My daughter, Brittany Georgia, inspires me daily to be a better person, better role model, and most of all a better mother. I have always taught my children that ‘True Beauty’ comes from inside a person and that you can see their soul: beautiful or not, through their eyes and their smile.

I have been told many times throughout the years how amazed some are that I am ‘always so positive, optimistic or even too positive.’ And those that know me know I also joke a lot about not leaving the house without my ‘eyebrows done or my eye makeup put on.’ I would joke because people would ask if I was ever ‘not done up or not trying to look like a model?’ BUT I do not do these things for anyone else. I do NOT do this to hide behind makeup. I do NOT do this because I am afraid of what others may think of me. I do it for ME.

Did I always think this way? Was I always so positive and optimistic? Did I always love myself? For the record…NO I did not. For over 80% of my life, to date, I was always trying to be better than someone or something. In school with grades and competitions to have my father be proud of me, to love me; to continue to go on to break records in corporate milestones, and then in owning my own businesses. To be the best of the best in all I did or not bother with it. And I used these as tools that I thought would help me ‘measure my success’ in life.

For a very long time, this is what drove me. My grades, those sales reports, even my physical weight…always seeking out how to be better, prettier, skinnier, nicer, and sadly enough even making a competition out of giving back to others; with the person or company next to me. A lot of good came out of that and a lot of bad came out of it. Each time I reached the top, I would look for the next level to conquer; even jeopardizing my health time and time again; almost like an addiction. “I” was never enough. “It” was never enough. Every time I got bored of being the best “in comparison,” (to whatever it was I was comparing myself to at that time), didn’t seem as fun as it was; I would keep searching…leading me half way around the world at one point. I firmly believed, and still do, “that you are either growing or dying; there is no such thing as stagnant.” But then one day, I just didn’t want to search for “it” anymore. It didn’t fulfill the addiction anymore and I was tired of playing the rat race, the game.

God agreed and gave me a wake up call. He decided to knock me on my a$$ and my health took the largest plunge it had ever taken. Those that teased me that I had nine lives at one point was right and I have finally reached my ninth. I had to learn to continue my growth, my fight, in a new way. After only knowing one way my entire life; I had to relearn everything. So the fight to live, truly live – physically, mentally, emotionally, and even medically began. A recent friend that saw me; probably on one of the hardest medical days I have been having, admitted to me that she didn’t even realize my medical condition had become so bad because I was so good at hiding my medical issues from the world. It made me think, I wasn’t trying to hide how bad some days were from the world; just myself…I had took a lot more than 2 steps back in what I had relearned and retaught myself that day.

So why this story to you?

I had a beautiful moment with my daughter last night…one we have not had in awhile and she once again inspired me. She inspired me to write again, to share again, to try to inspire even just one person again.

So, I want EVERYONE – MAN, WOMAN, BOY, AND GIRL to know…that LIFE is one giant game. BUT it is the BEST game of all! Why? Not because every day is great but because it was NEVER designed to be great every day. But it was also NEVER designed to have us compare ourselves to others or to be in competition with others. To knock others down to lift ourselves up. To knock ourselves down. This is a reminder that I am NOT in competition with ANYONE but MYSELF. To SOLELY be a BETTER PERSON today than I was yesterday. And if I take 2 steps back one day, that is OK. Because again, the next day I only need to be a better person than I was the day before. THIS is true growth…this IS the game of life and it is the only universal game with a universal rule that can be applied to every person or thing. 

Whether you are in school, in a sport, a business owner, or on a stage in front of judges, an audience, or professional critics; life IS a game of YOU versus YOU ONLY. The rest is put there to help you grow to be a better person for YOURSELF the next day. They are put there to be tools, that is it. Those tools do not put a value on YOU. You are to use them for what they are intended for. And if someone else has other intentions with their tools or think you should use them differently; KICK THEM OUT OF YOUR TOOL BOX AND FIND NEW TOOLS! Life tools are FREE to ALL OF US! Because if you haven’t realized I will continue to preach that YOU are the most important tool and YOU must sharpen your OWN tools everyday, no one else. This is not to stop you from lifting each other up because that is not competing or comparing yourself with them; it is beautiful. But you are able to lift them up because you have strengthened yourself. Your own tools. Your own love. Your own confidence.

So I challenge you to look inside your own eyes and your own smile; to find YOURSELF, to LOVE YOURSELF, and to be in COMPETITION ONLY WITH YOURSELF. And to start I challenge you to do this fresh out of the shower. Yes fresh out of the shower. No makeup, no filters, no apps…THE REAL YOU. THE BEAUTIFUL YOU. THE INSIDE OF YOU. And I am NOT afraid to start. This is ME and this is ME fresh out of the shower. I purposely took it after getting dressed with my hair still drying to prove it. If this inspires just one person today, I am fulfilled. Thank you for listening to me and letting me share myself with you. I hope you share your fresh out of the shower self as well.

P.S. Just remember to get dressed first…keep it clean people, keep it clean 😉

Thank you, Brittany, for loving ME…fresh out of the shower everyday.

Live. Breathe. Do.

#NoHiding #NoFake #BeYou #BeReal #LoveYourself #FreshOutOfTheShower #Challenge #LeadFromWithin