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I’ve been home from Guatemala for a little over a week and I still catch myself smiling as I think about all of the amazing experiences I got to have and the people I got to meet there. 🙂 I know I shared some videos and photos from the trip on my Instagram Stories, but I didn’t really explain what I was there to do. I belong to a group of female entrepreneurs and this year, one of our big initiatives was to go on a group service trip to Guatemala. We teamed up with Fundamaya to build wood stoves for families who need them. I’ve never done anything like this and I was worried whether I would actually be able to help. But during the week we were there, we installed stoves in the homes of four families in San Antonio Palopó. It was a beautiful experience meeting them and hearing their stories while we worked!  In a different group coaching program I belong to (yes, I belong to several 🙃), one of the coaches was talking to us about the concept of Misogi. This is an ancient Japanese practice where you bathe underneath a waterfall to create a more harmonious relationship with yourself. The modern version of it is to do one really hard thing each year that fuels you for the remaining 364 days. You want to get yourself used to taking on challenges that alter your worldview and push you to do more. He refers to it as “adding more life to your life” (which I love). I consider this trip to Guatemala to be my Misogi for the year. 💙 I had a beautiful opportunity to serve. I got to meet strong and resilient families that live in challenging circumstances and I saw how kind and generous they were, even in the middle of their hardship. I gained so much perspective from these families and I came back to the states with a renewed drive to grow my business. I want to be able to take more of these opportunities to help more, give more, serve more, and be more.    Of course, I wanted to share my experience and these beautiful photos with you but I also wanted to make sure I said “thank you.” If you’re reading this, that means you have supported me and my business and without support like that, I wouldn’t be in a place where I am able to do these things. Do you dream of closing your laptop for a week to do something like this? Have you done something like this before? If so, I’d love to hear about where you went and what you did! If this experience I shared inspired you, check out Fundamaya and all the amazing work they’re doing! Fundamaya was born from the vision of a group of indigenous Guatemalan, Australian, and American friends who wanted to help those most in need. On their site, you can find different ways you can help (some without even leaving your house) so I urge you to check it out!
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In early February, I found out that I was selected by Graphic Design USA magazine as one of the “People to Watch in 2023.” I posted about it over on my Instagram page, which I’ll be honest, felt a little uncomfortable because I don’t want it to ever sound like I’m bragging. But, part of being an entrepreneur is talking about yourself and your achievements because if you don’t do it, no one will! It doesn’t come easy, but it’s something I’m working on. 💞 My journey to full-time designer hasn’t been a straight line and I’ve had many moments of doubt. So, it feels surreal that a legitimate publication would choose me as one of their people to watch!  I know I’ve talked about this elsewhere, maybe on this blog, but moments like this help me feel more validated in my career choices. My mom and my dad were both engineers – two very analytical people who always seemed so sure of themselves and their purpose in life. Then you had my brother who was always on the honor roll in school and my sister, who is also super smart and well, I felt a little bit like the odd one out. It wasn’t until I discovered the world of graphic design that I started to feel like I knew what I was good at. It’s tough being a left-brained person in a family full of right-brainers! For a while, my parents didn’t even understand how someone could make money doing graphic design. 😄 I know for a fact that I would never have made the leap to go full-time with my design business or become a mentor for people who want to learn design if it weren’t for my dad. Watching him teach students and make a difference in their lives was transformative. When he passed in 2020, I knew it was time to really get serious and push myself to go after these bigger goals I had. I am somewhat risk-averse by nature, so it wasn’t a comfortable experience in the least. I remember the first few times I got in front of a camera – even just to do an Instagram Story on behalf of my business – my voice would shake and I would rush to get through it. But I knew that I wanted to be proud of myself and I knew I trusted in my skills as a designer and as a mentor. And you know what? Pushing myself and going through those uncomfortable moments paid off. It led to so many new opportunities, projects, and clients. And it also led to this amazing feature!  Lennon's reaction to the news □ I know it sounds like I’m giving an acceptance speech, but it kind of feels that way to me! 💗 I never thought I would be chosen for something like this, and it’s a real “pinch me” experience. I’ve hit the limits of my comfort zone in talking about myself, but the whole reason I wanted to write this post is to thank you for supporting my business and my design work. It means EVERYTHING to me and it’s the main reason I was even able to be considered for something like this. As a designer, I can love everything I create. But if other people aren’t loving it, I’m not going to get very far as a business owner. Your support, encouragement, engagement, referrals, and just general cheerleading means more than you know. Are there ways you’re holding yourself back because you’re scared of putting yourself out there? I know it’s way easier to stay in your comfortable lane, but going off the paved path can bring you to some pretty beautiful places. I’m always here to chat if you want, and you know I’m going to be 100% real with you. 🙂 The other day, I took Lennon shopping to spend the Christmas money he’s been saving up. To my surprise, he decided to use the money to buy rollerblades! 🛼 He got the chance to try it recently at school and turns out, he really liked it. This is a bit of a side note, but I’m actually so glad that rollerblades have made a comeback! I used to rollerblade everywhere as a kid and now I put them on and wonder how in the heck I had the leg strength to do that. It is SUCH a workout! But I digress… 🙈  We got home with the rollerblades and of course, he put them on immediately. But then, he was a little stuck on what to do next. He didn’t have enough confidence to start zooming down the street and I couldn’t give him much advice other than “don’t fall.” So, he thought about who could teach him and of course, YouTube came to mind. If you have a kid between the ages of 6 and 16, you get it. 