Dina Ottoni-Battistessa Less is More

In this week's episode, we had the opportunity to interview boss mama Dina Ottoni- Battistessa. Dina is a mom-preneur and a blogger. Dina is a mom to 3 boys who always had a passion for supporting parents and children through the early years and beyond. She graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Child Studies and Development from Concordia University, Montreal.⁠ By day Dina is the co-owner at Akidemy Preschool, @akidemypreschool located in Calgary, Alberta. Akidemy serves just over 96 families a year with a unique Reggio inspired preschool program and the Calgary community with parent workshops.⁠ By night Dina is busy sharing all her tidbits and experience about children, parenting, and simple living on her blog and Instagram.⁠ Dina is also a co-author in the book, ‘You've Got This, Boss Mama’ Nothing short of ambitious, her goal is to continue to connect, grow and always share!⁠ In our chat Dina… We focus on how less is more on every aspect of life. Dina’s life has always been about the journey of happiness.”Not trying to chase happiness but BE happy.” Being a woman that wears many hats, Dina loves reading and one specific book that she highly recommends is called, ‘Everything that Remains' by Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus. This is what triggered the spark for change. A change of lifestyle where less is more. Dina explains how she has been a minimalist her whole life, so getting back to that lifestyle was basically the road back to her roots. Back to the core values that are lying deep within her. She goes into depth explaining all the blessings and challenges that came with the transition of moving from a 4000sq/ft house to almost less than half, with her new home being built in the 1970s. The move was a life statement. A statement of who they are and tend to be as a family. Dina’s family rule is every time something comes in, something must go out. Challenging yet so inspiring. We touch base on how things these days come and go so fast. On how having access to pretty much everything with the touch of a screen has created this need to always seek for more. This makes it the most crucial time in history for parents to navigate the next generation and remind them what is truly important. In order to do so, we need to dig deep and ask the hard questions. What void are we trying to fill when we are always seeking for the next best thing? Is it truly what we need? When will we stop? When will we have enough? Until we face ourselves, we will constantly chase temporary bliss. Less is more. That’s what Dina wants to share with the world and especially kids. Less is more on every aspect of life, not just materials. Anything that doesn’t serve you, has to go. Finally, we expand on Akidemy and how it came to be. It is a project of love and respect to the children. Akidemy is based on children’s interest and how they view the world. Success to Dina is: “Be happy and mindful of what that happiness is.” Dina’s message to women is: “Be brave and take risks, because you never fail.” To connect with Dina, find her on the following platforms: IG: @move.play.mom @Akidemypreschool Web: www.moveplaymom.com www.akidemy.ca