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10 Signs You are MINDFUL!
Mindfulness is everywhere these days! Itâs almost become a trend…which is a trend I can 100% support!!!
But hereâs the crazy part: there are still SO many people out there, maybe even YOU reading this, who donât believe they have what it takes to live in a mindful way! I feel like thereâs this perception of the true mindful person. It goes something like this…
They smell like sage and essential oils and glide through life in their boho chic clothes, eating kale chips and drinking out of paper straws. They float on a cloud while they meditate and can hold headstands for hours. They slide down rainbows and hug trees.
Ok maybe thatâs extremeđ¤Ł, but when I used to hear the words mindful or meditate or inner peace, my first thought was…HIPPIE. It just was. I just didnât understand how I could be a mindful person when it all seemed so foreign.
Crazy part is that I now love essential oils and sage and wear WAEbands daily so I actually have now embraced my inner hippie, LOL, but it didnât happen overnight. And you donât EVER have to embrace those things to actually be mindful. Being mindful is PERSONAL and UNIQUE to every human!! Itâs something you express in your own individual way! Itâs something you already are, and you donât even realize it!
Today I am going to share with you 10 signs that you are, in fact, living a mindful life without even consciously realizing it! You ready?! Here goes…
1.) You daydream. You might think daydreaming is being mindless, but itâs the opposite. Being able to daydream means you are able to create a vision and get lost in it. Maybe itâs when youâre driving, or cleaning or in the shower; any time you can allow your mind to wander and create is actually a signal of mindfulness. A lot of us spend a good amount of time conjuring up worst case scenarios in our minds. We do that with worry or fear. But get this…if youâre able to do that, you can 100% dream up something amazing. And better yet, you can believe it and make it a reality!
2.) You are thankful for your current state at least once every day. I will say it 1000 times over…gratitude is the key to the utmost happiness! If you stay in a space of gratitude, you will always find joy. And the desire to live in the state of joy is a huge signal of mindfulness! You get it! You understand that the goal above all else is happiness in our existence…even if you have had the worst day and have complained a gazillion times and been impatient. Just one moment of thankfulness for what you DO have is the trigger! Itâs the signal that you are a mindful person!
3.) You believe in a higher power. This is a biggie. It can be God, the universe, Mother Earth, the unknown, it doesnât matter. Just being aware that there is a grander force guiding this crazy journey we call life is the basis of being mindful! We remove the need to control every outcome and have faith that all is as it should be. Having faith in something bigger than you is instantly connecting you to the power of abundance and positivity!
4.) You smile at strangers. Believe it or not, some people donât do this. But I know a lot of you DO! If you take the time to smile at someone, or pay someone a compliment for no reason, or put someoneâs cart away for them at the grocery store, you are living a mindful life. Because the second you spread your own light to others through something as simple as a smile, you are making a positive impact in someone elseâs life! Thatâs mindful my peeps!
5.) You have done a âno complainâ challenge. Have you seen those social media posts, challenging you to not complain for 24 hours? Of course you have. And chances are, you have attempted it. Itâs not easy! We have SO much happening in life that itâs so easy to complain. Iâm hungry. Iâm tired. Iâm stressed. I have too much on my plate. I am burnt out. Iâm sick of it. Blah blah blah. We all do it. But the second we get self aware and try to NOT complain is when mindfulness WINS! Because being mindful doesnât mean we need to be PERFECT…it just means we are present in our thoughts! So if you have even been aware of complaining, then you my friend, are mindful!
6.) You are inspired by simple things. Does a pretty sky blow your mind like it does me?! Or nature? The stars? Watching an old couple cross the street holding hands? Seeing kids play? Hearing a baby giggle? The simple moments of life that stop you in your tracks…those are your reminders that you are mindful! Any time you stop and smile or feel peace, even for a fleeting moment, thatâs a powerful mindful moment! The more you pay attention to them, the more of them you will see and experience! Itâs like a flood gate. You just gotta open it up a little and it just pours on through!! Inspiration works just the same!
7.) You see the silver lining. You have shitty days and grouchy days. You have moments where you feel like all odds are against you. But you still see the good. Even if itâs only a teeny tiny inkling of good, itâs there. And that morsel of goodness will always carry you through any challenge. That silver lining is your proof that you a mindful being!
8.) You enjoy alone time. Wanting to be alone and have quiet is not a bad thing. Itâs your soul telling you itâs time to restore and replenish your energy! You can be a social butterfly and still desire time by yourself. Itâs part of the balance. If you find yourself craving quiet time, it means you may be leveling up in your mindfulness. You may be more aware of how you expand your energy and know that you need time to decompress and rejuvenate!
9.) You want to be kind to yourself. Emphasis on the word WANT. Because even if you arenât doing the things you know you CAN or SHOULD, you are aware. And awareness=mindfulness! So if you want to workout or eat better or learn how to meditate, thatâs a giant step in the direction of actually DOING it! The desire is there. And where there is desire, there is the ability to get inspired, which leads to taking ACTION! So celebrate your want to be kind to yourself, and maybe today will be the day something shifts to make it happen!
10.) You like to help and give. You thrive on making people smile. It warms your heart to give people love, or gifts, or your TIME. You feel more whole when youâre helping others feel whole. Make sense?! This doesnât mean youâre not making yourself a priority, it means your soul longs to give and be of service. The most mindful people are the ones who love to see others living in JOY! When we are jealous or envious of other peopleâs happiness, itâs when mindfulness shuts off. When we truly love seeing others happy, thatâs when mindfulness expands so far and so wide!
So there it is my peeps. 10 ways you are already a super mindful person, just by being YOU! Now you can build upon it! You can always grow in this area! You can always expand your mindset! You can never be TOO mindful, so celebrate where you are and get excited about where youâre going! Your mind is amazing and so is your heart! Keep going and growing friends!
Much love,
Ta xo
Stuck in the MUD!
I have been wracking my brain trying to figure out what my next blog topic would be. I started 3 different things and just left them unfinished. I was feeling scattered and clouded and like it was being forced. I like when the words and ideas just flow. So I decided to write this blog about what happens when you feel STUCK.
I could have just not written anything, but this has become a staple where I share my new blog post every week and I love it, so why would I stop now?!
How many times has that happened in your life?! Things are going so smooth. Everything feels so aligned. Momentum is rockin. Good vibes are happening. And then one day comes and nothing feels good. Everything feels all over the place like one foot canât possibly go in front of the other. And you just STOP.
Please donât confuse this with rest or reflection time, because that is a very necessary thing. I mean when one shitty day swoops in and you just stop doing the things that felt so great like 24 hours prior.
Whyyyyyyy do we do it?! Because weâre human. Because sometimes we have underlying guilt that makes us stop doing the things we know will bring us the most joy. Sometimes we donât feel worthy of it. Honestly thereâs a LOT of baggage and reasons of why we self sabotage and they vary from person to person. What I wanna share about tonight is moving past the stopping point no matter what baggage you still may be carrying.
This blog thatâs spilling out of me NOW is exact proof that itâs possible to keep going even when you feel like everything around you is telling you to stop.
