👇 Wanna hear a big TRUTH BOMB? 💣 💥

“Opportunities don’t happen. You create them.” — Chris Grosser

Do you…

◾️ Spend way more time THINKING 💭 about your dreams than ACHIEVING them?

◾️ Focus 💡 your energy on how not to fail instead of getting out there and TRYING?

◾️ Get SCARED 😱 to start, even though you know it’s what you are MEANT TO DO?

Sound familiar? Yeah, me too. 🙋‍♀️🙋‍♀️

I can get stuck in my head all the stinkin’ time. But let’s push past that together. Instead of LOOKING 👀 for opportunities, I want to ✨ CREATE ✨ them.

It’s okay if you don’t succeed the first time. The point is that you keep trying. Always get back up. Put yourself out there. The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.

The first step is the hardest, but once you take it, you’ll be glad you did. The key 🗝 to success isn’t waiting for success to happen to you…. it’s to simply START.

🛑 STOP getting stuck in your head, and START DOING. ✅

👉 Comment ✅ below if you’re ready to get out there and start DOING!

#firestarter

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#womenpower

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#bossbabelife

#bossladystatus

#successmindset

#livingmybestlife

#femaleentrepreneurlife

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#buildingmyempire

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#laptoplifestyle

#liveyourdreams

#womeninspiringwomen

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#contentcreator

#womeninbusiness

#lifestyleblogger

#productivityhacks

#productivityboost

#motivation101

#motivationforlife

#successtip

#successformula

I got to see the Studio C cast! (I didn’t know they would be there!)

Nashville Day 7:

It was our third day at FHL 2019. On the main stage, they started to announce that Click Funnels was collaborating with JK Studios (the new project by the original cast members of Studio C). I thought that in itself was amazing. When we came back after lunch, we were told we’d get to view one of the newest sketches made especially for entrepreneurs.

Well, get this guys…. We’re back from lunch, getting ready to view the amazingness that is JK Studios, when none other but Matt Meese and Stacey Harkey walk onto the stage…. like in real life!!!

I. Freaked. Out.

I’m a huge Studio C fan. It’s like SNL but clean and family friendly. Like the good old days of watching The Carol Burnett Show. (Why can’t you buy that anywhere online? Because that is SO funny too!)

So, they’re on stage talking about their new venture as JK Studios, when they let us preview a sketch that had not been aired yet at this point. If you watch them on YouTube at all, you know that they just released a new series called Freelancers, which is sponsored by Click Funnels. We were the first to see one of these episodes!!!

I was more excited than anyone else in that room. (At least I think so!) Hahaha! 😆😆 I totally love watching these guys, and it made my day to get to see them in person. This really was the coolest conference ever. 💯

Meeting My Entrepreneur Heroes

Nashville Day 6:

“Surround yourself with the dreamers and the doers, the believers and thinkers, but most of all, surround yourself with those who see the greatness within you, even when you don’t see it yourself.” — Edmund Lee

This conference over-delivered on value. Just saying. It was so awesome to meet Alison Prince in person. Mom and I have been learning from her for about a year now and she is totally the real deal! I can’t say enough good things about her! Thanks to all we have learned, we just had the grand opening of Schnee Way, selling women’s clothing and accessories.

💥 BOOM! 💥 I got my photo I was dying to get with Stephen Larsen! 😂 It was one of the few things that was legit on my checklist. ✅ When we took the photo, I told him that he was hilarious. Haha! This guy is a genius.

The man, the legend…. Russell Brunson! I didn’t actually get to meet him, but I did walk right past him in the halls once. Haha! This guy is so incredibly smart and it was awesome getting to learn from the very best. This week was really just a big dream come true.

One of the evenings, they held the round table sessions. There were tons of successful entrepreneurs at different tables, answering questions and helping all sorts of people at every level. This was so neat to see. I think that is entrepreneurship at its core — serving others.

Surround yourself with greatness. It is absolutely life-changing. ❤️

We Watched the Premiere of a Trafficking Rescue Operation

Nashville Day 5:

The day finally arrived! The start of the highly anticipated business event of the year — Funnel Hacking Live! There was just a crazy amount of good stuff packed into a single day, and we had several days to go yet at this point. I learned so much from these people. I just soaked it all in like a sponge!!

“Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway.” — Earl Nightingale

Also got to meet some amazing people along the way! I think it’s so fun to make new friends with people who have the same passions as you.

At the close of our first day, they surprised the 4,500+ audience with a special guest. They brought Tim Ballard to the stage, the founder and CEO of Operation Underground Railroad. He, along with many other CIA, Navy SEALs, and Special Ops operatives assist in freeing children from sex trafficking around the world.

In the past five years of existence, O.U.R. has rescued 1,969 victims and assisted in the arrests of more than 1,109 traffickers around the world.

A documentary was filmed of how these men planned and executed a massive rescue mission. They had secret cameras attached to them as they went incognito. This documentary had never been aired before, and we were the first to see it live.

