1. Find Your Passion
From the time I was a little girl, I LOVED weddings, I guess finding my passion came easily and naturally, but I can't imagine life without it. I can't imagine not having weddings in my life. I love the way I can't shut up when people ask me about it and I love that it keeps me up in bed some nights while ideas are making my mind race. Find what you're passionate about it make a life out of it. It's addicting and rewarding. Fewer things will bring you more happiness than that of your passion.

2. Life is Short
Realize that no ones time on this earth is infinite. Cherish every moment you have with your loved ones. Respect them. Care for them. Thank them. Do something nice for them. And most importantly, always make sure they know how much you love them.

3. Do What Makes You Happy.
Those who love you will be supportive no matter how unconventional it may be. But your happiness should come first.

4. Take Care of Yourself and Love Yourself
It's easy to get caught up with life and let yourself go. It's easy to work too much. Be out too much. Let responsibilities take over. But, never forget to take care of yourself. Moisturize your skin, take care of your hair, workout, eat healthy, eat brownies,  light a candle, watch a movie, put your phone on silent for a while.

Love yourself

5. Work Hard...
Unless you're born into a very generous and wealthy family, chances are, you're going to have to work hard for what you want. And there's nothing wrong with that. There is nothing wrong with late nights and early mornings when you're chasing your dreams. But, never - ever expect things to just come to you. Stay disciplined and focused on your goals. Work tirelessly when you have to. Get little sleep when you have to. Work 7 days a week when you have to.

BUT, TEND TO YOUR RELATIONSHIPS FIRST...
I opened my business. It's amazing. And incredibly tiring. I work a day job, and then come home and work all night until I fell asleep, everyday. It's something I never could've prepared myself for, I just knew I had to hustle and deliver. But, it's draining, and you miss stuff, I worked a wedding on my boyfriend's birthday and I haven't forgiven myself for it yet, it's a process. Relationships come first, work comes second. Owning a business is no easy task, especially a very successful one. But, it's important to keep in mind that relationships whether it's your marriage or your family, DO come FAR before work. So take a night off, cook some dinner for your husband and then binge watch Netflix together. Work can wait.

6. Be Respectful.
This is one of the most important things I've learned. It's amazing how a little respect can get you EXTREMELY far. Respect your elders. Respect those younger than you. Respect your parents. Respect your friends. Respect your teachers. Respect your siblings. And respect yourself. The one thing that does embarrass me about being my age is that I'm associated with a generation of kids who want respect, but don't give it and although it's certainly not true for all of us, I witness it first hand. If you want to be treated like an adult and you want respect from anyone at all, GIVE IT. But don't let receiving respect be your motivation to give it. Give it because as a human being, it's your job. Especially as a young adult.

7. Follow Your Dreams 
Cliche, right? Kind of. But, I mean this. I see SO MANY people my age do what their parents think they should do. Or do what other people think they should do, but not what THEY want to do. You don't HAVE to go to college. You don't HAVE to play that sport. You don't HAVE to go into that career field. You don't HAVE to stay in your hometown. If packing your things and moving to the beach and working as a waitress to pay your bills and figuring out a way to make your biggest, most genuine dreams come true is what you want to do - then dammit, GO DO IT! Prove them wrong. Prove to them you know what you want and you're out to get it even if you're doing it differently than they planned for you. It's your life and your decision and you can't live it for anyone but YOURSELF.

8. Take a Bubble Bath and a Few Deep Breaths
When I'm stressed, I take a bubble bath. Even when I'm not, I still do it at least once a week. To relax. I light a candle, turn on the tub, put on Pandora, and chill. Something so simple can take away so much stress.  Do it. It works.

9. Judge Less
The thing I've learned the most is, the people you may be the quickest to judge are actually some of the coolest people you'll ever meet in your life.  I feel like it's very easy to be judgmental. When someone does something differently than you do, it's easy to think their way is wrong. When they dress differently, it's easy to think they're weird. When they have different goals, it's easy to think it's not the right path. The the truth is, there's no right way or one way to do anything. Rather than judge them, encourage them to be the best they can be even if their journey to get there is far different from yours.