I literally couldnât get anything going to feel powerful enough to share with you guys. It was annoying the crap out of me. I was feeling self deprecating, like who wants to even read my words anyway, whaaa whaaaa whaaaa. I was feeling stuck. Writers block is a real thang…but only if you give it all the power.
I decided on my drive over to dance to drop off Brae that because I couldnât think of anything to blog about, I was gonna write about being totally stuck. Do you see the magic in that you guys?!
OWNING the fact that I was stuck and making the choice to move through it is allowing me to get UNSTUCK.
Read that once more…
Itâs not rocket science my peeps. It CHOICES. Itâs knowing that itâs not always gonna feel aligned. Itâs honoring the fact that some days are gonna come with more weight on our shoulders and more barricades in our brains. But if we just talk about it and put it out there and show up to it as best we can in the moment, thatâs progress, right?!
Itâs like that saying, if you are feeling from the depths of your core that you donât want to get up and workout, just do the first 5 minutes and see how you feel. 99% of the time, youâre gonna finish the whole workout. It was just those pesky 5 minutes you needed to get past to feel the flow. Even if it feels like crap, you still feel better in so many ways once itâs done!
Just like I know I will feel better once I post this blog up, because it means something special to me and I want to continue to show up to it even when I think I donât feel like it.
Because thatâs another powerful thing to understand…my true self KNOWS that showing up to things like this blog, any social media platform that I post on, my own nutrition and wellness, my mindset, is ALWAYS going to benefit me! Always!! Itâs my ego and silly human brain that THINKS I donât wanna do these things when my highest and best self always always does!
Does that make sense guys?! We never want to stop doing the things that make us feel amazing. Obvi, right?! But par for the course, itâs life and it happens. So…Here are a few simple bullet points I want to share with you that will hopefully help you shift from stuck to unstuck in a snap.
â-OWN what youâre stuck in. Phone a friend, post it, ask for help. Whatever you need to do, reach out to someone (Iâm always here for YOUđ) and tell them exactly what youâre stuck in! Most times, that alone helps you move right on through it to get to the next step.
â-Instead of focusing on what you DONâT know, focus on what you DO know. Example, âI donât know what to write about. I donât know what matters. I donât know what Iâm doing. Does anyone even care.â Shift that to this, âI know that I love writing. I know that it feels good to share from the heart. I know that Iâm here for a reason. I know that something good always comes from the struggle.â
Even though this exercise doesnât solve the problem, it gives the problem way less power and affirming what I DO know makes me feel more centered and clear to take the next step!! Problems never go away, we just choose how to show up to them!!
â-Think about a time where you have helped someone else. Reflect back to any instance, could even be how you helped teach your kid to tie their shoes or ride a bike, could be that you gave a friend a ride home from work or paid for someoneâs coffee in the drive thru line. Go back into that moment. Feel it. Embrace it. Relive the joy and know that if you have the ability to show up and help someone else in ANY capacity, you are more than able to show up for YOURSELF! Those tiny little moments you helped someone else probably felt really big for them…so the tiny ways you can give back to yourself add up to HUGE personal growth!!
I really hope these instances help you and serve to be reminders when youâre stuck in the mud. Iâve written this entire blog in the dance school parking lot and Iâm already feeling more aligned just by sharing it and owning the space. Clarity came from the cluster. The words just started to flow once I realized the potential of being stuck in the mud. Because us humans are a lot like the lotus flower, we grow best right from the mud!
Much love,
Ta xoxo
It’s all about the #gratitude. Period.
I was in my living room finishing up my workout. I was doing push-ups so I couldnât hear perfectly as I was trying to not keel over. But it sounded something like this…âUGHHH Iâm starvinggggggg and Iâm sooo annoyed because I just brushed my teeth so now I canât eat. Ughblahwhaaa.â
I shook my head. I stopped what I was doing. Trying to catch my breath and get ready for my cool down I gurgled, âBubbs. Did you even just hear what came out of your mouth? You have got to be kidding me with that nonsense.â
I like to say I have patience as a parent, but the older my kids get, the more cut and dry I have become…because they KNOW. They get it for the most part. And when there is a moment where my kids complain about ridiculous things, all patience goes right out the window. I want to explode while my head spins around in circles and go right to the place of…âdo you even know how lucky you are? There are kids in your own town who are literally starving and you have the nerve to complain that you canât eat because you just BRUSHED YOUR TEETH. There are kids who donât even own a TOOTHBRUSH!!!!â
Ok if Iâm being 100% honest, I went exactly to that place. I literally said that to my 9 year old. And I didnât even feel one bit bad about it because gratitude is such an important part of our family and our values! Itâs something we discuss DAILY, so to hear such a ridiculous comment sent me right over the edge.
Guys, Iâm human and I know my kids are, too. We have those moments where we wanna moan and groan about petty annoyances. We all have instances where we feel entitled to being grouchy or whiny or complainy. (Yup. That’s a word!) But do we?! Do our circumstances really allow us to project on others?!
The truth: NOPE. But for some reason, we still feel it. Because at the end of the day, when we are hurting, we just want something to validate it. We either want someone else hurting with us, or we want someone else to fix it for us. The feeling of entitlement comes swooping in to justify our crappy attitude.
Now hereâs the thing…A lot of people call me naĂŻve and say I donât live in the real world because I believe wholeheartedly in the utmost power of positivity. But that doesnât mean that I just IGNORE the crap storm and pain. I just choose to not stay in it.
When the anger comes boiling up or the complaints start rifling out, I legit stop myself. I stop myself and take inventory on WHY Iâm pissed. I get really REAL with myself. I beat it up if I need to. And then I find the positive. Because if I donât do that, I just continue to feel like crap and treat the people around me like crap. And what good does that do?!
If you ask Bubbs, he would tell you it gets x-box taken away for a couple of days! 𤣠but to us adults, it just lowers our own energy by giving power to the negative vibes! And then the people around us get the worst of us, not the best of us. Mostly, we get so depleted that we have nothing left to give to ourselves.
That was my kiddo today, and thatâs why I knew I had to share this! After my head nearly flew off my shoulders, we sat down and chatted and he was literally just unsure about why he was acting the way that he was. He just felt like he had the right to do it.
So the moral of the story is this…we are all allowed to feel whatever we need to feel and process our emotions accordingly. BUT…We are not entitled to opinions or feelings anymore than any other human on any other day. Thereâs a huge difference there and I truly hope this little chat helps the next time youâre feeling the complain train pulling into the station!
Oh and if you find yourself struggling with staying in a place of gratitude like Bubbs, try this: take a notebook and leave it by your bed. The moment you wake up, or even right before you go to bed, write down all the things you can think of that make you smile! That make you grateful . That make you remember how awesome it is to be YOU and live YOUR life.
Much love,
Ta xo
PS…Bubbs ended the day with a much more grateful heart…and so did I!â¤ď¸â¤ď¸đđť
Everyone carries cement buckets…
Imagine this. In one hand, you have a bucket filled with wet concrete. In the other hand, you have a pick axe.
Every time you have a thought or a feeling associated with envy, jealousy, judgment, fear, doubt or lack, you pour concrete over your own feet.
