The
Twin
Team
Chronicle
Careers
Sculptresses And Painters.
Haute Couture Fashion Models For Photography And Runway.
Angelika, A Choreographer. Actresses In Feature Films,
Documentaries And Hundreds of TV commercials.
Entrepreneurs. Owners of The Largest Latin American
Personal Development School. Fashion Designers And
Manufacturers. Mainly Barbara but also Angelika counsels
Clients. Angelika Is A Special Project Manager.
Angelika is an Expedition Leader. Real Estate Investors.
International Public Speakers. Authors. World-Class
Athletes. |
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.
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.
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