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Shasta Nelson

This must be the place

Do you have a friend in your life who’s been down the road you’re traveling?  Do you know someone, even from a distance, who has crossed the ravine you’re standing at the edge of, looking down on today?

I do.

One of the biggest blessings of doing the work of HeartStories has been ALL of the incredible women I’ve become friends with over the years.  The nature of my work has required me to reach out to women I’ve never even met, to ask to work together.  One of the first things I look for is a woman who is ready to share her pain, not only her success.  She’s a woman I look to as a mentor.  She may be experiencing wild success, but she knows how she got there.

“Flowers do not bloom without rain.  Everything has a purpose, even pain.”

These women feel the pain, learn to understand why it’s there, …

by Crystal Gornto Community Female Social Entrepreneurs Girl's Night Out Inspirational Leaders Inspirational Women Love In Action Love in Friendship Loving Others Our Story The Journey Through Life Leave a comment chat
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You’re not the only one

Have you ever met someone and known instantly that they’re “your people”?

My friend and renowned friendship expert, Shasta Nelson would tell you that friendship is not born that way.  It’s planted, nurtured, and practiced.  And she’s absolutely right!

AND with this work I do, I’ve found that I can learn pretty quickly who my people are.

We don’t always become BFF’s, because we don’t always get a chance to “workout” in the gym of everyday life that brings us the opportunity for what Shasta explains as Frientimacy, in her Ted Talk: “Frientimacy: The 3 requirements of healthy friendships”. But through planning the HeartStories Girls Night Outs, I get the incredible privilege of experiencing that kind of “born” connection every month. As I plan the content and search out the women who will share their stories for the night, I’m looking for people who purposefully exhibit the characteristics of Shasta’s three requirements:

Positivity, Consistency, …

by Crystal Gornto Community Girl's Night Out Inspirational Women Love In Action Love in Friendship Our Story The Journey Through Life Leave a comment chat
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Thick as thieves

Noah and Scott just returned from their big 13th birthday father/son trip.  They filled their every moment with sightseeing and adventure.  It was truly a dream come true for both of them.  Meanwhile Oaks and I stayed behind, guarding the post, and carrying on with our usual lives for the most part, except . . .

We decided to make every night a “mama date”.   

We got his favorite food.  We watched movies.  We jumped on the trampoline.  By becoming his sole companion for the week, I was reminded of just how much companionship those boys share.  So upon their return, it filled my mama heart with joy to watch Noah excitedly share the memorabilia that he specifically chose for Oakley while on the trip.  His selections weren’t costly, but they were incredibly thoughtful.  They were gifts from a friend who knows him well.  Even though it seems like 90% of their relationship …

by Crystal Gornto Community Girl's Night Out Love In Action Love in Family Love in Friendship Motherhood Leave a comment chat
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Pick up a compass

I wish you could see the beauty who was taking this picture.  It was our new HeartStories Events Assistant, Kim Meissner.  She went with me to conduct the “site visit” at our gorgeous venue for the Confident Spring Style Fashion Show GNO, one week from today.   We measured, we counted, and practiced setting up the chairs, but mostly we laughed and couldn’t stop talking about how excited we were to be hosting our first runway show in such an incredible venue!

But it wouldn’t have happened if my original plan would have worked out.

I had a vision for hosting this show in another location that was going to be spectacular.  It would have been easy and beautiful.  It would have saved us hours of work, and the last two weeks would have been much less stressful.  But sitting where I am now, looking at this picture and envisioning our night together, …

by Crystal Gornto Love In Action Leave a comment chat
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It won’t happen on it’s own

As I’ve been preparing for the Ya-Ya Sisterhood GNO tomorrow night, I can’t help but to pay more attention to the friendships in my own life.  I’ve been noticing the different types of friendships I currently enjoy and the friendships that are literally saving my life.  Tomorrow night, Shasta will be walking us through The 5 Friends You Need and How to Make Those Friendships Happen.   As part of the evening, she’ll guide us through bucketing our friendships into her 5 different circles of connectedness on the continuum below from Contact Friends, all the way through Committed Friends.

One of the most beautiful things about Shasta’s work is that she’s done all the heavy lifting, the research and the analyzing.  She fully understands the way our friendships move through the circles.  She lays it out so beautifully, just like a map, to help us balance and prioritize the kinds of friendships we …

by Crystal Gornto Girl's Night Out Inspirational Women Love In Action Love in Friendship The Journey Through Life Leave a comment chat
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What if you believed it too?

Almost five years ago, I was planning a big event to kick off the launch of HeartStories.  I knew female friendship was the key influencing factor for women to live out the stories of our hearts.  I knew we needed to be deeply connected to one another to stop believing the lies we so often listen to, playing like noise on repeat in our minds and replace them with truth and love.  In fact, I believed it so wholeheartedly, I left my career to pursue that connection for women.  I had a vision for creating a day filled with the encouragement and guidance of wise women who understood the importance of female friendships.  It didn’t take me long to find this beautiful soul.

Meet Shasta Nelson.  

I’ll never forget the first time I connected with Shasta on the phone.  I remember where I was sitting and the knowing in my heart …

by Crystal Gornto Girl's Night Out Inspirational Women Love In Action Love in Friendship Leave a comment chat
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