I didn’t go to college but I know so many people who did, both older and younger people who are still paying off college debt X amount of years later. How are you expected to spend any extra time you have enjoying and working hard at your new job when you’re focused on paying off debt? That’s not an easy task, which is where MoneyMentor comes in. So you’re in debt, what now? Money Mentor supplies real educated college students to other students just getting out of college to help assist them (via texting) with necessary resources to escape their debt and move on in life. Their FREE text message service pairs you up with a mentor that you can get free advice from (key word: free!) and also learn about scholarships and grants you might be eligible to apply for.
They work with financial partners that enable them to give you this service for free, so you can focus on more than your debt when you’re just getting out of college. This service is also great for teachers who can get advice from mentors on how they can help their students utilize available grants and scholarships, plus financial aid outside of the classroom. NEAT!
Thanks for this genius invention Kelly and for helping young people get out of their debt sooner!
This morning I landed in Morocco, a place that has been on my bucket list for quite some time now. I spent last week in Istanbul visiting my sister and nephew, and this week and last has been Ramadan so people are not eating throughout the majority of the day. We are in Morocco on the last day of Ramadan and people are still not eating or drinking and many places are also closed, so it was not exactly the best time to choose to come to Morocco. That being said I am glad to cross this place off of my bucket list and the city is beautiful so far.
To recap on today, the hotel we are staying at sent a car for us to the airport and brought us to our riad (hotel) which is in the center of Morocco. If you haven’t been to a place like Morocco yet, I highly suggest doing so. The reason I think it’s worth the money to go to somewhere like Istanbul or Morocco is because the culture is a complete 180 difference from America, and seeing how the rest of the world lives opens your eyes to so much. My boyfriend almost got punched while trying to bargain with a guy at a market this afternoon trying to buy a sports shirt, which would never happen in America if you were going to try and debate with a cashier at Walmart about some goat cheese. Not that I advise you to almost get killed in a market in Morocco, but the experience will certainly toughen you up a bit.
For lunch we ate at the highly suggested Nomad cafe, which was delicious and close to our riad. I had beets, lentils, lamb and zucchini fritters which I enjoyed. The Moroccan diet is filled with so many healthy additions like cumin, saffron and dates which are a few of my favorite foods. After lunch we walked about 4 miles to another area of Marrakech where a bunch of shops including Starbucks were, before returning to our riad (hotel) for a sunset experience on our patio. I’m going to miss traveling when I fly back on Saturday, but I’m ready to be back on the same time zone as everyone I work with and back to a bit of a routine schedule. Tomorrow I am going to go on a camel ride in the desert- another activity that’s been on my bucket list for years! Traveling throughout Europe is cheap once you’re here: if you’re contemplating coming to Europe and don’t know how to not spend a fortune, look through some of my old travel guides or YouTube videos where I go into detail on how I save money traveling the world.
P.S. There will not be a new episode of This is Life Unfiltered tomorrow. We’ll be back next week!
A few days ago I posted an Instagram story about work guilt. Whenever I travel, I find myself so guilty if I’m not working 8-5 like I usually do (ha ha, yes I run my own company and yes I still like to work regular business hours) and so I decided to share that on Instagram. I wasn’t expecting to receive the response I got from people who also feel the shame and guilt when they’re not working if they’re traveling. Much of this guilt and anxiety is self-inflicted because if you’re an entrepreneur or trying to get a company off of the ground, the only person you have to rely on is yourself. Because of that, you may feel like it’s unacceptable to take time off or even a few hours to spend with your family or significant other, etc. I find my anxiety begins to set in a few weeks before the trip when I know that I might not have fast WiFi or as much time to spend writing emails or researching.
I already took my no work vacation after the Be Fearless Summit, and I felt refreshed after not checking my email for a week. After the week I felt a little bored and irritated I had decided to give myself some time off as needed as it was, I was ready to get back into the swing of things.
I’m in Europe for two weeks visiting my nephew and then going to Lisbon and Marrakesh with my boyfriend, and I feel just as much guilt as I do when I have the flu and can’t get out of bed. By this point most of my family lets it go when I have to take a business call during lunch or have to spend 5 hours of one day traveling, but what’s worse is the guilt I inflict upon myself.
