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There is so much untapped potential inside people who are too afraid to give themselves a chance. Right now there are women reading these lines who have ideas for nonprofits that would change the world...if only they had the courage to pursue their dreams. There are women reading these lines who have the potential to build a company that would alter their families lives, and the lives of others who’d be positively affected by the business they created - if only they had the ability to believe it would work. Right now there are women reading these lines who would invent the next great app, design the next great fashion line, write the next bestselling book, or create the beauty products we’d all be obsessed with IF ONLY THEY BELIEVED IN THEMSELVES.
A dream always starts with a question, and the question is always some form of WHAT IF... What if I went back to school?
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What if I tried to build that?
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What if I pushed myself to run 26.2
miles?
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What if I moved to a new city?
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What if I’m the one who could change the system?
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What if God put this on my heart for a reason?
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What if I could add some income to our bank account?
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What if I could write a book that would help people?
That WHAT IF? That’s your potential knocking on the door of your heart and begging it to find the courage to override all the fear in your head. That WHAT IF is there for a reason. That WHAT IF is your guidepost. That WHAT IF tells you where to focus next. - Girl, Stop Apologising by Rachel Hollis
And just like that.. IT’S ALREADY MAY!! When did that happen?
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Since this is the month leading up to 2019’s halfway point I am sharing 5 ways I am getting INTENTIONAL:
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1️⃣ Quiet time - it’s time to add in some extra time praying, reading, and journaling. It’s easy to spend time reacting to the world, but our real productivity comes from work within. I don’t know about you, but I need a lot of things - but I mostly need Jesus.
2️⃣ Moving my body. YES, life is crazy. YES, our excuses are valid. YES, we should still be making time to move our bodies. Even with being pregnant, I am jumping back into (modified stretches and the pool. Movin’ your body maximizes it’s potential in all areas!
3️⃣ Courageous conversations. Yep.. I said it. I am going to have more courage in bringing up the hard stuff so I can get to the GOOD stuff. If we cannot express ourselves, how can we explore ourselves?
4️⃣ Consuming what my body needs. Since getting pregnant, I am doing a New seasons run weekly. All the convenience and clean options, none of the mess. What you put into your body is what comes out!! Let’s choose thoughtfully.
5️⃣ Focusing on my CALLING and ditching the lies I believe about myself. Real talk: I have been scared lately. I was afraid I lost my spark at moments. I have had paralysis analysis with my writing and work. I have felt shame for “giving up.” But in the end, none of that is true. We are exactly where we belong in this moment - on purpose. Sometimes the journey involves unexpected turns, and from my experience, those turns are always exactly what my soul was missing. What lies are you telling yourself? Where can you show up this month to break them? Let’s break them together.
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May is powerful for one reason: because you are in control of it. Let’s jump into the month with confidence, courage and a whole lotta love. This is when the game changes - when we decide it does. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
I’m stepping up, stepping out, and taking my intention back. Are you with me? Let me know what your May intentions are in the comment below!!
@kateamesphoto wrote a blog post about our time together at @theportlandstudio and just about melted my heart with her kind words. @kateamesphoto is such a talented photographer- can’t wait to work with her again!! Link in my story/her bio or if you’re in it just for the flowers, swipe to the last pic here for the final product!
To change the outcome, you need to change your strategy.
That’s what I told myself. I was legit scared to ever even think about leaving a lucrative income in the dental field to build my own business and be a full time entrepreneur. This was uncharted territory for me! Fear of the unknown.
But I wasn’t happy and fulfilled with the work I was doing. Money isn’t the key to happiness. I needed more than that to be fulfilled with my career. I needed to be able to truly make a difference in people’s lives. I wanted to create and live my best life and help others do the same. So I made a drastic career change.
Fast forward a few months and that huge leap of faith is paying off. I have built and am building a team of amazing entrepreneurs from all over that inspire & help each other, I am helping people have amazing hair, boosting their self confidence, and building amazing friendships. Oh and the money is pretty amazing too I am on track to earning my company paid White Escalade AND doubling the income I was making in the medical field. I am able to focus on my dream of becoming a florist which was impossible when I worked a full time job in the dental field.
So thankful God led me to this life changing opportunity that is changing my life, my team members, and my clients!
So I will leave you with this... If you want financial freedom, more time with your loved ones, be able to work wherever you want from WiFi, help others live & create your best life while doing the same for you, have amazing hair, have amazing friendships, residual income...MESSAGE ME! You have nothing to lose and everything to gain ✨
What are YOU waiting for?!
How often do you dream?
