068 - Stephanie LaVigne – Finding success in Film, Photography and Writing and the lessons learned along the way

Stephanie talks about her rise to the top of three industries, Film, Photography and Writing, the secrets she has learned along the way and the questions she asked herself to create her dream life. 

Stephanie LaVigne has done a bit of everything. After spending years in the NYC film industry and as a professional photographer specializing in underwater portraits, she eventually settled into her favorite phase of life yet: as an urban adventurer and full-time fiction writer.

From hopping trains across the US to crewing a sailboat on a trans-Atlantic crossing, from mushing dogs on a Canadian dogsled to unwittingly hiking Mount Washington (which, as a native Floridian is a big deal), she’s been lucky enough to have incredible adventures with all kinds of real-life characters giving her inspiration for her books. 

https://stephanielavigne.com/

Transcript

Stephanie Lavigne 

[00:00:00]Jolie Downs:Today, we are talking with Stephanie Levine. Stephanie has done a little bit of everything after spending years in the New York city film industry, and as a professional photographer, specializing in underwater portraits, she eventually settled into her favorite phase of life yet as an urban adventure and full-time fiction writer.

[00:00:24]From hopping trains across the United States to crewing in a sailboat on a transatlantic crossing from mushing dogs on a Canadian dog, sled to unwittingly hiking, Mount Washington. Interesting. She's been lucky enough to have incredible adventures with all kinds of real life characters, giving her inspiration for her.

[00:00:47]I'm really excited to learn more. Stephanie, thank you for joining us on fresh blood, please. Can you tell us a little bit more about your journey to getting where you are today?

[00:00:56]Stephanie Lavigne:Yes. Thank you so much for having me. I am. I love your podcasts and I am so excited to be here. I have always pretty much been in the creative field. , I graduated college, , And knew I wanted to work in film and theater and things like that and writing. And of course I had absolutely no. Idea how to do that.

[00:01:18]And you emerge and you're like, oh look, I'm an expert in this thing, but no, you are not. And so, , I ended up originally moving back home. This is the backpack story to help my best friend. We moved back home to help her dad's real estate business. Cause he was sick at the time. I became a videographer, , on a whim.

[00:01:34]We decided to move to New York city. I don't know why. Exactly. I mean, I do know how it happened, but it was not supposed to happen. And. Weaseled my way into the film industry, which I planned to be in. But, um, 

[00:01:49]Jolie Downs:you do that? How did you wheedle your way? Cause I would imagine that's hard, right? I mean, this isn't easy to get into.

[00:01:54]Stephanie Lavigne:At the time, again, we, we basically showed up in New York city sight unseen. We we're living in this crazy place in Bushwick and I didn't have a TV at that time or any of the years previous. And I thought, okay, I, I didn't want to be in film. I want to work in film. What does that mean? I think I said, well, people with TVs, I think at the time I said, HBO's pretty popular.

[00:02:20]They people like the Sopranos and sex in the city. They're probably filmed in New York. And so it was a very roundabout way of figuring this out, you know, launching my career. So I figured out where they were shot, which is Silvercup studios at the time. And I thought, okay, well, how do I get in there? You know, get, get work there.

[00:02:39]And they, I looked on the website and they had an internship for students, which I no longer was, but they didn't need to know that. And I called and got myself, the unpaid internship working in the equipment department. It was me and a bunch of really buff guys who were not in the film industry, they just called around equipment and they would tell me, um, you know, I said, what do you need to do?

[00:03:03]How do you do, oh, you want to be a PA a production assistant? Okay. So this is said, go, go look. You know, call this person. So I just call people and say, Hey, I'm a PA. And then eventually it would, I did not know what that meant at all. Hauling around equipment, looking at call sheets, trying to figure out what all the job titles are.

[00:03:21]Again, college did not prepare me for this at all. Had no I'm just learning, like figuring it out on a day-by-day basis. And one day I'll never forget the woman's name was Amanda. And she called and said, Hey, I need a person for tomorrow. Are you available? I can do it cut rate. And it was like the most money.

[00:03:38]Ever you made, can you do it for this? You know, have 50% off. I'm like, 

[00:03:43]Jolie Downs:Yeah.

[00:03:44]Stephanie Lavigne:Yeah,

[00:03:45]I can I'll do it. And I was like, like literally got off the phone and, , did the happy dance like around like amazing. And from there I just never stopped working entire time. I was in New York, so 

[00:04:00]Jolie Downs:a great story. Okay. I'm sorry for hijacking you there, but 

[00:04:03]that was such a great story. Keep going.

[00:04:05]Stephanie Lavigne:No. And, , so I ended up doing that for years. , I ended up again, the way I got into it, it was sort of like fake it till you make it. You know, I showed up that one day and it turned out those TV shows. In production at the time television commercials were. So I just started being in that circle, like the circle of people in the film industry, like to work with people, they like to work with, you know, you just kind of develop your own crew and your friends and everyone gets really good at working cause you're working these insane hours and you're together all the time.

[00:04:33]And, and so if people like you and you like, , you just, you hired. And are they hire you? And so eventually I got to do hiring, so that was fun too. But, I just went on and I kept basically mostly working in television commercials for years. I did some feature films and things like that.

[00:04:49]But I ended up climbing. What I would say is I climbed the wrong ladder and I am so thankful and so fortunate to have. The experiences and the opportunities that I ended up being given, like, I am still friends with the people who hired me way back Then you know, I'm so thankful because I didn't know what I was doing and I didn't, and they allowed me to do that.

[00:05:14]So, um, but , I was more of a I'm very good logistically I'm very good at research and on the computer and things like that, but it was also. A creative person. And I hit my intention had been to do more creative work, but I kind of got swept up in. Filling the, the needs and just starting climbing that production ladder, which, you know, by the end I was producing, which was awesome.

[00:05:41]And I was making great money and I loved the people I worked with and I loved what I did. But, um, I just remember at one point just having that, um, what is it that sort of moment of, you know, if, if I keep, if I keep doing this 10 years from now, this is after I'd been doing it for a while. Pardon me, but, um, you know, will, will it be enough?

[00:06:06]And at that point I had to say, you know what? It won't, you know, if I'm, if I get to the top of my game where I was at doing what I was doing, will it be fulfilling enough for me to feel like I've lived a life that I'm, that I love and that I'm really proud of, and that I've fulfilled my potential for me.

[00:06:24]And.

