Marta Davidovich Ockuly is the Chief Inspiration Officer & Founder of Joy of Quotes which offers delicious and wondrous word soup. She has gathered together wisdom from around the world and invites readers to drink deep.
She excitedly shares: “I live my bliss by being an agent for peace, joy and positive change. In my experience, creative action leads to joy attraction, and joy leads us to our authentic path of passion. My joy is teaching and inspiring people to re-discover their path of joy by taking baby step creative actions. I use a tool I call a Joy Magnet Mandala. If you visit the www.JoyofQuotes.com ‘joy quote’ page (click on subject, then joy), read through the intro section, and click on the Joy Power Report link to get all the details. I’ve used this simple process with people of all ages and it’s transformational when used consistently. I encourage others to take the idea and share it. Peace in the world starts with peace in our hearts. People connected to their autherntic joy (essence) are harmless.”
Marta’s passions are “teaching/coaching/mentoring, journaling, creating collages/expressive art, movement (NIA, Zumba, Latin dancing), nature (hiking, biking, beach walks, gardening), flirting with babies, reading (currently reading: Inspiration Deficit Disorder by Jonathan H. Ellerby – highly recommend it!; just finished The Element by Sir Ken Robinson – that’s a book I’d like to give every person on the planet), researching (joy, neuroscience, intuition, human potential, the brain), finding positive empowering quotes which inspire me to share on my sites, and learning in general. I consider myself a creative free spirit and a perpetual student.”
She began her career in Advertising/PR/Margeting. “I’m an award-winning writer and conceptual thinker. I’ve been paid for my ideas and creativity since I was 14. I had my ‘awakening’ in the late 80’s, founded the Angel House Center for Creative Change in the 90’s (google Angel House, Strongsville, OH). Followed my bliss to Sarasota, Florida in 2003. I returned to college (after a 30 year break) that same year. My first degree was in Radio/TV/Business Writing. The BA I chose to pursue in 2003 at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, FL, was in Human Development and Counseling. Six months after starting the program I was diagnosed with AML (leukemia – and another huge story!). I went into remission within 21 days, Returned to classes, bald and battling tons of complications, and graduated in May, 2006 with High Honors (3.96 gpa). I also won their Writer of Excellence Award and Outstanding Human Development Graduate Award.”
By the end of 2009, I was ready to go for my master’s degree. I discovered the only Master’s degree in Creativity in the world is offered through the International Center for Creative Studies at Buffalo State College in New York. So I applied, got accepted, and relocated to Buffalo to complete my M.S. I arrived at the end of May and will be finished around the same time in 2011. I’ve doing a very accelerated program – it usually takes 2 years to complete – but I have things to do and places to go – so I’m more than half way there already! The center’s mission is to “ignite creativity around the world’ – and I’m fully alligned with that idea!”
Words are her sustainance. “I’ve always loved quotes. My favorites change from day to day. The quote which has inspired me the longest is “Imagination is more important than knowledge.” –Albert Einstein My favorite this very moment is, “Everything we see in the world is the creative work of women.”- Mustafa K. Ataturk. I hand-pick every quote. I read many wonderful words, but I only include the quotes which resonate for me or I feel intuitively guided to include.”
With delight, Marta offers: “Creativity feeds my my heart and soul by keeping me alligned with my personal joys and purpose. To thrive – I MUST express my creativity – through stories, writing, sharing in some form. I deeply believed expressive arts were important in every phase of my healing journey out of cancer, to the point of my awareness that blocking my creative flow leads to a build up of stress and dis-ease.”
When asked to describe one of her favorite charities, Marta waxed poetic about Mission of Love, which “is a humanitarian aid organization founded by a woman I call this country’s Mother Teresa. Her name is Kathleen Price and she runs this amazing effort from her kitchen table. Her story is filled with miracles. She has sent more aid through the Denton program than any humanitarian group in the country. Tens of thousands of tons of aid – without a drop of help from the government. Her organization is non-political, non-religious. This means there is no agenda other that helping – heart to heart – those with great needs. She is an angel to the Lakota people in Pine Ridge Reservation, Wounded Knee, as well as in her home town of Youngstown, Ohio. Her volunteers were first responders in the Katrina disaster, and also in Haiti. I could fill 2 books with her wonderful work. Go to the site. Go on one of her trips. It will be the experience of a lifetime. I’ve been on a half dozen missions. The last, this past January, was to Casa Guatemaa, an orphanage built on the water in the middle of a jungle. Kathy manages to get $100 worth of value out of ever $20 donated. She does all the work. Oh – did I mention she started this when she was told she was going to die, she had a double mastectomy, toxic implants, and took Dow Chemical all the way to the Supreme Court to get that nightmare off the market (again – another story). She also has a big, beautiful family, 4 daughers, a husband, grandchildren (now), and she just keeps going…
And this multi-cultural thriver keeps going as well.
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