3+2 = YOU

 

 

 

 

I heard this quote through the grapevine awhile back and it stuck with me. It also struck something within me to evaluate the people that I spend the most time with. In no particular order, I thought about some really amazing friends I have in my life.

 

We shall call her Traveler. She is probably one of the most unique friends I have. Her style is all her own, she embraces her crazy curly hair and loves wine. She's backpacked through countries like Columbia by herself; there's nothing ordinary, boring, or average about her.

 

Next up, Sparkles. Sparkles is my wild card (and no not a stripper). At times she may be slightly fearful, but she's been on an amazing journey of being fearless. The three things that I love about her is her readiness to be silly,she's starting her own business and she's an encourager. 

 

The Shit. This guy has everything. Good looks, dresses well, owns his own business, and started his own website that covers pop culture. What I love most about him is that he's a wealth of knowledge, he shares his knowledge, he asks why on everything, he'll call your bullshit and he has an amazing way of telling you to make things better.

 

Biznazz. This friend recently got a huge promotion that requires a lot more time and responsibility. I love the way she's embraced thankful thoughts for the promotion instead of dreading the time constraints. I also love how well-rounded she is about music, entertainment, cooking, arts and marketing. Even more incredible than all that, she loves self-improvement and Oprah as much as I do!

 

My Nugget. She loves to dance and we keep each other accountable with zumba class. She's a graphic designer and the stuff that she creates is awesome. I love her friendly disposition and patience on creating projects. Patience is a virtue and she definitely has that!

 

Friend bragging aside, I wonder if I encourage, lift up, stimulate, challenge and motivate my friends as much as they do me.

 

 

 

 



Daily Challenge:

How's your crew? Who do you surround yourself with? The Go-getters? The Gym-goers? The Creators? The Complainers? The Lazy Bums? The Jones? The Dreamers? The Do-ers?

 

Song of the Day:

Rather Be - Clean Bandit http://youtu.be/m-M1AtrxztU 

Powa.

This morning all I needed was an epic quote and a drawn out pep talk. The repeated pep talk that goes round and round saying that today I choose to be happy, today I choose to be thankful, today I choose to be at peace. I'm going to focus my thoughts on the six incredible things that are going on in my life instead of the one bad thing.

I know it's a simple thought, but I hope this quote inspires you this morning as much as it did for me.

Have an amazing day. Make today count.

 

 

Daily Challenge:

Let's be a master of our thoughts, if they veer off into the negative deep end pool let's hop out, get on the diving board and cannonball into the positive pool of life.

 

Song of the Day:

Powa - tUnEyArDs

(watch the video, it's not a normal music video BUT it's awesome to see how music is looped in the studio)  http://youtu.be/UNkP-mbBMLo

 

I Still Got It.

 

Morning Love Bugs,
This past weekend a friend celebrated her birthday, she didn't grow up in the area so a few of us wanted to make sure it was special. Massive balloon (check), singing happy birthday with a lighted cake (check), a funny card (check), her favorite candy and craft beer (yup), going out to celebrate (sure did).

It made me think about how important she was to us. It also made me think if I'd be happy with the same amount of birthday attention.

Why is it that some birthdays are so anti-climatic? Is it disappointing because no one actually celebrates your life to the level at which it should be? Is it because it means one more year closer to over the hill? Is it because people don't make it a priority? What happened to the good old days when mom spent hours if not days making your cake? Or you picked out your own piñata and candy? (haha is this just me?) Or you were actually the center of attention while your friends crowded around to see what cool presents you received?

Then all those thoughts led me to another train of thought. I've received some really thoughtful gifts, the gifts that leave you speechless. My dad use to sift through antiques and at one show he found this tiny German crest with the Berlin Bear on it (insert my birthplace and family nickname). My dad took this out of place object and had it made into a necklace. It just so happens to be my favorite piece of jewelry. Out of the blue, an awesome friend saw a drawing that looked very similar to Alfonso Mucha's style of work (my favorite artist), then he learned that it was drawn from coffee grinds and a pencil from an inmate. It's a beautiful piece of work that is now the focal point of my bedroom. One year my closest girlfriends knew that I wanted a designer purse. What did they do? They all pitched in and got me a gift card to pick out my dream purse. My friend Jandi, who at the time was putting herself through college, got me a beautiful hard bound book that contained black and white pictures of The Beatles. Why? Because she knew how much I love The Beatles and I'm obsessed with black and white photography.

All these things made me think about the last time I spent a little more, searched a little more, thought a little bit more, started a little sooner in planning, etc. to make someone feel incredibly special. It's funny how one day can make a lifetime of memories or jokes, one extra special gift can become the focal point of a room, or something super thoughtful can be the most treasured possession.

