One of my favorite shows my hubby and I like to watch is Shark Tank on ABC.  Having entrepreneurism in our blood, we can appreciate the struggle of chasing a dream that we see burning inside each of the idea generators asking the sharks for investment in their dream.  It’s not enough to believe in yourself to turn an idea into a profitable business, but you have to convince other people, whether investors or future clients, to believe in you and your gifts as well, and even harder, with what they hold most closely… their money.

Being an entrepreneur is tough some days.  Especially for those who go at it alone, like myself. On the other side of that pretty Instagram post marketing my business, is a lot of things people don’t see behind the scenes like:

• Gathering guts to wake up each morning and pursue a passion.
• Brushing off rejection when sales don’t go through like you thought they would.
• Late hours into the night trying to knock off… just.. one… more… thing… from the never ending TO DO list.
• Handling customer service both the good and the bad.
• The quicksand of emails.  And more emails.  And more emails all needing responses.
• The drudge of bookkeeping and taxes.
• Sacrificing personal time with friends and family because your business needs attention in order to keep paying the bills.

But on the flipside, there are also a lot of rewards like:

• Landing that account that you thought you lost.
• Achieving financial milestones that exceed what you previously made at prior jobs working for someone else.
• When someone compliments your work… makes… it… all… worth… it.
• Getting recognized by industry peers you look up to or publications you only dreamed about getting published in.
• When you see a client cry tears of joy over something you created or were able to help them at.

When I think back to my beginning days taking my first steps as an entrepreneur, this is the piece of advice I would give myself, and I give you fellow #girlbosses today:

You have everything already inside of you to be nothing less than fabulous, don’t let doubt convince you otherwise. You will be able to look back one day in the future and understand the struggles and headaches of today.  The late nights, all consuming obsession are important in the giving birth process, but don’t let it become the norm taking over your life. There will be more failures than successes along the way, but the successes aren’t possible without those failures first, so don’t be so hard on yourself in the process. When you get a success, grab a loved one and do a circle dance, because you earned every cheesy twirl.  Because you dare to do what others aren’t and are trailblazing your own path, it’s a given you will be criticized, but Taylor Swift will one day write a song reminding you to “shake it off.” You will find out some colleague friends are actually frenemies, but it’s ok, it will make you appreciate the true friends that much more. You will want to give up more times than you can count, but when you see what’s still to come, you will be so glad you didn’t throw in the towel during those moments.  If you work from home, it’s ok to work in sweatpants some days, but don’t let comfort make you forget your power. Some days, even if you don’t leave the house, simply require make up and stilettos so you stay in the mindset of the kick butt #girlboss you are.  And most importantly, don’t forget to always continually give it all to God.  He’s the best CEO you can ever have in charge of your dreams. And He promises in Jeremiah 29:11, He has good plans for you, plans to prosper you, if you choose to keep taking those leaps of faith first.

And for a fun extra bonus, right now on my Instagram I’ve teamed up with 7 other #girlbosses to give away a $400 shopping spree to Nordstrom!  Join me on Instagram for all the details on how you can win!

Our Christmas tree in our new Nashville home.

There’s so many holiday gift guides floating around the blog world right now, and I debated whether to put one together also.  But then I thought, you know, we’re not going by any gift guides this year, so why should I promote one?

Instead, what we are doing in my family this year is simply… making our gifts.  When my mom asked me what I wanted for Christmas/My birthday this year, I simply said “Make me something.  Don’t buy me the usual knick knacks, make me something from your heart.”  And now Stephen and I are doing the same for each other and others as well.  It’s so easy to get caught up in the newest and hottest gadgets out there, but making something from the heart is so much more meaningful.

Now mind you, I’m not not not crafty.  While I wish I had the gift of being the one behind who inspires others on Pinterest with my crafty projects, I just wasn’t born with a crafty gene to create something out of nothing.  I wish I had that gift, and time, to really sit down and whip out something amazing.  But I’ve learned, making something from the heart doesn’t always have to be crafty.  Last year, the gift I made my mom was an album of all our photos from our trip to Europe.  In the past as a little girl, it was a drawing of my hand spelling “I Love You” in sign language, with a poem I wrote.  I want my mom to remember not what I bought her, but how she felt when getting the gift.

The other gift I try to give has nothing to do with Christmas… but it’s a gift I try to give all year long.  It’s simply the gift of…. giving… when I see God open an opportunity.  While Stephen and I feel blessed to earn a living on the creative gifts we have, whenever we see someone in true need of one of our creative gifts, if we are in a place to be able to give, we try our best to give without asking anything in return.  We also love blessing others with random acts of kindness when we can, such as leaving someone a bigger tip than they deserve, buying someone’s groceries behind us in line, or praying for someone on the spot.

