boss babe Archives - NIKOL JOHNSON

Hello Blog, It’s Me Nikol

November 14, 2019 ·

I realized on a recent flight this month that I have not been writing on this blog as much as I would like for 2019. This post will be a little catch-up and news on upcoming events. Most of the content I upload is here and here, but I view this blog as an outlet to interview other women that are breaking the beauty rules to encouraging you through your transitioning beauty.

To catch you up to speed on where I have been for the past six months, I have been in the studio filming and producing videos that feature makeup tutorials on women from fifties to eighty-four on my YouTube channel, which hit 80K subscribers. These videos have been such a rewarding series called #FierceAging. The series started as a four-part series but now has turned into a monthly feature. I have an inspiring project coming up that I will be announcing on my YouTube channel and Newsletter, so make sure you tune in and are signed up (find my sign up here).

If you have not joined my private Beauty Reinvented Facebook group, this is the perfect time to get inspiration and support from women all over the world. We are almost at seven thousand women sharing and helping each other through aging and gray hair. I am so proud of this little group, and I have been posting LIVE Q&A’s randomly to answer your questions in real-time.

If you love Fresh Beauty Studio Cosmetics/Nikol Cosmetics or are curious, get ready for Black Friday and Cyber Monday! New beauty products added every week. You don’t want to miss out on the specials that are coming up for the holiday season. Early access will be announced here, so make sure you are signed up.

I hope you ladies are doing well and are enjoying all the content that I am creating for you on all my platforms.

Silver Sister Spotlight with Kristen Karlisch

July 13, 2018 ·

Celebrating another Friday with a Silver Sister Spotlight. Kristen found me on YouTube about a year and a half ago when she was just starting her gray hair transition. I thought she would be a great feature to inspire you ladies.

Kristen is a proud mom of two creatively kind girls (now tween/teen), wife and business partner to an incredibly talented interior and commercial photographer of 20 years. Originally born and raised in Houston and then moved to Dallas 25 years ago. Kristen feels so lucky that she gets to see the world and meet new people through her travels in the photography industry.

Silver Sister Spotlight with Kristen Karlisch

Photo Credit @stephen_karlisch_photo

Kristen says there are moments in our life that a big decision is made which shapes your destiny. I have had many but one significant one was changing my career at age 30 and then meeting my husband because of it. He has always encouraged and supported me in my many different interests. I love marketing, being in the creative visual field, I have been certified in teaching full comprehensive Pilates (although I don’t teach but practice) and also certified as a health coach from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition. I did the IIN year course to just educate us as a family to learn directly from the source versus reading articles and being confused. Highly recommend for anyone, it’s an amazing school and community. Much needed in this world of increasing health problems. My dedication has been to our photography career, however, I think teaching kids about entrepreneurship, saving and giving back is truly important. Our daughters are dabbling in the e-commerce world targeted to tween, teens on up to moms. It is empowering them with my help and they are giving back a portion of their sales to Pencils for Promise and fundraisers to support education.

Kristen with her husband Stephen in Italy

Q: Tell us when you first started seeing gray hair?

My mother found my first silver when I was 20. We were in California in a convertible sitting at the stop light, and I can still feel the sting from that strand of hair being pulled out by mom showing me my first silver with a smile. Thanks for the chuckle of a forever memory Mom.

Q: What were your initial feelings about seeing the silver?

I think we just laughed it off and then I just pulled them for the next ten years before I started coloring looking back I wish I would have had the confidence to let them grow. My paternal grandfather was all silver in his 20’s so I definitely inherited more of that gene.

Q: Being in a creative field do you feel that your silver hair is more accepted by your industry?

Absolutely! I receive compliments all of the time, however, owning it proudly makes a huge difference.

Q: What do you teach your daughters about beauty and aging?

I made the decision to start this journey two months before my 50th birthday. It had been on my mind for two years. I am glad our girls will have this memory as I fully expect them to have to face this decision one day. Many of my friends my age have shared with me remembering the time their mom decided to stop coloring and how much they admired their mom for making that difficult decision that society has shamed and labeled for so many years. Our girls have been VERY supportive and could see the negative effects of the chemicals that I was experiencing for years. I am truly grateful to them, my husband, mom, sister and other close family members for their support as I know many who have no family support. None of them felt I would be considered “old” or that “she has let herself go” or any of those other messages that are whispered or in our head. When I was in doubt for those first 6 months they were cheering me on and didn’t want me to give up. We try to live a pretty clean lifestyle with organic skincare, food, health, activities, kindness to others and gratitude. Our girls amaze us with the beauty they see in others that may be judged negatively by people. They are the friends that are there taking up for the kids being bullied, have a learning difference, who needs a friend and are in need of a little support.

