Invisalign-ing Patience - The Parallels between Orthodontics & Starting a Business

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Invisalign-ing Patience - The Parallels between Orthodontics & Starting a Business

It was around this time that I had also started my business and was navigating the world of being my own boss and learning to charge for my services. I thought committing to a multi-year journey with my teeth was challenging. Starting my own business, however, there was no preparing me for this ride.

It’s one thing to enter into something knowing how long it will take; it’s another to enter into something blindly believing it’s going to happen right away.

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A Brief History of Transformation

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A Brief History of Transformation

How often do you reflect on your journey and how far you’ve come?

Lately, it seems like experiences from my past are resurfacing. I’m back to living with my sister and her family after 3-4 years of living in other places. I’m back in Dallas where I left 2 years ago while starting my nomadic journey. I’ve reconnected with relationships in my life that took various turns in the past. I said ‘Yes’ to a retreat not knowing where the money is going to come, and trusting that it will.

While these experiences feel the same, they’re different because I’m not the same person I was 5, 3, or even 1 year ago.

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Bringing Your Gifts to the Present

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Bringing Your Gifts to the Present

What gifts do you have to offer the world that you’ve been hiding behind or pretending are not valuable?

This morning as I sat down to meditate, I opened Insight Timer and came across a mediation titled “Your Gift, Your Purpose.” The description was enticing to me so I chose to tune in.

This opening story or inquiry was very confronting for me. First of all, I have been in a similar situation (as described at the beginning) where I’ve poured my heart into a gift only for it to be left unopened and underappreciated. And the feelings I experienced were hurt and shame over ‘why did I buy this gift in the first place?’. In other words, it didn’t feel good. And second, it caused me to ask, “What are my gifts? Do I have any gifts that I’m not using?”

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Finding Resilience While Wandering in the Desert

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Finding Resilience While Wandering in the Desert

My 7-year old niece loves to play the ‘Would You Rather Game’. Would you rather smell like a dog or smell like a cat? Would you rather have a pet fish or a pet turtle? Would you rather be 10 feet tall or 10 inches tall? She often sends me these questions from the Facebook Messenger Kids app. I always reply with the first answer that pops into my head.

This afternoon we were chatting and she asked me, “Would you rather spend a year living in Antarctica or spend a year living in the desert?” I thought about this for a moment. “The desert,” I replied. “Because I know that it will at least cool down at night and offer some relief.”

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Learning to Trust Your Intuition When Bobcats are Near

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Learning to Trust Your Intuition When Bobcats are Near

I went for a hike at my favorite nature preserve in Dallas this afternoon. It was slightly overcast with a light breeze which is rare this time of year. As I was walking, I passed a mother and her daughter whom I’ve seen here before. I smiled and waved as I saw them coming. The mom quickly told me, “Be careful. We just saw a bobcat in the woods.” I told her that I was glad they were okay and asked exactly where they saw it. I wanted to get a sense of how close this bobcat was.

In this moment, I had a choice to make. I could take the “better safe than sorry” route or continue on my way.

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Tell the Truth, Even When It Hurts

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Tell the Truth, Even When It Hurts

As children, we all go through learning what it is to tell the truth and face consequences when we choose not to. It’s an innate fear that we go through as human beings. Something happens and we are afraid to own it. It’s easier to pretend or lie than to tell the truth. Cue the Full House music and Danny telling Michelle that if she had just come forward and said what she did, she wouldn’t have been in trouble.

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Bad Hair Days & Second Chances

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Bad Hair Days & Second Chances

We are often quick to assess and judge people or experiences. And often times, it’s not the present YOU that is assessing the moment, but rather it’s your past. When you meet someone for the first time or visit a place (whether you realize it or not), your brain is quickly scanning the situation and connecting it to a past experience.

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Under the Microscope

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Under the Microscope

I feel like I’ve been under the microscope. I’ve been pursuing many things that have put me in a position of constant learning, improving and performing. And those are all good things! However, my approach to them has not been so good. I've inflicted so much pressure on myself. 

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From Action to Bold Freedom

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From Action to Bold Freedom

I remember beginning 2017 frustrated and tired of myself. I was tired of dreaming and not doing. I had always had big dreams for myself, but held back in so many ways. The voice inside my head would say "that's a nice dream, but you'll never do it", or "what if you fail or get stuck?" But something shifted in me, and I ignored that voice and chose Action for my word and intention for the year. 

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