Every time you have a thought or a feeling relating to joy, love, abundance, gratitude or peace, you use the axe to chisel away the concrete.
Now obviously we donât walk around with a bucket or axe in our hands, but get this… when we fill our minds and lives with negativity, we are keeping ourselves STUCK in patterns and behaviors that donât best serve us. Hence the concrete.
When we consciously work to keep our minds and lives in the LIGHT, we are moment to moment just chiseling away all of those feelings of lack and doubt that can so easily keep us trapped.
We are humans so all of us have an ego inside. That ego did once serve a purpose back when we were cavemen and we literally needed to SURVIVE living amongst wooly mammoths and stuff. We had to always assume the worst was going to happen to be protected enough to actually survive.
Guys. Its 2019. We are no longer cavemen and we have been blessed to live in a time where we are here to THRIVE, not just survive. And in order to do this, we must retrain our brains. Like, every day, we need to consciously shift our thoughts out of the ego and into the highest self.
It. Ainât. Easy. But guys, itâs completely possible. I used the concrete and pick axe analogy because little things like that can totally help us be self aware when we are allowing our thoughts to keep us stuck. So now after reading this, my hope is that when youâre in a negative thinking pattern, you will realize youâre burying yourself in the cement when you could be chiseling your way out!
Being self aware can be totally exhausting because there are many times where we KNOW we are being our own worst enemy, yet we do it anyway. Again, we are HUMAN. Weâre here to F up and make mistakes and have experiences of pain and fear. But just as thatâs human experience, so is joy and abundance and love. And every one of you reading this has a divine right to experience that in this life. Thatâs why youâre reading this blog. You know deep down itâs true!!
So…say you have a friend who has always had it all. The happy marriage. The adorable healthy kids. The thriving career. The house. The dog. The vacations. The lifestyle! All of it. And every time you see your friend, you canât help but feel less than for yourself. Youâre jealous of her life. Youâre angry that you donât have those things. Youâre pissed that it seems to come so easy for her and here you are struggling like a motha trying to just put one foot in front of the other.
You judge her for her choices. You try to make sense of it by saying sheâs just lucky. You try to downplay her life and say she must not really be happy if she has that life. Thereâs no way someone can really have it all.
And by having those thoughts time after time, you have just buried yourself knee deep in concrete and prevented yourself from being able to attain the life you truly desire.
Itâs like that saying, âcomparison is the thief of joy.â Itâs 100% TRUE. When we compare, we are doing nothing to help us advance in our own lives and simply stealing moments of our own happiness.
Let me repeat guys..it ainât easy to get out of this mindset. But like anything else, itâs a practice; and when you feel yourself going down the rabbit hole of comparison, you will know now to drop the bucket and pick up the axe.
Letâs go back to your friend. Sheâs living the good life that you long for. Remove the judgment, the lack mentality, the jealousy…replace it with LOVE. Look to her and study her. What has she actually done to get where she is? Who is she as a person? Celebrate her for having the courage and strength to define life on her terms. Love on her for being a symbol of possibility and hope. Congratulate her when more joy comes her way. Show her more and more and more LOVE and THANK HER. Because youâre new mindset knows and believes this to be TRUE: if she can do it, so can YOU!!
Think about how different your life could be if you removed the comparison and judgement and looked at everyone through a different lens. You would be SO FREE you guys. Free to expand your life in any way you desire. You wouldnât be buried in the concrete and would have chipped all that rubble away!
When you make this shift every day, you will feel lighter. I promise you. Even if some days you feel like youâre lying to yourself because itâs so much harder to believe in whatâs possible than whatâs actually happening in front of you. But like Charlie says in that Santa Clause movie, âyou donât need to see a million dollars to know thatâs its real.â Itâs about believing. Sometimes you gotta FAITH it til you make it. Sometimes you gotta put your energy into what you desire more than anything else.
For some reason we think that having negative thoughts serves us because itâs like self protection…but negative thoughts serve ZERO purpose if you are in a space of self development. Thereâs no room for those thoughts and the only reason they come barreling in is because your ego knows youâre evolving past it. And your ego is pissed. It doesnât want you to grow beyond it. It likes when you get mad and judgey and gossipy and pouty. It loves to swoop in steal the show. And it will always try to. The ego never goes away!! But youâre higher self and youâre inner voice get louder and stronger and WAY more powerful!
Your higher self is the strongest muscle we have as humans. But man oh man, we gotta WERK IT! We gotta show up to it. We gotta shift. We gotta ditch the concrete. We gotta tighten the grip on the axe and we gotta smash right through the BS.
Some days will feel better than others. Some moments it will be a smoother transition out of the negative. Some days you will beat the ever living crap out of something until youâre ready to let it go. Itâs not perfect and itâs not gonna be…but itâs gonna be a beautiful wreckage that you step away from and you will take all those tiny chunks of concrete and be able to build something so damn powerful!! And then you will be that person who others look to for the light. You already have it in you. Drop the bucket. Youâve been carrying it long enough. Today, you can be free â¤ď¸â¨
Love,
Ta xox
When I grow up, I wanna be…
When I grow up, I wanna be a stay at home mom and at home daycare provider turned work from home mom who is a reiki practitioner, online wellness coach, lifestyle mentor, writer and blogger, who also handmakes WAEbands and teaches people to stand in their light. đł
Youâre probably not ever gonna find that listing posted for a job opportunity. Now hiring: đ¤ˇđťââď¸
I donât have an official job title because my job combines a huge variety of things and itâs my own. But I donât wanna get ahead of myself here…let me take it back to when I was 10. If someone asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would have said marine biologist. Or a teacher. And then that eventually turned into a psychologist.
Ask any kid in your life right now what they see for their future. Police officer, artist, movie star, astronaut, fire fighter, the president, a lawyer or doctor, a plumber or builder, professional athlete or you-tuber. I love the innocence combined with unwavering belief when kids talk about what they one day may become! They know they can do anything!
And then we grow up. Life gets more challenging. We get beaten down. We have one person somewhere along the line who doesnât believe in us, and we lose all faith that we can be or do all things. We settle. We go to school and get the job that pays the bills. We take the safe route instead of the soul filling route. We live the way we think we are supposed to.
Now Iâm not saying this happens to every human, I know that it doesnât. But itâs a reality for many and hereâs why: we are told that we need to be prepared and secure and âdo the right thing.â But often times, the right thing is really what is expected of us, not what we truly desire!
I went to college. I got the degree. I applied for the jobs. 3 different places had offered me an entry level position in the field of psychology as a fresh college grad. But conventional wasnât right for me from the start. I didnât realize it yet, but my plan was supposed to be different. And if not for my brand new baby girl, I may never have gotten the opportunity to walk this path.
See, I was married and became a mama before I even finished college. So as I was applying for these jobs, I had this pit in my stomach. What about Brae?! Was I going to put her in daycare all day? Was I going to only see my kids for 3 hours a day? I knew that was a totally normal thing to do, but something inside just didnât feel right. I looked into my babyâs big blue eyes and I just knew I was supposed to be with her.