[00:06:25]Jolie Downs:to ask yourself that at that age,

[00:06:28]Stephanie Lavigne:Oh, but I think, you know, we, I think we all forget to do it, you know, and, and it's important. So I took a step back and did all the. Soul searching and, or I actually went home for the holidays and I was like, wow, where I'm from is really nice. Cause I'm from Florida and New York, which I was like, wow, this one I think is lovely.

[00:06:52]Who knew? And at the end of that kind of going back to basics and also saying, you know, what should I do? Should I stay in New York? Should I moved to LA? Should I move to. A tropical island and Caribbean, I am very, I tend to go big with what

[00:07:09]Jolie Downs:I love that personally.

[00:07:11]Stephanie Lavigne:because I always, I would say, , make it pro and con list and whatever put down things that are the obvious ones you're thinking about. And then maybe throw some wild cards in there. Cause really you could do anything, you know, it kind of opens your brain up to. 

[00:07:23]Jolie Downs:I agree.

[00:07:23]Stephanie Lavigne:And that basically at the end of that, I decided I need to be a writer and a. Fast forward. Like two months later I had written a novel and then promptly 

[00:07:33]Jolie Downs:Wow. 

[00:07:34]Stephanie Lavigne:to become a photographer. 

[00:07:39]Jolie Downs:Okay, wait a minute. There's some, there's some things to unpack here. So you decide that you're going to be a writer and you just make this decision. You're like, I Fe there's nothing. You just made a decision. You went through those soul searching you, you really were looking at all the different aspects of what's going to make me happy.

[00:07:53]You figured out that this is something that fits you and then you actually do it two months later, you actually wrote a book and then you become a photographer. So tell us what happened there.

[00:08:03]Stephanie Lavigne:Yeah.

[00:08:04]And I'd always been a writer to some degree. I think most writers are like, oh, I was always writing. You know? So I, I had thought I would write in film. I thought I would write for TV. I thought I would do something. I just didn't. I didn't know anyone who did that professionally. I didn't know what it looked like or how to get started, which ironically.

[00:08:20]Nor did I know anything about the film industry, but I decided that one was doable and one was not I'm, you know, it's weird. Um, 

[00:08:27]Jolie Downs:Oh, so society does it to us as well.

[00:08:29]Stephanie Lavigne:yeah. You know, I, it, I agree. , it's just a weird thing. And I think for myself, and there's probably people like me, ,

[00:08:35]I think we have a tendency to basically, if there's something we love, then sometimes we're more afraid to fail at that.

[00:08:44]And we will achieve success in something else, 

[00:08:49]Jolie Downs:Ooh, that's insightful. Yeah.

[00:08:50]Stephanie Lavigne:you know? And, and, and that's one of the great things about, as you get older is you start saying, wait, what the heck? I'm working so hard, no matter what you do, you work so hard at it and you give it so much energy and so much of your life. It's like when you.

[00:09:06]I knew nothing about the corporate world. I knew nothing about photography. I knew nothing about whatever, and then I got good at it. So why can't I do that for something I love or I want to do? 

[00:09:16]Jolie Downs:Yes. Thank you. I completely agree.

[00:09:22]Stephanie Lavigne:Yeah.

[00:09:22]So, uh, I did, I, I knew at the end of that, even though I did want to be a writer and we didn't have the resources we have today, you know it back then, it just was. Yeah,

[00:09:34]I went to Barnes and Nobles and I bought a book Barnes and noble and a, and it said, write on spec, write on spec, write on spec.

[00:09:40]And everyone's going to reject you and just do that into infinity. And then maybe one day something good will happen. And I thought, well, how do I pay for my home or food or support myself? Oh, the sounds questionable. Even though I'm good at writing, but still, , I'm a, I'm an adult and even I was a young adult, but at the same time, you know, , 

[00:10:02]Jolie Downs:you gotta pay the bills.

[00:10:03]Stephanie Lavigne:exactly, I think that becomes daunting right?

[00:10:06]When we're afraid of something we're like, Oh, I can't do it during that. , but I, I knew I wanted to be on the creative end and I had been doing. Um, photo editing and things with photography, and it started out with video. And then of course being in film and I thought, oh, photography is so much easier than film.

[00:10:24]You can edit a picture so fast, gosh, comparatively. And, I had a lot access to a lot of camera equipment and I thought, well, that makes more sense. I can, I can make a living doing that because I can just start taking pictures and. Going down that avenue. And so it was a rational thought. And I sometimes say that, well, it only in the last couple of years, I'm like, anytime I have a really smart decision, I need to remind myself not to do it because a lot of times I'll choose the smart thing and put off the thing that I truly want to do.

[00:10:58]And then I'm like, oh, I'm going to have to go through this big, long process to get back to the thing I should have started working on at, from the get-go.

[00:11:06]Jolie Downs:Oh, I feel you there. And this is the lesson too many of us go through, and this is why we need to learn from other people's stories.

[00:11:13]Stephanie Lavigne:Yes. Yeah. And inspire each other and like push, push one another, because it's So much easier to see it for other people. Right

[00:11:22]Jolie Downs:Yes. So is that what you did was the photog, the photography was the thing that made sense. That was your rational thing, 

[00:11:28]but, okay. So, so what happened with that?

[00:11:31]Stephanie Lavigne:Well, the ridiculous part is I didn't just become a photographer. I became an under a photographer who specialized in underwater portraits, which no one was doing at the time. And, and they also focused on architectural interiors, which is sort of the opposite. I almost, I always think of one as like artistic painting underwater and the other one is like math, photography, math, and I liked both of them, but.

[00:11:59]Yeah, they were just so random, just such random choices within an industry. I knew nothing about, and I ended up having a really great next career as a predominantly, most as an underwater photographer. I did the interiors and architectural architectural I'd say as much, but most people, a lot of people really knew.

[00:12:23]As an underwater portrait photographer, because no one was doing that at the time. And not even a ton of people do it now, but a lot more to do it now. 

[00:12:32]Jolie Downs:Do you think that was a key to your success as a photographer, doing, getting a niche that wasn't necessarily being, , taken advantage?

[00:12:40]Stephanie Lavigne:, I want to say no, because it was so random, there was an education gap because we look like, what are you doing? And then there was so many things I moved to Florida and I thought people swings year round. I had always, I had always been a swimmer and a water polo player and a lifeguard and all those things.