Q: As a photographer, you see beauty through a lens do you feel like you see your gray hair beauty differently than the world?

Photographs were what helped me daily. I saved many images on my phone of women I admired that I found on Instagram, Pinterest, and private support FB groups. I saved those images and looked at those women I admired to help get me through those days that I felt weak and wanted to go back to faux color. My husband photographed me this time last summer on the beach. It was about seven months and the first time I had felt pretty again. He loved how I was starting to embrace my look and directed me, so I was showing my grey and silver confidently. That shoot made me want to secretly take up some lifestyle modeling representing women middle age with grey hair. It was a lot of fun.
As a photographer, I think it would be fun to do a portrait project of women 30-60 with their natural grey/silver hair. Photographs are truly inspiring, and it is definitely becoming more accepted to see younger silver sisters, and I love the movement that is taking place. It is pretty sexy.

Q: What is one thing you would want women to know that are starting out on their gray hair journey.

Luckily I had a very supportive stylist. I chose to use very fine sheer low lights on the cap of my head to help the demarcation as the grey and silver were growing out. For some, they chose to use highlights and some just go for it and do nothing but let it grow. Just know there are options (but please don’t try to pull the color out) but having a stylist support is so helpful in being successful especially in those weak moments. You have to get out of your head. The old messages of “ I will look old”, “what will people think”, “I let myself go” or “they are looking at my hair” are negative old messages from old ways of thinking. Believe me, vanity does get challenged but OWN IT and you will rock the sexy silver. Use support groups on Facebook if you have none, find the many silver sisters on Instagram and just try to make it past the rough 6 months. It does get better. Your hair will become so healthy, so soft (no more straw brittle hair) and lots of new growth. As my wonderful husband told me from the beginning, “If this makes you feel better then I am all for it. It’s just a color and you can choose whatever color that makes you happy.” Remember you are doing this for you, not anyone else.

Connect with Kristen on Instagram @kkarlisch

Silver Sister Spotlight with Hayley

May 18, 2018 ·

I am very excited to feature Hayley another Silver Sister from Australia; I am obsessed with booking a flight to this gorgeous country in 2018. Hopefully, I can make that happen.

Hayley is from the beautiful Gold Coast In Australia and has two gorgeous kids and happily married. When Hayley was younger, she worried about what others thought of her and suffered from body image issues, but after having a large cancerous tumor removed from her abdomen when she was twenty years old, it made her realize life is too short. Since then Hayley has tried hard to live in the present moment which is sometimes easier said than done. Hayley finds that Yoga helps her with living in the present and she makes practicing Yoga a priority.

Before having her kids, Hayley worked as a makeup artist and still uses her make up skills by volunteering with The Look Good Feel Better program that teaches and helps women battling cancer to know how to apply makeup and work with their skin after chemotherapy and radiation. When Hayley is not working, she loves to study Italian, and she currently sings in an Italian choir for fun. Traveling and learning about different cultures is one of her passions.

A few years ago she came across pictures of young women with natural grey hair who looked amazing. She thought, what if Mother Nature got it right? What if my natural hair color suited me? So she stopped dying it and has never looked back.

Q: When did you first start seeing gray hair? What were your initial thoughts?

I saw my first grey hair twenty years ago when I was sixteen! I wasn’t too fazed but a little surprised if anything thought it was funny. Being that young, there was never a feeling of “Oh no I’m getting older.”

Q: Being Australian do you feel Australian Society is more accepting of gray hair compared to America?

Australian culture is influenced by America, so I think the beauty ideals are similar. I have had overwhelmingly positive feedback and not one negative comment about my hair but Australians are pretty laid back, and if someone didn’t like it they’d never tell you to your face. I do feel like we see a shift here in what’s considered beautiful and diversity is genuinely embraced.

Q: How did you become a gray hair model with Silver Fox Management?

I read an article about Silver Fox Management and it caught my eye as my husband called me his Silver fox. I thought why not? I sent a photo in, and they replied. Silver Fox Management said they would love to sign me on. I’m also with Extra Edge talent, I’ve been doing some extra work with them they too are big fans of my hair, and it’s uniqueness. A casting director told me recently “Don’t ever color your hair; there’s no one else that looks like you!”