That choice was HUGE you guys…and not because I became a stay at home mom, but because that choice led me here to this blog right now. Hang with me…
As I declined the positions, I just so happened to have a giant family that always needed childcare assistance. So there it was. Before I even understood the power of the universe providing, I had an opportunity to be home AND make an income to help support our new fam. I was not nearly in the headspace I am these days so I didnât even realize the magnitude, and I just continued on. 2 more babies for us, and lots of adorable kiddos in and out of our house, I had been able to be there for my kids in a way that I will always be grateful for.
But still something felt off. I would often sit during nap time and wonder what the heck I was going to do when all my kids went to school all day. Was I still gonna do daycare?! I mean, the whole reason for it was to be home with my kids. Did I want to open up a daycare center? Did I want to go back and get my masters? Did I want to get a ârealâ job? All those thoughts crossed my mind because I had this nagging urge to âdo the right things.â I had this degree that I wasnât using and this feeling like being a mom wasnât good enough.
Man oh man, I didnât have a CLUE! But I was getting closer.
During this time, I was experiencing a huge shift in my life, although it didnât seem so profound in the moment. Guys, if you havenât noticed, this is a recurring theme. We donât always see the bigger picture when we are standing smack dab in the middle of the frame.
I began working on my mind, our family started learning more about meditation and reiki, I started an at home workout program. I started helping other people workout from home and get healthy. And then my mom tied a tank top on her head. Which then became the WAEband. So many small steps that ended up evolving into massive change.
I was still questioning what I wanted to be when I grew up, as I was BECOMING the person I was meant to as a grown up.
Whoa, right?!
Literally ALL of the pieces of my internal self work became a part of my new career right under my nose without me even REALIZING it!! So now when I look back, it all makes so much sense. Even when it felt challenging or confusing in the moment, every choice led me to this moment right now! Writing the last few bits of this blog in the parking lot of my sons school before pick up time!
I know that sounds super clichĂŠ, but itâs for real. The whole purpose of this blog is to share my story simply to give you something to relate to. Maybe youâre feeling totally stuck in your career or marriage or life and you arenât sure what the next step is.
Hereâs my advice…stop worrying about what the future is going to look like and start working on who you are right here in this moment! Work on your mind. Work on your body. Start praying. Start journaling. Start eating better. Turn off the news and turn on a podcast. Start being kinder to yourself and others. All of those tiny little things will bring you closer to you answer. I PROMISE you that. Itâs where you will find clarity, and all of a sudden, things will start shifting.
I can honestly tell you that I never intended on becoming a business owner. I never had any desire to stand on a stage and speak to people. I never imagined I would handmake headbands. I never loved writing. I never cared a lot about wellness. I never knew what reiki was. And those are some massive pieces to my job.
Oh yeah, I mentioned that earlier. My job description is kinda wacky, right?! But itâs MINE. It doesnât have to be anyone elseâs, because itâs my own. It fits my life perfectly and itâs allowed me to become the person Iâm here to be.
You job doesnât have to fit the mold. It doesnât have to be what anyone else wants it to be. It should serve you, it should serve others and it should serve a purpose. Stop worrying so much about the howâs and the why’s and just start with YOU!
Thatâs where you will find the answer to everything you are seeking.
Canât wait to hear what youâre gonna be when you grow up đđťđ
Much love,
Ta xox
PS…if you guys are in need of some help with your energy and getting clarity, we have a class this Saturday at 9am called Energy Clearing 101. We will teach you some really cool techniques! And as always, reiki sessions, workouts and meditation classes are in full swing and can be the perfect small step to take for YOU! đđ
Feel the Feels!
Your kid falls down. He scrapes his knee. Itâs bleeding, so you grab a tissue to clean it up. You give your kiddo a squeeze and say, âdonât cry, itâs gonna be ok! I love you.â
A dad and son are playing ball. The son makes a bad pass and gets upset. He starts getting teary because he is disappointed in himself. The dad looks at him and says, âwipe the tears and be a man. Itâs not the end of the world if you make a bad pass. Thatâs how you learn and get better!â
A friend is crying over a recent breakup. She is devastated, even though the guy was a total donkey. Sheâs so distressed wondering how she could fix the mess. You look at her and say, âdonât waste your tears on that asshole. Heâs not even worth it.â
A coworker is sitting in the lunch room quietly weeping. You go over to her to see if sheâs ok. Sheâs having a moment after the loss of her father. Something about the smell of the lunchroom that day reminded her of her dads favorite meal, and it just hit her. You sit with her and start talking about how you lost your dad, too and what his favorite food was. And try to share the moment with her.
Your sister is talking about how overwhelmed she is with life. Sheâs struggling to communicate with her kids and her husband and just doesnât feel heard. You chime in with all the reasons in your life that relate and say you understand. And then you share some advice on how she could do things differently.
Above are a few scenarios that happen all the time in life. You have probably experienced some form of all of them, right?! There is nothing âwrongâ with how those situations unfolded…but Iâm here to share with you a little shift on how we can best navigate other peopleâs FEELINGS. Because honestly, once we really dial into this, we feel so much more internal PEACE! Howâs that sound?!
Letâs start with the phrase, âDONâT CRY.â Whoâs said it to someone before?!đđťââď¸ I have a gazillion times. And then I realized, saying âdonât cryâ when someone is sad is the same as saying âdonât laughâ when someone is happy.
Have you ever looked at someone experiencing a moment of pure JOY and told them to stop laughing?!
NOT. A. CHANCE, right?! We love seeing other people happy and laughing and want our friends and family to constantly feel that!! Kinda interesting how we encourage the emotion of joy, but the second we see someone in pain, we try to get them to STOP feeling it.
Obviously, we donât want to see people hurting. Itâs not easy to witness. And most of us have this unwavering feeling that itâs our responsibility to help other people feel better…even if they donât ask for it. Those people are called EMPATHS. Can I get an amen on a Monday if thatâs you?! Because I so get it!
I always felt like it was my responsibility to make things better for others. I am here to help and serve, so I gotta step up and show up say all the right things to help someone get out of their own way, whether they want to hear it or notđ¤Ł
UMMM…not the best way, Taren. And I learned that the hard way by getting myself all wrapped up that I lost sight of ALLOWING PEOPLE TO BE WHATEVER THEY NEEDED TO BE! Whew.
Hereâs the kicker…itâs not our job to -MAKE- someone else feel better. Itâs our job to support others in making themselves feel better. See that tiny little shift?! Guys…that shift is EVERYTHING! Read it again.
Maybe one more time. Got it?! Goodđđť
Itâs so easy to see someone crying and tell them that they donât need to. But guess what, they feel like they need to. So who the heck are we to tell them any different?! Next time you see someone else crying, even if you donât AGREE with why they are sad, let them know itâs OK to FEEL. Be the person in their life who just lets them BE whatever they need to be in that moment. Deal?! Iâm gonna hold you to that…and youâre gonna feel SO much different approaching situations from that angle going forward.
