Life, Values & Legacy: Our Chat with Mia Rio of Atlanta

We’re looking forward to introducing you to Mia Rio. Check out our conversation below.

Mia, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?
The first 20 minutes is simply trying to manage my several snooze buttons! Once my brain decides to process information (I don’t usually do coffee in the morning), I spend the first hour of my day having conversations with God, reading and reflecting on the Bible, thanking him for my many blessings, praying for people and for my day. Then, depending on the day, I’m playing tennis at 8am.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I am a Christian Pop & Worship Music singer, songwriter and am also an actress. I was born and raised in Brazil but I have been here almost as long as in my home country so I definitely feel like a mut! I navigate an interesting world between engaging fellow Christ-believers in music that moves God’s heart through unity and vulnerability, and making music that shares the good news of the Gospel with people who aren’t coming into the four walls of our church buildings, while engaging with them in a language that isn’t our typical “Churchnese”.

Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
I was the most determined girl ever! Fearless, limitless, anything was possible if I only set my mind to it. Society tries to put us in a box under the guise of preparing us for success but they only make you thrive in the areas useful to their goals for you while keeping you clueless about the things that truly give you power, a power that is seen by them as dangerous because it threatens their control. Once my eyes were opened to this reality, I’ve been working on getting back to being that girl who is still very much alive within me!

What did suffering teach you that success never could?
My valleys teach me not only to appreciate the mountains more but they make me manage sucess in a healthier and more fruitful way. They’ll bring you new perspectives if you allow yourself to grow from them instead of becoming bitter from them. Like they say, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”. I have learned to find joy and resolve in my seasons of pain because I have seen where they lead me to and it is always to a profitable place in my life. And that perspective, I have gained from letting God handle what I can’t control. Truly letting “Jesus take the wheel.” I have more recently composed songs that have a heavy focus on this topic since last year was a season of much suffering in my life but, thankfully, the burden was much lighter than it would have been without these learnings.

Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? Is the public version of you the real you?
Yes, but it’s just one of my facets. Many people get surprised to know I am very corny. My 5th grade humor is well and alive!

Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. Have you ever gotten what you wanted, and found it did not satisfy you?
Absolutely! I had a thriving Marketing career working for Forbes 100 companies in incredible projects and had reached executive leadership levels in the corporate world that gave me the titles a lot of people want. All that to then say, “Now what?” It was nice to know I was capable of getting there but, at the end of the day, it is all empty. Unless there is a purpose outside of yourself speaking louder than the life goals that primarily and mainly benefit you, success does not do anything but feed your ego. And we only realize that when we stop making ourselves busy and actually pay attention to ourselves. When there is no purpose outside of yourself in what you do, it will never fulfill you enough. We are hardwired to give. We get a fulfilling joy when we value improving someone’s life without expecting something back, just like Jesus taught, but society finds a way of stripping selfless love from us. Loving without self-serving motives is what fulfills. If only we listened to Jesus’ wisdom more!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://Instagram.com/iammiario
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• Youtube: https://youtube.com/miarioonline