• Life Inspiration

    It Starts Today

    Tweet Your life. It starts today.   Simple enough statement. But super complicated meaning. Society has twisted this statement and I believe uses it as a marketing ploy to keep us unhappy or at least to keep us from being content. To keep us always wanting more. Think about the messages communicated daily.   Life starts when you graduate highschool. OR graduate college. OR get your first real job. OR get married. OR have kids. OR retire.   It’s always starting when you reach the next big milestone.   This idea has been driving me crazy lately. For several reasons, but namely because the following is a conversation I seem…

  • Community

    Better Way Imports

    Tweet 27 million.   That’s a number you should know.   It is the number of slaves in our world today. The number of people with faces, families, dreams, and stories that are forced into slave labor or human trafficking. If you think about it long enough, it is a very daunting number.     What can you do with a number like 27 million when you are just 1?   That is a question I have wrestled with for months. Last year, I had the unique opportunity to sit in on a week of training put on by the FBI and the Polaris Project and the local  Coalition Against Human Trafficking. It was…

  • Life Inspiration

    “Excuses Make You Suck”

    Tweet Last week, I had the opportunity to hear Dr. Jason Selk speak. He is the author of the book 10-Minute Toughness and perhaps most notably around this area, the Director of Mental Training for the St. Louis Cardinals.  His hour-long talk was one of the most straight-forward, down-to-earth messages I have heard in a while and the exact message I believe everyone needs to hear at this time of year. Heading into mid-January, how are your goals and resolutions for the year holding up? Have you already forgotten them? I hope not, but in case you are waning, here is a bit of motivation to keep you moving.  …

  • Community

    My 2012 Impossible List

    Tweet I am giving up on resolutions.  It’s cliché and something people do around this time of year, but I think we do them more to say we have done them, instead of doing them with any intent on actually following through with them. So for 2012, I am making zero resolutions.  I am pretty avid follower of Joel Runyon-you can find him here and here-and he is always talking about doing impossible things.  Thus, for 2012 I am making an impossible list.  Because #1 on my list of goals is to live life to the fullest that I can and to accumulate as many experiences as I can. So enjoy…

  • Life Inspiration

    Quarter of a Century

    Tweet Happy 25th Birthday to Me!   I am pretty excited.   25.   Sounds so grown up. I can now rent a car, I have officially entered my mid-twenties, and have enough experience under my belt to at least have somewhat of a voice and opinion. I am three years out of college and getting ready to go back. I have had an amazing year and am excited for what is coming next. Life is always an adventure with me!   I love birthdays. I have never ever dreaded getting one year older. I know, that may catch up with me someday, but for now I am excited about what year 25…

  • Life Inspiration,  Social Justice

    Feed My Starving Children

    Tweet You know you have found a soul sister when your idea of something fun to do on a Friday night is dump food into bags for two hours. But that is exactly what my friend Leah and I did for two hours last Friday night. Amid laughter, music, and lots of chatting, I realized that this was exactly what my soul needed. A break from the media and life to focus on a project way bigger than myself and with an organization I have a very personal connection to.   Rewind a few months.  Leah asked me if I wanted to go to a packing party for this organization…

  • Life Inspiration

    And The Winner Is…

    Tweet Thanks to everyone who commented on my blog. I enjoyed reading them! I found a random number generator online, inputed all the entries in an Excel Doc, and choose a random number that corresponded to an entry. (Tried to make it official)   Anyways.. after all that the winner was:   ELIZABETH ZIKMUND!   Her comment was: JK Rowling, I am a big Harry Potter nerd and would love to speak to JK Rowling. She is such an amazing writer, I’d love to pick her brain! CS Lewis. I have read so many of his books and a biography written by his stepson. I would love to hear his…

  • Life Inspiration

    Start Something That Matters: a Review and a Chance to Win

    Tweet “Love your work, work for what you love, and change the world–All at the same time.” -Opening quote from Start Something That Matters written by Founder of TOMS, Blake Mycoskie.   Little excites me more than a good book. I can get lost in the story, the characters, and the imagery the author weaves throughout the pages. And while Start Something That Matters is not as much of a story as it is a guidebook, I fell in love with the book from the first page. I had to be careful where I read it as so many of the stories told by author and founder, Blake Mycoskie brought me to tears. Perhaps…

  • Life Inspiration

    13.1…

    Tweet …miles.   Yep, that’s right.     I ran 13.1 miles.   And I did it 1:56.   Let me tell you, there are few times in my life I have been so proud. I woke up at 4:30am Sunday morning after 9 weeks of training. The day was finally here. I have sacrificed a lot the last couple months to train for this. And I was a little nervous, but as I lined up with all the other runners, I was just excited. Yes, excited about getting ready to run 13.1 miles. Another reinforcement of the fact that I am not your average person. Most people get excited about football games; me,…

  • Life Inspiration

    Fall Is Here

    Tweet The leaves are starting to change, the weather is getting cooler, and pumpkin and apple items are out in full swing. I love fall. It is by far my favorite season of the year. And I missed it last year. Granted, I was loving my island life, but I did miss the colors, the weather, and apple cider. And as seasons change, so does life.  Last night a friend joked about what they were doing this time last year and I thought, this time last year I was working on report cards. My how time changes. In light of that, I have been very reflective over the past few…