I’m actively trying to have less guilt and more fun when I travel (life is too short) by reminding myself that I can always work. Can I always get dinner in Portugal? No. My laptop and phone will always be there, and if I’m more anxious than I want to be I will spend more time at night when everyone is asleep on my laptop and wake up earlier to finish. When you run your own company, your hours will never be the same and it’s a sacrifice you have to make if you want to be successful. The balance between personal life and business life is incredibly important to have, and the sooner you realize that life is too short to be anxious about spending every minute working, the sooner you will have more energy to put towards your brand.
This week on Fearless Everyday on Radio Disney, I got to speak with some kids from a foster families event I attended in Los Angeles a few weeks ago! Since May is the month of foster family awareness, I’m excited for you to listen to their interviews and hear about how much these young people have overcome to get to where they are currently. Head to Fearlesseveryday.org to learn more about where to listen!
Images all taken with my T-Mobile iPhone X.
For those of you who don’t know, my sister lives in Istanbul and has lived here for the past 6 years. I have a bit of an unusual family story: my mom is from England and moved to America when she was 20-years-old with absolutely no one (her father was severely abusive and her mom passed away at a very young age) before she met my sister’s dad in New York City. My mom has lived in Africa, Texas, NYC, and Connecticut (a random collage of places) and has worked as a nurse in all of them at psych hospitals, which is what she does right now. My mom eventually moved my sister from NY to Connecticut which is where she met my dad. I was born (I’m considered the miracle baby which I think is more the mistake baby since my mom was 48 when I was born) and the story for my life begins there. I don’t have much family besides my parents who still are together and my sister: she is 16 years older than me so we weren’t exactly close growing up. She moved to NY and attended Pace University before working as a model and eventually working at a fashion startup where she met her (now) husband who is Turkish. The company ended up closing down and she moved to Istanbul, which is my 3rd favorite city in the world.
When she initially told me she was expecting 2 years ago, I was super jealous. I grew up basically an only child because of the age gap between my sister and I, but right when I felt like we were getting close she got pregnant. For 9 months until Leo was born I almost resented her from jealousy (I didn’t want to get replaced!), and then Leo was born and I feel like I grew up all over again. I’m obsessed with this child. I’ve always been someone who wasn’t sure I wanted kids, I’m incredibly career driven and have been since I started this whole journey back in 2011, so kids are the furthest thing from my mind. But then Leo was born and I’ve realized the importance of so many things in life. When you’re around a toddler, you realize that all of the stress you have in your life (dating, friends, career) didn’t exist for the first 15 years of your life. I told Leo if he took a picture with me I’d buy him a present, and for 48 hours after my agreement Leo would not stop talking about this present. So we went to the mall and I asked him what he wanted. We went into a nice fancy toy store in Istanbul and wandered around, and eventually Leo looked up at me and said “balloon. I want a balloon.” I looked down at him and said are you sure you don’t want a (toy) car or an animal?
He said no. He wanted a balloon.
I spent 18 TL (barely $3) on 3 balloons for Leo, and the smile on his face following was enough for me to fall in love all over again.
The moral of this story (besides my obsession with my nephew) is that I can’t believe how caught up I find myself or the people around me getting in the daily stress and anxiety of just existing. It’s absolutely valid stress and anxiety, but don’t you wish for a second we’d all stop wishing for the next best thing and instead realize what you have that’s right in front of you? If my boyfriend offered to buy me a balloon for my birthday, I don’t know my response would be as thrilled as his. There’s a huge difference between a kid and an adult, but that doesn’t mean we have to forget what’s right in front of us. Sometimes what you’re looking for is right in front of you and you aren’t even taking the time to realize it.
Whenever the next time your anxiety kicks in, take a few minutes to sit down and breathe. It’ll all work out in the end. If it’s not working out now, something else will come down the line. It always does.
About Women Crush Wednesday: I love having the chance to interview different people on both of my shows, from up and coming entrepreneurs to kids across the world doing amazing things for the world. I frequently come across people that I’d love to interview but don’t necessarily have the time to interview, or we can’t match up our schedules, so I wanted to start a new weekly profile on Life Unfiltered to bring attention to even more people in the world making an impact.
