Beauty is fun!

Last night I got super girly, stepped out of my comfort zone, and stepped in to help my girlfriend Lisa as a hair model for a class at her salon. I had NO idea what to expect, but it actually turned out to be pretty fun! We played with so many different styles through my hair and I got to see my hair in ways I never even imagined.

Check the photos we took throughout the class...

PS - And ladies, if a stylist friend ever asks you to step in and help out with a class, do it! Not only will you have fun, but you're doing a solid to the people that take care of a vital essential to your life: HAIR.
Did I mention it's fun too???

Big shoutout and courtesy credit for all the wonderful Kérastase products we used and to the Via Dolce salon. If you're in the Marina Del Rey area and in need of some beauty, the salon is beautiful and the gals there are top notch :)

BEFORE:


STRAIGHT BLOWOUT:

 

PIN CURLS to HOLLYWOOD GLAM:
 

BOHEMIAN BEACH WAVE:

 

END RESULT: 4 VERY DIFFERENT LOOKS

I had a total blast doing this and can't wait to do it again! 

Happy Wednesday!

I Choose Wisdom

I recently read an article by Deepak Chopra about The Wisdom Principle and what it means to be "wise." (Read the full article HERE)

In the article, he says:

Quote
Someone who wants to be wise has the following traits:

• The desire to be real
• The courage to step into the unknown
• A refusal to be fooled by illusions
• The need to feel fulfilled
• The ability to go beyond material satisfactions

End Quote

Athena the Goddess of Wisdom & Beauty

He also went on to talk about people's misconception of the term, and how people think this descriptive word should only be used for the gray haired and elderly, who have experienced the world ten-fold. He goes on to say that wisdom is really just "mature awareness." Knowing oneself more than anything is how we get to a level of wisdom beyond what others anticipate for us, and perhaps what we even anticipate for ourselves.

In a time when I'm not sure exactly what will happen next for myself or career, 
I am taking every leap forward into the unknown, in hopes for something bigger and better than me. 

Courage? Call it whatever you like. I am choosing it because staying in the same place is not an option. Perhaps, the "wiser" version of myself is the ultimate goal. I see the bigger picture and it is full steam ahead until I get there.

I know this to be true: we are defined by our choices. 

Our privilege to choose right from wrong and to help the lives of others, instead of hindering them, is a deliberate one. You can't half-ass it. You choose to live fully with a helpful, hopeful heart, do it, all of it, or not. In this time of cautious treading into new territories, I welcome this privilege and hope that those who support me most will hold me accountable for my goals and my choices. 

I do not aim to please the likes of my superiors any more. 
There is no one beneath me, nor above me. 
It is up to me how I choose to treat people and how I will make my company, brand, and life different from here forward.

It's a new day. I choose to be wise.

My Own Molly

Today is the day! Today, I am officially open for business. My website is LIVE and there's no turning back. I am a business owner. I am an entrepreneur. Today makes it real.

Now I know what it means when entrepreneurs tell me their stories of countless restless nights spent working on their websites, finalizing designs, and putting all the polishing touches on a project they've babied for months. 

This is my baby.

A few years ago I was only talking about the idea of starting a business. 

Those who know me best remember the conversations brainstorming about what it could be and how I could conquer the world with this business. Premature? Ha! Perhaps. 

Brilliant minds of our time were once laughed at for their ideas.

You gotta start dreaming big early on ;)

My point is this: I knew there was a need for something I could produce at a fair price. In this case, on-demand Assistant Services. And I knew that by producing this product, I could help people. I could really make a difference in their lives.

Fast forward to August of 2012 and I started giving my ideas more serious consideration.

"What if I could really do this?"

I truly believe that the people you meet in this lifetime are the ones who help mold the person you become. It is ultimately your choice as to how these people affect you for the worse or the better. But everyone is placed in your life for a reason.

For me, a key character in my path to self discovery will always and forever be Ali Brown.

     

Even before I was hired by her, I set an intention that she was exactly the person I wanted to work for at that time. I was coming out a previously very difficult and demanding position, working for an executive that had completely drained my spirit. I needed a sense of renewal. I needed to work for a strong woman doing big things in a big way. I needed to feel empowered by doing my job well. And I needed to know that I was truly valued and appreciated. None fit that description better or made those words more true than Ali.

It is greatly due to her that I begin this voyage (at the same age she started her own company years ago), in the same hopes that I have even a fraction of the same success and happiness that she has acquired in her own entrepreneurial journey.

I've dedicated everything I have to creating a beautiful website. 

The real work begins by building a brand and company I am proud to own. 

Now I am the one who can say I have put in countless hours, numerous restless nights, blood, sweat, tears, fear, anxiety, and sheer exhaustion into this business since the day I decided to dedicate my every effort to making it a success. 
And I'm just getting started!

