1. Rigidity Doesn't Build Resilience. Flexibility Does.

I was sitting on my balcony during one of the hardest seasons of my life.

There’s a large tree that sits right outside our balcony. I remember watching it, really watching it, for the first time. The wind moved through viciously before a thunderstorm, its branches swaying without resistance.

And that’s when it hit me.

That tree didn’t survive because it was rigid. It survived because the branches are flexible.

I found myself wondering how much it had endured - storms, droughts, heavy winds, unbearable heat. And yet, it still stood. Tall. Beautiful. Unshaken.

It felt like a mirror.

I grew up with strong roots. A loving family, a good education, stability, support. But none of that mattered during the seasons when life demanded flexibility from me.

I spent so much of my life trying to control everything around me that when life started shifting unexpectedly, I didn’t know how to bend without feeling like I was breaking.

But maybe that’s the point.

Maybe strength was never meant to look like rigidity.

Maybe real strength is found in learning how to sway with the storms and remain standing afterward.

2. Just Take the Shot

My life would look a lot different right now had I decided to stay silent and not take a shot at myself. A shot at my career. A shot at anything I want for my life.

I restarted my marketing career after my second child by cold calling a local, bad-ass business near me that I kept feeling called to.

Lucky for me, they answered and told me, “No, we aren’t hiring at the moment, but I could use your marketing skills individually.” This was the start of it all. I was willing to be a front desk employee, but that call reminded me that I am so much more than what I gave myself credit for.

This client ended up bringing all of my major clients through the following year and is still bringing me constant clients. All because I took a shot.

3. Work Ethic and Drive Is Just As Valuable If You Play Your Cards Right

As a college dropout, I wrote my own journey and opened my own doors, even without the major qualifications jobs looked for. I applied for jobs way above my credentials because I believed in my skills. I would make it known in the cover letter that I did not have a degree, but I had real-life experience and several previous clients to show my ability. I will never forget when I was chosen for my first big-girl job as a college dropout over a software engineer.

4. The Sky Is Not the Limit. The Truth Is, There Is No Limit.

I have always believed this.

As a little girl, my biggest dream was to become an astronaut. I used to wonder what it would feel like to leave this world behind and explore the great unknown.

My mom encouraged creativity in every form and created an environment where nothing ever felt unattainable. Because of that, I grew up believing that even the wildest dreams were still worth chasing.

Maybe it takes longer than expected. Maybe it takes a couple of wrong turns before you finally get it right. But nothing feels impossible to me.

In my wildest dreams, I become the preferred marketing agency for NASA. I get to film the stories behind each team and capture how thousands of moving parts come together to send humans back into space.

That dream doesn’t feel as far away as it once did.

Sounds insane, right?

Maybe.

But let’s talk again in a couple of years, NASA.

5. Know Your Value and Don’t Accept Anything Less

You don’t have to prove your worth where it is already recognized. I have bent over backwards for others for little to nothing in return, compared to now having clients who see the value in my work and don’t flinch at my four-figure estimates for a single service.

6. Be Open To Business Partnerships

I am a legacy writer. My client is a successful businessman.

Not only do I get to write, but I get a front row seat to some of the most amazing business stories and lessons learned in his 70+ years.

He said if he could go back and tell his younger self something, it would be to stop trying to do everything alone and to reach out for help when needed.

He would have loved to have had more partnerships in business earlier in life rather than later. He believed it would’ve made him a lot more successful in his lifetime.

I took this to heart and said yes to any and every opportunity that came my way.

Because of this shift in mentality, I have come across some of the most amazing job opportunities and clients.

7. Knowledge Is Wealth

I did marketing projects for free because I knew the lessons learned in working with this client would outweigh the basic (and honestly very low) prices I was offering at the time.

I was able to build trust with people whom I looked up to in their respective fields.

They trusted me with bigger projects, and in return, I learned skills in different industries. Expanding my knowledge in business, client connections, and opening my mind to different ways of thinking.

8. Delayed Gratification Feels Amazing

I was offered an opportunity to make a great profit, but I had to agree to get paid later.

By “later,” I mean having to wait 3+ months for the fruits of my labor to be felt. When the deals work out, and the payments come in, the feeling is unexplainable.

I had never considered a “delayed payment.” I always ask clients for a deposit to start, and the remaining balance once the project is finished. But this opened up a whole new world of opportunities.