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Picture it now. The exact life you want to have. The smells, the colors, the people. The smiles and accomplishments. Where you’ll live, where you’ll work, how you’ll pray, your community and the all places you’ll discover. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Girl, you have to let yourself dream. You should aim high. Really high. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Now, remember: disappointment is a part of life. It’s a beautiful part of the process - it means there is more to come. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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When someone has succeeded, it is because they allowed themselves to dream. They expected success despite failure and discouragement. They knew it would refine them, not define them. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
It takes a big dream, and a bigger faith. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
You have everything you need to have both. God is for you. You just have to be for yourself. Take time to dream today. See it. Feel it. Trust Him. The rest will follow. #azinstawrites
4 Tips for The Girl Who Feels Broke (or Stressed About Money):
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1. Small steps. If you’re in debt, or trying to save, sacrifice things like Starbucks or morning coffee runs and stick to making your own coffee at home. We’ve turned too many luxuries into necessities. And it needs to stop.
2. STOP BUYING WHAT YOU CAN’T AFFORD. If you don’t have the money in your account or don’t know with 100% certainty you can pay it off at the end of the month, don’t buy it. Seriously. If it’s a temporary solution in a tough season, that’s one thing. But the more you let this go on, you’ll create a habit...and an unsustainable lifestyle. Go pay off your credit cards right now. Maybe even cancel them while you’re at it.
3. Get creative. If you’re broke, if you owe people money, or you’re accumulating more debt every day, you need to dig yourself out of a hole. Instead of complaining about how broke you are, do something about it. Sell old clothes on Poshmark. Take the $ you make and get on Facebook marketplace or to to a consignment store. Purchase a cheap old piece of furniture & some supplies. YouTube teach yourself how to fix it up. Get back on FB Marketplace and sell it for 3x the price. Start a side hustle. until you realize you’re not as broke. I mean I started a side hustle with selling shampoo. Was it random? Yes. Was it worth it? Totally. If I can do it, you can too. Trust me. It’s crazy what creativity and hard work can do.
4. Be smart. If you have an option to go to a local college or have a scholarship but want to choose the fancier college because it seems more impressive, I guarantee that in future You won’t be so thrilled when she has tons of student loans for the same education. Same goes for buying a car or anything else. Take on the one that will put you in the least amount of future debt.
I know money can even be a sore subject and I know what it’s like to feel like there’s debt / unpaid bills looming over your head.
But I promise you, if you really zero in and commit to making small incremental changes, you’ll see a change.
Stop letting money control you. Start taking back control of what you can, one penny at a time.
4 Smart + Savvy Business Tips for entrepreneurs
1. You are allowed to be intentional and savvy with what you put out into the world. In fact, you should be. Whether or not your business outrightly provides a product, faith based resources, everything you create needs to be about providing valuable resources/services that change lives. Mission minded ladies don’t ask: what can I sell? They ask, what can I create to serve someone well? The first question may bring in some money fast but the second question creates sustainability & community that lasts. ♀️
2. Don’t look at your revenue as your salary. At first it may be fine if you’re simply getting started and making ends meet but if, at some point, you have a really strong financial month and treat all the additional funds as yours, your business will become more about self and less about mission...and then it’s hard to draw the line and creates a very distorted view of money. Instead, ask the Lord what salary He would set for you from the revenue you earn through whatever you do. The best guideline I can give is this: set a maximum salary each month AND a minimum to give away. This way you keep a disciplined heart focused on the mission at hand, not the money that may end up in your hands. Keep open hands. It’s all His anyway.
3. Every good leader is first a follower. Follow Jesus first, lead second. If you do that backwards, it’s like buttoning up a shirt but missing the first button. Everything is out of wack. If you’re going to lead a community, a staff, or any kind of team, focus on their heart first, production second. Still learning the art of this one...but it’s a game changer.
4. I don’t care if you’re an author/speaker + resource developer, or a fitness instructor or photographer or life coach or something in between, it you have a gift that changes people, you are in business girl. Stay humble but don’t you dare for one second feel guilty for that, downplay it, or undervalue the very work God is doing in and through you. You don’t have to be the best but you do need to do your best. Don’t downplay it. You were built for this.
I’m learning how to press into fear. ⠀
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• Checking myself to honestly answer questions without glazing over facts. ⠀
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• Initiating uncomfortable conversations because I’m finding that clarity and healing are better than comfort.⠀
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• Bringing ugly places in my heart to the light so they can no longer thrive in the darkness. ⠀
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• Identifying insecurities and pushing into them, instead of filling my mind with distractions by way of escape. ⠀
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And I’m starting to see that freedom isn’t *only* waiting on the other side of fear. It’s found WHILE pressing in. Freedom is planted when we believe despite the doubt. It grows when we step forward, ignoring fear’s screams to stop. And it blooms when we confront the darkness, kicking until the light bleeds through. My biggest takeaway? Pinpointing the places in our hearts that swell with fear is the first step. And once those are identified, running towards the scary places instead of running away. Because freedom isn’t only found after the fixing, it’s found in the following, too. #azinstawrites
Okay so y'all know how much I love my seniors. I think that we get that at this point. Here's the thing though now that senior season is coming to a close with this poopy weather, it means I get to hang out with rad people like Maddy! If you didn't know I offer special prices for lifestyle headshots (can I get a HOLLA for personality pics) and model shots! I literally love all creative people and if you're down to collaborate contact me and let's get it going!