- warning, explicit language. This probably should have gone before my title but wordpress is a bitch to figure out on your own and I truly don’t care at this very moment. I was lying in bed this morning, I think a little in and out of consciousness, sort of dreaming about writing this blog post today. I was contemplating NOT using this exact title. You know, because there’s a lot of judgy mcjudgerson’s in this world. I decided to forgo that thought a proceed with how I wanted to write my post, not how I thought someone else might enjoy it better. My brain instantly went to the [warning, explicit language] tab. Not even two seconds later I was questioning why the word fucking has to be demonized and categorized as explicit. It’s an adjective for pete’s sake. And a really really good adjective at that. I mean when you use it in a sentence or see it written somewhere it means business. It’s a sure fire way to get your point across! By the way, who’s Pete? Maybe Pete is some lonely old soul who got to choose which words were going to be classified as explicit. Could very well be.
Well anyway, here it is. My very first blog entry. Is it going to be a dud? I guess we shall find out! Come along for the ride if you wish.
I must preface this with a little something this morning. I’m really not sure where this will take me, if anything will come to fruition through it, or if I’ll even write a second blog post but what I do know is that I’m suppose to be writing, in some form. The universe (and a few good friends) have spoken. I once had a girlfriend tell me, “You should write a book!” This was at the least a solid 20 years ago. That thought has never left my mind to be honest. It creeps back in many times a year but it’s not yet clear to me what the subject of that book would be. Jeanette, if you’re reading this you’ll be the first to know if that ever happens and I’ll even send you the first copy. Thanks for the nudge 🙂
“A rich life… a confident person is willing to associate with people who have different opinions and express them. No one to stretch you = No growth.” Wise words spoken recently from one of my favorite authors and podcasters, Ed Mylett. What a mouth full, especially in the year 2023. Am I right?! It’s spoken truth though. I have personally spent years of my life a bit closed minded and afraid that my opinion or beliefs may stir the pot or leave someone sour in their thoughts about me. Maybe it was my small town Iowa upbringing. Maybe not, who knows. I’ve also spent years of my life staying silent as to not rock the boat, keeping shit to my self. If I’m being transparent here it’s always been to protect someone else, not myself. Im 46, almost 47 freaking years old and finally finding my voice. Halle-frickin-lujah!
Tell me something. Are we suppose to be rocking the damn boat? There’s a healthy and mature way to do this, right?! There’s got to be. I’ve witnessed it with my own eyes and have heard it with my own ears. Some of my very favorite authors and life coaches rock the boat, on the daily. There’s definitely a way to do so and not come off as an asshole, well for the most part. I mean there will ALWAYS be the cookie eaters and the haters. You know, the one’s who continually watch you, follow you on social, and read your content only to mock you and most likely call you some explicit name while doing so. Your space, your sheer existence creates a challenge for them. YOU are not blame for that. It’s them and they’re either not willing to grow, or possibly just not ready. Their day will come. You’ll not be notified though so don’t hold your breath, lol.
Personally, I’m still learning how to have a voice and how to do it with some grace. I’m learning how to share my opinion in a way that may just lighten the situation and not cause grief for anyone involved. There are many life circumstances that have hardened me, stolen my confidence, and allowed for me to just simply close the door and stay close minded to the opinions of others. It’s time to break free.