This week I’m highlighting the founder of Kinstep Tenzin Seldon. After reading about Tenzin on Forbes 30 Under 30, I decided she was a very inspiring person to profile this week. Tenzin’s company Kinstep connects huge companies with talent to help fill job openings quicker and more efficiently. What’s unique about Kinstep is that Tenzin focuses on placing immigrant talent with popular companies, which is a unique way to fill job openings. Immigration is so negatively looked upon in 2019 partially due to Trump and his backwards perception of the world (this is just my opinion) when in reality there are many qualified individuals out there looking for a fresh start in America. There is a reason why the U.S. is called the land of the free, right Trump?
Every human deserves just as equal of a chance as the next to living a fulfilling and solid future as the next. Jobs Kinstep has helped secure range from hotel work to office management to event help, plus more!
Whenever I see a woman like Tenzin filling a void in an industry that’s strongly undermined, I can’t help but feel like I have to highlight them. Thank you for your work Kinstep in making all of us remember that we all have an equal chance towards living the life we dream of living!
This week on This is Life Unfiltered, I’m airing the unfiltered episode of Fearless Everyday with Todd Grinnell! I am excited for you to hear this episode because Todd is a fantastic inspiration for both young adults and adults. His journey of switching careers and eventually ending up as an actor before then turning to entrepreneurship is fascinating. I also lived down the street from where Todd used to live in Boston when he was younger, which reminds me how crazy small this world is.
Remember the journey to being an entrepreneur is a unique one: it can take you in some many different directions unexpectedly. You have to be ready for a never-ending roller coaster, and if you’re ready for that then the journey of entrepreneurship is the right one for you.
Listen to episode 75 below and on all podcast streaming platforms.
You know when you meet someone who you just know is next level? Like, next level genius. Next level NICE. And let me tell you, there aren’t a ton of nice people you meet in the entertainment industry. It’s crazy how much kindness is often overlooked.
When I got to sit down with Todd Grinnell, I knew his message went further than just acting. I’ve had This Bars in airports and Starbucks across the country, but it wasn’t until I saw Kristen Bell on the cover of Entrepreneur that I dove a little deeper into the story behind the bar. Upon reaching out to the This Bar team, I was introduced to Todd. He’s a very successful actor who is partnered with three other individuals who are the brains behind This Bar.
Todd’s full unfiltered episode will air next week on This is Life Unfiltered- stay tuned for that. Don’t forget stay Fearless!
About Women Crush Wednesday: I love having the chance to interview different people on both of my shows, from up and coming entrepreneurs to kids across the world doing amazing things for the world. I frequently come across people that I’d love to interview but don’t necessarily have the time to interview, or we can’t match up our schedules, so I wanted to start a new weekly profile on Life Unfiltered to bring attention to even more people in the world making an impact.
Some time ago I was introduced to Allison Kaye by someone at Radio Disney. I was in the midst of planning the Be Fearless Summit, and couldn’t believe who I got a meeting with! If you aren’t familiar with SB Projects, it’s Scooter Braun’s company. Founded by manager and industry pro Scooter Braun, SB Projects reps talent like Justin Bieber, Demi Lovato, and Tori Kelly.
When I initially met with Allison, I couldn’t believe how down-to-earth she was. I never know what to anticipate when I meet with someone so high up in the industry (SB Projects is the top) but she couldn’t have been cooler, funnier or nicer. Originally from Orange, CT (about 2 hours from where I’m from) Allison had a few different jobs as a lawyer at different record labels before landing at SB Projects in LA. From her personality to her uber cool office (probably the coolest office I’ve ever step foot in, and I’ve been in this industry a while) Allison couldn’t be more deserving of everything that has come her way.
Hard work ALWAYS pays off.
Catch her episode of This is Life Unfiltered on iTunes in June!
EPISODE 74// Vivek Jain is a unique individual. Originally from Canada, he worked in finance for the majority of his life before deciding to pursue a few different companies. Now, he runs LOKO (an innovative new dating app, completely unique) full-time along with pursuing acting + being a dad! If you’re looking to pursue a nontraditional career path, this is a fantastic episode for you to listen to. @loko4love #livelifeunfiltered
