive Officer + Founder of The Professional Storyteller.
As a writer, Rivera’s bylines include The Bergen Record, Herald News, The Star-Ledger, Fox News Latino, and The Huffington Post. He was also a contributing author in the anthology, Crisis and Care: Queer Activist Responses to a Global Pandemic (PM Press, 2022), edited by Adrian Shanker. His debut collection, Drafts: An Imperfect Collection of Writing, was published in August 2017. He was also a contributing writer for Imagining: A Gibney Journal, where he shared his experience as a disabled choreographer and dancer.
As a stubborn and determined 17-year-old, Rivera founded marked dance project
(2009-2019), becoming the youngest person in the United States to create and lead an
integrated dance company for disabled and non-disabled dancers. Inspired by his desire to dance as a person with cerebral palsy, he would go on to help disabled and non-disabled dancers alike find their voice as artists.
As a speaker, he has addressed audiences at various institutions of higher learning,
including Harvard, MIT, Rutgers, and NYU. As a diversity, equity, and inclusion consultant and facilitator, he has spoken to corporate audiences virtually in the UK, Canada, Mexico, Latin America, Israel, China, and India, just to name a few. His TEDx Talk, “Embracing Yourself, Embracing Your Potential,” was a smash in 2014 at Bergen Community College.
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Connect with Mark:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-travis-rivera/
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/marktravrivera
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