I definitely don’t have enough words to describe Houston Kraft. I met him once and I honestly feel like I wake up everyday and think about my life on a much deeper level after interviewing him. I won’t spoil the episode for you, but I highly suggest listening to him share his story. His viewpoint on social media and mental health is very similar to mine, and he has some wise words of advice for those of you who are struggling with finding that inner happiness we all so desperately want to find.
LISTEN TO EPISODE 46 ON ITUNES, SOUNDCLOUD & SPOTIFY OR ON THE PODCAST APP BY SEARCHING “THIS IS LIFE UNFILTERED”
Many of you reach out to me looking for advice on becoming an entrepreneur or starting a project. I LOVE hearing from you because it inspires me to continue to empower you all to begin your companies and get out of your comfort zone. I truly attribute much of being an entrepreneur to being able to constantly get out of my comfort zone and reach new goals in my personal and business life. My new video above has some wise words of advice for you eager aspiring entrepreneurs out there, but I’ve got some more tips for you too.
Always surround yourself with positive influences.
If someone isn’t bringing value to your life, cut them out of your life! If you’re an entrepreneur you’re going to need to be surrounded by people who lift you up. Though social media might make being an entrepreneur look super cool (it is!) it’s also incredibly tough work and you don’t ever stop working. Because of that I encourage you to surround yourself with people who will love you regardless- even when you have to miss out on certain events or birthdays.
Don’t get caught up in money OR fame.
When I started A Life in the Fashion Lane (I used to be a fashion blogger) I didn’t expect to run this full-time. I speak openly about my journey of discovering myself and what I wanted to pursue (social media and mental health) and I think it’s important you understand that you can’t go into any company expecting 1) quick results 2) results AT ALL. I started as a starving artist who loved fashion and was bullied, that’s all! I always enjoyed writing and knew I wanted to pursue a career that included some form of writing. I know it sounds wonky to say that, but if you go into your company with expectations than you’ll likely be disappointed very early on. You’re an entrepreneur now- you don’t have enough hours in your day to waste being disappointed!
Bring your idea to life. But first, start it.
The biggest trait I see in students or kids who want to become entrepreneurs is that they have the idea but don’t know where to begin. We’re all tailored to be afraid of rejection and failure so if you tailor your mind to realize that failure is only a reason to take a new angle or direction than you won’t get as frustrated when you get told no. You’ll keep getting told no even when you’re “successful” so get used to it early on! Once you realize that failure isn’t actually failure it’s just a step in a new direction then sit down with a pen and paper and write down where you imagine yourself in 5 years. How will this company get you there and impact the world? Ask EVERYONE around you: your mom, someone in line next to you at Target, or your old English teacher what they think about your company and use their advice to tailor your idea to eventually come up with a really solid plan.
This is about the journey: not the destination.
Working for myself is the most incredible feeling that I can’t describe. Getting to wake up everyday and choose my hours, what I want to do during the day, who I want to talk to on the phone…it’s all part of being an entrepreneur. However that doesn’t mean that that lack of routine isn’t difficult to navigate: I’ve always been very focused and don’t usually procrastinate so it’s easy for me to stay on a tight schedule and always occupy myself with some form of work, but it takes time to adjust to. You’re on a journey with your company to make a difference in the world and your life. Stay focused and positive.
First off, I totally don’t think I’ve “made it” yet. I feel like I’m finally making a bit of a mark and inspiring some new people everyday, which is an awesome feeling, but I’ve got many more career goals to achieve over the next few years. I started speaking at colleges across the country over the past 6 months, which isn’t a path I ever anticipated to go down. I never would’ve thought I could start talking at colleges when I didn’t go to college! I’m asked quite often about how crucial I think college is for people, and I stay firm on my answer that I do believe college is very important. Regardless of whether or not you want to be an entrepreneur most young people won’t find out what they want to do for a living without trying certain things out, and you don’t try those things out by sitting in your bedroom playing video games right? Just because I decided not to go to college DOES NOT mean that you also should not go: every person is different and if you’re set on one goal then maybe take a gap year and explore working before heading back to school. There are many options and alternative routes you can take but if you plan to use time off or a gap year to spend money and not stay focused I can’t agree with that plan.