If my kids get upset now, I look right at them, I tell them I understand they are feeling what they need to feel and I ASK if thereâs anything I can do to help. I ASK. I donât just start spewing advice or wise words. I let them FEEL and honor the space. And depending on the situation, will parent accordingly.
But do you see how we can so easily make someone elseâs feelings a product of our own opinion?! We decide whether or not they should feel a certain way…and thatâs just baloney. We think we are helping, but thereâs such a better way! We all have the divine right to FEEL the FEELS! We need to respect each other and love each other enough to allow that!
Ok, so letâs talk about being relatable and giving advice… when someone else tells us they are having a hard time, WHY do we instantly feel like we need to start talking about ourselves for them to understand that we get what they are saying?! Humans are funny, arenât we?!
We all want connection. We all want to share our struggles that we have overcome so other people can do the same thing…but thereâs a time and a place for that.
Next time you are faced with someone in the middle of a struggle, JUST LISTEN. Just hear them, and be there for them. Often times, they donât actually need to hear anything else in the moment except for, âIâm here and I love you.â
That is really the ultimate support.
When we are going through a challenge in life, itâs very rare they we donât know what to do. We almost always KNOW how to handle it, we just might not like it…so that leads to lots of emotions and feelings and stress and dismay. It makes us wanna talk about it and dwell over it. We donât actually need advice or someone telling us what we should do…we just need TIME to figure it out. Getting 27 different opinions doesnât make it easier for the individual.
Think about your own life for a second…do you enjoy getting unsolicited advice? Do you want someone else telling you how you should feel? Then why the F do we do it others?!đ
Listen, we do it because in the moment, it feels like we are HELPING. We do it because we care. We do it because itâs really uncomfortable to see someone struggle and we just think that thereâs gotta be a way we can FIX it!
The moral of the story here peeps: The best way to heal a sad situation is to fill it with LOVE and compassion and with LESS WORDS and MORE HEART!
Really try implementing this and just see how different YOU feel…itâs freeing when you stop trying to make sense of other peopleâs feelings and just love on them.
Most of our disagreements in life come from trying to get someone else to understand why we feel the way we feel. If we all just honored each others feelings, we wouldnât waste so much damn time arguing over them!
Listen, Iâm not saying we have to agree with everyone and hold hands singing kumbaya then ride unicorns over rainbows…Iâm saying when you stop making your opinions about other peopleâs feelings a priority, you just might start farting glitter. â¨â¨â¨â¨
Much love,
Ta xox
Meditation is NOT what you THINK…
Meditation is not what you think…
Picture a room filled with zen vibes and people laying still on their mats. A dull whisper of wind chimes lulling through the air. The bubbling water feature giving just enough connection to nature. Everyone is silent and still. Itâs picturesque.
And itâs sorta full of crap!
Say what?! Thatâs crazy coming from someone like me, who meditates daily and teaches others how, right?! But hereâs why…we are NEVER FULLY STILL!
We arenât supposed to be. We are energetic beings and even when our bodies are still, our mind is meant to MOVE. In this chat, I wanna share with you why meditation is not what you think, and how you can stop trying to make it this picture perfect moment in your life. Sound good?
To start, I wanna share my take on what meditation actually IS. Itâs a state of consciousness. So youâre not asleep, youâre awake, but itâs almost like when you daydream. You know how you can drift off?! Thatâs meditation guys. Of course thereâs way more to it, but keep that in mind as you read this. Because EVERYONE can meditate! Even someone with ADD! Even someone whoâs mind never stops! Even someone who likes to be busy and going 103 miles an hour! Everyone can connect to that level of consciousness!
The first hurdle people often feel they arenât able to jump is QUIETING the mind. Thatâs the biggest objection I hear when it comes to meditation. They ask, âhow can I get my mind to stop.â
Answer: YOU DONâT!
Again, we arenât meant to be totally still. Our mind will always be filled with stuff. The running to-do list. The things we need to accomplish. The worries, the doubts, the fears. Those things never fully go away. What happens is that your inner voice just gets louder.
When you begin a meditation practice, I highly suggest using guided meditations. We have a bunch of free ones on our website! Go use em! They really help you stop listening to the internal chatter and gives you something simple and peace filled to focus on. The more you show up for yourself in meditation, the more you get from it.
And this is a HUGE step before settling into a meditation: ask for only the highest and best to come into your mind. Itâs self protection and helps you stay grounded during the process. Because hereâs whatâs SO COOL…you will start to have things pop up in your head. Maybe itâs an idea or something you feel like you have to do, maybe you see something in your minds eye. Maybe you see an animal or a color or hear a song. All of those things can be thought of as random thoughts just scattered in your brain, but really they are your divine messages! And to be sure they are filled with light and love, you gotta ask for that! Make sense?!
So going back to making that inner voice get louder…thatâs the goal with meditation. Itâs not to make your mind silent, itâs to connect to the space where you can get the message you need in that moment. Your list of things to do will be there. Your wondering if you left money in your pants pocket will be there. Your stomach growling will be there. Your need to pee will be there. BUT SO WILL YOUR INNER VOICE and thatâs what youâre gonna learn to give the power to!
When you start to feel your brain go in a gazillion different directions, just honor it and ask for your space of peace to be amplified so you can hear what matters most!
Do you smell what Iâm stepping in? Meditation is not silence. Itâs just a different way to connect to your heart and soul, not just your brain!
Ok, so maybe laying down and listening to a guided meditation even seems like too much to start. Did you know you can have meditative moments while youâre up and about?
When youâre driving, does your mind ever wander? While youâre in the shower with the water running, do you go somewhere else in your mind? As youâre running or walking, what are your thoughts like? While your listening to music, playing an instrument, painting, cleaning, walking the dog. Any and all of these are opportunities to connect to your higher self, your inner voice!
It happens to me all the time when Iâm washing the dishes! I still hand wash my dishes even though I have a dishwasher. Thereâs something about the water running and doing something sort of mindless that helps me become more mindful! I even created a meditation space at my sink window without even realizing it! I put all my little Buddha figurines, my crystals and a white candle all on the window sill! I didnât even do it on purpose but itâs perfect! Itâs where I get many of my best messages!
Is this all jiving with you guys? I was always so intimidated to meditate because I was afraid I was doing it wrong. Thereâs no right way or wrong way to connect. Itâs just gotta be YOUR way, and the only place to figure that out is within YOU! No one ever said it to me quite like that, so I knew I had to share all of this with you so you can see, and most importantly BELIEVE, that you can do this for yourself!
Final piece which may blow your damn mind…have you ever been in the middle of a struggle and your play it out in your mind, and then create this whole entire made-up ordeal in your head that actually generates real emotion inside of you?! Like this shit storm you just made up out of thin air feels real?!
Well, if you can do that with the negative, you surely can do it with the positive! Allow yourself to daydream and visualize amazing things happening in your life. Let yourself feel the emotions of joy and love. Doing more of that will make it so much easier to hear that inner voice. When you give your power to positivity, you live more positively! Nuff said.
Meditation is not what you think, so instead of getting out of your head, get all up in there…and then ask for your HEART to do the talkin!