What was so amazing to see, is that these very men who saved these young girls were in that same room as us, watching this footage for the first time. I can’t imagine what it must have been like for them to see that.

The story, the footage… it was real. It was incredible to see how they work and how they not only rescue these kids, but work to rehabilitate them and give them hope.

Nashville Day 4:

The days kept getting better and better as they went! We woke up to day number 4, packed our things, and headed off to our next hotel… The Gaylord Opryland. We were staying there a few nights for the business conference we were attending. As our Uber ride pulled up into the parking lot, I was amazed at the sight! It was the most grand hotel I had ever seen! 😍

You could really get lost in this building. I did a couple times! In fact, it’s so huge, we had to download a navigation app to guide us through the building. How crazy is that? 😂 But I’m directionally challenged, so who knows. 😉

Once we made our way to the Delta Island, we found that they had a little boat ride that takes you around part of the hotel. It was pretty ridiculous but made for a funny memory! Even found one of the best entrepreneurs along the way… #RussellPhotoBomb

(But for reals… we really did walk right by him haha!)

After a long day of exploring, we made our way to our hotel room. They had one of those beds that fold up into the wall — I thought it was super cool!! But alas, sleep was beckoning. 😴😴😴

Nashville Day 3:

I had my eye on this venue for a while… the renowned Bluebird Cafe! Taylor Swift was discovered there when she was first starting out. Other greats have taken the stage and it’s been on my bucket list for the longest time to sing there too.

“Over 70,000 people visit the venue annually, many of them as a result of seeing The Bluebird on television or reading about the club in publications such as Southwest Spirit, National Geographic Traveler, The New York Times or hearing it mentioned by the artists such as Garth Brooks, Taylor Swift and Keith Urban, Kathy Mattea, Trisha Yearwood, Kim Richey, Dierks Bentley, Faith Hill and Vince Gill, all of whom have had career moments over the past 31 years at the tiny, legendary club.” — bluebirdcafe.com

Monday evenings they have an open mic, but it’s not easy to get into. All music has to be original, and only the first 25 songwriters to call in at 11:00am get to play. The moment it hit 11:00am satellite time, Mom and I were both trying to call in to no avail. *Call. Busy signal. Call. Busy signal.* I was starting to think I didn’t make it in, but mom told me to not give up and keep trying. “You have to be persistent” she said.

After 248 phone calls and 13 minutes of thinking I didn’t make it through, the craziest thing happened… I was #12 on the list to sing at The Bluebird Cafe! As soon as I hung up the phone, I squealed with excitement and immediately started getting ready for the big night.

My inner perfectionist was begging me to practice before the show, but what do you do when you’re 753 miles away from home? Suddenly it dawned on me! “Where’s the closest Guitar Center? It’s Nashville, there has to be one.”

And there was one! About 5 miles away to be exact. So we grabbed an Uber and went to the local Guitar Center. It made my jaw drop as we walked through the doors. It’s so much larger than our store at home! And the very best part of all is that I got to practice on one of my dream keyboards… a Nord Stage 3 Full-Length Piano. (Ahhhhh!) My heart was happy! 😉 😍

The time finally came to line up outside the legendary cafe. I knew it was tiny from what I had been told, but wow, it’s tiny! People stand outside the doors for hours just to get a chance to go in and listen. I got to meet some amazing people and hear their stories and songs. I think it’s so fun to see people from all walks of life come together because of a mutual passion of music.

So there I was up on stage singing my next single set to come out soon, “I Left My Heart in May”. I’ll tell you what — it was so exhilarating! It got to the very end of the night, and Barbara Cloyd (the owner), randomly chose 6 people who got to sing a 2nd original to close out the evening. She called 5 names and I silently thought to myself, “Oh there’s no way I’ll get to sing a second one.”

The Lord surprised me another time today! She called out my name and I got to close out the night with the last song. Oh my gosh, it was so amazing! I sang, “Vanity” (one of the songs on my upcoming EP).

This whole week has been full of crossing things off on my bucket list. Nashville, you really are amazing, aren’t you?

Nashville Day 2:

It had been a long night of travels and mishaps. Arriving at our hotel late, mom and I didn’t end up falling asleep till 2am EST! But now we’re in Central Time, so I guess it wasn’t so bad. It’s like experiencing the time change that people actually enjoy: falling back an hour. Not spring forward; nobody likes that one. 🤣

We took our first Uber ride ever and went to the Country Music Hall of Fame. I think I geeked out the most at seeing all the Taylor Swift memorabilia. What’s not to love about that sparkle guitar? 😍

Right around the corner, they had a wall where you could write on a sticky note what music means to you. Music is a form of journaling for me. It’s raw, it’s real, and it’s personal. It has to be. I find that when I write a song that’s transparent and honest, other people come up to me and tell me they experience the same things too. I think people are more alike than we often realize, so there’s no reason to go through things alone. Honesty opens the door for conversation.

