Rich in Happiness with Jessica Caballero

Take a look at how Jessica Caballero balances being an actress, cruise ship entertainer, influencer, social event manager, and reality TV star. No two days are the same in her fun, fast-paced life!

Dennis Postema: What is success to you?

Jessica Caballero: Doing what makes you the happiest. For me, that means love, fun and anything that gives me adrenaline.

Many people measure success in money and wealth, but I don’t see it like that. As long as I physically feel happy and I’m doing all the things I love to do, then I am successful.

If you’re rich in happiness, you’ll get everything else you want.

Dennis: What are some fundamentals for success?

Jessica: Self-respect and self-love.

If you don’t respect yourself, the people around you won’t respect you. People will value you however you value yourself. The way you present yourself and the way you show up in a room matter. When you walk into a room, naturally you’re being judged. If you come in respectfully, you’ll always have a positive light wherever you go.

If you don’t love yourself, the world isn’t going to love you. You’ll be a people-pleaser and you’ll never love yourself because you’re living for others. The moment you learn to love and respect yourself, you will become the best person, the best friend, the best lover, the best everything you can be.

Dennis: Do you feel like you have made it? If so, at what point did you realize this?

Jessica: The term “made it” is so controversial. I feel like we never “make it” in the eyes of society, because there is always going to be something you want.

If you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room. You can always become better; you can always “make it” even more.

As much as I can be happy and successful in what I’ve accomplished, I always feel like I can make more of what I’m doing. Every day, I’m happy with what I have. I thank God for what I have, but I’m ready for the next adventure, and I’m ready to see what else I can do.

I have not “made it.” I’m never going to “make it.” But I’m going to keep on keeping on, because that’s what life’s about. It’s not about staying still. It’s not, “This is the goal, and I’m going to get to that goal,” it’s onwards and upwards.

That’s what keeps life turning. You’ll get complacent if you feel like you’re at a place where you have everything. At the end of the day, you’ll feel stuck, because what are you working toward? What is life for? Keep going.

Dennis: What are some of the biggest adversities you have overcome?

Jessica: I have dyslexia. It was a challenge throughout school, because I never knew I had it. Other people read quicker than me, and I hated sight-reading out loud.

As an actor, I always had to sight-read, but the words would jumble up. Every audition I went to, I would go over the script a hundred times to prepare. Sometimes I would get to the audition and would be given an updated script, and I really, really struggled with that. Eventually, I learned that there is no right or wrong in acting, so I started going onstage and owning my mistakes. If I messed up a word because of my dyslexia, I owned it, because I had to.

That’s what shaped me. I couldn’t change my dyslexia—no matter how much I read or what I did, it’s there. It gets better the more I read, but it still trips me up sometimes.

When I was about six years old, I discovered I have a hearing impairment. I was deaf in my left ear. I had grommets installed.

We found out because I always had the TV extra loud, and when my family took walks, my parents would call my name and I didn’t hear them.

Throughout my teen years, I would say my hearing was average, but it has been slowly getting worse. I am getting hearing aids soon. I will be sharing the story more and going into deeper detail when I get the hearing aids.

Dennis: What drives you?

Jessica: My relationship with God, my family, and fitness.

My faith and love for God motivates me to do better. Each day, waking up and knowing it’s a new day and wondering what more I can do for Him drives me.

I was recently baptized, and I’m seeing life differently. I’m realigning my focus.

Every time I work out in the morning, my day goes completely differently than if I had waited until evening to work out.

Overall, it’s the consistency of faith with activities that keep me physically fit.

Dennis: What does an average day consist of for you?

Jessica: Spontaneity. Every single day is different for me, and that’s the beauty of my industry. I don’t have an average day.

Every day is a new life. There are always new challenges, new things to overcome. One day, I might have twenty guests in an audience, and the next I could have a thousand. I could be doing a shoot for a clothing line brand the following day.

I love it. It motivates me. What will today bring? What could I do differently today than I did yesterday?

Dennis: What is your reaction to haters and naysayers?

Jessica: I pray for them. Haters and naysayers are insecure, so it’s important to be there for them and to support them more than the people that support you, because they are obviously unhappy.

I never see it as entirely negative when someone hates on me, because it means I have something they want. Why are they hating? People don’t use energy hating on someone they don’t admire.

You have to shine back on them with light. Give them the love that Jesus would have given to his haters. Be the light in this dark world.

Dennis: What is your number one overall goal, in business or in life?

Jessica: It’s always changing. I wouldn’t narrow it down to, say, acting or being a presenter or anything like that.

My overall goal is to be happy. I don’t just mean happy as in, “Wake up, OK, it’s a good day,” but happy in my relationships, happy in my friendships, happy in my job, happy in all aspects of my life. Whatever I have to do to remain happy. If I’m not happy, I’m doing something wrong, and I have to change it.

Dennis: How important are mentors and coaches to you, and can you name a few and the impact they have had on your life and career?

Jessica: I never used to have mentors because I never leaned on anyone except for God, but nowadays, I think it is so important to have mentors. Sometimes you don’t see what others see. You see your life through a lens, and sometimes you visualize a goal and think it’s obtainable, but without a mentor giving you stepping stones, the voice in your head can’t see outwards, so sometimes you need people behind you to support you, elevate you, lift you further than you could have lifted yourself.

My mentor has definitely elevated me, and it’s nice to have support, to have someone to turn to.

My sister has also been one of my biggest mentors every single day of my life. I don’t know what I would do without a sister like her.

Step back. Sometimes you need help. It’s OK to ask for help. Society tries to make us think that we can do this alone, that we’re strong, that we don’t need help. We are strong on our own, but we are stronger together.

Dennis: What is the best advice you have ever received?

Jessica: Save money. Save, save, save.

Ever since I was a little girl, my sister—who is nine years older than me— always told me to save.

And I was like, “OK, just save and save.”

But it’s hard to realize the importance of saving, especially these days. The moment you get it, you have to get rid of it. At the end of the day, when it’s gone, it becomes a chase, and then you start your life chasing things.

When you start saving from a young age, you realize you can grow. Plants start as seeds, but they need water and sunlight to grow. Saving is the same thing. Other things in life get easier when you have finances behind you, so definitely start saving.

If you’d like to learn more about Jessica Caballero, follow her on Instagram or TikTok: @ jessicacaballero__.