10. Get Rid of the Negativity Around You
You know those Facebook friends (or even real life "friends") who constantly post negative crap or stupid drama? The people who tend to over-share unnecessary and usually negative things? The news channels? Delete them. You will notice your daily mood changed when you log into Facebook and see more positivity rather than negative news stories. Social media has such a huge impact on our generation and you CAN in fact control whether it is a positive or negative impact - and with just a few clicks, I took my newsfeed from negative and rather annoying to positive and something I want to interact with.

11. It is more than okay to love and celebrate yourself - to be proud of who you are.
I'm one of those people who feel extremely awkward celebrating myself or being openly proud of myself or things I've accomplished. I feel pretty self-centered among other things flaunting myself. But, I'm working on it. Why? Because it is MORE THAN OKAY to love yourself and be proud of who you are and what you've done. In fact, it should be encouraged and praised. Did you do your hair and makeup and you're feelin gorgeous? Post that selfie. Did you just get new business cards for the business you're working on? Give them out to everyone you see. Making progress in the gym? Post those progress pictures and share your journey...you're bound to inspire someone. Did you just sign the lease on your first apartment or buy your first new car? FLAUNT IT. Be proud. You should be. You're doing things to better yourself and your life and you're feeling great...and what's better than that? Nothing. It is OKAY to be proud of you. Just remain a humble human being overall.

12. Stay ambitious, but love where you're at now.
I'm very much the type of person who when I accomplish one goal, I don't even get excited I'm just onto the next one, but I'm constantly reminding myself that where i'm at right now is very nice and I need to enjoy it because someday I'll miss it. It is all a journey and we should cherish every moment because after all, it is shaping the rest of your life.

13. It's Okay to Lose Yourself
It happens. Sometimes you question everything. Am I doing the right thing? Am I happy? What do I want? How do I get to where I want to be? If I've learned anything in these few years in the "real world" it's that you're probably going to lose yourself a time or two or ten throughout life. And it's really hard to find yourself. In fact, it might take your whole life to figure out exactly who you are...if you ever do. But as long as you don't give up on yourself, it's okay to get lost. Eventually, something will happen that helps you find another piece of the puzzle to finding yourself again.

14. Be There for People and Encourage Those Around You
Few things make me happier than encouraging people and being there for them. It brings me so much joy. I love seeing people post "Just signed the lease for my first apartment!!!" Or share a photo of their new car, or that they "got the job!" or got engaged to the love of their life.  I love leaving a comment that let's them know I'm proud of them, even if we don't talk. And I mean every word I say. A little word of encouragement can mean so much to someone. Be There For People - Like when someone posts on Facebook they need a ride to work, again, even if it's just someone I went to school with years ago...if I'm available, I'll message them and say hey I can give you a ride. Why not? If you're doing something to better yourself and I can be apart of helping you? Absolutely.

15. Laugh Until You Cry
This doesn't need an explanation. Surround yourself with amazing people, let loose, and laugh until your cheeks hurt and your eyes water.

16. Let Yourself LEARN
Everyone who walks into your life knows something that you don't. Learn something from every person that you meet. Let them teach you. I truly believe that people are in your life for a reason.

17. Life is NOT A Race
Don't compare yourself to anyone. Everyone goes at their pace and life isn’t a race to the finish line.

18. Love is MAGIC
Think about it: When has love ever made things worse? Any solution has love underlying it.

19. Life isn't Fair
It just isn’t. Better to accept it now and see how you’ll overcome those barriers, rather than whining about how life’s not fair and use it as an excuse to do nothing.

20. If You Have a Once in a Lifetime Chance to do Something – do it. 

21. TRUST YOUR JOURNEY
This is hands down the MOST important thing I've learned. For everything I remember that there is a reason I'm going through this. Trust.

And I’m not talking physicality’s here. Those you surround yourself with have a way of completely confusing your vibrational atmosphere.