“Music is being honest and finding other people feel that too.”

We ended the night with some excellent live music at The Row in downtown Nashville. One performance from a Top 24 contestant on American Idol, and one from the X Factor. We had the best waitress ever and it all made for a memorable night out! The talent in this city amazes me! 🎤

PS — Thank you photobomber for making this picture way cooler than I had hoped for. 😉

Nashville Day 1:

So I’m not quite sure how this all worked out… but somehow I scored a 10-day mother/daughter trip to Nashville, Tennessee! It’s been one of my life goals to get there and this trip kind of fell out of the sky and onto our laps. Mom was going for a business trip and when we found out it was in the city of music itself, we both knew I just HAD to come.

We encountered so many roadblocks leading up to our departure; one of the worst being that my driver’s license had expired unbeknownst to me. God bless the man at the bank for pointing it out to me! It was already too late to renew it that night, so we woke up early and stood in line at the photo center. When we got there, the man at the door informed us that they were CLOSED because of Presidents Day… on a Saturday.

In a panic, I googled everything I could about how the TSA handles expired licenses. Mixed opinions only made me feel uneasy about it. So alas, I grabbed every bit of paperwork to prove exactly who I am. (And prayed a LOT!)

You know what? TSA was a breeze! Like it literally took all but 5 minutes to enter and exit the line. It’s funny how we can work up such a sweat over the little things. *Insert huge sigh of relief here.*

We flew out of Harrisburg on the tiniest plane I’ve ever ridden on. Granted, this is only my second time flying, so I guess I’m not one to judge these things, ha! When we exited the plane, we walked down an outdoor ramp instead of inside the terminal. It made me feel like the President of the United States. Mom says it wasn’t that fancy… but I thought it was pretty darn cool. 😜

Due to our flight being delayed, we literally ran to the complete other end of the Charlotte Airport only to find our next plane left without us! Since we had 5 hours to kill, we walked all the way back and found Panda Express (because their black pepper chicken is just that killer). We wandered back to our boarding gate and I snuggled up in my sherpa blanket. People chuckled at me, but I don’t care that much! Mom and I laughed at how some people look sooooo put together when they travel. How do they do it? They might look fabulous, but I’ve got a sherpa blanket. So ha! #ultimatecomfort

I was ever so glad when the wheels hit the ground in Nashville! North Carolina — it’s been real, but bring on the City of Music! 🎶🎸

“When we go into Kensington as the body of Christ, it changes the situation.” - James Holt 

Keeping this truth in the back of our minds, about 105 of us boarded on some buses headed for Kensington Avenue.  

Now if you've never been there before, you'll notice certain keywords when you search Kensington on Google: 
- Heroin 
- Prostitution 
- Drug corners 
- Crime 
- Homeless 

I had been there one time before and had already seen a drug deal on a street corner. It's so easy to only see the mess, the drugs, the smell, the trash… but God sees something else. God sees people and He desperately wants them to know Him.  

So there we were, all 105 of us, bringing hope to real people who need Christ just as much as we do. Each of us packed 2 meals containing a sandwich and a water bottle. Combined, that was over 200+ meals! 

As our group got off the bus, it was immediately easy to feel intimidated and not want to be there. I suppose Jonah might have felt that way about Nineveh. 

We kept our focus, and many of the homeless came right up to us for the meals and hygiene packs. It's amazing how God uses a physical need to, more importantly, provide a spiritual need as well.  

Over the course of an hour, my group was able to offer meals and prayer with about 10 homeless men and women. Some only wanted the food we had to give, but how blessed we were to even minister to them in that way alone. 

When I gave a meal to the first man I came across, I asked him how I could pray for him. He openly said he was on heroin for years and was trying to beat his addiction. He had a 14-year-old daughter at home he was trying to get back to.  

One man hurt his hand, so we went to the pharmacy next door and got him ice and an ace bandage to help the swelling go down.  

The stories didn't stop. One lost his job two months ago and was separated from his family in El Salvador. A man was number five on a waiting list, attempting to get into a home. A woman got into a fight and hurt her arm. One man was in prison years ago, and was now trying to get his life together. 

They looked scary. The selfish part of me wanted to just go back on the bus and be done. I didn't want to walk up to them, but I'm glad we did. Most of them were extremely friendly. These were hurting people, and we got the opportunity to pray with them, give them hugs, shake their hands, and even invite them to church and talk about God.  

All this to say, sometimes God calls us into uncomfortable situations. If we can take a moment to see past people’s problems and see people, real people, how can we not share Christ with them? It's only another reminder that we see the outward appearance but God sees the heart. How humbling! 

I challenge you today to look around your city or town. What are the physical needs? How can you provide a spiritual need by means of a physical one? You don't have to go to Kensington to find hurting people. They're all around us. Let's make an impact by loving deeply and bringing hope to the broken. As the body of Christ, we can change the situation.