On a recent business trip I made the decision to journal about my days on the road and the people I had the pleasure of meeting. My first journal entry looks like this; Looking forward to meeting new people today! Send me the stories that I need to hear and the people who need to know You through me. It wasn’t just a journal entry, more of a prayer as well. That decision has been an incredible one. On September 22 this year I met quite possibly the funniest Law Attorney to ever walk the face of this earth. You need to know that I had NO CLUE she was an attorney when we first started to engage. Maureen walked into our Liverpool Pop Up shop at Von Maur that day, not knowing she would change my life with our conversation. In fact, I’m absolutely positive that she is one of the very reasons I was nudged to start journaling about my experiences. Fo sho! She came in looking a little bewildered from a long day at the office ( this I was assuming, not knowing her profession yet). She seemed in a bit of a hurry, wearing black from head to toe. We struck up a conversation immediately and to be honest she felt a little harsh at first. Let the challenge begin. But this is my specialty, I freaking love people. I love getting to know them. I love building new relationships. And I fucking love making women feel seen in a new outfit! For realz. It’s my mojo, my kryptonite. So I knew I could break her. *send in Pete, naughty word alert 😉
Our Fall/Winter line is incredible and we had just recently launched our suitings which included a new Boyfriend Blazer in a longer length and one that had this stunning digital floral print! Hanging on one of our 4 ways it immediately caught Maureen’s eye. Our stylist Liz was also rocking it in store that day. This thing is a beauty, not even lying. Want to make a statement? I got you. This blazer will turn heads all day long my friends. We added the blazer to Maureen’s stash that she planned to try on. I could not wait for her to experience this thing! She grabbed a few other things along with some denim and to the dressing room she went. Of course I hoped she would try the blazer on first. She did. She came out of the dressing room, stood on the sales floor, looked in the mirror and said, “I soooo wish I could look cool in this thing but I look like a fucking wallpaper salesman. Wanna see my swatches?” (As she pretended to dig in her make believe briefcase and pull out wallpaper swatches) I lost it! Like literally almost fell on the floor in amusement. One of THE funniest things I’ve heard and experienced thus far in my life. And you guessed it, at this point I still had no idea she was an Attorney. Her humor and blunt opinion said nothing of { I work in law }.
She continued to spread laughter as she shopped with us that day, dropping opinion after opinion in her not so subtle way. She tried on a few more items, made some decisions, and had decided against the blazer. I knew in my heart that she could rock it and “look cool” as she had wished. She just didn’t have it paired with the right pant to make it look and feel like a one of a kind piece for her. I asked her to take it back into the dressing room and add our Pearl Pant, which have a center seam pintuck down the leg and a flare cut. The thing about a flare is that they can make ANY WOMAN instantly feel about three inches taller and thinner, within seconds. (Ladies, this is your cue to run out and get you some flares this season!) We needed to visually lengthen her leg and add a bit of a heal to give this outfit the ONE-TWO punch that it deserved. It worked. She fell in love with the outfit and she should have, she looked incredible! Maureen made a dent in my world that day and I’ll possibly never forget her. I’m so thankful to have had the pleasure of working with her, helping her to see herself as way more than a fucking wallpaper salesman, and getting to build a relationship with her, even for just an hour or so. Thank you Maureen.
If we spent our days feeling as confident in our own skin as Maureen did imagine the lives we could change, the real relationships we could attract, and the content we may feel when we lay our heads down at night. I want you to know that your opinion is ok to share, it really is. And if you feel like cussing, do it. Just look over your shoulder for Pete first. I spent over an hour with this woman and felt the sincerity in everything she said, even if she started out hating a piece of clothing that I so desperately loved. I took no offense at that moment. I wanted to get to know her. I wanted to help her. And by having those intentions I was able to cross a bridge so to speak and ask her to give that blazer one more try. She taught me so much that day and she may never know and I would hire her in a heartbeat, no questions asked. I felt called to write about this day and share my experience with all of you in hopes that maybe it inspires you in some small way.
The secret to all of this falls right here in this last paragraph… You can’t love yourself if you’re not being yourself. And you can’t be yourself if you don’t believe in yourself. Staying silent or letting things slide so you can “keep the peace” only starts a war inside of you. Stay gorjus, friends.
The famous FLORAL BLAZER. (Maureen is not pictured here.) If you love the blazer hit me up and I’ll find the closest store to you to snag it from!
[FTC disclosure, let’s make being transparent fun, k?- Go ahead and assume that most every link in this blog post is an affiliate link and if you click it and make a purchase I’m gonna make some serious cash. Like an enormous windfall of commissions, tons of bling, and all kinds of free stuff. They might even throw in a mansion or a yacht, although some Jameson and a clothing allowance would suffice. ]