[00:12:55]So water was a very natural fit for me. That's part of why. That came about, but I did not think I had no children and I ended up having a company. I started out doing commercial in art, fine art, photography, under water, which I really enjoy. But then I started a company that was sort of a sister company that did underwater portraits of children.

[00:13:18]And. Yeah, and that was very popular and very time consuming. And that pretty much took over, but we have a huge hurricane season here and that happens to be when the kids are off school during the summer. And so there's all these things to learn. And over, over the years, I I've photographed weddings.

[00:13:37]I've photographed commercial and corporate headshots and, , Like Adam, I've had a lot of cool photography experiences in jobs. But that was sort of what I thought was like the bread and butter thing that a lot of people knew me for 

[00:13:54]Jolie Downs:what do you think helped bring you the most success in that business while you were doing photography?

[00:14:01]Stephanie Lavigne:maybe, 

[00:14:02]that I, I never truly in my heart felt like a photographer and. I think that was one of the things that, that I love now about what I do is I know, even on the stressful days that. I'm in the right place. Like I can navigate the stress. I'm like, Yeah, it's stressful, but it's, it's, it's not like you stress.

[00:14:24]It's not like a positive stress, but it's, it's stressing. And like, I, this is just the comes with the territory. It's cool. It's good. It's and that's not how I always felt with photography. , I have people in my life, including my dad and, , some good friends of mine and they are just incredibly good photographers that I just feel like in their hearts, like that's, who they're meant to be.

[00:14:43]That's the way that they see the world in. Do that format and I was very good at it, but, um, I D I knew, I always felt like I was, I'm not that kind of person. I'm not the quiet meek person in the corner, observing I am the person like cannon balling into the pool as well, you know? And so like, oh, , even though like, can be introspective and, like to be on my own too.

[00:15:06]But, , so I focused a lot on marketing and I think I had it a unique product. I think. I put a lot of intention into marketing and learning the business. And that was something that helped me when I became a writer is learning that everything is kind of all businesses are sort of a variation of the same theme.

[00:15:27]Like their project management, they're bringing a product to market and they just sort of have the same structure. And if you learn, if you take treat it like a business, then you can make a living at it. And I think maybe that's I had a good product that people liked. I got along well with people.

[00:15:46]So maybe that 

[00:15:47]Jolie Downs:no, you're right. The marketing is huge. I mean, I, as a, I'm a recruiter for PR and marketing. So I talked to people every day about the impact they're making by doing these PR and marketing for their clients. And it's a huge impact. So you learn how to market correctly and that's, and that's a key thing because a lot, like you said, a lot of people who go.

[00:16:04]There's different businesses, especially creative businesses where you're really good at what you do. And that's, that's your focus because you're really, you're super creative and that's what you do. But a lot of times they're not looking at the marketing and the business aspect, and they're not playing up the strength in that area.

[00:16:19]So they're not as seen as maybe some other. So it's, it's a key thing for all businesses marketing. And you said, so that helps you with your books now, , how did you end up becoming that full-time writer that you, you always wanted to be? , how did that come to be? Sorry.

[00:16:36]Stephanie Lavigne:So I did photography and design. I ended up. Getting a lot of design clients, which is weird. Like I designed for the boat shows like their actual physical blues. And so I had this whole, um, this whole business and career. And after I had my first son, I think it became very, very difficult to sit down and do the editing that I was used to doing.

[00:16:58]And I think not that it became an excuse, but it was sort of. Hi, this is so difficult or this is so much work and I have this baby and I just kept coming back to this idea of if I'm putting in so much of my heart and soul into everything I do, which I did in my photography and design business. And I loved, I love my clients.

[00:17:19]I loved the things I produced and, , I was, I knew I was very lucky to have that. That was my job, you 

[00:17:26]Jolie Downs:We're doing good. I, I saw your work. It's beautiful.

[00:17:29]Stephanie Lavigne:Thank you. I knew that many people would love to do what I did. And so I didn't want to take that for granted, but I just thought, gosh, I'm going to put every little bit of what I have into my work aside from obviously, you know, my life also, um, it has to be something I love and I know deep down, I'm not supposed to be a photographer.

[00:17:51]I know that. I, I just, I know I need to. Start trying to be a writer. I don't know what it's going to look like. I don't know I'm going to write, but I just know that that's the path or direction I need to go towards it. And if I don't start now, cause I was a little bit older when I had kids. Um, and I've lived a lot of life and, and I just thought, when are you going to start?

[00:18:14]You know, you have to start because you've started at the bottom of the ladder in multiple industries now. And you climbed. And when you're at the top of the wrong ladder, it's not, it's not as fulfilling. And, and I, but basically aside from that, it's like, so I just need to start climbing this ladder because if it's what I want, I will get to the some version of the top, you know?

[00:18:40]So 

[00:18:41]Jolie Downs:And you'll be so much happier. 

[00:18:43]Stephanie Lavigne:Yes. 

[00:18:45]Jolie Downs:Now, I mean, out of all of these things that you've done, what do you feel has been your greatest success and why, what did you learn?

[00:18:53]Stephanie Lavigne:, I think my, my greatest professional successes have varied, you know, sometimes, , getting a really great paycheck or, , , making money off of something that you love or something that you're proud of is really fulfilling. I tend to not go heavily towards like, oh, as a woman or as a man.

[00:19:10]But I think especially as a woman for myself, that sometimes I can be a big personality, but to on some level I'm very personable, but I tend to stay small in some ways. And I think that that's something I've noticed and had conversations with that a lot of people do, and I know a lot of women in particular tend to do.

[00:19:31]And so I think seeing those markers of like, wow, like I did this and I was financially successful from it. Yeah.

[00:19:42]That's it's like a, a marker that you can really feel proud of because we didn't always be like, Oh you're wonderful. And we give, we give and receive a lot of praise that, that we genuinely mean when we give it to someone else.

[00:19:56]But we sometimes discredit when we get it ourselves. Does that make sense? 

[00:20:01]Jolie Downs:yes, we do that too much, too much, 

[00:20:03]Stephanie Lavigne:Yes. So sometimes having a, kind of a, a marker, like that is helpful. And also, I think when. And I see a really good review or when I see the reviews coming, cause I usually get really, really nervous and like, oh no, I should've never put the book.

[00:20:19]I still have my crippling doubt. That'll come in, at the completely wrong time, you know, after the books out, I'm like, oh no, wait. 

[00:20:26]Jolie Downs:Yeah.