If you desire to manifest a specific type of reality into your life, cohesiveness is key! Just as you wouldn’t wear flip flops with a dress suit, (you shouldn’t!), don’t carry around un-motivated individuals who find your dreams absurd as you’re reaching for the stars. Know what you’re about, then BE about it.

Know what you want enough to become aware of the relationships in your life that are sending mixed signals about your desires. If you find you can’t be yourself around particular people, then stop hanging around them. If you find you can’t express your dreams, desires, and visions, happily without one of your friends tearing you down, then cut them out of your life.

There are 7 billion people on this earth, and thanks to the power of social media, we’re closer to them now than ever before. You can’t expect to reside in a vibrational gated community in the suburbs by building a house in the vibrational projects. Energy is contagious, no matter how far the distance. If your current clique resides in a vibrational community that you no longer wish to be apart of, hop the fence!

Those who live in a poverty state of mind certainly have no intentions of seeing their friends leave and move onto better things. You can try to build that house where you currently stay, but without a doubt, it will be burned down overnight by your closest neighbors. BE about that life you want. Audit the vibrational accounts of your clique. Choose accordingly.

With so few hours, who has the time to have a bad day? I – like many entrepreneurs – am always staying busy, and the last thing I need is to have a day where coffee is magnetically attracted to my outfit. So what can I do to stay positive in even the worst situation?


1. Smile
Yes, I’m serious. When you look happy you can actually convince yourself that you are happy. That’s because smiling actually has the power to trick your body into thinking you’re happy by releasing a flood of feel-good neurochemicals.

Who knew that faking it ‘til you make it could be one of the hands down best happiness hacks?

2. Take a Breather
Even the best players need to step off the field once in a while. Getting off the playing field and clearing your mind is one of the best things you can do for your sanity – and it’s a really simple happiness hack.

3. Stop competing and start doing you
Theodore Roosevelt knew a thing or two when he said that “comparison is the thief of joy,” that’s because it is. One of the very best ways to stay positive is to stop comparing yourself and your successes to others. If you focus on you and know you’re doing your best, you won’t go wrong.

We’re in the final stretch of 2015! Whether or not you’ve accomplished everything you wanted to for the year, it’s not too late to end the year on a high note. Even in our failures there are lessons to learn and seeds of future success that have been planted. Here are 3 ways to end the year with a bang regardless of how the year has been to-date:


1. Make a list of lessons learned this year: There are things that worked out better than you imagined, and others that didn’t unfold as expected. What lessons did you learn from those experiences? What will you do differently next time? Many of us choose not to revisit programs or product launches because they weren’t a success the first time around. There are a lot of situations where a bit of tweaking and better planning and identifying gaps can turn a flop into massive success! It’s just a matter of taking the time to reflect and a willingness to be honest with ourselves.

2. Review your resources: Are you still trying to do it all on your own? Whether it’s a team, a better website or hiring a coach to work on specific areas of your business, it’s always a good idea to take inventory of what you have and what you need. If you want different, better results in the New Year, it’s important to identify what your needs are and develop a plan to acquire the resources needed to take your business and your life to the next level. It’s one thing to know what you’re lacking; it’s a completely different thing to have a plan in place to make sure you get what you need. Nothing is more disheartening that feeling like a year has passed and no progress or changes have taken place.

3. Ask yourself: what else is possible?: Sure you achieved a lot this year. That doesn’t mean that you can rest on your laurels. If 2015 has been an awesome year, what is possible to 2016? You’re not the same person you were at the start of the year. You’ve experienced new things, gained knowledge and wisdom. Taking the time to appreciate the good, bad and ugly of 2015 to-date provides us with the starting point to map out an awesome new year. Even if things didn’t work out the way that you wanted them to, you’ve learned from those mistakes and will do things differently next time.

It’s amazing when I look back before I knew the answers to these questions, and notice how lost I was. Well, of course your aim is to get a good enough job so you can get a good enough house and marry and a good enough handsome man.