So much love for you guys! If you need help with this, you know where to find me! And if youâre around this weekend, join us at our Thriving or Surviving workshop Friday night, our Anniversary Celebration on Saturday, and meditation class Sunday night! All the gooooooood vibes!
Love,
Ta xox
So I was Thinkin…
You wake up in the morning. Get out of bed, ready for the day. Stretch. Smile. And then you stub your toe. Ughhhhhh.
You hobble to the bathroom to get in the shower and realize there arenât any towels in the linen closet. You grab a hand towel and hope for the best.
In the shower, youâre regrouping and giving yourself a clean start -haha LITERALLY- and as you’re washing your hair, the shampoo seeps right into your eye. It hurts like a mofo. Then you think about how bad you feel when your kids have this happen and you tell them to get over it.
You hop out of the shower, dry yourself off with the hand towel and head to the kitchen. Coffee. Coffee will solve everything.
You pour a cup and it proceeds to pour all over the counter. So there you are, still damp from your tiny towel, furiously cleaning up coffee just mustering the strength to stay in a good place.
And then it happens…the words every human has muttered…âthis is already the worst day, Iâm so over it!â
Boom. The series of events that then set the tone for the rest of the day. The unfortunate happenings become our EXPECTATION for whatâs to come. They become the FOCUS, so even if good things were to happen as the day continues, you would be so in tune to only the shit storm that carried on all from stubbing your toe!
Listen peeps, we are human! We are here to experience pain and frustration and annoyances. Itâs part of the deal. But hereâs the kicker, we are actually here to experience JOY in its purest forms and in order to do that, we have to learn to navigate the crap shoot moments! Itâs that balance you hear everyone talking about.
I wanna share with you a few ways to help you focus less on the annoyances and more on the joy, and throw in a few tips on how to navigate the moments when you want to throat punch someone or lock yourself in the room with some noise cancelling headphones! Sound good?!
Ok…you may have heard us say over and over that âyour thoughts create your realityâ and that is 100% truth! You might be saying to yourself, I didnât ASK to have an awful morning that led to an awful day. I didnât manifest stubbing my toe or making a mess. And youâre right, you donât create exact scenarios all the time…but somewhere in your thoughts lie CHAOS, NEGATIVITY, DOUBT or WORRY. Those thoughts are the ones that create crazy mornings like the one I shared above!
How many times have you said any of the following statements:
-I am not lucky enough.
-Things are just harder for me.
-It could be worse.
-I could never do that.
-Itâs always something.
-Man I just canât catch a break.
-Whatâs next on the shit list.
-When it rains, it pours.
Is your hand raised? Donât lie, even my hand is raised, which is actually tricky when youâre trying to type!
We have all said statements like that and the sad part is, we BELIEVE THEM!!! We let them in and give them power. We allow those negative statements to define us! Mostly because we just donât know that thereâs a better way.
Guys. Thereâs a better way!
Just writing out those statements literally made me cringe inside because I used to say ALL of them, and my mindset was a hot mess!!! This shift doesnât happen over night, but it can be as simple as changing the station on the radio. So hereâs your first tip…catch yourself when youâre saying something like that!
The second that thought comes into your mind or comes out of your mouth, catch yourself! Acknowledge it! Remember what that thought is going to bring into your life. Statements and thoughts like that are never going to bring anything good into your life! Never.
Negativity will never create positivity. It just wonât! The only thing that creates positivity is positivity. They are 2 different radio stations guys. Which one are you dialing into?!
So when the thought comes pouncing it, because it will (they still pounce in on me) just take a sec and CHANGE THE STATION!
Hereâs some statements you can use to counteract the ones from above:
-I am lucky and blessed.
-Things always workout for the best for me.
-Things come easy for me.
-I am surrounded and supported by love.
-Something amazing is happening today.
-I believe in miracles.
Here the thing guys…you might feel like total BS saying these at first, because youâre so hard wired to the REALITY of those negative thoughts! But thatâs the thing…they are THOUGHTS, and no matter what youâre going through right now, those POSITIVE statements can be used and can become your TRUTH!!!
And like I mentioned before, this shift doesnât happen overnight and it doesnât mean that frustrations and annoyances will never happen if you think positive. Again, itâs all part of the package here being a human. What this shift does is helps you react differently to the annoyances. It helps you see the things that once would have thrown you over the edge as petty moments!
Once you learn to change the channel, you also learn where to place your personal power!! And thatâs EVERYTHING!!
I still have chaotic moments and cluster Fâs of days…whatâs different is that I laugh at them now! I know thereâs a lesson I need to learn or a realization I need to make. If chaos is a comin, I know my mind needs a reboot! If the hot mess express is going off the tracks, I know I need to get my mind right!
Itâs so much easier to blame LIFE for our crappy circumstances, but itâs 100% on US! Thatâs a tough pill to swallow, but also the GREATEST GIFT EVER, because it shows you thatâs YOU CAN CHANGE IT!!
We are not victims of our circumstances! We are just humans hard wired for survival instead of joy…so we need to retrain the way we think to change the way we live. Whew. Thatâs a biggie but are you starting to get it?!
Whatever youâre going through right now in this moment, you have the power to shift it! You have the power to navigate it in a new way. You have the ability to create a different outcome! One filled with more JOY!
I could go on and on for like ever about this, but Iâm gonna wrap it here and will always circle back to mindset. Itâs been a life changing experience being a person to transition from a negative mentality to a positive one, and itâs a huge part of the reason Iâve embraced this as a career. If I can make this shift, YOU CAN, too! Always here to help you find your WAE đđ
Shameless plug: if youâre ready to dig deeper into your mental growth, our Shift Release Connect Class on Sunday 9/15 is a perfect place to begin! Or join us at our mindset workshops Free Your Mind on 9/11 and Surviving to Thriving on 9/20! Canât make those, book a private reiki sesh or jump into one of our awesome workouts (scheduled daily) to take a few moments for YOU!! Mindset work is a practice…the more you show up to it, the more it shows up for you!â¤ď¸â¤ď¸đđť
Love,
Ta xox
The QVC Adventure: Part 2
Let me start this by saying you guys are seriously amazing with all your love and support! We havenât yet heard back from The Big Find to see what the future holds, but sharing all the deets of this journey is such a blast…so here goes. I think we left off with getting the email that we were selected as finalists…
Seeing my moms face on the phone when I told her we were selected was totally priceless!!! It was such a huge moment of validation. Because letâs be real, we could all be called crazy for quitting our day jobs to go make headbandsđ¤Łđ¤Ł but we always knew deep down it was more than that. All of you get that, too! Thatâs why youâre reading this and why youâre a part of our tribe! Insert giant virtual hug to you!
We celebrated and laughed, she called my sister who was away on vaca to fill her in and I went back to the email to read the deets again. It was a whirlwind of emotion so I wanted to make sure I got this right.
Upon reading, it said only 2 people could attend the in person presentation. Hmmmm. Weâre a team of 3 here, folks. I was so bummed we couldnât all share in this incredible experience together! I contemplated just going on my own, and then my mom insisted that Kate and I go and share the WAE love. You know, the whole âlet the birds fly the nestâ kind of feel! Done.