All of this for the hope that it will be bigger and better than I can imagine...one day.

I can't wait for all that is to come. I welcome the feedback, encouragement, constructive criticism, or whatever chapter comes next.

Because I know that this is MY story. And there's nothing more beautiful than that.

Don't forget to breathe.

So a few days ago, I had a day that was what some people like to call a "rough day." 

You know those days when Murphy's Law is in full effect and testing every ounce of your patience? Yeh, it was one of those days. Makes you wonder if there's something to all that stuff about planets being in retrograde and what not. I think the planets were doing somersaults that day.

I know everyone has good days and bad days and everything in between. And the idea is to stay positive and keep on trucking. I get that. But when I got news that wasn't exactly to my liking, and caused a major delay in my afternoon, I decided that my best option was to get out of the house. Instead of letting that stress fester up inside of me, I thought, "Molly, go for a bike ride! It's gorgeous outside. You could certainly use the exercise. And it will give you the opportunity to clear your mind." So I did.

What happened next is me learning TWO of life's little lessons.


I went on that bike ride. There I was cruising the Santa Monica bike path on a gorgeous sunny day along the beautiful Pacific Coastline. After a few miles, I decided I would stop at a small bench and collect my thoughts. Reflect on the day and appreciate the fact that I have the awesome opportunity to live the life I lead. For a few sweet moments on that bench, life was everything I needed. I breathed a huge sigh of relief.

Then...I started thinking. TOO MUCH. That hamster wheel in my mind started churning and off I went. I thought maybe in this beautiful environment, I should take a look at my website with a fresh pair of eyes. Maybe I'll gain new perspective. In my attempt to do so from my phone on a palm sized screen, I did the unthinkable. I erased my website.

Or so I thought.

In that moment, my perfect stress-free state went into sheer panic mode. Blood pressure through the roof, anxiety boiling, I hopped on my bike and pedaled home faster that I knew I was capable. All the while thinking, why hadn't I backed up my information? And why had I attempted to mix business with stress-free time? TWO huge lessons learned within a matter of seconds.

Long story short, I got home, threw my cute little cruiser by the front door, bolted to my computer, to find that thankfully, I had not deleted my website. I collapsed on my bed in relief. I'm sure I'm not the first person ever to experience what it feels like to pour your heart and soul into a project for an extended length of time only to have it completely disappear in an instant. But it sure felt like I was. 
I felt like a complete idiot.

But this kind of thing was so completely avoidable. Not only had I broken my own cardinal rule of continuously backing up projects, but I'd attempted to do business during calm time. 

And the most important part of this day was learning that I of all people should know better. What I do for other people and their businesses is no different than what I should do for myself. Or how I should treat my own business.

Backup your work (consistently!) and make time for yourself to free your mind and just be. Period. 

Because at the end of the day, without your sanity in tact, nothing is possible. And we can't simply work all the time. We have to lend our minds and energy to more than that. We deserve more. 

So enjoy the quiet moments. Relax whenever possible. And breathe. Don't forget to breathe.

Quietly yours,

Think happy thoughts...

I saw this lovely little quote on my girlfriend's facebook page recently, and it immediately struck a chord with me. I can't tell you the number of negative thoughts against myself that stream through my head everyday, downloading themselves into my every fiber. These debilitating thoughts do nothing but prohibit forward progression. No matter how much I will something to be, if I allow the negative to seep through, 

the negative will always win.

I don't know about you, but I hate losing. I'm as competitive as they come. 

So how about this?

I propose I look at those negative thoughts as my opponent. 

They are the enemy. They must be defeated. 

War paint ready. Game face on. Bring it.

If I wake up everyday with a course of action to deter these thoughts, 

then maybe, just maybe I will prevail. 

If a negative thought comes, my way, I'll knock it down with a combative blow 

of self-courage, confidence, grace, and gratitude.

For example:

I can't win.

Pshhhhh, I got this. I eat negative thoughts for breakfast, chew them up 

and spit them out.

You want some of this you dirty awful LA traffic?

I'll simply turn up my "Bittersweet Symphony" in my new rockin car and tune you out!

I'm not good enough.

I am more than good enough. I am strong. I am capable. 

And I am willing to do what it takes to succeed.

There isn't enough time.

I have as much time in a day as everyone else. Time is not prejudice. 

Tackle one thing at a time. 

I can get it all done. My time management skills are bar none.

I don't deserve to be happy.

I deserve happiness as much as the next person. I am kind. I have a good heart. 

I deserve to live a good life.

Maybe if we look at our thoughts this way; if we make a list of all the negative thoughts that enter our mind every day, and have a prepared positive response to armor ourselves, then maybe we can win this battle of negativity. I don't know about you, but I'm tired of being my own worst enemy. It's exhausting.

And there are too many negative people out there in the world that are vying 

to pull me down. Why waste another moment pulling down myself?