[00:20:27]Stephanie Lavigne:And then I see these really kind loving reviews and like, oh, I did my job. You know, I created. That made somebody feel, hopefully it felt good. Cause I kind of focus on sort of feel good.

[00:20:40]I want people to, even if it's a fiction book, I want them to come out of it, feeling inspired. And basically everything you talk about is what I kind of subliminally try and put in my books. So I want people to say, oh, you know what, maybe I can be happy. Maybe it's worth taking a leap of faith. Maybe it's maybe it's worth making a decision today.

[00:20:59]That's a little bit bold or feels a little bit crazy and start walking in the direction of my dreams and maybe something great. Can have.

[00:21:05]Jolie Downs:I love it. Those are my favorite kind of books that you read and you read and they're great stories. So there are page Turners, cause you love reading them, but you're. feel a little bit better because you read them, you have those little, those little insights that you walk away from that just ping you inside.

[00:21:22]I often even pull quotes from the books I read and email them to myself. Okay, so that's fantastic. I know. Well, what about, I mean, you've gone through a lot of things, so I would imagine you've probably dealt with different, big obstacles or big mistakes that you've had to go through. Is there, is there any big one that you've dealt with that you've learned from, that you could share with us?

[00:21:46]Stephanie Lavigne:I think that, I mean, I think I probably make mistakes all the time 

[00:21:51]Jolie Downs:We all do.

[00:21:52]Stephanie Lavigne:and rolling through that, you know? Um, one thing I do in my writing business, Is is choosing to think of it as a business, even though there's two sides. And part of that is, is sort of the, the writer side. Like you have to go, come up with a creative vision, create something, and then the business side has to then take over.

[00:22:15]I almost say like, okay, the writer, you like, you need to go on vacation. You did a great job. Thank you. Now you go away because you will make this a disaster. And like, you will just make this impossible. , and. So I think one of my biggest obstacles or those things is that I tend, I tend to get in my own way, Um,

[00:22:35]and having to learn how not to do that, , how to sort of overcome I'm good at overcoming obstacles because I'm a very sort of silver lining kind of person.

[00:22:46]Like, I don't tend to have regrets, not because I have not made terrible, I shouldn't say terrible mistakes, but like ridiculous. Well mistakes. Cause I have constantly, I've made all kinds of questionable decisions in my life, but I just think, you know what, I can't go back. I can learn from them and they create who I am.

[00:23:07]I tend to get into in my own way and I have to overcome that sort of inner critic to who wants to keep work from going out into the world or wants to keep me from who wants to protect me from, from getting criticized or being sad or any of those, whatever those things are. 

[00:23:32]Jolie Downs:Yes, no, that's really big. And it, and it's big. It happens to us all. It's it's not like, because that voice is there, that voice is right. That's just a voice that exists in all of us humans. , that's, you know, that's been, it has that negative connotation that, that used to say, I used to save our life.

[00:23:49]You know, we, when you saw a stick, you, you wanted to believe it was a snake. Saved your life. And so we're conditioned in that way. , but we have to be aware that we're conditioned in that way so that we can work against it because it does not help us anymore. That actually hurts us now. So we have to make those changes and just being aware of that and knowing, , when you get that voice, I love that.

[00:24:09]You know, that's what you're seeing. You, you have that voice and you know that you have to push yourself past it. You need to go ahead and create, you need to make those big moves. And that's, that is a big key to success. And living a successful life is recognizing it and then making the change.

[00:24:25]Stephanie Lavigne:Yeah.

[00:24:25]absolutely. And I, and I even think that that's one of the benefits of, of age or wisdom or experience is that you can talk about. Through, because you've seen it happen. You, you get to know it like you've learned or seen other people and you can be like, okay, I can step back and be more rational about this.

[00:24:44]Like you said, you know, there's, you have these innate instincts that have saved you or you know, that we have ingrained. And it's like, okay. I now know that this is, this is more about me and you know, or myself trying to save myself. And I can push myself beyond it and work through It And a lot of that comes from knowing, okay, I did it before and I did it before and I was.

[00:25:09]okay.

[00:25:09]I've been okay when I've made myself go into a scary situation or make a bold choice or do something that, you know, the book wasn't perfect. Oh, I can't, you know, in that situation, for example, like, oh, you know what? It was fine. People liked it. It's all copies. It was a bestseller, like calm down. 

[00:25:28]Jolie Downs:You're so right. Yeah. You know, that is that's, that's the beauty of mistakes I write. And the were when you make mistakes in your, okay. And that's, it, that's an important lesson for us all so that we can keep moving forward.

[00:25:41]Stephanie Lavigne:Yes, 

[00:25:42]Jolie Downs:is important to recognize that too many people, you know, the mistake that we made and there's that, that other mindset where he uses the, , the beating yourself up and going down a different path. So it's, it's important to recognize. We're all human it's. Okay. It's okay. 

[00:25:59]So now I'm curious, everyone has a different definition.

[00:26:04]If you will. I'm curious what your definition of success is and what you believe because of that definition, what you believe is key to continued success.

[00:26:14]Stephanie Lavigne:, at the end of the day, I really want to enjoy my life to the best of my ability. And I try to use that as a true north of, of happiness, because I feel like when people are happy and that might not be the exact right word because for different people, I think there's a different version of that word for me.

[00:26:33]I use happy. I just want to be happy. Happy for me that comes in a lot of different forms. It can be really simple, but then you're a better person, you know, you're just sort of better towards humanity. Um, I also think continuing to challenge yourself like continued success.

[00:26:47]in life is continuing to challenge yourself and being excited about life.

[00:26:52]Continuing to find things that interest you and learn about them, or go back to things that maybe you've forgotten about and like dust them off and revisit them. And I really just think if we can look at life as these sort of smaller chapters, it doesn't have to be that per se. Have grace with ourselves , and to say, Hey, you know, I'm a different person right now than I've been before, or I will be in the future, which means that now can be whatever I want it to be.

[00:27:18]And it also does not lock me into being whatever is right for me right now in the future 

[00:27:24]Jolie Downs:Yes.

[00:27:25]Stephanie Lavigne:know. So that's, I use sort of those, those ideas to, to feel successful and I can look around and say, okay, This, this is creating for me, happiness and, and I'm hopefully then growing and learning and continuing to evolve as a human, which to me is valuable and interesting and fun.

[00:27:48]And therefore I'm also hopefully providing more to the world and to the people around me and the people I meet by being a full, happy version of myself. 

[00:28:00]Jolie Downs:Yes. Yep. I completely agree. 

