The Twin Team Chronicle

   Education

Graduated from the Gewerbeschule in Innsbruck, Austria
BA. Psychology, Mexico.
MA. Education, Texas (Barbara).
Ph.D. Psychology, California (Barbara).

  A Biography by Ingrid Qua

Barbara Warren, Ph.D., and co-author twin sister Angelika Castaneda are international motivational speakers, counselors, consultants and eight-time record holding athletes in ultra-distance sports. They have been featured in Sport Illustrated, Regis and Kathy Lee, Good Morning America, BBC England and most major newspapers and magazines in Europe, South America and the US.

Their history reveals a row of diverse activities from working on ships, as visual artists in Florence Italy, Barbara as a leading actress in 25 movies, Angelika featuring in 18 underwater documentaries, fashion models, fashion designers, choreographers and entrepreneurs. They speak four languages and have traveled extensively to over 60 countries. The sisters were blessed with raising nine children between both of them. Now they live in San Diego California, and in Cuyamaca in the Laguna Mountains.

  Life story:

  (From the introduction of the book "Unleash the power to complete your  goals")

Angelika and I, Barbara, are identical twins both born and raised in St. Johann, Tyrol a small village centered in the Austrian Alps. Our backyard seemed as if it could have been out of a scene from the movie The Sound Of Music.  Edged into our hearts are the beauty of alpine meadows, the majestic mountains, the carefree music, the sounds of the thunderstorms and the wonder of the snow crystals falling upon the last autumn flowers.

Our playgrounds were the thick dark forests, sheer imposing cliffs, slippery clay creeks, and many miles of adventurer’s trails.  All the excitement that nature had to offer aroused an enormous curiosity within us and with it a strong sense of creativity was born.

We never knew what boredom was. Spring introduced us to the awakening of plants and animals. When the last of the snow finally melted it seemed as if the life beneath, leaped to its damp surface with passion. We would then rush to the scene and immerse ourselves in at all the wonders. Every year summer sneaked over the mountains with the precious gift of warm sunshine. Gold sparkling rays fell upon the cold mountain lakes, awakening our lovely valleys splendor. Summer stirred our eager hearts to conquer the peaks, run the trails and collect the berries, mushrooms, and bright flowers. With so much to marvel about there was no time for boredom.

Autumn would announce its dramatic coming by dressing our valley with countless shades of gold-brown colors. The farmers dried their fruits for the winter and the cows abandoned their mountain meadows for the warm shelter of the barn. It was during this time when we would painstakingly collect the most colorful leaves autumn had brought and dropped as a token for our love.

Once again great excitement lay around the corner as the crisp wintry weather gave way to its smell of snow, baked apples and smoldered chestnuts. Winters were always cozy. How well we remember mama singing melodic Austrian folksongs with the five of her children wrapped around the ancient kitchen table. We sang as loud as we could so that our voices would reach the mountaintops behind our farmhouse, then echoing back into the white slumbering valley.

Eventually with a heartbreaking good bye we left our fairytale childhood behind, but it never left our souls. The wisdom of nature, its goal power, and problem solving creativity surged inside of us to be called upon whenever needed. Equipped with only a few tools enabling us to exist in our societies jungles, my sister and I traveled the world passionately embracing all anguish and victories of our existence.

At the age of fourteen it was time to part from our old familiar farmhouse and literally from our whole world. We left by train for the largest city we had ever known, a hundred thousand inhabitants would be our new home for the next four years. The town called Innsbruck provided the high school education that our small village could not offer. Our tender, innocent hearts were suddenly confronted with the crude reality of a harsh world that infringed upon our freedom. After turbulent high school years our restless ambition drove us to Florence, Italy. There we studied another four years at the Academia De Belli Arti (Art Academy) where our new venture created the potential for the visual arts within us.  Wild and dramatic artist from many different parts of the world shaped our worldview, our character, and our identity at that time.