Random story. Jandi and I went to Ireland. I'm not sure if it was me or her, but we made it a point to go to St. Valentine's Church. Mind you, we didn't grow up Catholic so the whole "I believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth" was slightly foreign to us. We also don't carry around a rosary, BUT this little old Irish man at the church did. He saw through Jandi and I wanna be Catholic ways, sat next to us and taught us the Apostles Creed. He asked where our rosaries were and before we could answer, in the thickest Irish accent ever, leaned in and said "I always carry extra". He gave us the most hideously pink plastic rosary ever and sat with us for about a half hour showing us the Catholic ropes. His cuteness, his thoughtfulness, his gift and his time made my entire trip. (I tried unearthing that rosary for picture purposes, but I'm still on the hunt.)

I guess what I'm trying to remind myself is that I need to go the extra mile for others, especially in the gift giving, birthdays/holidays, and time department.

 

 

 

Daily Challenge:

Take just a few minutes to make sure you know your family and friends' birthdays, special days (even hard days like the loss of a friend/family) and so on. Set reminders so that you aren't waiting until the last minute and throwing things together. Make it special, a little planning goes a long way.

Song of the Day:
 Becky Hill - Caution to the Wind
https://soundcloud.com/becky-hill-official/caution-to-the-wind

Time to get ready for work........

Double Shot of Yikes!

Morning Peeps,

One of my all-time favorite books is The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. (To me) It's a powerful book about a shepherd boy who doesn't have much expect his sheep and a dream; his life ends up being a series of incredible adventures, hardships, love, interesting people and the tough decision of staying in his comfort zone or going after his dream. There's one line in The Alchemist that I've got saved in my phone's camera roll since it resonated so deep within my bones and it goes like this....eh-em..."Everyone seems to have a clear idea of how other people should lead their lives, but none about his or her own."

That brings me to my current situation, a fierce life crossroad. A crossroad where I could be making a decision that will change my currently comfortable life. I've had to take allllll my previous soapbox rants "make good better, do something everyday that scares you, get out of your comfort zone, listen to your Inner Voice, live life to the fullest, and so on and just soak in them then soak some more, rinse, spin and repeat.

I haven't made my decision, but I'm getting close.

 

Challenge of the Day:

Give yourself ten minutes in silence to meditate, to dream, to think, to pray, to be thankful, to weigh options, to decide. Before rushing into the activities of the day, be still.

 

Song of the Day:

The Fear - Ben Howard http://youtu.be/dnxCxHLAqn8

 

my favorite lines:

I've been worryin' that my time is unclear

I've benn worryin' that I'm losing the one's I hold dear

I've been worryin' that we all live our lives in the confines of fear

 

Mildly Obsessed:

I yoynked this from Dawn's Instagram and I'm mildly obsessed with it.

 

 

Direct Deposit

 

I'm a talker, social butterfly, whatever you want to call it, I'm blessed with the gift of gab. What's interesting though, is that one major flaw I have (that a close friend pointed out) is not speaking my mind. As she likes to say, I expect people to be mind readers.

 

She's a perfect example of stating her expectations, feelings, mindset, and disappointments. One is never left wondering.

 

I've made it a mission to be more straightforward. Despite needing a composing timeframe to either collect my thoughts, analysis the situation, calm down, mentally bullet point my reasons or address an uncomfortable situation, I've made huge strides in being direct.

 

The outcome has been monumental, I get results, my timeframe of harboring things has been shortened, and people give answers.

 

Most recently speaking my mind has led to deeper friendships, more insight on situations, and hearing out someone else's perspective. I've also gained different work hours and work from home days (insert today) Woop Woop!

 

During the old cousin get-together, we talked about basketball but specifically playing a certain position. She expressed that the coach was moving her all around to different positions and there was a slight level of frustration even though she was happy to start. (Insert being direct) I asked "Have you talked to your coach about wanting to play only one position and becoming a master of it? Have you told her your end all goal of wanting to play in college? I guarantee you, that if you schedule a time to discuss your end all goal and ask for feedback on why she's got you playing different positions, you'll gain huge insight and she'll understand your frustrations. She'll also respect you and be more apt to help with the process." Easier said than done, I get it, but it takes out the mind reading part and limits the brewing frustration.

 

Work in progress over here, but I'm trying :)

 

 

' 

 

 

 

 

 

Challenge of the Day:

Be direct. If someone has disappointed you, hurt your feeling, or not met your expectations address it in a calm, straightforward manner. If you can't talk about it, put it in email format chicken shit.

 

I'll take it one step further, if your love tank is running low, you need assistance in an area, a raise is due, change of direction is needed, different work hours are desired and so on..go for it!

 

I'll take it on giant step further, what about being a voice and shedding light on injustice.