[00:28:02]So Stephanie, out of all the things that you've done and I love all the things you've done, your life path is so interesting. What is something that you've learned that has brought you the most benefit in your life?

[00:28:13]Stephanie Lavigne:I think I'm learning that everything is accessible if you just work toward it. All of these industries I've been in, for example, they can look so huge and daunting, but everything. Is is manageable sort of in those smaller bites is you just need to start working, moving towards it and taking small steps.

[00:28:35]And so many things are so much more accessible and achievable than, than you expect. And I think that goes across all industries and it goes across all kinds of lifestyle choices, from anything, from raising your kids, to starting a new career at a part in your life, to where you want to live, like these ideas can seem so daunting immigrant, and I'm a big picture thinker who, and also very detailed.

[00:29:02]Oriented. I'm not so bright in the middle, but like, so I'm someone who will say like, oh look, you can do anything. And I, I truly honestly believe in my heart, like, I will be your biggest cheerleader and then help you come up with a strategy to get there. , but I do think that that's important. You have to come up with some sort of great, exciting vision and then dial it back and say, okay, well what's the strategy to get there?

[00:29:24]You know, it is manageable. If somebody else has done it, you can do it. 

[00:29:28]Jolie Downs:Yep. Exactly. And I love that this is advice is coming from you being in the, especially the three industries you've been in those three years. These are industries that have that picture of being very hard to break into , and be successful at it. Film industry, photography, writing, , and you've been able to have a career with each of them successfully.

[00:29:47]So I think that's important to hear you say that it in your right. It is so often our expectations are much are really the things that are holding us back. So.

[00:29:59]Stephanie Lavigne:And when you do something, you suddenly realize it's then, you know, once you've achieved something that seemed unreasonable when you started it, you'll go to someone else and say, oh no, you know, let me show you how to do it. It's not that hard. You know, you have to, once you're into something, it doesn't seem scary or daunting, but when you're on the outside, it can seem impossible. 

[00:30:18]Jolie Downs:Yeah. And the, and that's great advice for that, but I'm wondering if there's another piece of advice that you might give someone, especially people in the 40 plus category who might be struggling to find the right path or find that right. Next opportunity. You've done the switch.

[00:30:32]Is there any other advice that you'd give someone in that position?

[00:30:35]Stephanie Lavigne:Yeah. And I'm continuing to grow, you know, and that's, and I feel like nowadays that people, especially 40 plus, I'm going to say, , I try not to say definitive, things like that, but we're so much stronger and more capable than. Then we probably were when we were younger. I think that everyone feels stuck and it is a really difficult place to be.

[00:30:59]And first you really have to put aside that sort of ageist idea of like, oh no, I've passed my prime. I've missed my moment because there are. So many examples of people and I tend to look this up. I remember I was, I think I was around 27 when I first I read some, a book. I think it was called midlife crisis at 30 and it was hilarious.

[00:31:20], but it was also wonderful. It was like, , probably a self-help book of some sites some time. Yeah. But one of the examples was all of these people who had been incredibly successful, you know, 50 on, , or later in what we considered later in. Which is not really later in life. If you look at it now, , maybe it's because we're living longer and we're so much healthier than in my grandmother's 86.

[00:31:43]And she's nowhere near what. Picture an 86 year old, if she wants to start a baking business tomorrow, not because she's into baking, but I think she could, , I have no question about it. Like life is just different now. And that's one thing I would tell people is there like something that feels impossible, dial that down to being improbable, but then that gives you a glimmer of like, wait, is it maybe possible?

[00:32:07]Because it is like, anything you want to do is possible and you're probably struggling. And more capable than you ever were in your life prior to now, like you have lived a life and gotten this far, which is an achievement in and of itself, and you should be so proud that you are standing here even having this discussion with yourself.

[00:32:29]Right. And, um, in the resources are abundant. Like we live in a world right now where things are possible. That never were possible before you can take your career or your side hustle or your passion or your hobby, whatever it is that makes you happy in and you want in your life and you can make it part of your life.

[00:32:51]You can, if it's your career, you can build that career and take it into your own hands. You can have a podcast, you know, you can write a book and you don't have to wait for the powers that be to say, it's okay. You can find out and you can write. How to do it. And if you need help, there's help. You can hire people.

[00:33:08]You can ask for help. So many things are possible. Now that weren't before it's just about starting and start taking steps, you don't know what it's gonna look like, and you don't have to, but be willing to trust that you just need to move towards whatever that thing is. That's calling to you. Or that seems exciting to you, or you want and start thinking. 

[00:33:30]Jolie Downs:So good. I love how you said it. You, you, you know, you don't have to ask the powers that be because you are the powers that be now. That is wonderful. So true. And I mean, what about, what about when you're dealing. I'm sure there were many struggles. And in the beginning of each of these, how did you push through your worst times?

[00:33:53]Stephanie Lavigne:, I am very optimistic by nature. Although I do always think that optimists are people we, we have to stay up or we'll go really down and be like, oh no, it's terrible. 

[00:34:04]Jolie Downs:the flip side of everything.

[00:34:05]Stephanie Lavigne:Yeah.

[00:34:05]exactly. This is how we keep afloat. Everyone needs a way. , so I tend to be someone who, , when times are really bad, I'm like, okay, let me stop.

[00:34:17]One, is there a silver lining? Did I learn something? Well, at least there's a positive, from whatever it is or whatever, why I'm sad. I felt stuck a lot. Like feeling stuck is a terrible feeling. And I know a lot of my friends, you know, we, we go through these moments. , but when I'm like that, I think I do a combination of.

[00:34:35]Again, having grace with myself to be like, okay, you know what, you're feeling this right now. But rationally look at the rest of the world. Things are okay. I currently am in good health. I have, all my fingers and all my toes, which, , I I'd be fine without them, but I'm pretty glad I have them, and that's something to be thankful for.

[00:34:56]And. Gosh, I have it way better than so many people. And so therefore I have the power to, to right whatever wrong I'm feeling. And sometimes you're just sad or depressed or whatever it is. And you might have to live through that for a little while, and maybe that's just being gentle and saying, you know what?

[00:35:16]I guess I'm going to watch dumb TV shows. A week or whatever I need or big cookies or whatever it is. And that's okay. You may, you might need to just have that time. And then I usually say, okay, in the back of my mind, you're, you're going to have to get out of this. And so just start slowly, , either do a snap decision like tomorrow, , I'll just do a thing or find a way to be excited or just slowly start getting out of it.