Q: You seem to be very passionate about supporting women, can you tell us how you share and encourage women to embrace their beauty?

I think a woman supporting other woman is powerful; we need to boost each other up. I also have a ten-year-old daughter; I want to be the best role model I can be for her. Embracing and accepting your true self and living an authentic life is a message I like to convey. It goes beyond hair and what we look like it’s celebrating our differences and experiences that make us unique. A few of my friends have recently stopped dying their hair, they don’t have grey hair yet, but they colored their hair because it’s just what they felt they had to do. I’m not against people wanting to dye their hair by any means but if women say to me that they are sick of going to the hairdresser every four weeks I encourage them to give it a go and see what happens. Nothing to lose!

Q: What has been the hardest transition personally for you going gray?

I had very long dark hair, so I chopped it off to above my shoulders. I didn’t feel like me without long hair, but It didn’t take long to grow back. At first, I was worried what people would think, but as I went along, I cared less and less. You have to rock the skunk look!

“Worth $49 Unlimited.”

May 14, 2018 ·

This blog post is inspired by a company that stole this picture below of me recently to advertise their company in a sponsored post on Instagram. They told me that they could buy my pictures for “$49 with unlimited usage.” Not true but I am not going to get into the legal issue of using copyright photos without permission in this post, however, I will get into how you value your worth.

Who do you allow to tell you what you are worth? Society? Your job? Social Media? Your peers? Your husband/boyfriend/partner? Making bold choices in life takes a particular type of person and personality, and everyone is capable of developing this type of attitude.

I spend extended hours planning and scheduling my photo, shopping and styling clothes for the right “look” for the shoot, doing my hair and makeup, creating a “theme” for each photo session and paying my photographer. Nothing comes easy when you are building original content for your brand. Having a company take my photos and use them for their benefit without permission is just unreal to me but seems to be a new reality. No responsibility, no morals, no honesty take, take, take. A company telling me I am worth 49 dollars was amusing to me but what happens if I took that to heart? What if I started to believe that? The book I am reading currently You Are What You Think, says it perfectly “Words, said either in the privacy of the mind or spoken aloud, are powerful.” What are you saying to yourself about your worth?

I wrote about how we have a whole new type of insecurity because of social media. We place value on ourselves because of a number on our account, a number of followers, google analytics. Think about that for a second and say it out loud. How ridiculous does that sound? I get it when it comes to building your company and brand image, but numbers and followers are not the entire picture. You have so much to offer this world ladies; it doesn’t start and stop with social media.

I am going to share with you a couple of practices that I have found to be helpful when you need a break or if you feel like everyone else has the “Gorgeous life,” “Perfect family” “Best body.”

Take a 24-hour break from all social media (yes, believe me, you can do it, and you might like it). Breaks will give you time to switch off your brain and the constant scrolling.
Want a more extended break? Delete the (Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, etc.) app not your account from your phone. This way you won’t feel tempted to get on and download everyone else’s life.
Grab a cup of Dream Dust and download a guided meditation app (I love using Mindful Meditation right before going to bed) on your phone to replace the time you spend on social media. Night time rituals like these will give you time to regroup and be inspired by YOUR life not everyone else’s life.
Put your phone in another room before going to bed. Waking up and checking your social media before your eyes are even open sets the tone for the entire day and this might not be positive for you. Replace checking your feeds with breathing techniques, five-minute meditation or writing in your journal on your intentions for your day, week, month.
Spend your time reading a motivating book. Maybe you want to write a book, or you want to learn how to get to the next level in your job. Spend your valuable time feeding your brain and getting productive, positive information that will advance your career and enhance your life.

These are just some suggestions, ask for what you are worth, don’t second guess yourself and always know that YOU and only you are the one that decides what you are worth.

*some links are an affiliate

Silver Sister Spotlight with Rhiannon

April 27, 2018 ·

I have decided Friday’s will be the day that I feature our Silver Sister Spotlight. I think it’s a great day to kick off the weekend and give you some hardcore inspiration. Today I am featuring the gorgeous Rhiannon not only is she rocking her gray hair journey as a young Mom she also has curly hair. I know so many of you struggle with gray and having unruly curly hair. Rhiannon shares with us in a bonus question what hair care products she uses to tame her curly hair.

