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It’s not about the clothes

Do you ever just sit back in wonder of all the amazing things your friends are doing?  I know I do!  This picture makes me laugh because even though I’m not very fashion conscious, I’m constantly in awe over the way my friend Alison can give me “three easy tips” in a video, or a blog post, and suddenly, I feel like I’m completely “in the fashion know”.   I instantly feel confident that I could get dressed quickly and  go out into my life without looking like I stepped off the fashion train last season.

At the end of the day, we all know that the latest style trends are the most important aspect of our lives.

We’re here to love our families and make meaningful contributions to the world.  But here’s the deal about the work Alison does, while at first glance, it may appear that she’s only focusing on surface …

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Part of your world

 

As I was looking for a certain picture, this one looked back at me.  Like many pictures do these days, it feels like it was yesterday and a lifetime ago, all at once.  In reality, it was almost exactly two years ago, which seems impossible to believe.  Those two little pumpkins are mostly teenagers now, who are no longer fascinated by Ollivander’s wand shop in Diagon Alley.  They might still be interested in Honeydukes candy shop, but I have a hunch that the rest of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios would probably seem pretty uncool today . . . even if it’s just a phase.  I hear that childlike wonder returns to boys later in life and sure I hope it’s true.  Either way, it reminds me how little control I have over any of it.

All I can control is the way I show up for …

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Remember how far you’ve come

If you read this blog often, you may recall that I recently got my very first real bookshelf.   If Marie Kondo came to my office for a visit, she might want me to tidy it up a bit.  I would immediately be able to share with her just how much joy this bookshelf brings me, and I think we’d have ourselves a deal.  The books on these shelves are some of my favorites, and they all tell their own stories, of course.

But I grouped them by the stories they tell me. 

Until now, I never really knew just how much simply seeing the cover of a book can take you back to the time and place you were when you read it.   Not just physically, although I feel that too, but mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.  It’s fascinating to me that when you read a book, or experience anything in your …

by Crystal Gornto Inspirational Words Loving Yourself Our Story Roadblocks in Life The Journey Through Life Leave a comment chat
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Capturing moments

Last night, we got a chance to celebrate my only living Grandma on her 89th birthday. And when I say “we” I mean 24 of us! What a privilege it was.  It was an extra special night because it was her birthday, of course, but mostly because in this season of life, getting that many people to press pause on our busy lives all at the same time, to celebrate anything, is quite a feat.  It wasn’t an elaborate feast or fancy cake (the only “Master Chef” in this house is still in training), and it didn’t matter.  What mattered is that we gathered to honor Grandma and her beautiful life.

And we took pictures!

It’s sort of a running joke in our family that a moment doesn’t really “happen” unless we get a picture of it.  That was especially funny last night as we were really wanting to make sure we …

by Crystal Gornto Inspirational Women Love in Family Motherhood Priorities The Journey Through Life Leave a comment chat
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If you care enough to get there

As we plan our upcoming “Confident Spring Style GNO” fashion show, it brings up a lot of feelings and emotions for me.  First, it’s reconnecting me, and HeartStories, with some of my favorite women friends who are doing incredible things in the world.  Second, it’s reminding me once again how often difficult roads lead to beautiful places.  Third, it’s reinforcing the truth that, growth requires a period of feeling entirely incompetent, a feeling that most of us try to avoid.  

It’s quite an unexpected spin on the roller coaster of entrepreneurship. 

Reconnecting with these women, and seeing just how far they’ve come to make change that truly matters in this world is like a healing balm, that reminds me I am never alone.  The struggle that feels so isolating, isn’t unique to me.  The mountain that feels impossible to climb, is being climbed by women all around me.  The inevitable incompetence that …

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The gift of authentic connection

Leading a Girls Night Out once a month requires more behind the scenes effort than most people realize.  Especially our brand of GNO, because it’s really more like a mini-retreat, entertaining workshop, TV talk show style interview, and a done-for-you dinner with girlfriends, all rolled into one.  There are what seems a million details and logistics to coordinate, on top of the heart of it all to reconnect busy women to inspire joy and courage.  Even so, you would think that since we’ve done it every single month for three years, we would have it down and it would run like a well-oiled machine.

To a certain extent we do, and it does. 

But somehow, the cascade of surprises on event day never cease to amaze.  Most often my best laid plans for a relaxing day of finessing the content for the evening, and taking time to actually make myself at …

by Crystal Gornto Community Girl's Night Out Inspirational Leaders Inspirational Women Love in Friendship Loving Others Loving Yourself The Journey Through Life 1 comment chat
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