For most of my life I have been blessed to have a place like that to go as my grandparents have owned various cabins on different lakes here in the land of 10,000 lakes and the real reason I love going to the cabin so much is them. My grandparents are amazing. From my grandma’s signature chocolate chip cookies, homemade chocolate cake, hugs and kisses to my grandpa’s hands which show years of hard work and belly rolling laughter they are such a blessing.

Grandpa and Grandma playing some polka music.

One of the things I have taken the most from my grandpa is his good work ethic which he has not only instilled in me but all 13 of his grandkids. High school wasn’t easy for him, actually if it weren’t for my grandma doing his homework he never would have graduated. He has always been good with his hands and inventing ways to make things run better or faster. His hard work and creativity paid off well for him and he developed his own masonry company which was very successful.

As I wrote about in my blog post about my BIG WHY I explained my vision to create a successful business that empowers, serves and gives. Being successful isn’t all about making a ton of money to me, it is about having the means and the funds to live and give of time and money freely. Just like I want to own a beach house someday as an income generator, vacation spot and a way to bless family, friends and others. My other dream is to have a cabin for the same reasons.

So here are some of the things I think of when I think of owning a cabin visualize it… woods, boats, snowmobiling, stone, fireplaces, rocking chairs, vaulted ceilings, big windows…

Click on the image to see my Pinterest board with my cabin inspirations. 

There is nothing more attractive to me than a humble person. Especially a successful, powerful humble person. I believe humility, integrity and generosity are what fuel success and leadership. The coolest part of it all is these successful and powerful people even after they become powerful their virtues remain.

Some of the most successful people I know and/or look up to don’t flaunt their money or their successes – they share them. They train others towards the same success and often look for nothing in return.

I don’t believe talented leaders are those who are comfortable standing on a soapbox or those who pass our deadlines. Leaders empower, coach and become a resource. Instead of asking why something wasn’t done, they ask how they can help get it done. When they see someone on their team dragging they pick them up and help carry their weight. They take their personal time, money and energy to invest in their team.

Being a leader is about so much more than leading a team – it is about being ON the team. 

Ladies, PLEASE get up off your knees, praying for mister right to come along or begging some guy who doesn’t even deserve you to stay with you. You are worth so much more than that. Why are so many women so desperate and dependent on meeting their soul mate and meanwhile exciting opportunities are passing them by.

This post is probably going to sound like I have a big “F-YOU” on my forehead and a feminist megaphone in my hand when really my frustration is with the ladies out there.

Ladies… explain to me this…. when did finding a husband and getting married define who you are as a woman?

Now don’t start thinking I am saying getting married and starting a family in your 20 somethings is wrong – not at all. Some of my closest friends are married to wonderful men and have started their families. Mr. Right came a long (please note I did not say “they found Mr. Right”) nope no seeking and finding here…. their paths crossed and well they fell in love. I couldn’t be happier for them.

What gets me is when women are so desperate to get married and so set on that being their purpose in life that they don’t pursue college, they don’t invest in a career and instead they invest in…….the man hunt. Really?!? I don’t get it.

I have seen friends waste so much time and energy on “the hunt” and get nothing but heartbreak out of it. All because they don’t want to be alone on a Friday night. Well ladies I have found the secret to love…. ready…. GET A DOG. No hear me out. Bear is always happy when I come home, he gives me kisses even when I am grumpy and haven’t showered for the day, he cuddles, he always listens, he loves long walks with me, he lets me pick the movie…. I mean seriously…. I could go on.

The day I got Bear.

I don’t think I have ever really shared the story behind my getting Bear but long story short, I didn’t date until my senior year of high school and the first guy I ever dated I shared a 4 year-long distance relationship. He was my first kiss, my first love… I thought I would marry him…. summer before my senior year of college, he broke up with me and starting seeing another girl days later… coincidence I think not…. and instead of moping, eating tons of ice cream and watching chick flicks I decided I was going to finally get the dog I had been wanting for a long time. I went to the humane society when they were having a puppy sale and what do you know… there was Bear…love at first sight.

Getting Bear was almost a way to prove to myself that I can do whatever I want and I don’t NEED a man to do it with. Sure I believe having someone you love to share things with could make them more fun but you don’t NEED one.

Ok so maybe getting a dog isn’t the secret to love and maybe I am not the right person to be giving advice seeing as though I am single but I do know this…I am single but I am a very happy single. I am a very happy person.