Rhiannon is a Licensed Esthetician and Cosmetic Laser Technician but decided to stay at home for a while to focus on her kids and her health. Rhiannon will be celebrating her 15th wedding anniversary this year and is very excited about this milestone. Her husband’s support through her gray hair journey means the world to her. Rhiannon posts YouTube videos of her documented gray hair transition. She recently created an Instagram account to continue inspiring others as well as herself. Her followers love the fact that she’s not only growing her gray but that she is also a naturally curly girl. There is a demographic of women out there who are looking for ladies embracing both silver hair and curls, hence the title of her channel: Silver Curl Journey. Rhiannon hopes to be an example to her daughter, showing her that gray hair is ageless and beautiful. Head on over to Rhiannon’s YouTube Channel and Instagram and show her some Silver Sister support!

Q: When did you start seeing gray hair and what were your initial thoughts?

I remember the day I found my first gray hair. I was about 16-years-old, and at the time, I thought it was a rare strand of platinum blonde hair because it had no color. I actually plucked it right out of my head, twirled it into a circle and saved it in a velvet ring box. A few months later, I discovered another one of those colorless hairs in my head. That’s when I realized, “Oh wow. I’m getting gray hair already??”

Q: Did you have support from friends and family with your gray transition?

Oh yes. My husband had been encouraging me to grow out my naturally gray hair for at least a decade. Every time I had a baby, my gray hair would become more intense. He thought it was awesome, but I was having too much fun playing with vibrant highlights and fun box colors just to stop and be natural. When I finally decided to grow it out, he was ecstatic.

Q: As a young Mom do you find other Mother’s celebrating your decision to go gray?

You know, it’s hard to tell. Some of the questions I was getting, in the beginning, seemed very superficial. People thought I was going through a phase. They would ask how long I planned on growing it, whether I liked it or not, etc. It wasn’t until very recently that I finally started receiving what I recognize to be genuine compliments.

Q: You have some very hip and trendy gray hairstyles from braids to super sleek tell us about your personal style.

Oh, thank you! I try to be creative because I do become bored very quickly with my hair. Hence the reason I played with hair color for 20 years. My style is more about simplicity than anything else. My kids have hectic schedules, which means I am always on the go. So whatever I can do in 10 minutes or less is my goal. I hardly ever wear makeup, but when I do, it only takes me a few minutes to apply it. You won’t catch this girl contouring and ‘baking’ her foundation! Ha! I have naturally curly hair, so the easiest thing for me to do is a wash-and-go style. I have no shame in rocking ponytails (synthetic ones are fun!), pigtails, baseball caps, or bandanas on days when I’m in a rush. In fact, I seem to get more compliments when I have my hair pulled all the way back, exposing the majority of my silver hair. That’s when braids come in handy. I braid my hair when I feel like I want a little attention. Haha!

Q: What advice would you give other women going through the first six months of not dying their hair?

Those first six months are the most eye-opening months for both yourself and the people around you. When you own it with cheerful confidence, everybody recognizes that as a type of beauty you didn’t even know exists, even if you look and the mirror and don’t see the beauty in yourself just yet. Your hair changing on the outside is kind of like that cocoon wrapping around that beautiful butterfly just waiting to be revealed. So hang in there! Once your transition is complete, you will feel like a new kind of beautiful. You will flutter around and attract all types of new people and adventures. I mean, look at me! I’m just a regular person who wanted to embrace her natural hair, and here I am being featured on the website of the very person whose videos inspired me to make this decision in the first place!

Q: Working with curly hair can you tell us what hair products you currently use and recommend?

Sure! I use sulfate-free, silicone-free products. My current favorite brand is Cantu. I’ve tried a couple of others, but my hair texture and curl pattern didn’t agree with them as much as they agree with Cantu. If I could sample every curly girl product out there, I would! I just haven’t had the chance to experiment some more. I recommend trying anything and everything until you find what works for you. Some curls do well with silicones and a little sulfate. I don’t believe in a one-size-fits-all method for curls. However, for those with curly silver hair, it is an absolute MUST to avoid too much heat (flat irons, etc.) and to use colorless products. Any cream or oil tinted with even the slightest shade of brown or yellow will stain our lovely white strands and dull the overall appearance of our hair. When and if that happens, there are plenty of purple shampoos that will help correct it. 🙂

How To Get a Gray Attitude

April 25, 2018 ·

Ladies I get it, going gray is not fun no matter what your age. All the stereotypical statements go through your head that people say from “I am so old,” “Grandma Hair,” “Frumpy old lady.” You name it you’re thinking it. So what are you to do? Default to what society says is beautiful and young? Allow your negative self-talk to keep you from being true to yourself? Or keep on dying your hair, so it looks entirely unnatural for your age? Maybe give up and add more toxins every two weeks so that you can feel accepted? I think NOT.