I have my nonprofit M.I.N.T. that I began in 2016 that goes into high schools and middle schools to educate kids about social media but speaking at colleges is a different ballgame, and even more intimidating because I’m speaking to kids MY AGE! It’s scary getting up in front of people and sharing your life story with them with the intention that they love you and don’t hate you, but you never know. Every talk and crowd is different which keeps my job very interesting: I never know what to expect or who will show up. That’s nerve wracking!
Speaking at ECSU in my hometown was an honor because my mom went to college at Eastern and most likely didn’t ever expect to have a daughter who would end up giving a talk at her college. My speech was on social media and branding and I talked about how to get out of your comfort zone and put yourself in front of new people along with utilizing platforms like LinkedIn and Craigslist to find jobs. It’s VERY scary to ask for what you want via an email, maybe a job or a raise or help with an idea but I hope through my talks I can show how important getting out of your comfort zone is when it comes to exploring new opportunities. We’re all afraid of rejection but don’t be: all of that rejection will eventually get you to where you want to be.
Thank you to Eastern for asking me to speak and to everyone who I met for sharing your stories with me!
Hair/makeup by David Arnold Salon in PA. 2 lovely stylists promptly showed up to my hotel room prior to the conference and made me feel very confident as I was feeling quite nervous. I’m wearing an Anthropologie skirt, Kate Spade booties and a vintage top.
I began my whirlwind week of traveling in Philly for the Pennsylvania Conference for Women. I had always wanted to visit Philly but never had a reason to go, so I was thrilled when the conference asked me to speak during their Young Women’s program. If you’re not familiar with the women conferences, they’re hosted across the East Coast in 4 different states from Texas to Boston, MA. They’re massive women’s conferences that attract over 10,000 women to every event, with speakers like Meryl Streep, Amal Clooney and Viola Davis! This year Amal Clooney and Serena Williams headlined the conference in Philadelphia, and I’m OBSESSED with Amal Clooney. I can’t think of anyone more graceful and inspirational than Amal besides Michelle Obama, and a few others!
Speaking or not, it’s incredibly powerful to be around so many talented women for an entire day. I was familiar with many of the other women speaking during the day, like Lauren Brody of The Fifth Trimester and Cindy Whitehead of The Pink Lady (above) so meeting some of my inspirations in-person is obviously thrilling! I had the chance to speak with Dani Rylan, Zaniya Lewis and Tiffany Jana during my panel which was on overcoming bias: a topic I haven’t spoken about before. Most people think of bias and automatically resort to bias against your race, but all of us are realistically judging people every minute. The minute you meet someone you immediately make a judgement about them that I bet doesn’t have to do with their race: perhaps the color of their hair, or nails, or how they smell or even talk: that’s all bias. I chimed in about age bias which is what I’ve dealt with for most of my life. I have always had to convince people to give me a chance in the business world because of my young age, and as much as I’d like to say that the age bias has reduced as I’ve gotten older, it really hasn’t. I still face many of the same negative comments now that I faced when I was younger.
I went to 3 different women’s conferences in 3 different cities over 2 years to finally be able to speak- certain opportunities take extra patience! This experience was totally worth waiting for.
Tonight on my Radio Disney show Fearless Everyday I welcome Robs10kfriends! I was incredibly inspired when I came across Rob’s mission to meet 10,000 people because what better way to meet new people by setting a goal to meet 10,000!?
Listen to Fearless Everyday tonight at 9 PM PST on the Radio Disney / iHeartRadio app or on the Radio Disney website. #FEARLESSEVERYDAY
Share how you’re fearless on social media with me using the hashtag #fearlesseveryday too! You may just make it into an upcoming episode! Fearless Everyday will air Fridays at 9 PM PST, Saturdays at 7 AM PST & Sundays at 5 PM PST!
I’ve been getting a lot of questions on how to listen and where to find Radio Disney. Here’s where to find Radio Disney:
Listen on the Radio Disney app on your phone/iPad/Kindle
TONIGHT I’ll be in the studio taking calls from you guys from 9 PM PST- 10 PM, so call in and tell me how you were fearless for a chance to make it into an upcoming Fearless Everyday episode! The phone number is 1-877-870-5678!
A few weeks ago I headed to Houston to film a campaign with the t-shirts I designed at a really phenomenal kids camp in Houston. I was adamant about including the kids and their moms in the campaign because I think the discuss about healthy body image begins at a young age, and it’s important to me to showcase that throughout the clothing and this video. This video was produced by Pixel Studio Productions at Chicks with Class in Houston!