 

Song of the Day:

Break The Fall - Laura Welsh https://soundcloud.com/laurawelsh/break-the-fall 

 

 

Mildly Obsessed:

Something Natural is only 7g of pure cane sugar and made with all natural ingredients. This sparkling water is incredible and I'm mildly obsessed with it! Blueberry Lemon is my fav :)

 

 

 

 



Baby Let Me Be Your Motivation.

 

 

Morning Sleepy Heads,

As a little girl, one of my favorite days of the year was the Marine Corps Marathon. My dad would take me to work with him and I would watch as he'd congratulate the finishers noting who was the first female to cross the finish line, the first Nigerian to cross the finish line, the first marine to finish, the first person over sixty to cross the finish line and so on. While he was busy working, I was being babysat by a dozen or so hot marines that were feeding me way too many donuts and hot chocolate. I loved being the center of attention and I loved watching my dad busy at work.

 

When my dad passed away it only made sense for me to run the Marine Corps Marathon. The ambitious goal made the top of my bucket list. My heart was in the right place, my mind was focused, but my body was like "Are you serious?". Despite all my years of playing ball, I had never run more than 3 miles at one time.

 

I shared my goal with Ali and she was down to run with me. We came up with a pretty solid plan, let's train for a half marathon and once we accomplish that we'll train for a full marathon. Long story short, training for the half went well. I was blown away at how easy it was to add miles when sticking to the training schedule. The crazy thing about training though is that you never run the full 13.1 miles until race day. Season runners would tell us "If you can run 10 miles, you can run 13.1". What season runners left out was if you can run 10 miles, you'll want to cry and walk the last 3.1 miles.

 

Race day came and running 13.1 miles was the most physically challenging thing that I had ever done up until that point. On the 12th mile, my knee started to hurt like hell and I became the crazy person that was yelling at herself out loud saying "you are NOT going to walk...you've made it this far....you are NOT going to walk".

 

I finished. Ali finished. We were proud, we were sore,  and we both thought that if running a half was that hard...running a full is double the pain. Gulp.

 

Plans changed and we decided that we needed to get another half under our belts before full marathon training.

 

Let me just say it took me about a year of training, but I did. We did it. I balled my eyes out and limped across the finish line having run 26.2 miles at the Marine Corps Marathon.

 

There's no secret to running a marathon. You put on your shoes, maybe make an incredible playlist, follow a training program and put one foot in front of the other.

 

The same can be true about any goal we have in life. Simplify your goals, come up with a daily plan and stay the course. I nag myself about keeping things simple with weight loss. "Veronica, weight loss is easy. There's just two components, eating right and exercising, that's it." If  I can choose daily to eat right and hit the gym for more than 30 minutes, I'm bringing sexy back. The same can be true about earning your degree, starting your own business, keeping a clean house, making dinner nightly, training for a triathlon, learning a new language, reading one book a month and so on. Write your goal down, simplify it into a daily task and remember why you had this goal in the first place.

 

Sure, the last three miles might suck, sure you might have to cut back on internet trolling, sure your favorite tv series may have to wait, sure you may need to wake up thirty minutes earlier or hire a babysitter, but goals are achievable if you are armed with a solid plan that is made into a simple daily goal (having an accountability partner isn't a bad idea either).

 

Random thought: According to StatisticBrain.com and Wiki Answers, less than 1% of the population has run a marathon.

 

 

 

 

Daily Challenge:

What's that one goal that's been at the top of your bucket list?

Maybe it is a killer vacation outside the country? Saving more? Scuba diving a shipwreck? Moving to a different city? Weight loss? Running a marathon?

Whatever it is, take time to come up with a solid plan. Put in daily reminders to help you stay on course. Ask a friend to check in on you.

There's enough apps, books and experts out there to guide you along the way.

  

Mildly Obsessed:  

It's chocolate, it's delicious and it has a poem inside of every wrapper. I haven't tried all the flavors yet because I can't get enough of the Almonds and Sea Salt in Dark Chocolate. Did I mention that it's organic? Yum!

 

 

5K Playlist:



This playlist is approximately 30 minutes and should have enough tempo to keep you in stride for a full 5K. I hope you like my 5K Playlist!

Animals - Martin Garrix
Run the World (Girls) - Beyoncé
Kiss Kiss - Cashmere Cat
Work - Iggy Azalea
One - Swedish House Mafia
Run This Town - Jay-Z
Not Myself - Christina Aguilera

Hype Girl.

 

 

Ello Love Bugs,

Never have I thought of myself as a role model, mentor, someone that could bestow wisdom, or had talents to share with others, but after this weekend I realized that I'm equipped with a few good things to help da' yoots of America.