[00:35:43]Jolie Downs:Yeah. That's good advice. Yeah, no, you have to take those little steps. You're right. You have to be kind with yourself and dental and you go through those moments, but then you also. You need to start taking the steps. We need you to start taking the steps and , it is something that you have to consciously do sometimes when they're really hard, hard times, which we often, and so.

[00:36:01]Stephanie Lavigne:And, , in tune, sometimes it's calling, calling somebody and just talking through it. A lot of times talking takes the power away from the bad thing or the hard times, and then remembering that you have control. Or for me, I have control of my life. Like at the end of the day, I am the only one who can truly change my life or is in charge of my life or care.

[00:36:23]I care more about myself and you care more about you because from that just instinctual level than anyone on this planet. So love yourself, take care of yourself , and figure out what you need or you want. And once you find that little spark, usually it's enough to be like, Hmm, could I really do that?

[00:36:40]Or that would be fun. And , then, then it starts building, but you're responsible and you can, you can change. You can be the change you want to see in your own life. 

[00:36:49]Jolie Downs:Yes. I see those have to get cleared, the good, the good cliches, you know, they're around for a good reason. So have, have you developed any habits yourself that you feel have benefited your life and help you with your own.

[00:37:06]Stephanie Lavigne:I think figuring out who you are and leaning into your strengths is something that continues to be helpful for me. That takes , stepping back and sort of audit, auditing the situation or your life at times.

[00:37:17]And sometimes I get overwhelmed with everything and then I have to tell myself, okay, look at this objective. , you're always going to work hard, but spinning in circles, isn't going to get you anywhere or help you. So is there a way that you can work smarter or work more with your strengths that would make this easier and more streamlined and more enjoyable?

[00:37:36]So that has been an habit, that has been really helpful for me. And then also I tend to be a very, big picture thinker or tiny detail oriented, doer, , getting down to the nitty-gritty. And so I struggle with the everyday maintenance type of stuff. So, , I think for me identifying that and understanding who I am and that each of those things have a place it's important for me to be able to see the large picture so that I know that what I'm working towards, but then I have to put systems in place in order to get the everyday middle ground work done.

[00:38:08]Which sometimes requires a way of figuring out how to do it, that works with my personality. And then also, lastly, I also have to learn how to cut myself off when I'm doing.

[00:38:18]Down deep into that 80 20 trap where I'm spending way too much time on something minuscule that no one will notice, but myself. So the habit is knowing, knowing myself and then creating systems to support, to support that personality or , my best practices or best habits. 

[00:38:34]Jolie Downs:Yeah. , we're also different. There's different best practices for each of us. So that's smart money, not the, what makes the most sense for you and your personality. Now I'm curious, because as an urban adventure, and I'd mentioned a few things in your intro, Okay. You've obviously had a lot of very interesting experiences.

[00:38:52]Is there any, super interesting experience story that would be worth sharing with the listeners that th that, you know, may have brought some, maybe you learn something from it or brought some benefit in your life after you reflected on it?

[00:39:07]Stephanie Lavigne:Hm. I, you know, I tend not to have favorites things and 

[00:39:12]Jolie Downs:I you on this? I hate I actually, yes. Anytime someone has a favorite my mind, like, Ooh, that's just really tough. I mean, could I give you a top 10?

[00:39:22]Stephanie Lavigne:it is. I don't know. I've always had such a difficult time with that, cause I'm like, well, everything has a benefit in some way or in positive negative thing. It just depends on. What mood you're in or what? I don't know. They've all, everything is so impactful in its own way. And sometimes that's tiny way or a huge way. 

[00:39:43]Jolie Downs:There was what's one that's really super interesting or random or very different than, you know, and experienced. Most people wouldn't have 

[00:39:50]Stephanie Lavigne:gosh, everything I do is so random 

[00:39:52]Jolie Downs:of them.

[00:39:54]Stephanie Lavigne:everything I've chosen to do. Um, , I'll just, this is just cause you mentioned it and it's been awhile, but. I when I hiked Mount Washington. So that's in New Hampshire and, and I was a professional photographer at the time. And I was traveling with my partner who was also a professional photographer and we run this fun, epic adventure in photographing.

[00:40:15]Um, I'm from Florida, which is at sea level. And it's not a big hiking state and I never understood this idea of hiking, you know, like, isn't it just walking? What is, is it hard? I mean, you know, I've been an athlete when I was younger, I was just walking. , and somehow we ended up in at some point in New Hampshire.

[00:40:37]And Mount Washington, I said, oh, there's a mountain. I don't know. One thing led to another. Shouldn't be hiking today. Huh? Yeah.

[00:40:44]we can start walking. I'm thinking how hard could this be? And, um, it turned out it's very hard to like a mountain and I know it is not like a fourteener or anything, but it was such an interesting experience because when you're halfway up a mountain, Again, smaller maybe than others.

[00:41:03]I am not a mountain climber. So this is a very novice person who is. Wandered into this thing and thought, Yeah.

[00:41:11]sure. I can do that halfway up. There's no good option when you or your body is just shot and you don't know what to do and you think, well, it's just as bad to go back down as it is to go up like this.

[00:41:24]Oh no. And I can't just sit here on the mountain forever. Um, and eventually we made it to the top and I remember there was like a summit sign.. And I felt like a Titan, you know, I was basically like crawling to the sign, like yes. And then people would just drive up. Cause you could apparently drive up the mountain as well and come over and take a picture of next to the sign.

[00:41:49]And I'm like, are you kidding me? I'm just gave everything I had to climbing this mountain. Um, and then it was funny. We both ended up being sick for about seven days because our bodies, like, what did you do? Why, why would you do that with no training? That was terrible. , but one of the things that always came back to me with that is that was such a metaphor for me, for like the things in life that I've enjoyed the most, or that have brought me to the best places is when you kind of, if you apply a certain ignorance.

[00:42:28]To, especially to the things you kind of want to do. If you could go back to that place and get into the place of like, why not? Let me just try it. You know, you don't have to come up with like a business plan or all these things ahead of time. I'm all about business and development and strategy and stuff, but sometimes you just have to be have enough of an interest in something to do that little bit to just start and be like, oh Yeah.

[00:42:53]what's so hard about hiking, a climbing. Dirt path that there's some rocks, big deal. Like I can see there's kind of a path. And then suddenly along the path, it's like some Karen's are like, oh wait, that's the path now. But you do it, you know, once you get started, then your resourcefulness kicks in and some of the best things can happen because.