Step aside negativity, happy thoughts from here on out!

Think happy thoughts...

A Few Stamps and a Prayer

They say that people who play the lottery are a foolish lot of hopefuls with nothing more than pipe dreams. Well I count myself amongst the MILLIONS of foolish hopefuls who share that pipe dream. 

I think we all play our own lotteries though. We roll the dice one way or another and hope with all our might that fate will show return in our favor. After all, we have to believe in something, right?

I play as often as possible, losing quite often as well. But the winning is truly in the playing. It's in the trying. And not giving up. You never know when destiny will step in and play its hand.

This time, I've set my sights pretty high. Something big, valuable, yet meaningful to me. 

The HGTV Smart Home 2013

This 2400 square foot beach haven is the house of my dreams. It is lavish in its design and supped to the nines in its technology, yet created with all the fine comforts of southern beach living.

What more could anyone ask for?

More importantly, what more could I ask for? 

This is it. The minute I found out about this sweepstakes, I was all in. Now mind you, I missed about 3 weeks of online voting, so I had a lot of catching up to do! So I've been registering EVERYDAY since I found out about it. With every vote, I set the intention:

"This house is meant for me. I work hard. I am kind to people. 

I deserve it just as much as anyone else."

You see, I don't need or want a palatial ocean front pad in Malibu. I don't even need a $600 million Powerball jackpot. Quite the opposite. At this point in my life, a simple home in Jacksonville Beach, Florida a few blocks from the water, sounds perfect to me. Because the older I get, the less farther I want to be from the people I care about most, my family. My family is in Florida and I'm in California. So to call this house perfect, is an understatement for its proximity to loved ones, but also for all the cozy comforts that come with it. Not to mention the beloved guest room decked out in my 
favorite color as well: Coral. 
Enough said.

This home is also perfect for starting a family of my own. I know I get wrapped up in career ambitions and thinking constantly about my independent ventures. But this home gives me faith and hope for a family of my own someday. And even if I don't win, I've already won simply for having the vulnerability to think about these things. For daring to dream. For hoping for more. Cheesy as it sounds, I need this. I need the hope of whats to come...maybe even more than the actual house.

So I'm ALL IN!

Here's a few shots of my mail-in voting efforts today. Hey, you can't win if you don't play. And like I said, I had some making up to do for the weeks of voting that I missed!

  

So on the dawn on a new week, I urge you to play. Get out there and roll the dice...in your own way.

Take chances. The ones that make sense to you. The ones that fit your life. 

Put an image in your mind and your heart, set a strong, mindful intention, and hope with all your might that what's meant to be will be. 

Set your sights high. You deserve it ;)

Hopefully yours,

I'm a business owner. I must be crazy.

It's official. Well not by "official" standards (my LLC hasn't been finalized by the state yet), but in my heart, mind and spirit, I'm a business owner. 

Today, I received my first piece of business mail at my official business address. It hadn't felt real until that moment I suppose. As if the last year of efforts I've put towards it didn't justify the reality of it all! And now this tiny piece of paper suddenly gave levity to the situation and made it truly real for me. Funny how that happens. It's like I needed tactile evidence that my dreams of this business are indeed turning into a reality. 

Along with this brief moment of excitement today came immediate overwhelm and anxiety too. Oh shit. What am I doing? Who am I to think I can do this? I think I'm going to be nauseous. In a few short months, I am on my own. No plan B. No backup plan. 

My biggest fear? Failure. My biggest problem? Self doubt. 

With so many hurdles ahead, I stop to think that this must be what every new business owner goes through. A roller coaster ride to self discovery and figuring out how to take one day at a time, but never biting off more than you can chew. After all, as my wonderful boyfriend says, "You can't eat an elephant in one bite, Molly."

Ha! He'd probably laugh if he knew how many times in a day I tell that to myself every time I want to throw my hands in the air and give up for fear of being anything short of perfect. Thank goodness for his constant encouragement and charming ability to keep me laughing. I probably would've given up a million times already without his smile pressing me onward and keeping me centered.

But this is me. I'm up and down and all kinds of around. I AM a roller coaster. And although that may sound scary to some, I have to believe its pretty exciting to most. My life's journey has not been easy. Nothing has been given to me. I've earned my experiences as well as my accomplishments. And I put my whole heart into everything I do. With that, I start a new chapter in my life. As a business owner, an entrepreneur, a creator, an explorer, a dreamer. Dream big. Or wake up empty.

I will not live a life unfulfilled. I am not perfect. I can always be more. I can always be better. But I will accept where I am and acknowledge where I'd like to be. But always remember that the treasure lies on the road to success. Not at the destination. 

I'm so excited to be in this place. And I can't wait for the adventures that await me...

I am My Own Molly. The buck starts and stops with me. And THAT feels great.