My cousin who is about 10 years younger than me texted me awhile back about changing college majors and expressed that she was interested in a career like mine. When I read the text, I thought "Say what? You want to be like me? You’re asking for my advice?" Do you know me? I'm a hot mess." But after a conversation with her this weekend, she expressed her love for people, travel, and marketing; I thought hot damn I got this. Our conversation included the importance of a killer internship, networking, a great resume, and going after your dreams. I'm sure nothing I said was profound, but what I think she needed more than anything was a hype girl, someone to listen, encourage, love and provide a little insight.

This weekend I also spent a little time with another cousin. She's really into basketball and it seems like she's got the dedication and desire to play in college. Once again, be there done that and I've got bad ankles to prove it. Our time together was limited, but I think her knowing that her has-been cousin once hooped it up back in the day made her feel empowered.

There's someone someone out there that would love for you to be there Hype Girl or Hype Guy. My friend Ali is my Hype Girl, she hears me out on everything and has always got my back in the encouragement department. Then there's my talented friend Joy, her photography has been displayed in Rolling Stone Magazine, The Washington Post and websites and blogs across DC. In my opinion everything she shoots is magical, and I'm by far her biggest Hype Girl. I tell her time and time again that her work is incredible and to keep going after bigger projects.

I know that this is a smorgasbord blog touching on having someone in your life that is an encourager, being an encourager or seeking to be someone's mentor, but I think it's all on the same thread. You possess something within you that someone else just needs a little dose of, it could be as simple as encouragement, a hug, cake decorating tips, shooting free-throws, proof reading, designing a website, investment advice, or weekly phones.

 

 

 

Daily Challenge:

Be someone's hype person. You've got something to share, teach or encourage.

 

Also my friend Michael works for Mentor Foundation USA, check out their website and events at

www.mentorfoundationusa.org

 

Song of the Day:

Elle Goulding - Only You

http://youtu.be/7Um8Q-5UL0E

 

 



 

 



Soooooooo Shreeeeepy.

 

Today was one of those mornings that I woke up and I wanted to shut the day and its activities out with a massive life black out curtain. Physical exhaustion has set in and a laundry list of tasks (and the laundry itself) flooded my mind as soon as the alarm clock went off.

Twenty minutes into my morning, I realized I was on autopilot. I had to take a deep breath and focus my attention on life. I had to focus my attention on the fact that today is a blessing, today is real and today matters.

Today I'm living on purpose and today I'm living with purpose. It may take a few more rounds of me blaring Beyoncé’s Run the World, Flawless, and XO but dammit today will be amazing one way or the other.

 

 

Daily Challenge:

Pause and actively think about your day's activities and how you are going to live with purpose and on purpose. Let's not make today mundane, even if it's just standing in line to get coffee let's seek purpose in those simple moments.

Song of the Day:
Beyonce - Run the World http://youtu.be/VBmMU_iwe6U

 

 

Well That's Just Great...

 

 

When did good become a stopping point? When did good become the highest level of ambition?

When did good become satisfying? Who wants to eat at a good restaurant when you can eat at a great restaurant? Who wants a good relationship when you can have a great relationship? Who wants to go to work at a good place when you can work at a great place?

 

After a few too many months of no bueno, things have turned around for me and have gotten to a good spot. I've been in this good spot before. I've made good money, I've been in a good relationship, I've been a good friend, I've made good grades and I've done good deeds, but (in my opinion) good can be used as average. If you change the word good to average it sounds like this: I'm an average parent, I work in an average place, I do average things, I'm an average employee, I'm an average friend, I make average money, I go on average vacations, I'm in an average relationship. Yawn. Who sets out for an average life? Let's take it one step further, who likes receiving average? We want someone's best. Best service. Best price. Best experience. Best performance. Best intentions.

 

Now, I get it. This good spot I'm in is far better then the rough patch I was in, but I don't want to put my life gear in neutral and remain at the rest area of life. It's like in P. Diddy's Hold Me Down song when he said "I've got to keep on movin'"  I'm movin' towards being an incredible friend, movin' towards a stellar career and movin' towards the best me possible.

 

The good spot that I've been in before feels like settling. Settling is the comfort zone. Settling is what everyone else is doing. Settling is not where the magic happens.

 

Let's stop flying our life in coach when just a few feet away and only separated by a cheap curtain that doesn't even touch the ground is the opportunity to fly our life in first class (in first class you get more than a small pack of honey roasted peanuts).

 

Sheesh, I should have named my blog Daily Great Start instead of Daily Good Start!

 

 

 

 

Daily Challenge:

What areas are you afraid to give up good and go for great?

 

Song of the Day:

Why not.....

Coffee by Sylvan Esso http://youtu.be/Qr5AIKRPIHo

 

 

 

Have a NamastDay