[00:43:15]You're so much farther than you ever would have thought. And, and you've learned so much along the way, and, and usually that will eventually get you to some sort of a summit and you're going to be so proud of yourself, but apply that sort of ignorance early on, and don't make such a big thing about it and just start, start something and, and something really cool can often come out of it.

[00:43:37]Now I'm a mountain climber. 

[00:43:38]Jolie Downs:What a great story. I love that. And your takeaway from it is brilliant. Perfect. Now, as a, as, as a writer, I'd imagine you probably are a reader as well. Uh, is there a book or even a talk or a video or movie that has had a really big impact on your life that you think others would benefit from?

[00:43:58]Stephanie Lavigne:Oh, I again, this goes back to that favorite thing. , I was thinking about that earlier and whenever I think about it, I think, oh gosh, well, it really depends what your, what your. Trying to solve because there's books for everything. I am a chronic book buyer, and I actually love non-fiction like resource books.

[00:44:14]So I will always tell you there's the book for that? Or there's probably like 10 books for that. I should, I could recommend. So depending on when you have habits yes. Here's this or your entertainment? Yes, I, so I don't have a favorite for some reason, a, just as our, as we're talking, the first book that popped into my head was a book.

[00:44:34]I got years and years ago, probably, maybe even in college, he knows. And I think it was called Wishcraft. And I know I have it here somewhere because I don't get rid of books much to my family's chagrin. Um, because I'm always like, oh my gosh. , but that was a really great book. had exercises and things like that.

[00:44:54]Witchcraft, I cannot remember her name and I know the second I see it, but it was one of those ones of basically going back and finding your passion and I've wanted to read it and pull out exercises from it even recently to, to share with people I know who are feeling stuck, or we need to try and figure out what to do next.

[00:45:13]Cause we all again go through that constantly. And I really enjoyed that. And a number of other books. 

[00:45:19]Jolie Downs:Yeah, that sounds like a great book for a lot of people right now. Cause that's, you know, that's what we're talking about. You want to find that passion, a lot of people don't know what that is. So there you go. That's a book that can help you figure that out now. I'm sorry, before we get going, as far as your books go, if well, how I will have your website listed, but do you want to tell the listeners a little bit about your books for anyone who might be interested in checking them out?

[00:45:45]Stephanie Lavigne:Sure. , I have written in romance for the last couple of years. And, , some of those are under secret pin names with which you will never know. And one is I do sweet romance or small-town romance, and you can find those on my website and also a mystery and mystery is sort of what in lighthearted, lighthearted mystery, some call it cozy..

[00:46:05]I'm a little bit more, like agenda Bonovitch style, , or aiming towards that. Getting there with my upcoming series. , the book that I just put out?

[00:46:16]just kind of. Relating to the conversation we've had, , is called headlines deadlines in lies. And it's in my new sunshine state series, which I become very, they're either inspired or infected by my home state.

[00:46:30]I'm very excited about Florida things is I really embrace. It's weird since weird vibe and people. And it's just so strange here. But in, in that book, The girl, the main character, she, she has to choose whether to take a chance at the life that she wants a career move that she wants. And she kind of fits her way into it in that moment saying, oh Yeah.

[00:46:57]I can do it because her best friend pushes her into it.

[00:46:59]And, then she has to find her way out. So kind of in line with what we were talking about of, I guess, added a little bit of real life into that one. But yeah, you can go on my website. Uh, Stephanie libyan.com or on any of your favorite online platforms, you know, social media platforms or good reads your book bub or any of those, and I'm there.

[00:47:19]And you can always say hi, and I will say hello back, and I can give you book recommendations. 

[00:47:25]Jolie Downs:Fantastic. Well, Stephanie, I'm gonna leave you with one last question, which is, my favorite one. Just to see what people say, what are you sure of in life?

[00:47:35]Stephanie Lavigne:What am I sure of in life? Not much, but that. I'd say that humans are masters at over-complicating things. And, um, yeah, I, I keep going back to that and I, , I am a master at it as well. I am not above it. And also that we have a lot more control over our lives then than we give ourselves credit for, or that we remember.

[00:47:59]Jolie Downs:really good. Really good. Thank you so much. 

[00:48:03]Stephanie Lavigne:Thank you so much.

[00:48:03]for having. 

Jolie Downs:

I loved Stephanie’s story. 

Stephanie decided to she wanted to work in film. So she looked around her, figured HBO is popular and Soprano’s was filmed where she lived so she went and found herself an internship. Now keep in mind, Stephanie was not an intern at this time, but she wanted to learn the industry so she went in at the bottom ready to learn what she needed to learn. 

When she found that finding a PA role was a smart way to go, she started applying for PA roles everywhere. When someone called and offered her a role the next day – even though she had no idea what or how to do the role, she jumped at the opportunity – she took the position and employed the fake it until you make it philosophy. Now here’s the secret - The majority of people moving into a new role are faking it until they make it – it’s one of the secrets of the truly successful – they will jump at the opportunities on their chosen path, regardless if they feel prepared or ready for it. They will say yes and then spend the rest of the time figuring it out. One of two things will happen when you do this. You will either figure it out and be successful with your endeavor. Or you won’t be successful with the endeavor but you’ll learn what does not work and the next time you try, you’ll have a better understanding of what do to reach success. Either way you win.

The next time you are presented with an opportunity that makes you think, I’m not ready for that – jump in and say YES and then fake it until you make it. 

That’s what Stephanie did and she successfully climbed the film industry ladder, 

she had great opportunities and she easily got swept up in filing the need, enjoying her co-workers and climbing the production ladder, she could have kept going on autopilot but Stephanie took a step back and gave herself time for introspection. She realized she wasn’t climbing that creative ladder that she had pictured herself on all along. 

She had gotten near the top of her ladder but what did that mean if she was on the wrong ladder? If she kept going with this particular ladder and got to the top of her game, would it be enough? Will she feel like she fulfilled the needs within her? Would she feel satisfied with her life? 

Wow

Such important questions, that too many of us are not asking ourselves. 

Let’s take a moment before moving on and reflect. 

How are you feeling about your own personal ladder? 

If you get to the top of your game, your ladder, will it be enough? 

Does your particular ladder fulfill the needs within you? 

Will this ladder leave you feeling satisfied with your life? 