It’s so easy to get caught up in forgetting that Jesus is the reason for the season and the gift He gave us, but below are a few ways I hope you can remember what this season is truly all about.

THREE WAYS TO GIVE THIS SEASON:

1.  MAKE SOMETHING.  If you are crafty, go to Michaels and brainstorm up something unique for that special person in your life who is used to getting something store bought from you.  If you are not crafty, Personal Creations is a great site which helps think for you, and you just plug in a custom name or phrase!

2.  TITHE.  When was the last time you sacrificed part of your paycheck to give to your church?  I know it can be hard, I know it’s a sacrifice, I know there are many other things you need to be spending your money on, but with all that God has given you, how can you not give Him back His 10%?  If you don’t belong to a church, is there someone in your life that could use a check for the 10%?  And next time you go get groceries, you know you will see that reminder there ringing the bell with a smile as your walk in.  There’s so much beauty in giving that you don’t understand until you give, and as Jesus said, “It is better to give than to receive.”

3.  GIVE YOUR TIME.  Just as hard as it is to give money, giving of your time can be just as hard when your To Do list is adding up with each day getting closer to Christmas.  Yet, this time of year, so many charities, organizations and churches are in need of how they are trying to give in others lives too.  Think of the homeless shelter that needs more volunteers on Christmas to serve up meals tho those whose only Christmas gift is a hot meal.  Think of that church pageant who needs people to help with wardrobe, music, passing out candles.  Or what about that old man down the street who will be spending Christmas alone?  Maybe it’s time you stopped passing by his house on the drive home, and stopped for an hour to see if he needs anything.

“Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion,
for God loves a cheerful giver.” 2 Corinthian 9:7

I hope your Christmas season is turning out to be a blessed one!  Leave me a comment and let me know any other ideas you have for unique ways to give this season!

Last week, a dear friend sent me a text message asking if I was going to be around home the next few days.  My eyebrow raised as I texted back a “Yes, why?”  I was secretly hoping she would surprise me with a visit from Georgia, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case.  However, I discovered a few days later she sent the next best thing… a surprise for my belly!  It was a huge box of macaroons from a place I have apparently been missing out on my bakery radar, Dana’s Bakery.  As I opened the box and read her sweet words in the note, all I could think was, it’s takes such simple effort to do a random act of kindness for somebody.  I got to thinking about all the little things that go a long way to brighten someone’s day and wanted to share them with you… I challenge you to pick one and do it today.  Because you can.  And it’s so easy.  Do it.  Now.  🙂

7 Acts of Kindness You Can Do Today

1.  Write a sweet message on someone’s Facebook wall.  I mean.  Really.  How hard is that to say hi to your college roommate you’ve been meaning to catch up with?

2.  Send them cupcakes or macaroon’s. Apparently it’s easier than I thought through places like Dana’s Bakery.

3.  Pay for the coffee or hamburger for the person behind you in the fast food line.  You never know, that person behind you could have lost their job yesterday.

4.  Make your neighbors cookies for no reason at all. When was the last time you checked in just to say hi and not ask for a cup of sugar?

5.  Call that friend you keep meaning to catch up with.  Like, really call.  Not text.

6. Write a message on a sticky note and leave it in an unexpected place for your loved one.  Handwritten means so much more than typed.

7.  Send your mom a card.  She needs acts of kindness from you too.

Remember the days before email and blogs and Facebook and texting, and you would go to the mailbox and open it up to receive handwritten letters from people?  When was the last time you received that?  Or when was the last time you sent that?  For me, it’s been longer than I can remember.  I have one girlfriend who refuses to add text messaging to her cell phone plan, and instead she sends cards with long handwritten messages.

And I love that.

I know every time I see something in the mail from her, even if it’s once a year, that it always makes my day.  Why?  Because I know that she took a few minutes out of her day to think about me enough to take action to write out thoughts from her heart.

I want to be more like that.

Yet, life gets in the way.  I get busy.  Work has it’s demands.  Work travels exhaust me.  My dog needs to be fed.  My mom needs mother/daughter time.  The house needs to be cleaned.  The laundry is piling up in addition to the excuses.  And handwritten letters don’t get written.

But I’m on a mission to change that.  And I challenge you to join me on that mission.  Today I’m going to stop and write a handwritten letter to somebody out of the blue to simply tell them that I love them.  Who can you stop for a few minutes to show that you care?  It doesn’t have to be long.  It can just be a quick little note in a quick little envelope with a quick little stamp and a quick little walk to the mailbox.  Don’t let time fly and the excuses pile up because your words just might be the exact healing words they needed to hear that day to know that they aren’t alone on the journey.  That they are loved.  And that you love them enough to take time out of their day to show them that love.  They are worth it.  And your laundry can wait.

Before finishing this blog entry, I just walked to my mailbox and put something in the mail.  Now it’s your turn.  🙂