Well, that sounds good enough, right?

But, what if you believe that you were meant for more? What if  a couple years from now you realize that this isn’t going to fulfill my passion or purpose. What if you want an above average life; loving every moment of the day, doing what you can’t live without doing and receiving a great income from it?

Normal isn’t good enough

Here are five questions that are important to have answered if you to what to leave living a normal life and begin to live a life full of success and meaning.

1) What will I offer to this world?
What products or services will you provide?
How will you be of value to the people, company, and community around you?

2) What major goals do I desire to accomplish every 30 days, 6 months, 1 year, 3-5 years?
Do I have enough SMART goals to steer me in the right direction?
Do I have a clear plan as to how I will accomplish my goals?
Are my goals giving me a purpose and do I like the person I'll become as I accomplish them?

3) What are my strengths and weaknesses?
How can I capitalize on my strengths?
What can I contribute that utilizes more of my strengths?
Where will I need support or outsource to make up for my weaknesses?

4) What do I love to do?
How can I get paid for sharing and doing what I love to do?
Can I find my personal mission in what I do?
What is my passion or purpose?

5) Am I willing to do whatever it takes to live a life that is meaningful to me?
What levels of sacrifices will you take?
Are you willing to say no if it doesn’t align with your mission?
When times get hard how will you stay focused?
Are you willing to invest in yourself?

6) Am I grateful for what I have now, waiting for what I want later?
Do you acknowledge and celebrate my successes today, small or big?
How grateful are you for another day, another step, another chance?
Do you take time to live in the present, enjoying what you have been blessed with today?

How many times have you compared yourself / your business / your success to others in your industry?  How many times have you let that little voice in your head tell you that you are not enough?  How many times have you listened and felt defeated?
Let me tell you this, friends - you are not alone.


Today I want to share with you my advice on loving your fellow boss lady friends and building community over competition!

1 - Be thankful for the little "wins":  If you are new in business, this is especially important! Be thankful for each new subscriber to your newsletter, every positive comment on your posts, and every single new Instagram follower!  That may sound silly, but these little wins can lead to huge success!

2 - Stay true to you:  This is one thing I will forever preach... Stay true to you and you have no competition. Seriously. Why be like everyone else?  There is no one else like you - THAT is one of your competitive advantages! When you are truly authentic your will build a strong brand and tribe of followers who are loyal to you!

3 - Join a creative community: There are a lot of creative boss ladies who are leading the creative community in the "community over competition" movement.  The Rising Tide Society, for example, is a community of small business CEOs that empower one another to thrive. Being a part of something greater can deeply enrich your outlook on your business.  Encouraging and lifting up others will end up benefiting you more than you know!

4 - Believe:  This is huge. If you do not believe you can do it, who will?  If you want success, believe you can achieve it.  Make it happen.  Don't doubt yourself. When potential clients ask me why they should work with you, respond with confidence.

5 - Be inspired by others:  Let others inspire you to create something new or design something unique. Appreciate the talent of others and recognize yours! Finding inspiration in other creatives is a good thing! It means that you truly appreciate their work and are inspired to create something on your own.

1. Decide in your heart that today is going to be AWESOME.

2. Take five minutes to write down everything you're thankful for.

3. Listen to music that moves your feet and your soul.

4. Be kind. Outrageously kind.

5. Go for a walk taking in the beauty that exists all around you.

6. Spend time with someone that you love and adore.

7. Challenge your body. You were made to move.

8. Write down your biggest and boldest dreams. The ones you never say.

9. Surround yourself with people who are dreamers and doers.

10. Do something that scares you.

I love encouraging people. From small presents to big gestures, it makes me happy to see others in a positive mindset. I think what I have been realizing a lot lately is that so many people deal with lots of things. It may not be as intense as serious sickness or a loss, but people have a lot on their plate.

They are overwhelmed with their circumstances. Lots of people try to hid it, but nine times out of ten you can still sense that something is a little off. So what do you do when you see someone a little under the weather? Shrug it off and let them deal with it alone? No! You encourage them!