I know gray hair is not for everyone, but I don’t think I need to remind everyone that Beauty Reinvented is all about women that WANT to go gray.

Photo Credit; Rick Gomez Photography

When you are feeling down, and very unattractive how do you pick yourself back up and get in the game? How do you feel confident when all your peers are sporting golden locks or rich chestnut hair? I have created a list for you ladies to print out and post to your mirror or somewhere you will see it on a daily basis. I am your biggest cheerleader because I felt everything you are feeling. I didn’t have a gray-haired role model that did videos or wrote a blog about it when I was first going through this crazy gray transition over two years ago.

When your gray hair journey gets hard, and you are at your last dark hair strand NOW that’s when you need to push for your gray and own it even more. You need to look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself “This too shall pass.” Ladies, it’s a hair color that means nothing except for a bold, fierce and downright powerful attitude. If you dyed your hair pink, purple or green like a lot of women, not just teens are doing do you think anyone would care? So why do they care about gray? Think about that for a second.

Here is the plan, read this list below, print it out to give yourself the encouragement you need to get through each day. I promise you it gets more comfortable you have to commit and not look back.

I designed a couple of hats like the one I am wearing in this photo that is available on my website. Perfect for the days where you are just like I can’t take it anymore. It’s a fashionable statement to help you through the growing out period. You have seen me wearing this hat a lot on my Instagram. I love how I make a statement without having to say a word.

Silver Sister Spotlight with Hillary

April 20, 2018 ·

The silver sister circle gets smaller, meet Hillary a gorgeous woman that lives in my backyard (well, not literally) but here in Miami! The funny thing is is that Hillary and I have shot with the same photographer (Yes, the fantastic photographer that does all my photo shoots) but we have never met! How crazy is that! We met through Instagram so ladies this shows you the power of social media and connecting. Hillary and I are working on something extraordinary for all of you so keep checking back to the blog for updates. Don’t forget to show Hillary some love and follow her on Instagram.

Hillary is a native New Yorker and went to the Fashion Institue of Technology. After graduating from F.I.T., she was a senior buyer at Bergdorf Goodman for over ten years. Hillary modeled for a short period as a teenager but was told she wasn’t the right “All American” look. Fast forward to her adult life, Hillary married an Ambassador to Cuba, Belgium, and Uruguay which led to being overseas until 2009 when she moved to Miami.

Hilary reentered the modeling world at age 50! She went to an audition for a Zumba dancer and not only booked it but was used for all advertising of the Zumba Gold program. From there she was encouraged to pursue agents etc., and she did. Hillary is represented worldwide, and it’s been almost five years as a full-time model. She has several TV commercials running at the moment along with ads for fitness, health, and beauty. Hillary says she loves the creativity of this business, but you also need to deal with an enormous amount of rejection- something people often don’t realize.

Q: Tell us when you first started seeing gray hair.

A: I first started seeing my gray hair as early as my mid-20’s! My hair was naturally very dark, so they stood out. I loved it and thought it looked like strands of tinsel. I never thought about covering them up. By the time I turned 40, I was indeed salt and pepper.

Q: What made you decide to go gray?

A: I decided to keep my gray because I loved being unique and I think it appealed to my rebellious side. With each negative comment I received (and there were many) it only made me more determined to stay true to my personal choice – not what the beauty industry and society dictated.
Going gray is not for the timid-it is a bold statement. Twenty years ago the internet was new, and there wasn’t an online gray hair support community or chat groups- no info about the process, products to use, etc. Now it is so much easier and beautiful to connect worldwide with like-minded women “The Silver Sisters.”

Q: You are a busy working model how has your gray hair enhanced your career?

A: My hair is my signature along with a 100% natural look. That’s the image I chose as my brand. As a model, it has been both an asset and hindrance. The concept of accepting gray hair is becoming something other than “old lady/grandma,” but the reality is that advertising is still youth-oriented. Women always search for any way to look younger and ads will continue to be marketed towards that. It happens often that a client will choose a woman my age with dyed hair over gray for that very reason. There is a fallacy about dyed hair equals youth, and gray hair equals old. But it is slowly changing and I am proud to be one of the pioneers.