But not quite. We had to then select what city we would visit to have our meeting. New York. Philly. Seattle. And one other one I canât remember because it was far away. I clicked New York. Closest in location, easiest to get to, and who doesnât love a little trip to the Big Apple?! Done.
Ummmm hold up. The meeting date: August 14. Smack dab in the middle of our family vacation down the cape. All good. We decided to be grown up business women and just take a little day trip for a meeting. Done.
Everything was falling into place, and the excitement was huge. But then you know how it goes guys…excitement can feel like anxiety. Which can lead to doubt. And feel like pressure. Itâs amazing how quickly those snarky feelings can try to swoop in and steal the joy of the moment. So every time I felt it, I reminded myself that they saw something special in the WAEband. Just like US! Just like YOU!
I reminded myself that when I filled out that application, I kept it totally real! And it felt so aligned to share how we make these bands in my parents garage and how we take the time to name each one and give it a meaning for our peeps to feel divinely connected! Every time I shifted my energy, it felt exciting! Lesson: anxiety is just a feeling that you have the power to shift! It doesnât define you.
I didnât take crazy amounts of time planning a presentation with power points or fancy charts showing our sales and demographics. I knew we just needed to share that the WAEband is a product that was born in a moment. The moment my mom decided to tie a tank top on her head and see it as something more. Something that people could benefit from and love! I knew that we needed to keep it simple and just be US! I knew the message of BELIEF needed to be front and center!
I also knew that we needed to figure out how the F we were gonna get to the city! We didnât wanna drive and deal with that chaos! Did you know how expensive the train is?! I was shocked! I mean, we were more than willing to invest in this day, but we also wanted to have a good travel budget!! So my sister was searching flights and found one out of Boston for super cheap…but here was the problem! We werenât finding out until the week before the actual time of our presentation! It could have been anywhere from 10am-4pm!
Sunday came and we packed up and headed to the Cape! We still didnât have a travel plan set, but we had a bag full of WAEbands and the faith it was gonna work out exactly as it was supposed to! The first couple days of vaca were totally amazing! So many laughs and moments together…I was unwinding while also staying in a present and clear mindset for this presentation. All the while, we were still searching for the best travel options! We found out we needed to be in NYC at the Qurate headquarters by 10:30am!!
We were all sitting out on the back deck in Falmouth after a serious wiffle ball game and decided it was time to make the final plan. I mean, the meeting was in 2 days. Funny side note: I always thought I was a TYPE A person, because Iâm pretty organized and I like things neat and tidy. My house is clean, I despise clutter and everything has a place. But other than that, I am so NOT type A! I wing it like 90% of the time! This trip included đ
On the deck, we realized that there is a small airport in Worcester, MA. Never even knew that! We also learned that on Wednesday, August 14, we could fly to JFK for $49 a person, one way! Abundance bruh! Done.
Then we found a train out of Penn Station to Providence at 4pm to give us plenty of time to get back home. Penn station was only a few blocks from our meeting! Done.
With the help of our Papa-Uber, our dad, or we like to call him Poober đ¤Ł, we had a ride at 2:30am to Worcester…which is kinda far from cape LOL but bonus…NO traffic at that time!! We also scheduled Kateâs hubby to pick us up in Providence which is only 20 minutes from home and he was bringing us back to the Cape! Done! See, everything falls into place when you just ALLOW! Thatâs another powerful lesson, guys!
We arrived at Worcester Airport, which is a little hidden gem for anyone living in MA!! It was so quiet and everyone was so nice! We hopped a flight to NYC which only took about 31 minutes! In fact, Kate and I watched one episode of Full House! It was the one where Stephanie is being peer pressure to smoke in the girls bathroom. Anyway, we landed in NYC and were so giddy. And also, starving.
We found a taxi and realized we had an hour long drive ahead of us to get to headquarters. We ate mints and took in the sights. New York traffic is CRAYYY! But I have always loved the city! Something about it! Our lovely taxi driver, who could also probably be a very successful race-car driver, dropped us off about a block from the building.
We hopped outta the cab, and broke out the google map. I felt like Joey on Friends when heâs in London and wants to stand in the map to figure out which way to go. Yeah. The walking map thing can be so confusing, but we FOUND IT! We also needed to find food and a bathroom like ASAP, but wanted to go in and figure out where to be so we werenât lost!
Let me also share that we were both in leggings and flip flops and WAEbands of course! The info said to âdress your brandâ so we knew if we showed up in anything other than our day to day uniform, it just wouldnât be authentic!
We asked the bell hop which floor. He said 18. We hopped in the elevator. The doors opened. And there was a sign that said THE BIG FIND. We looked down a short hallway. There was a check in table and a gazillion peeps already in there. There were cameras and video and holy shit go back in the elevator we need to go pee first! Haha!
Iâm not lying, we literally went right back in the elevator and down to find food and a potty, for the love of all thatâs good! We knew our destination. And we still had plenty of time.
We found a little coffee shop. Grabbed an iced mocha and a yummy vegan sandwich. Guess what. No bathroom! So we found another place and hung there for a few to just regroup and freshen up. We had a few papers and docs to sign and I made sure we had the WAEbands to share. We were informed to bring at least 2 products. We had a couple WAEbands and a couple WAElites. And guys, I didnât want them to get all smooshed in my bag, so we totally bought a shiny pink pencil box from Walmart and thatâs what the WAEbands were in! I told you…no frills!
We walked back to the building. We survived off google maps 100% that day. We were ready. We got off the elevator and checked in. It was so amazing to see a room filled with so many different types of people all sharing their big ideas, their dreams, their love and passion! They gave us these really cool lanyards and we felt official. I was also getting so freakin nervous!
Everyone at HSN and QVC are legit the nicest people ever! Such great energy! And they did an amazing job at getting us relaxed and fired up to share. They said something really cool that will always stick with me…âwe need you! In order for us to have successful networks, we need creators like you to bring your products to the world!â How cool is that!?
There were people from all over! Like the U.K., Cali, Texas, and one lady that traveled all the way from 49th street đđ We met the kindest people as we all waited for our biz to be called. Such amazing ideas! Everyone was so supportive of one another! Thatâs what entrepreneurs do you guys! Weâre like kindred spirits, we get each other!!
As we are waiting, this adorable host and a big olâ camera crew start coming around and interviewing peeps. Insert cotton mouth and shaky knees. I looked at Kate and said, âI donât think I need to be on tv right nowđł.â We scooted off to the side and watched others share their product. Little did we know, that adorable little host came and scooped us out of our corner to do an on screen chat. She said we were looking all ânamasteâ in the corner and she wanted to learn about why everyone needs a WAEband! Canât make this stuff up guys! Moral of the story: things happen the way they are supposed to happen!
The lights were so bright and I was def sweating like a hog, but we did it! I told the story, Kate crushed a demo of tying the band. We talked. We laughed. And that little interview totally helped us calm down and get centered for the presentation that could be happening any minute!
All the while, people are being called into the back rooms every few minutes! And like 6 businesses got whatâs called a BIG TICKET! That was basically a guaranteed call back! We wanted that ticket! Bubbs and Chuck even texted me to bring that ticket home!