I like to think of singleness as a compliment sometimes. No seriously….I had a buyer (reminder I am in real estate) once tell me that I was “too fast paced and intimidating,” he said guys were scared of me because I obviously knew what I wanted and wasn’t letting anyone get in my way. When I first heard this I was slightly annoyed and slightly self cautious thinking there was something wrong with me for being so motivated. I have since had time to think about this and have realized… nope I am not the one with the problem. If I have ever made a guy feel like he couldn’t ask me out because I am too motivated, well then he isn’t the guy for me…(no offense but some guys need to grow a pair and stinking ask a girl out). I have said for a while and I think it is probably true that if I guy were ever interested in me he would have to shake me by the shoulders and tell me he likes me because I am just so not worried about dating right now and love all of the wonderful friendships I am creating with people.

Here is one of my theories on strong, wonderful women… there aren’t enough men like us to go around…that or the guys we are supposed to be with aren’t done “maturing yet” (sorry guys yes that was another dig at you) or personally I just believe I am going to have some crazy story someday of how I met the love of my life and in that moment I am going to be so thankful I didn’t waste my time before I met him searching for him when our paths weren’t meant to cross yet.

SO STOP. Please stop crying over the jerk who wasted your time, begging your ex boyfriend to give your relationship “one more chance”, stalking people on Facebook to figure out if your personalities are compatible.

Enjoy your life. Pursue YOUR dreams. Travel the world without having to worry about someone else’s schedule. Buy that pair of shoes you want because you are the only one balancing your checkbook. I know I am.

Today as I am sitting at my Open House on Lake Minnetonka I am reminded of a few things I thought I’d share: 1. How truly awesome my job is that I get to sit here
and call it work!

2. How badly I want to own a cabin/home on a lake someday (blog post on this to follow…maybe even tonight already). 3. That I am so thankful I stuck out the real estate market and am blessed to be doing something I love.

As many know the real estate market hasn’t exactly been the greatest over the past few years::::please note my sarcasm::::and when I decided to get licensed a little over a year ago many people questioned my career decision. To be honest I questioned myself. I would try to reassure myself that starting at the bottom was the best because when the market does pick-up I’ll be ready. Well folks it’s heating up out there and I am loving it. I have never been this busy and I am having so much fun helping people reach their real estate goals!

I’m glad I didn’t give up when I wanted to a few months ago. I’m thankful to be working with the best people out there, seriously though I work with the best people. I’m so ready for the future and have no doubt I can hit the goals I have set for myself this year.

I’m glad I rode it out. Don’t give up, grab your swimming suite and ride out the waves that come your way.

First Belmont Rugby Players

As a former rugby player, rugby runs in my blood. I lived rugby for 7 years. When I got to Belmont University and they didn’t have a rugby team I founded one. I taught, coached and played on both the men’s and women’s teams for Belmont University. I wish I still had the time to play now but unfortunately I can only be a fan for now but a fan I will proudly be.

One of the things I love the most about the sport is the play rarely stops. When someone is tackled the play doesn’t stop, the two teams fight for the ball and whoever gets it continues down the field. I learned so much about the importance of having drive and hitting something hard with no fear… ok maybe a little fear… some of the college boys I played against were twice my size!!!

But that drive and that passion is something I mentally practice. If you aren’t passionate about something and if you don’t have the drive to be doing it and doing it well, then you are wasting your time. Find what you are passionate about, get invested in it, create goals, push towards your goals and keep pushing until you reach them.

We talked about living a simple life. Now to everyone a life of simplicity looks very different what Erin and I specifically were talking about today is the fact that we don’t have a lot of “STUFF” and neither of us have much on our walls, or on our shelves or countertops. We both are pretty clean and organized and everything we own has a place… personally I actually enjoy cleaning and organizing especially when I am stressed…weird I know.

I think much of my “de-cluttered” lifestyle is because when was 10 years old my parents gave me two boxes, one for things I could

take with me overseas with us and one that we would leave in storage while we were gone. I don’t remember being sad when I had to get rid of a lot of my toys and dolls because we gave them away to people that could use them. Just a few short years later our family was deported out of the country we had moved to and again I was again given a box to put my prized possessions in. I do believe that these experiences changed my perspective on the importance of “things”.

When my college years approached I hadn’t accumulated the huge piles of clothes, jewelry and other things most high school girls stock-up on, I was able to fit pretty much everything into my little car and off I was!

