Bringing you some Monday Motivation in this uncertain continuation of #shelterinplace in Chicago. Today’s topic:…
Posts published in “motivational monday”
motivational monday
Meet KJ In her own words – “Necesita saber a caer para luego poder a…
“The key to realizing a dream is to focus not on success but on significance — and then even the small steps and little victories along your path will take on greater meaning.”
― Oprah Winfrey
Meet Tabitha:
In her own words
“I’d always dreamed of two kids and that white picket fenced home. Little did I know what life would bring me in just my 35 years on this earth. A new kind of dream, and a little more than just two kids.
“It’ll be an adventure,” I promised. It was a move that transformed the shape of our home, literally.
Just a month after the birth of my fourth, we moved into our downtown loft. It was a space that we’d converted for our studio… a space where we could shoot and film recipes I’d create with the brands I was working with. It was a place to host workshops and events… and now? It was becoming a space my family of SIX would live until we found our home.
In a turn of events the home we put an offer on fell through and we were so grateful we had a place to go.
The small storage room in the back became a shared kid’s room and the loft upstairs held a crib next to our bed for the master bedroom.
Something that year taught me, as we huddled as a big family in our small studio loft, is that home truly is what you make it… and dreams? They take on a completely different significance when you look through that lens.
That year, we grew so much closer as a family. It became the base for a big film and magazine project we did with Folgers and brought us so many new opportunities.
Isn’t it a bit like life as well? We don’t always know the twists and turns that will come our way, but even the small steps and little victories along your path will take on greater meaning.
What began with saying “YES” to the opportunity of downtown living with my family, taught me how to say “YES” to more… like being invited to the White House, cruising with Oprah and creating our own business (with more launching soon, shhh!).
Through it all, we’ve learned that we can live in just about any landscape, and sometimes what may seem the most terrifying can actually deliver some of the most beautiful moments. Those things that may be intimidating can be just the things that catapult us into our dreams… sometimes the ones we didn’t even know we had.”
*** Please follow along on instagram as well and learn more about Liz. This year for my birthday , I am embarking on a weekly photo essay project highlighting 52 Phenomenal Women. This is week 9 of 52. Participants in this project will be supporting the efforts of Dress for Success Worldwide – Central. We are all stronger together and it is my sincere hope that we will be inspired by each other’s stories. Now is the time to celebrate as well as encourage one another. Tell your story!***
Meet Martina: a 20-something, first-generation college graduate born, raised and recently returned to the Windy City.
In her own words…
“I used to think that 23 would be my year…
I’d have my own place, own car, be well into my career and finally able to keep a steady gym regimen. I’m 24 now stumbling sloppily into 25 and I’ve achieved none of the later. Fingers crossed for 32.
Compared to the average 20-something, my resume may be beefier than some but make no mistake— I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing. We are told that these are the best years of our lives but they don’t always feel the best. I think we all hope that this motion of self-doubt will dissipate with age but as I inch toward a quarter-century I am learning to accept that it will be here forever.
Am I doing enough with my life? Am I making enough money? Does this outfit make me look fat…and can I really pull off this red lipstick?
This confusion around if I am enough in comparison to others is always there behind the surface keeping my nose warm and my eyes alert. I have learned that where self- doubt is constant, self-confidence must be too although it is easier said than done. Switching between the two narratives takes only a minute.
So, the next time you are stuck or unsure of yourself slap on some red lipstick and fake it til’ you make it.
I remember moving cross-country after graduation, my life consisting of two suitcases and a duffle bag. I was ready for the world and surely it was ready for me too. My collegiate success made me overly confident; I thought that I would apply for the job I wanted and that would be it. That was not it. I quickly got used to rejection without being rejected: no email, no callback, only uncertainty, and doubt.
That summer I discovered that crying in the shower is best because your roommates are less likely to hear. Instead of waking up proud I woke up thinking, what am I doing? As a kid, I dreamed of the possibilities I could have but as a college graduate, I was overwhelmed by them. One moment feeling like I am on top of the world and can do anything, the next crying in my pool because I am unsure of my place in It.
The fear and uncertainty of what to do next and what am I doing right now are constant so I embrace it. I let it excite me the same way that watching a scary movie excites me giving me the rush of adrenaline I need to get out of bed even on the bad days. It is only through fear and uncertainty that I have gotten this far and through the same that I will continue to go further.
Put one foot in front of the other and keep moving.”