Our minds visualized the planet again, our urge to know new places and people turned into an impatient burning desire. Money was not available for such excessive thinking but we solved that problem by working on ships that sent us to Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan, Kuwait, Canada and many other exotic destinations. Harsh lessons about people’s aggressions and dysfunctions shattered our naiveté over and over. Our quest to explore the world was many times exposed to life threatening situations and in time our innocence, our shyness, and inexperience caused our minds to flea back to our beloved rugged mountains where we would crawl into our utmost hidden comfort zones.

But still our curiosity screamed for more knowledge of the world we live in. Mexico City was the next destinations of our dreams. We boarded an old airplane for the very first time, which not only carried us then but also expanded our exploratory boundaries. Toughened by old experiences we conquered the city in no time. Fame and fortune followed. We became part of the rich and famous and experienced the excesses that only a few could ever touch.

Ultimately the little mountain girls inside screamed out in total despair, disputing the 15-year-old unbearable, unnatural lifestyle. Guided by God’s amazing wisdom we abruptly changed our unhealthy bodies and minds.  Loosing all our accumulated wealth, due to a devaluation of the Peso, we finally pushed ourselves over the fence and geared up to leave the country of fame and sorrow. California, the new promised land, reached out for us with wide open, warm, and tender arms. Not looking ever back we cut our long black hair to an inch short, bleached it blond, took off the nail polish, the jewelry, the heavy make up and changed our stage names to our normal family names.  New professions and new interests were born. Starting from scratch became our challenge.

We used our bodies for sports competitions and realized the God given talent we had on hand. The little mountain girls remembered their many hikes in the Alps, climbing the sheer rocks, and running fearless on steep trails. They peaked out in joy at the same time as God peaked into our hearts to renew our souls.  Records were set and adventures in many countries quenched our thirsty aspirations. Many dreams matured into reality.  It was our conscious intention to always stretch beyond our own possible, no matter how painful at times.

Angelika, not only my twin sister but also the companion and friend that God gave me does not fit the tough mold of a world record winning ultra-distance athlete. Her strong muscle tone cannot hide her very feminine nature, her short striking blond hair frames a soft face, her blue eyes sparkle with ambition and excitement about life, her height stands 5.7 tall above her amazing character strength. Shaped by deep Austrian roots she runs like a brave little ‘Heidi’ up and down the mountains of her own adversities. If you could hear her speak you would notice immediately a softer female version of Arnold Schwartzenegger’s accent, but she has never been aware of it.  Angelika still loves to dress in an extravagant style; as a former clothing designer, artist and choreographer her taste is different from most people and she is not ashamed to reveal it. Her cozy and elegant home is her most priced possession.  She proudly decorates and maintains it, from laying down her own wooden floors to fixing her own electrical problems, without any outside help. Angelika’s skills for overcoming difficulties have been admired by many people and they definitely have become the inspiration for much of the content of this book.

Thirty years of exploring the intricate human mind and many exotic territories people live in has ultimately led us to write about what we both know. On the other hand it was by observing how people fought their dragons and especially the way we battled our own that has presented us with valuable lessons of how to go beyond the possible. We have never stopped stretching our comfort zone, no matter how distressing it sometimes was. The rewards made it all worthwhile, each and every time, but also because our character had the opportunity to be polished for a better quality of life.

Discovering six particular phases for reaching our goals allowed us to storm into the dark, mysterious days of life’s challenges.  These are the phases that we write about in our book, Unleash the power to complete your goals. Participating in ultra-distance athletic competitions around the world has unchained our concepts about winning and loosing, about ecstasy and agony and about humbleness and victory. Not reaching a goal was no longer an option. Reaching a desired objective became a mission. At last we did not only practice the system of six observable Phases but also researched, tested, and finally concluded them.

         Traveling, exploring, entrepreneurship, and competing in extreme competitions has provided us with the opportunity to retrieve possibilities for performance and achievement. Throughout the years of our experiences we have uncovered a blueprint that includes a structured Phase-by-Phase process that invariably has guided us to the goals of our desires. Our seminars and books are based on these experiences. They are not for us to keep and we have to pass them on.