Hello Love,

Happy New Year!

I feel like this, this is going to be an EPIC year. An AMAZING year. Do you feel it?

I am so excited for this new year, but…I can’t move on into this new year, or boldly step into it without recapping 2016. 2016 was a pivotal year for me. After years and years of hard work, after years of trying to discover who I was as a creative, a designer and an entrepreneur. It all finally clicked.

So how did I start? You might ask. What lead me to pretty much where I’m at now, with more focus and clarity than ever before, that you will sure see this 2017?

 

It was my why.

 

That’s right. You know all those things you read about on your feed on “remember your why” well for me, it really hit me this past year.

 

Have you ever seen the movie “Slumdog Millionaire“? If you haven’t it’s a great movie to watch. It’s a movie I have to reference because, in truth, it’s almost like… everything I’ve been through lead me up to this point and worked for me. If you know the movie then you know what I’m talkin’ bout.

 

If you haven’t seen it, let me just say it’s about this young man, who remembers certain moments in his life that all worked for him in a defining moment. Sometimes life works that way, doesn’t it? If you’re brave enough to step into uncharted waters, you start seeing that perhaps you were more than prepared and made for those waters.

 

I am so happy, I can’t even explain! Bursting at the seams of happiness over here, yea!

 

How do I feel? I feel as though I am at the beginning of a dream coming to realization. Sure, for me it took 6+ years, but honestly, those years were needed, completely worth it and necessary for me to be at the junction I am now. It’s all about truly trusting God with everything and just taking that leap of faith, regardless if you see the whole staircase or not.

 

That’s why I committed to pretty much-putting everything I know out there while doing what I love. Writing, Designing and Working with other talented people. It all comes full circle. It’s still in the works, like, I’m editing video’s, audios (my upcoming podcast), developing a story…all fun, cool stuff and I wish I could just put it all out there now! But it takes time to curate and to create. At least it does for me.

 

Aside from working on client work & creating content, (which you will be seeing soon). I’m also a full-time mom and wife. Sometimes I wish there were more movies on bloggers or moms doing what they love. Just so I can binge watch and get amped up to keep moving forward, you know in those low moments that we all find ourselves in, from time to time. One of my favorite movies, which I’m currently watching as I type is called, “The Intern“. Seriously, put it on your must watch list.

 

Let’s rewind to 2009ish. Back after I had hit my rock bottom, after I came out of one of the darkest moments of my life, it was like pitch black ya’ll. I remember saying to myself, that I was going to pursue my dream/talents, no matter what. So I did…

 

I did everything from painting to modeling to even rapping at a talent show at the mall. Yup. #TrueStoryBro. Fashion shows, designing, dabbling in photography, creating websites (which I did study for a little over 2 years, back in highschool and it’s gone to another level now due to amazing coders and software. Jeez, I mean have you seen the talent out there?)

Now, Currently? I feel as…hmm I work as part web designer part creative coach for creatives. I pretty much help other creatives on their web presence, online presence, marketing and branding. Along with techy tools and strategic ways to use social media. ehem. In a nutshell?

BRANDING IS HUGE! HUGE! I tell ya.

 

Don’t worry I’m committed in telling ya more in the dayz to come.

Then, in the midst of all that, more like the beginning of all that, I fell in love with Franklin, fell in love with God, with Jesus.

 

I particularly remember when my “why” was birthed.

 

We had just moved in together, Franklin and I, to a small one bedroom 1 bath apartment. The whole apartment was basically the size of our current downstairs living space, if that. But it did have a wood burning fire place and for us it was an exciting time, incredibly quaint and romantic. We were budding in love and were grateful at the opportunity to spend each day together, which we still are, but you know.

 

We loved every moment being there, including the time we bought some firewood and used the fireplace. It took some time to get going but we figured it out. It was amazing. We never had a couch or dining room table while living there, just one chair a desk, and eventually someone gifted us a tv stand for our tv. I took over the corner of the apartment as my office. My mom and dad had gifted us a computer, not laptop, you can imagine how bulky. Kudos to you all still using those. I pour a bit a coffee in remembrance #gangsta. It was humble, it was small and it was beautiful because there was love.

