What is your story? Or in other words, what made you your awesome self you are today?

I was suffering in silence, feeling alone in a room full of people, feeling less than enough while living behind a mask of “ok” and “alright” to fix myself. I lost everything when my heart stopped on that operating table. Fortunately, for me, I was given a second chance to live out my purpose and I’m now on a mission to ensure others do the same. 

What message do you promote?

As women, we are enough! I help them rediscover, redefine and reinvent their identity. Why do I say rediscover their identity? Its because sometimes as they go through life, they tend to lose who they are. You know, especially as women is that sometimes we give, we give to our children, we give to our husband, we give to the job we give to our parents and we're always giving, giving, giving, giving, giving until the point where we feel like that's all that we no longer exist.  

In...

Taking the bitter and making it sweet.  Life is unpredictable and that is what makes it fun, exciting, grueling and very rewarding.

When my life handed me a lemon in the form of a life treating disease of stage 4 lung cancer as a non-smoker.  I didn’t know exactly how I was going to make lemonade out of this situation.

What I did know was that I was going to be in for the fight of my life going forward. Once I came to grips with my lemon aka my cancer things began to morph.

 In the beginning stages of my journey, my lemon was a beast, unfamiliar, hard to handle and wrap my head around.  Once I started to embrace my lemon, look at all the edges and feel it out. I started to see my lemon in a different way.

My lemon had become a force in my life that I had to learn how to overcome and ultimately conquer.  I had to take my lemon and make it my own. What does this even mean?  Well for me I started to treat my lemon like it wasn’t sour....

What is your story? Or in other words, what made you your awesome self you are today?  

I have been an entrepreneur for over 25 years. I began in network marketing with Arbonne so that I could raise my children and supplement our income. I reached the top level in the company, and after coaching and leading several women on my team on the importance of having a very powerful vision for your life, I decided to speak, coach, and created a curriculum to help people publicly. I have now taught thousands of people why they need to have a written, crystal clear vision, how to write one as they have never done before, and how to break down that big dream into daily, doable goals. 

What message do you promote?   

#Vision is Victory

#Do It On Purpose

#Keep Looking up

Your Vision IS your victory as it fixes just about everything in your life!

Having a vision reveals your life purpose, and people with purpose are living out their God-given calling and legacy.

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What is your story? Or in other words, what made you your awesome self you are today?  

We believe that the most interesting people have come from difficult lives……it has seasoned and polished them.  And it is that uniqueness that makes them compelling and able to do neat things. And the ‘difficult’ part is different for everyone!  

We believe that people who have worked hard have an appreciation for their success and compassion for others and life in general. 

We work really hard.  As do many people. We want our story to be a love letter and encouragement to other minorities. 

What message does (your company) like to promote?  

We are elated to say that we have three companies now:

• Greenhouse Wellness—Greenhouse Wellness is a medical cannabis dispensary in Columbia, Maryland and our primary message is “Cannabis is an effective, whole-plant healing option for those looking for relief.” As...

What is your story? Or in other words, what made you your awesome self you are today?

I found a field I was passionate about and that fit my talents at an early age. It was more by accident than by design, but it has worked out well for me. I have been an organization development (OD) and learning professional for coming up on 27 years. The OD values of respect, inclusion, collaboration, authenticity, self-awareness and empowerment fit the way I approach my work and my life. 

I became aware of “exclusion” at an early age. As a little white girl of maybe four or five years old, I asked for a black doll. The reaction I got was, “why would you want that doll?” This fueled a lifelong quest to create an inclusive environment where all voices could be heard, and where I notice who is not in the conversation. I also see the connectedness of things – talents, resources, concepts, energy, etc. Sometimes I may be a quiet observer, especially in group...

What is your story? Or in other words, what made you your awesome self you are today?  

25 years ago, I created VIP Vacations, a full service travel agency.  Over the years, VIP has evolved into becoming one of the top travel companies for honeymoons and destination weddings; having earned hundreds of industry awards.  Utilizing my background in communications, I was able to build a media presence on TV as a travel expert (Fox National News, The Travel Channel, syndicated NBC affiliates) and notable contributing writer for several publications (USA Today, Forbes, Inc, Martha Stewart Weddings, and Cosmo).  VIP has a reputation for providing amazing service, travel guidance, as well as being a valued resource to our clients.   

What message do you promote? 

VIP Vacations creates amazing experiences for our clients through travel.  We promote using an experienced travel advisor in planning vacations as we can reduce stress, save time and...

It’s Tuesday or Wednesday or Friday or Sunday and I’m in one of my very favorite places and spaces. The Yoga Studio at Lifetime Fitness. I hit that door and I know without a shadow of a doubt something is going to happen…change…I will find clarity or hear a message that I need to hear at that exact moment in time.
It happens all the time. In every single yoga class I attend.
Just when I least expect it, the instructor says something amazing that I could have heard a million times before and yet, this time it sinks into my cells. Into my brain. Into my heart. And I never know when it’s going to happen. But it does. Constantly and continuously.
Breathing easier in the yoga studio is a truth for me. I can be turned upside down, challenging myself in a tripod pose or simply flowing and I know I am where I am supposed to be.
It was in THIS yoga studio that I found my Warrior. In those beginning classes during a particularly rough time, I needed Warrior One and...

Life Lessons We Can Take from Children

Whether you’re a parent or a teacher, as a responsible adult, it’s your duty to teach children values and information. Essentially like a role model. This undoubtedly sets the child up with a good start in life. This dynamic isn’t viewed both ways however, but what if children can teach us things too?

Forgiving

Playgrounds can be places of intense competition and arguments for a child. The best part about this though is that the children tend to forgive and forget, perhaps quicker than an adult would do so. Often, time spent mulling an argument over internally isn’t a positive approach, as we are focusing on the dispute itself rather than weighing out a solution for it. Whether we feel at odds with a colleague or a loved one, having the ability to process this feeling and forgive rather than carry a grudge can prove extremely beneficial — allowing us to get on with the important things in life.

Being Honest

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What is your story? Or in other words, what made you your awesome self you are today?  

I’ve always been someone fueled by challenges.  After my undergrad at University of Oregon (Honors college, dual degree in Marketing and Finance) I started working at Intel Corporation in Oregon as a financial analyst.  My desire to continuously learn and add more to my plate was a great fit with the company culture. In 1996 I decided to pursue an evening MBA so transferred to the Phoenix facility that was ramping at the time.  I completed the MBA in 1999 and decided I wanted to continue to broaden my experience outside the company. I joined the Tempe YMCA BOD and eventually served as Chair. I also in 2001 took an assignment in Copenhagen, Denmark as Controller proxy for an acquisition.  I loved the opportunity to live and work in an international setting- and learned the most in an intensive eight month assignment.  

By 2011 I was ready to move...

What is your story? Or in other words, what made you your awesome self you are today?

I'm a mom of 9 children. When I was pregnant with my ninth, I was on strict bed rest for about five months. During that time, I wanted to find a way to provide something of value, but I had very limited mobility. My husband is a tour guide who does live broadcasts of his beautiful tours of Israel. I realized that, by using technology, I could create something of value while stuck at home. I asked myself what skill I could share with others. I decided to teach the Hebrew alphabet. It’s something I love to do, anyway.

I was pretty nervous about doing a live broadcast (something I’d never done before) teaching Hebrew reading in an original style (something I was creating in real time.) It was a pretty immediate success and Periscope is a really lovely live broadcasting app. I love the medium and I love getting to know the most unexpected people from around the world.

My book “Learn...