1. SEND THEM A SMALL NOTE.
Pick up a pen and grab a piece of paper. Or pull up your email. You can even grab your phone. Let them know you are thinking about them. Tell them you are here for them.

2. GIFTS.
You do not have to break the bank on this one to make an impact. Their favorite candy bar, an e-gift card from Starbucks or a new necklace you found in a thrift store that made you think of that person can mean a lot.

3. YOUR TIME.
Everyone’s schedules get busy and cluttered with to-do’s. However, taking the time to clear your schedule for someone can speak volumes and really show you care. Sometimes people just need to be heard. Check in with them. Go to a coffee shop and just chat. It will be nice to catch up and see the best way you can encourage them.

Are you the one that needs some encouragement? The recommendations above can also be applied to YOU!

Leave yourself a note on your bathroom mirror or on your laptop. You can remind yourself that you are a great person with big dreams or that you’ve got this! Reward yourself and buy that top you have been eyeing for a few weeks. Treating yourself may give you a boost. Be sure to make time for yourself. Rest can be so helpful and encouraging. Do you have a crazy busy schedule? Add chill time to your calendar. Write it down in your planner. It may seem silly, but you may never get that chance unless you are intentional with setting aside your ‘me time’!

"BUT I MEAN EVERYONE IS ALREADY DOING IT."

Because somewhere along the line someone convinced you that your ideas aren't good enough. Someone got in your face and got you to believe that there will always be someone bigger and someone better. From that kid who always beat you at sports, that co-worker who always seemed to out-shine or that sibling who always took first.

Or maybe simply from this massive maze of windows we call the Internet where comparing our lives to one another could easily become a hobby.

But there is something you're missing here. There is something that maybe you don't even see.

So you know I am about to lay it out for you;
You are amazing. You are a genius. You have ideas that aren't just oh-wouldnt-that-be-nice fluff but they are real answers. You think maybe it has already been done and maybe it has been done a million times, but here is the clincher.

IT HAS NEVER BEEN DONE BY YOU.

And that idea in you is something that has never been seen before.

We've never seen eyes light up like that.

We've never seen your personality, your passion, your skill, your gifting merge in one place like this.

We've never seen your voice say those words and your hands create this.

And so that idea you're holding onto and the ones you've let go of because it has already been done, stop dismissing and start creating.

THE POTENTIAL AND HOPE IN YOU IS ENOUGH TO TAKE ME OUT OF MY SEAT.

So bring it.
Bring it and don't you dare hold back for a moment.

With Christmas only a few weeks away I have been thinking about the importance of ‘unplugging’ during those special holiday family moments.

Christmas is a time to spend with those we love and for some who may live far away, it’s the perfect opportunity to travel home to see friends and family with social media has been their way of keeping in contact year round.

While social media sites, such as Facebook, are the perfect way to stay connected 24/7, 365 days a year, there comes a time when it’s important to connect with what’s right in front of us.

A recent study revealed that the average person picks up their mobile device 85 times a day. That works out to a whopping 5 hours daily spent surfing the web and on apps.  After reading this study, I began to become aware of my own incessant habit of reaching for my cell phone to check the latest social feeds.  I then realized that I’m not alone in how many “real life” moments that are being missed, which is what prompted the need for unplugging awareness at this time of year when so many magical moments are taking place.

Social media has provided us with an outlet to have our voices heard, share special moments, stay connected and create awareness of community/global issues & events. However, the constant need to be connected has somehow overshadowed the importance of being present in the moment.

While it may be second nature to post a selfie while opening Christmas presents or tweet about how many rum and egg nog you and your siblings have just thrown back, resist the urge to post that status update.  Instead, give someone the gift that doesn’t cost a cent, your presence.  Trust me, there will be no gift receipt required.

• Do I have time to start another blog?
• My business is new, should I really add more to my plate? 
• What will other people think?
• Do I really have anything to share?