Every time someone came out with the ticket, everyone cheered! We were hugging strangers and congratulating them and truly so thrilled for them to have an additional opportunity to move forward! We were also told numerous times that if you donât get the Big Ticket, you still have a chance to go forward. Insert deep breaths.
I think I put lip gloss on like 82 times as we were waiting. And then it was time. âWAEbands,â they called.
Thatâs US! Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!
I grabbed my pencil box and Kate and I went up the elevator. The lady with us gave us a few pointers and said, when the doors open, the panel is right there, so just begin!
The doors opened and there they were. I honestly canât remember right now if there were 4 or 5 women, all I know is they were so nice and so FUN! One of them was tying WAEbands on herself the whole time! It was amazing! I donât remember what I said or what Kate said, but I know we were authentic and truly ourselves! They commended us for our energy, they smiled the entire time and they thanked us for coming!! I wanted to hug them all but I couldnât get around the table! You know me…Iâm a hugger!
No Big Ticket. But honestly, we werenât even bummed about it! We were SO grateful for those moments, and so excited for how connected it all felt!! We were on cloud 9! We checked out, left our lanyards and headed out to explore NYC and call the fam! We shared the whole experience, we were talking a million miles an hour and legit so honored, humbled and excited for such a cool experience!
We were so bummed that Mima wasnât there with us, but I will also cherish that experience with my sister. We had the BEST DAY! We laughed all day! We explored Rockefeller Center, had lunch in Times Square, and the coolest part…entered St. Patrickâs cathedral just as a mass was beginning. We lit 3 candles and took a moment to express gratitude for this opportunity. Another lesson: gratitude is everything.
By 3 pm, we were toast. Hot. Tired. Crashing from the high of the morning and ready to get home to the fam. We hopped on the train, which if you have never taken the Acela from NYC to Prov, it was actually a lovely ride! Beautiful views that I caught in between dozing on and off and jumping every time I fell asleep!
We left NYC with a full heart, and arrived back in the Cape to our fam with an even fuller heart! We shared more ins and outs of the day, showered off the travel, and hit the pillow with more LOVE than ever!!
We finished out our vaca in such a great head space and here we are, headed into a new season, back to school, with SO much passion to help you Find Your WAE!!
Experiences like this come into our lives for reasons bigger than we may know in the moments…so if youâre on the brink of something epic…hold on tight, breathe it all in and soak it all up!! We will be sure to fill you in when we hear back from the peeps at the Big Find and no matter what happens, we are THANKFUL and totally excited to continue sharing the WAE LOVE!
Speaking of that…itâs 15% OFF sitewide RIGHT NOW, so go grab your bands and be a part of the WAETribe! Use coupon code summer and send us pics of you rockin your WAE!
Love you SO MUCH!!
~Ta xox
The QVC Adventure: Part I
QVC was always a household name growing up. Whenever my mom watched TV when we were little, it was either soap operas or QVC and HSN. And now I gotta tell ya, I love them, too! Not soap operasđ but home shopping! Somethin about it.
So get this, when we started making WAEbands a few years back, my mom was ordering something online on QVC and saw an ad for this contest called The Big Find. She dug a little deeper.
She learned that QVC and HSN hosted a contest for inventors, dreamers, creators to apply and submit their ideas for the ânext big thing.â She filled out an application for the WAEband immediately!
We didnât hear anything back and kept on plugging, growing and learning. QVC was always there, though. On our vision boards. In our minds that something just felt right about it.
Another year passed and the contest came up again. Without really saying anything about it, my mom sent in another submission. Again, we didnât hear anything back.
LOTS happened in the meantime. We started to put more of our focus and attention on attaining our studio and creating a place to help others find their WAE! We never stopped making or selling the WAEband, but it took a backseat for a short time so we could open the doors to a space of peace for so many people…including ourselves đ
Itâs crazy to think that next month we will have been open and thriving in our wellness studio for 1 YEAR…grateful is an understatement…
Once we were settled in, we all started to feel this pull again about the WAEband. That we hadnât been giving it the attention it so deserves. That there are literally millions of people who will LOVE it, once they know it even exists!! That itâs such an amazing product unlike anything else out there that will bring color, comfort and inspiration to the peeps who wear it! I mean, our Tribe loves it, so we know itâs something special!
Fast forward to the end of June. My mom mentioned that The Big Find was coming around again. She wasnât feeling it this time. She said she just wasnât sure if it was the right fit at the right time. I said, âwhat the heck, send me the stuff and Iâll take a look at it.â
I kept putting âQVC submissionâ on my list of things to do. 3 weeks went by and I was sitting down to hop on a personal development training call. I had an hour before the call started, so I hopped online and scoped out the application.
I started filling out the info, and question after question, I was feeling SO energetically connected and excited to share our story of the WAEband. It was just pouring out! I attached our website info and some tying videos and clicked SUBMIT! I finished just in time to get on my call.
And then.
ERROR. Application not submitted.
Here were my thoughts in that moment…. âWhat in the actual đł are you talking about?! I just spend the last hour gushing so much emotion and love into this application and it didnât even send. Ahhhh. Grrrrrr. I wanna cry. I wanna throw something. Maybe my mom was right. Maybe itâs not the right time.â End thought.
I texted my mom to tell her what happened and said âI wanna cry, but Iâm getting on my call to get my mind right and then Iâm going back on to do this again. It felt TOO good to not see what this could be.â
I got off my call. Fired up even more from all the good vibes! âĄď¸Insert shameless plug for the Power of I AM training with my brother bear Chris Downing! It was amazing!âŹ ď¸ At this point, itâs 10pm, I knew it was getting late but if I didnât get on and submit right away, I may not have had the belief or fortitude to do it again. ~Little takeaway for you…TAKE action when you feel inspired because time will pass either way so why not make an impact!~
I started answering all the questions again. This time, I copied each long response and saved it in a word doc so I wouldnât lose it again. Because failures are the best lessons, right?!
It took me about 45 minutes, but I finished it! I attached just 1 tying video, took a deep breath, said a prayer and clicked SUMBIT!
It sent. đ And on life went.
I truly didnât think a ton about it after I sent the app in. I just released any expectation and kept on working! A couple weeks later, as I was sitting in the parking lot of the mechanic waiting to see if Nickâs car was ready, I decided to check my email. The service was really crappy but I tried anyway.
Ad. Ad. Sale. Ad. Sale. Coupon. CONGRATSđ. Ad. Statement.
Wait. WHAAAATTTT!
Congrats. You have been selected as a Finalist for the Big Find!
Holy CRAP! I clicked on the email and it said…NOTHING! It literally wouldnât load because the service was so bad. It was the longest 16 minute drive ever until I could get back to service and actually read the email!
đCongratulations! You are a finalist. Please choose one of the cities below and join us for an in person presentation.đ
Holy crap. Holy crap. This is real. Itâs really happening. I FaceTimed my mom.
She was telling me what felt like the longest story ever and then I was like âhey, wanna hear something cool….
WE DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!â
To be continued…
Much Love,
Ta xox