If everything I am working on now works out in the manner I think it will, within three years (maybe longer, hopefully shorter), I will be receiving a five-figure monthly payment from one single client.

Even if it takes 10 years, I will not stop until I know that I can provide that type of financial stability for my children, my family, and the generations that will follow long after I’m gone.

9. There’s No Such Thing As Free Money

Don’t fall for it. It doesn’t exist.

10. Lean On Your Village, But Make Sure Your Village Can Also Lean On You

I wouldn’t be where I am today if it weren’t for my village. Especially once I entered motherhood.

My mother, my husband, my father, my brothers, the family I married into, my best friends, and all those who made an impact along the way.A huge thank you to you all.

Y’all keep me sane. And I hope you know I am always here. If you need me, call me.

11. If You’re A Creative, You Need to Nourish Your Creativity

I love to write. I love to draw. I love to paint. I love to read. I love to obsess over songs and dissect lyrics.

I have noticed such a difference in myself when I nourish that creativity, compared to when I locked it away in the back of my mind.

I felt like there was a huge piece of me I was longing for when I stopped creating.

Your creativity doesn’t have to make sense to others; it just needs to feed your soul.

12. Silence Speaks Louder Than Words

Not everything needs a reaction. Not everything needs a response. Sometimes silence can be your best superpower. Ironically enough, this can be perceived as negative.

Use it wisely.

13. The U.S. Will Praise Mothers and Fail Them at the Same Time.

Of course, fathers are equally important, but I want to shine a light on the fact that mothers don’t get much support in the U.S. compared to how other countries care for and protect their mothers and children- free healthcare, holistic practices, and months- even years- of maternity leave.

That’s how important the bond between mother and newborn is.

I have always hated to see mothers who have to go back to work before their bodies are even fully healed from the trauma giving birth brings.

In that same breath, why the hell are there mothers who have to work until the day they give birth? That’s truly diabolical.

And it all stems from policies and procedures that were put in place by MEN who will never understand the pain of entering motherhood. On a physical, emotional, and mental level.

14. Don’t Lose Yourself in the Role

It's so easy to get caught up in being the perfect mother and wife that you completely lose sight of the power you had prior to.

I have years of pent-up rage from knowing my elderly grandmother still had to take on "wifely" duties to a husband who wasn't the nicest to her.

As well as having to see my mom love a man so deeply who didn't deserve it, not even an ounce of it. Not only was she building a million-dollar business for my dad, but she was also the ONLY caretaker of our home. None of that mattered to my dad, and he still left us behind with nothing.

But that's what they viewed as normal because they are women, and it was customary for them to take care of everyone and everything. Even if it meant neglecting themselves.

Not anymore.

That is not the story I will accept for the ladies in my lineage. Not for my niece, not for my daughter, not for my sisters-in-law, not for anyone I know if I get a say in it. If it gets to a point where I can see the woman I love lose themselves, lose her grip on who they were, and solely focus on wifely and "house" duties, I will intervene.

Simply because I have experienced it, and it took everything I had, and more, to get out of the mentality of feeling like my value as a mother and wife solely depends on how much I do in a day for my family. Even if I don't recognize who I see in the mirror.

There was a time when I went completely numb. I didn't feel anything; I was just operating through my daily tasks. I was so caught up in keeping everything "perfect and clean" and getting the meals ready that by the time I finished the day, I was equally overwhelmed and exhausted. I would sit there in silence and space out for God knows how long. No thoughts, just silence. It was not a fun time.

As a collective, we need to do better in how we treat the women of this world.

Mothers deserve more than recognition - we deserve real support.

Because we don’t just exist in this world.

We bring life into it.

15. God Listens When You Speak to Him and Knows Your Heart’s Deepest Desires

I don’t want to get too deep into this one, but just know- He knows.

I wholeheartedly believe that everything I have been able to accomplish this year is because of the conversations I’ve had with Him in private, and He set the path for me to find my way once again.

Also, if you think He’s speaking to you, He is. You’re not crazy, and it’s not a coincidence. Just make sure you have open ears (and heart) to what He is trying to tell you.

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Twenty-nine years in, and I am still learning, still growing, still bending without breaking. These lessons didn't come easy, and some of them I am still living through.

But if there is one thing I know for certain, it's that every storm and every hard season has led me here. And I wouldn't change a single thing.

Here's to 29. And everything that's still coming.

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