😂 We found a “Rollerblading for Beginners” video and in no time, he was doing all of these cool moves and just felt more sure of himself. We talked about how he could have probably learned these things on his own, but learning from an expert saved him so much time and frustration. Instead of practicing (and falling) for weeks or months to learn these techniques, he was able to get the hang of them in just an hour or so! In my own experience both as a designer and business owner, I have learned a lot of lessons and techniques from people who are successful in these areas. But do you want to know something interesting? I have actually learned way more from people who are just slightly ahead of me than I have from industry “experts” who are miles and miles ahead of me. I’ve shared this story a lot, but my dad was a teacher and when he passed away a few years ago, a bunch of his past students reached out to my family to tell us how much he had touched their lives and how great of a teacher he was to them. After hearing from all of these people, I had a bit of an “aha” moment. I started thinking, “What if I were to build a mentorship side to my business and teach people how to become brand designers?” It would be a great way to make more of an impact with my knowledge and even though it scared the living heck out of me, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. So, I put my big girl pants on and I led a group of 30 women through a virtual design workshop. When it was done, I received SUCH positive feedback from the people who attended. After that, I created my signature design course, The Brand Design Academy. This course is one of the main ways I am able to mentor aspiring designers. You can learn more about the course here! It feels so good to share my knowledge and honor my dad’s legacy in this way. There are always going to be people who wish they could do what you do, and when you put yourself out there to become a mentor – or make YouTube videos – you’re impacting people in a bigger way than you realize. You might be opening them up to a new hobby or even a new career path! Have you ever pushed yourself out of your comfort zone to teach something to someone? Share your story with me – and any lessons you learned from it – in the comments!  As I’m writing this, Lennon and I are settling back in after two long weeks on the road for the holidays. We visited five cities, including my hometown of Torreón, Mexico. We saw family, we saw friends, and we ate a LOT of good food. It was so good to have that time with loved ones, but now I’m ready to dive into work! I’m starting the year feeling calm for the first time ever. I have some amazing clients lined up who are eager to work with me, a quiet home office, and most importantly, access to a coffee station in my building that brews Starbucks coffee! I am the epitome of #blessed. 😄 To be honest with you, 2022 was a hard year both personally and professionally (but mostly personally). It has also been hard for Lennon. We went through some tough transitions as a family and there’s just no shortcut to moving past things like that. You have to go through it and come out the other side. The other day, he was having a particularly tough day so I gave him my phone. I told him to go through the photo app and find one happy memory from each month of 2022. He was able to find lots of good moments and I think that helped him have some perspective. For me, I didn’t really want to do a highlight reel of my year. But then I thought about it and realized I need to walk the walk if I’m going to talk the talk. Also, I think it’s really important that we share our tougher moments along with our successes. It’s so much more real. Before I share my word of the year for 2023, I wanted to drop a little visual recap of 2022:  Putting this together and seeing the full scope of my year helped me put things in perspective. Yes, there were tough moments but there were lots of good ones, too. I’m proud of the work I did and of how I pushed through when it didn’t feel easy. I’m also really proud of the breaks I took. Every single one of them was necessary, even if I felt guilty about them in the moment. As I look ahead to 2023, I want to do what I can to set myself up for success. So, I’ve chosen the word “consistency” as my word of the year for my work and my life outside of work, too.  I will intentionally be consistent in the following areas: 👩🏻💻 Career: I will stay consistent with my launches and follow through with my marketing plans to achieve my financial goals. 🙏🏼 Spiritual: I will consistently set aside time to start my day feeling in alignment through journaling, card pulling, or intention setting. 🤓 Developmental: I will consistently make time to keep learning something every week, either personally or professionally. 👥 Relational: I will stay consistent as I make time for my friends and family so they know how important they are to me. ❤️ Health: I will consistently take care of my body this year by exercising at least three times a week and by taking my supplements. I know that writing it all down and putting it out into the universe (and in front of the eyes of everyone who reads my blog posts) will help hold me accountable. The rest is up to me! Now I want to hear about your intentions for yourself this year. Please comment below and tell me if you set a resolution or picked a word for yourself for 2023. I’m always so inspired by people’s goals so I definitely want to hear yours! As always, for being here. It means a lot to me! Well, here we are at the end of another year, and I wanted to take a few moments to get a little bit sappy. Tis the season, am I right?  This won’t be a long post, but I just wanted to take a moment of your time to say THANK YOU for being a part of my 2022 journey! More than any other year, I have benefitted from the support and kindness of those in my circle, including you! It means a lot that you’re here reading these words. Truly. I felt so much support from people beyond my blog this year too. Whether you attended one of my workshops, purchased my course, booked my design services, referred a potential client, or simply engaged with my emails or social media posts, I am so grateful for the time you spent supporting me and my business. I’ve been working for myself for 2 years full-time now, and I am still learning new things all the time. This year, I learned that the community I’ve built for myself, mostly online, is so much more valuable and meaningful to my life than I could have ever imagined. While there are a lot of great things about owning your own business, I did encounter my fair share of challenges this year. And if I didn’t have a community full of people like you — people who are SO quick to cheer me on with an encouraging message or a sweet emoji — pushing through them would have been a heck of a lot harder. Please just know how grateful I am for you. Wishing you and yours a healthy, happy holiday season! |
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