The clothing and stickers are available for purchase at
I’ve been traveling so much over the past week that I haven’t had any minute to just sit down and WRITE! Episode 45 of This is Life Unfiltered aired on Wednesday and was a short episode, but a topic I thought was necessary to talk about. The word “hustle” is thrown all over the place and frequently used when talking about entrepreneurs and work ethic, but I happen to think that the word can get misused quite often. When is too much hustle too much?
In this episode, I talk about how important the work life & real life balance for any person is, and what I do to find that balance when I feel like I’m overworking myself and on the brink of burn out. Plus, I discuss how to NOT get discouraged if you feel like you just don’t have that hustle in you yet. Don’t get frustrated, just know that when you find your purpose you will absolutely find that hustle in you! Even if you find your purpose and don’t feel like you’ve found that passion to work hard yet, it’s okay to not be a workaholic obsessed with their job!
Listen to Episode 45 on iTunes, SoundCloud & Spotify!
Tonight is a BRAND NEW episode of Fearless Everyday on Radio Disney with Dance Moms queen Chloe Lucasiak! I had a blast chatting with Chloe about how she uses her #girlpower to make a difference, and this 17-year-old didn’t hold back!
Share how you’re fearless on social media with me using the hashtag #fearlesseveryday too! You may just make it into an upcoming episode! Fearless Everyday will air Fridays at 9 PM PST, Saturdays at 7 AM PST & Sundays at 5 PM PST!
I’ve been getting a lot of questions on how to listen and where to find Radio Disney. Here’s where to find Radio Disney:
Listen on the Radio Disney app on your phone/iPad/Kindle
Yesterday was mental health day, and I needed a mental health day for myself which is why this post didn’t go up yesterday! I had a bit of an unusual week: I’ll say a lot of rejection happened this week which gets me more down on certain days than others. As much as I love working for myself, when I have new ideas I have to rely on other people to approve them, for example a book deal or a show, so I know firsthand what the feeling of rejection feels like- and it SUCKS! Rejection is never a feeling you’ll get used to.
Michelle Obama appeared on the TODAY show this morning to announce a new initiative to empower girls around the world to go to school and become educated, which was a fantastic way to promote international day of the girl. Michelle Obama is such a kickass woman. I love her, and I hope all young people out there aspire to be like Michelle Obama when they’re older. Not the Kardashians and Cardi B, but someone like Michelle Obama! She’s a powerful force and someone who doesn’t just talk like Melania Trump. It’s one thing to sit in front of a bunch of news outlets and preach about bullying, but it’s another thing to get out there and use your voice to CHANGE the world. Michelle gets out in the community and uses her voice and influence to make a difference which is inspiring.
Over the next week when you find yourself getting anxious or depressed, take a mental health day if you didn’t take one yesterday. Maybe you need a mental health week! That’s totally OK too. Since today is a very important *holiday* it’s the perfect day to let your ideas come to life. Maybe today is the day you introduce yourself to the cutie in your class, or apply to college, or start a new club at your high school…whatever you can do to use your voice to empower those around you- do it TODAY! What’s holding you back?
Today October 10th is the day that Disney and the UN series launches, which is a project to inspire and empower young filmmakers across the globe to get out in their communities and make a change. Over the course of this week you’ll hear me mentioning this awesome initiative on Fearless Everyday (my show on Radio Disney) but I’ve taken a deeper dive into showing how you can join in on this movement on Life Unfiltered today!
“This year, Disney and Girl Up are back at it again with a new global project that aims to benefit young female filmmakers and inspire little girls to see themselves in industries they may not have considered before. As part of the #DreamBigPrincess video series, young filmmakers will interview “trailblazing” women from all over the world who work in a variety of professions. The hope is that by highlighting their success stories, little girls can truly see just how many possibilities lie before them.”
21 young women from 13 different countries will be given the resources they need to produce and direct their own digital films. Disney will then donate $1 for every like or share each short gets, up to $1 MILLION! International Day of the Girl is tomorrow, which is why this campaign launched on an absolutely perfect day.
Young adults across the globe have the power to do so much and inspire so many- let this project be an inspiration to you that there are major companies out there who believe in your ability to change the world, and want to see you succeed too!
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