Q: What has been your most exciting booking as a gray hair model?

A: Being chosen as the first mature gray haired model in the Athleta catalog in 2016 was thrilling I was featured alongside young women of all body types and ethnicities- I was truly proud to represent my generation.
I also had my first magazine cover in 2017 – M Magasin Sweden the images are unedited and marketed to women over forty.

Q: What advice do you have for women wanting to go gray?

A: My advice is to go for it!! You will never regret it. Surround yourself with people (online virtual and real) who support You being You. Gray hair does inspire comments from virtual strangers that no other color will- so be prepared. Many are very kind and genuine- enjoy those and learn to ignore the rest which inevitably comes from other women being cruel just because of their insecurities. Gray hair will make you stand out- Own it. Confidence is the key.

What Does Being A Girl Boss Mean?

April 3, 2018 ·

#Girlboss, #Bossbabe, #LikeABoss are thrown around like candy in a social media world that’s all about image and the perception of success. What does being a Girl Boss mean? Is there pressure to be this perfect woman that #slays it like a #WomanOnTop all of the time? Are we creating more pressure to be perfect, always put together with the “perfect” life or maybe I should say showing the “perfect life?” I find myself even using these hashtags as part of my daily vocabulary and using them in my Instagram posts like they are going out of style. I even sell travel mugs in my studio that says “Like A Boss.” We all want positive images, mantras, phrases but where do trends stop and real life takes over? For the last couple of months every time I use one of these hashtags I think to myself “What does this mean?”

Photo Credit: Rick Gomez Photography

We live in a world now that is entirely run by media, social media and what people want you to believe is right. The constant need and desire to keep up the term #WomanOnTop, to post the next best image, the next best blog post, video, podcast and when you fail to fill this social media beast you have FOMO continually. Do I have enough followers? Oh, wait her massive following is fake? And I have been comparing myself/career/life to her? Listen I am also in this spin cycle of our new world just like everyone else, but I have been thinking about what a #GirlBoss is/does/lives/thinks. The most important thing to remember is that you are unique and not like everyone else. You don’t need to compare yourself to the next Instagram account, Facebook “Life” or business. The power comes from within not from a hashtag.

Photo Credit: Rick Gomez Photography

So what is a Girl Boss? Ask yourself that question, what does that mean to you?

What does a Girl Boss do? Is she a Mom that manages a household? Is she your retired neighbor that grows a garden? Is she your doctor? Is she the line cook at your daughter’s school? Is she YOU? Do you see where I am going with this?

Where does a Girl Boss live? LOL, this is getting silly because she lives everywhere in the world!

How does a Girl Boss think? Take the label off because you are a woman of power, of light, of discipline, of love. You have so much more to yourself than trying to be a Girl Boss.

Let me say there is nothing wrong with trends etc. or wanting to be a Girl Boss. I am pointing out that getting caught up in a trendy label, pushing yourself to be at some social media level of success is not something to strive for, it’s just that trendy.

Photo Credit: Rick Gomez Photography

Do I struggle with keeping up with the social media whirlwind I mean what entrepreneur doesn’t? I sometimes wish we could go back to 1988 where your phone had a cord attached to the wall, you weren’t allowed to have a phone in your room, and when you went out, NO ONE THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD IF THEY COULDN”T REACH YOU. Constant pressure to have better numbers not only with your bank account but in your social media accounts it’s almost like we don’t have a name just value by numbers. I think #Girlboss has seen its day and women are looking for more substance, more depth, more connection to not only a popular saying.

How you show up to the world is what is powerful, how you handle yourself in challenging situations is powerful. Life is not always comfortable, and with all the distractions we face now it’s incredible that we get anything done. We have apps that can deliver you anything from coffee to a driver. If you don’t get the information in a Nanosecond, the world feels like it’s coming unglued. Ask yourself what empowers you? What makes you feel powerful? I can tell you that it’s not Instagram or Facebook or a hashtag behind your name that says #Girlboss. In recent studies, one in five people say they feel depressed as a result of using social media.

Create your reality one that is real and true. Set out to impress yourself not anyone else. Reach for your goals, take that class, turn off your phone, look around, live, breathe, love, share, talk, speak, listen, hug, encourage, feel, because THAT is what counts ladies. You are what you believe and say to yourself start writing your story and live it.