What if the life you’re meant to live isn’t revealed through grand breakthroughs but through the smallest choices you make every day?

And what if purpose isn’t something you find “out there,” but something you construct by honoring what you already know to be true?

In this expansive episode of ILA Radio, host Laura Alyn sits down with Cynthia Garcia, a bioengineer and project manager whose path shows how logic and intuition, structure and creativity, can coexist without contradiction.

Cynthia reflects on how her early love for math became a language for problem-solving, how STEM sharpened her ability to think critically, and how the pursuit of health, education, and personal growth became the compass she keeps returning to.

Together, they explore what it means to build a life that actually aligns with your values—not theoretically, but in the hour-to-hour details: the morning routine that anchors you, the decision to nurture your body, the courage to seek mentorship, the humility to offer it back. Cynthia shares how she navigates setbacks with her “Plan A.1” philosophy, how she balances ambition with joy, and why tending to plants, lifting weights, traveling, photographing the world, and building Legos aren’t hobbies but forms of self-connection.

Her story invites a deeper question: what happens when we stop treating passion and practicality as opposites—and allow them to inform each other instead?

If you’ve ever felt pulled between who you are and who you want to become, this episode offers a fresh way to imagine that tension—not as conflict, but as collaboration.

Tune in and discover how alignment, curiosity, and micro-choices can transform the shape of your entire life.

For more on Cynthia:

https://www.instagram.com/ohmygarcia

https://www.instagram.com/cynthiasgains

LISTEN HERE

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ORNELIAN FRAMEWORK

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