For three years I became a gypsy of sorts and moved from summers in Dallas to school years in Nashville and college breaks in Minneapolis and each move I fit myself, my dog and everything I owned in my car. I loved it, talk about freedom!

Now if I tried to move today I would need a moving truck because of all of my furniture but I still have worked to keep my possessions to a minimum. Again, it isn’t a bad thing to have a lot of things or really nice things, it just doesn’t fit my lifestyle.

Someday I plan to own a beach house on the beach (still haven’t figured out exactly where) that I can rent out and give free stays away to families and friends. I know the giveaway stays don’t make sense from an investment standpoint but it is about more than that to me.

When I was younger my family lived overseas serving and teaching in rural countries. Those experiences taught me so much about what it means to serve, love and take care of people without expecting anything in return. I want to provide families and friends or friends of friends a place to go and relax and not have to worry about the expense.

So here are some of the things I think of when I think of a beach house and this is how I visualize it…bonfires, bright colors, built-in bunk beds, swings, crafty decorating, simple and clean….

Click on the image to get to my Beach House Pinterest Board

Have you ever sat down and tried to figure out what you really want out of life? At the end of the day when you are laying in bed much like I am now contemplating LIFE what do you want out of it? Success… riches… family… travel… experiences… thrills…. what is it that will fill that desire in you.

From about the age 18 through the age of 25 there is so much pressure for young adults to have it figured out. In high school the question of where you are going to college and what’s your major will be is asked of you by every adult who has ever received a Christmas card from your parents. Once at college, the average student changes their major multiple times in attempts to figure out what is best for them and what they actually want to do. Then college graduation hits….

You graduate college and move to who knows where, to get a job doing who knows what, to pay of student loans that have somehow multiplied into this number that will probably take you 10 years to pay off….and you feel like you failed. Now you are left to figure out where you should live, what type of job you should pursue and how to get these students loans from lingering over your head.

I have been there. I am still there somedays.

The pressure for young adults to have it figured out is insane, and the truth is I don’t know if we will ever have it completely figured out…Honestly… I don’t think I ever want to. If we had it figured out we would be content, at a standstill. Where is the excitement in never changing your plan or leaving yourself available to new possibilities. As much as I drive myself crazy worrying, planning, mapping, strategizing, trying to figure out what I should do, that is how I got to where I am today.

When I graduated from high school I knew I wanted to go to Belmont University in Nashville, TN … I had no idea the next five years would be as crazy as they were… as they are. Every season brought either a move or a road trip between Minnesota, Nashville and Texas. I figured out my housing, work and education on my own. I had an end goal… graduate from Belmont University  and earn my four year degree in only three years. It didn’t matter where life took me in those three years as long as I reached my goal… and I did. Those three years weren’t easy. There were tears, heartache, stresses and days where I ate only cereal because I wanted enough money for my coffee…(priorities people)… but it helped to shape me into who I am today.

I still feel the pressure. The pressure of being better. The pressure of paying off my student loans. The pressure of reaching my goals. It is mostly self induced which I actually believe can be worse than pressure by outside sources but in the craziness of trying to “figure it out” I have to remind myself…. keep the end goal in mind.

As long as you reach your end goal the trials, failures and setbacks between where you are now and where you will be when you reach your goal will only prepare you for the next bigger and better goal.

I am a bit of a tech geek and I like I mean I love all things Apple but two things iCal and iPhoto will never be able to replace are paper calendars and scrapbooking. There is something really cool about looking back on paper to see things that have happened.

It’s crazy to think about all the things that have happened in the last year, for example… I passed my real estate exam a year ago tomorrow.

Speaking of real estate the market is hot and I am absolutely loving it! I have learned so much and honestly have the
best clients anyone could ask for.

Lately between my showings downtown, enjoying the rooftop patios for dinners and happy hours and of course all of my Young Professionals of the Twin Cities events I have been enjoying the beautiful and very busy city of Minneapolis, and man do I love it!

This year I decided I would work on one thing in each area of my life, religion, family and business not only during lent but starting in lent and through the year… maybe a late new years resolution…? So business wise I have decided to post daily social media tips to my Facebook business page for my followers. I have already missed a day but I know the longer I do it the more natural it will become to post them everyday.

It is also pushing me to make sure I am educating myself on the latest and greatest in social media because I don’t want my posts to be boring or repetitive so it serves many purposes.

So feel free to LIKE me and receive an update a day on how you can improve your social media strategies at http://www.Facebook.com/EPOCHPublicRelations. Cheers!