 

Then one day, I remember going through facebook, just coming across and seeing amazing talented people, artists and creatives. Including meeting a few and pressing the issue that they CAN do it full time. I even went as far as contacting some of these FB creatives, trying to encourage them, that they can do, that they should do their craft full time and that they were soooo talented, like ridiculously talented, but eventually I found that they didn’t believe in themselves or they thought it impossible.

 

Maybe at the time in my life I was in the very, very beginning stages of my own dream and here I am believing that I can. Maybe, that’s why I saw what they could do/become because of how much more ahead they were in their craft and I just saw it for them. You know? Like I see it for you too.

 

And…guess what, at that moment in my life I pretty much wasn’t someone people wanted to listen to. I didn’t have the “street creds“, for anyone to really to give me the time of day. (Love, it often blows my mind at times, for where I’m at.)

So…what did I do? What did I do in this beginning stage of wanting to help creative talented people? I asked myself…“Who can I help? Who can I help that has talent? Who would put in the work? Who can I help to go to that next level and really be thriving with their talent? Who would listen?”

 

You see, I truly admire talent and I saw things in people that they just didn’t see in themselves and I was determined to let them know that they can totally pursue their talent, passion, their dreams. Most importantly that they should! I just had this passion and vision that it was and is possible!

 

Then it hit me. I knew who. Do you know who was unofficially but officially my first client? Man you’re good, you guessed it.

It was me!

Everything that I was semi-talented at the time came into my mind. And the first thing I got, was a sewing machine. Why? Well it’s a long story but the short story, of that long story is that… I always knew I could, so I did. I guess it was that simple.

 

So I began to sew, I even worked on “Youtube Videos” that are in the vault because I have never published and do not ever plan to publish them, ever. And then…I got lost.

 

A long the way, I forgot why I started.

 

Because I lost my own why. I got caught up in trying to be a designer, I got caught up in just creating and I didn’t realize, at the time, how powerful a message, and intentions were. I am a designer, but I lost sight of who I was designing for and that’s what I was in search of, I didn’t realize just how important that piece of my story was. I began as an artist, became a designer and 2016 I found who I design for. And that my friends is how pivotal 2016 was/is for me.  It’s an important piece of the puzzle.

 

I’m incredibly thankful and grateful that I did get lost in my creativity and then once I honed that, once I figured out certain secrets, made mistakes, got messy… that’s when I was in search for it’s purpose. I’m grateful that I kept God first and kept praying and I honestly believe God pretty much schooled me. (It’s called the school of hard knocks, j/k).

 

Love, if you are a designer, a creative, a coach, small business owner! Understand the importance of knowing your message and what it is that you are trying to say to the world. It is soooo incredibly important and it’s something that I try to help my clients with.

 

Jesus, was a powerful story teller. He often told parables to illustrate his point or message. There’s so much we can learn from the bible and it’s something I am thankful that I get to reference constantly. I say that to illustrate just how powerful story telling is. So…your message, your own why can be illustrated in story, in the way you create. It’s an extension of how you communicate with others. It’s how we connect with one another. Whether through a piece of poetry or paint smeared across a canvas. It’s what resonates deep within us that moves us with either compassion, anger, joy or what ever emotion you are trying to emphasize, with the experience you are trying to give, to share. Our words, our art can be impactful.

 

I’ve made so many mistakes along the way. I’ve had countless failures and you know what? I’ve also had amazing wins. I’ve learned this past year that everything you need for God to use you, is indeed on the inside of you.

 

…You do not have because you do not ask God. James 4:2

I like to ask God for everything! But, there was a point in my story, in my journey that this verse was not a favorite. I didn’t understand what God meant by this scripture. I was frustrated because I believed I was asking, that I WAS believing….

 

Sometimes what we ask for doesn’t come in our time, or we just don’t know how to ask or we don’t know how to be bold enough to ask.

 

Let’s get into 2016…was the year that everything just started to come together….

xoxo