If you find the answer is no. Learn from Stephanie’s story. 

When she found her answer to be no, she took a step back and did some soul searching, thinking about what she wanted and where she wanted to be and she did this with big thinking – throwing out all limiting beliefs, all limiting stories, no censorship, no judgement and letting all ideas big and small flow through her, going with the full fantasy of what would be a dream life. 

Stephanie found her soul purpose was to be a writer. Once she decided she wanted to be a writer, she went out and did it, every day and two month later, she wrote a book. When you are aligned with your soul purpose and you love what you are doing – anything is possible. 

After writing te book, Stephanie thought she’d get a role in writing for film or TV but she didn’t know how to do it, found herself a little stuck and instead of pushing herself, throwing herself into the industry like she did with film, she talked herself into being more ‘reasonable’. I love Stephanie’s insight into her past actions here, realizing that sometimes, when it’s something we love, we are more afraid to fail at that thing so we’ll go achieve success in something else. 

Have you ever done that? Walked away from something you loved for what felt like a safer more rational choice? I think most of us can relate. That’s what Stephanie did.

She decided to become a photographer – because she had the equipment, the family connections, and it was an easy transition from film, it seemed like it made sense, it seemed like a rational choice. 

Stephanie once again started climbing a new ladder and quickly rose to the top. She had a successful career as a photographer, she was great at what she did, but it never felt like it was the right place for her personality. She never felt that ease and flow of being in the right space. Once again, Stephanie realized she had allowed herself to climb the wrong the ladder. She realize she had been working so hard, putting in so much effort day in and day out to get to the top of the photography game, giving all her energy to this field that she didn’t love AND making it work. Why can’t she do that with something she loves? 

It’s a good question. 

Why can’t you? 

If you are currently doing something you don’t love and you’re making it work. What would happen if you put all that energy and dedication towards something you did love? How would that transform your life? What would your life look like if you loved what you did every day? 

Stephanie knew she LOVED writing, she knew that is what she truly wanted to do. Having the epiphany of how much time and energy she was putting into photography, which was NOT something she loved, Stephanie decided to make an immediate switch and put all that energy into what she loved to do, and she started writing. She knew if she didn’t start now, when would she start? She had already started at the bottom of the ladder in multiple industries but she was ready to do it one more time, but this time on the RIGHT ladder. 

And what a difference that makes. 

Stephanie has found her flow, she knows she is exactly where is supposed to be, doing what she is supposed to be doing. Even in the most stressful moments, Stephanie feels at peace as they are simply part of the territory her world (the right world) and dealt with accordingly. 

I so appreciated that Stephanie brought up the tendency to stay small at times even though she has a big personality, and the tendency to give praise to others but discredit praise when it comes her way. This is a problem that a huge percentage of the population struggles with, and I would say, especially women. This is something I struggled with too, only finally learning the important lesson a few years ago. 

This is a universal truth – 

Each and every one of you are powerful beings of possibility. Each and every one of you has an internal champion waiting to be unleashed.

Give yourself permission to let your light shine brightly. 

Do not dim your light for fear of others perceptions. 

Do not dim your light to make yourself ‘acceptable’ to others. Embrace who you are and allow your light to shine through. 

When you give yourself permission to let your light shine brightly, you illuminate the darkness someone else might be sitting in, giving them permission to do the same.

When you Shine for yourself you Shine for Others 

Now we all get negative thoughts that can plague our minds, as Stephanie admitted as well. She’ll still get those fears or those crippling doubts, her mind will go to discredit her, the inner critic will stop her working, but then she’ll remind herself of the good, of the difference she’s made, how she’s helped others feel good – and that is the important trick with dealing with those negative thoughts. Changing them.

It’s important to understand that negative thoughts are normal, they are a result of thousands of years of our ancestors living lives where negative thinking saved their lives. We now live in a time when that is no longer that case – your negative thoughts are only detracting from your life. The good news is our minds have neuroplasticity, meaning that it can change and develop. 

1.   when we stay in a pessimistic state, it creates neural pathways, grooves in our brain that keep us thinking negatively – but we can retrain our brain – by changing that negative thought, consistently, with practice, by noticing that you are thinking negative – with no judgement and then simply changing that thought to it’s most positive opposite – can retrain the brain – it will create new grooves in your brain which will eventually cause you to automatically think positively – and let me tell you people, as someone who lived the majority of their life with negative pathways and who has learned to retrain their brain - this is so much more of a pleasant place to live 

I recently learned a new technique to help combat negative thoughts and I really enjoyed this process and wanted to share. We all have that negative voice, that internal critic that is just a cranky old goat to deal with. What I want you to do is to create an internal cheerleader – you can have or two or three or a squad – female or male – whatever you want – but internally, I want you to picture your cheerleader/s – what do they look like, what are they wearing? Now picture them cheering your name – cheering you to do well in life. Picture the last thing you chickened out on – what if you had a squad of cheerleaders cheering you on? Could you have moved forward?

From now on – whenever that internal critic pops its ugly nasty head up, bring out that internal cheerleader and have them cheer them away, saying all of the positive opposites – You can meet your needs yourself.

Overall, I loved the connecting thread through Stephanie’s story, everything is accessible if you just work towards it. All the industries Stephanie worked in are considered by society to be huge, daunting, maybe you should have a backup, kind of industries. These are the limiting stories we have accepted from other people. Stephanie did not accept those stories, she waded into each difficult industry and successful climbed the ladder. How did she do this? 

Baby Steps

She took these seemingly insurmountable goals and broke them down into smaller, management bites. As Stephanie shared, you just need to start working towards your goal, taking those small little steps – when you look at things in bite sized markers, there is so much more that becomes immediately manageable and accessible. 

Come up with your exciting vision, what is it you’ve always wanted to do that you stopped yourself from doing because it felt, too much? 

Develop that vision and then dial it back, what are those first initial steps you can take? Is there a class you can sign up for? A group you can join? A book to read and learn more? Take that step. The next day ask yourself, what can I do today that might move me a bit closer to my goal. Repeat every day and soon what felt impossible will be happening. 

Remember, inch by inch is a cinch. Yard by Yard is too hard. 

We are living in an abundant, resourceful world of possibility where you no longer need to wait for anyone’s permission. So this is my wish for us all, that you take your life into your own hands, getting clear on your dreams and making sure you are climbing the ladder that speaks to your soul. 

What dream will you once again follow? 

What step will you start with today? 

Until next time