You Are The Company You Keep (and Other Lessons I Learned from a Superstar)

Not long ago, I wrote about how I had distanced myself from a group of friends.  I find myself wondering every so often if I would be in the place I am in if events had not turned out as they did.  And for the record, my heart is in a fantastic place.

This past weekend, I was lucky enough to attend the Superstar Speaking Academy hosted by the renowned Michelle Villalobos.   Here I connected and reconnected with some amazing women the majority of whom happened to be entrepreneurs.  The 3 day seminar focused on monetizing your magic.  What makes you special?  What makes you unique?  How can you find your niche market?  How can you convince that market to pay you for your talents?  

And I will admit, for the first half of this event, I was completely lost.  I'm a mom.  I'm a wife. I am good at being those things.  Why would anyone want to pay me money to be a wife and a mom?  

They wouldn't.  

That's Nicole on the left.  That's Desiree on the far right.  She is a lady truck driver trying to change her entire industry.  How cool is that?!?!

So I was sitting in and witnessing and celebrating and collaborating with all of these women as they had these amazing breakthroughs and "ah ha" moments.  Yet here I was, struggling to find my own.  Frustrated that the only things I could find value in myself was being a wife and a mom.  Not that those jobs are unimportant or don't matter.  In fact, they're arguably the most important jobs I have ever had.  But for all intents and purposes, they didn't serve me well being without my child and my husband at this event.

And then Michelle said something to us that I will never forget for as long as I live.
"You Cannot read the label of the jar you put yourself in."

Wow.

If I wanted to have my million dollar idea, I had to dig.  I had to get uncomfortable and I had to get out of my jar.

If it were not for the people I chose to surround myself with, I don't know if I would even be writing this blog post.  My dear friend, Nicole, said "You need to be a professional team builder for companies."  to which the incomparable Mary Wong chimes in "You are a creativity coach."  

That's Nicole on the far right and Magda, the most badass photographer on the planet.

My Ah ha moment was here and I could finally focus on building my magic.

Here is what I have come to realize about myself over the last few days.  As great of a wife I am, I have been a wife for only shy of eight years.  For as good of a mom I am, I have only been one for four years.  That does not make me an expert in either field. BUT I have been creative MY. ENTIRE. LIFE.

I have this dear friend, Whanadi, who is one of these goddess women who magically seems to float into a room.  She's incredibly kind, wise and soulful.  And on top of that, she is from South Africa and has this amazing accent (seriously, I could just listen to her say the word 'water' all day) and she climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro (because of course she did)  She was also at the conference. It was her birthday this week  and in her card, I signed it as I do most of my messages to her:  "You mover of mountains, you titan among mortals."  And I realized, hey...I am those things, too!  So during this 3 day conference I had promised her I would speak to this entire group of women (about 150 of them) with my intention for a new path.

The movers of mountains.  The titans among mortals.

And on day 3, you bet I ran to that mic and I declared my new path.  So look out, world  I'm here.  I'm making a playbook and I am coming for you.  I would like to leave you today with what I told that group of powerful women.

"Hi I am Kate Teixeira and I am kind of a big deal.  I have been creative my entire life and it took me coming here to realize that I am a creativity coach.  And companies are going to pay me a ton of money for my ideas and to build their teams.  I am a difference maker and I am a superstar.  I am shamelessly awesome and I am a mover of mountains and a titan among mortals.  Get yourself ready.  Because I am coming.  BOOM."

If you're out there and you're reading this and you keep finding yourself stuck, put one foot in front of the other.  Get out of your jar.  Look at who you're surrounding yourself with.  As Michelle would say, are they an engine to your ship or are they an anchor?  Find your crew.  Make sure they're all engines.  If you still feel stuck,  reach out to someone.  Reach out to me.  Let me help you.  Let me support you.  Let's find your Crew.  That's what I do.

After I stopped shaking and sat down, I realized people were cheering for me and I gotta say, it was one of the best moments of my life. And I have never looked forward to a Monday so much in my life.  You have all been warned. 

Until Soon,

Kate

All Good Things

The last few months have been those of great changes.  Some are very difficult to discuss.  Some hard decisions were made.  Some friendships were even ended.  But I am happy to report that the Teixeira clan are all doing amazing and we are happy and much wiser for the ware as they say.

For starters, the sad news.  Things ended with my closest circle of friends.  It was hard and I'm pretty sure all of us were hurt, but I took my own advice , reevaluated some choices I've made, regained some self worth and accepted that some people are who they are and that's fine.  I don't judge.  I don't wish anyone any ill will or harm and I hope that each of them go on to live full, happy, loving lives wherever they are.

The good news about this, I made a resolution to reconnect and nurture my existing friendships.  While I have made plenty of new ones, reconnecting with old friends is always so rewarding.  After all, these were the people who "knew me when."  I feel like my friendships have gotten deeper and more meaningful and therefore, more fulfilling.

In more sad news,  we had to give away our newest baby, Scallywag.  It happened about a month ago and it is still very hard to talk about.  Let me start by saying that you never go into a pet adoption with the intention that it isn't going to workout and be a lifetime commitment.  Fausto happened to be home sick and took Scallywag out to get some fresh air.  While they were outside (Max and I were not home), a little girl ran into our yard to see the doggie and Scallywag lunged at her.  Thankfully Fau was able to pull his lead back before he bit her in the face.  Fausto called me panicked and Max and I rushed home.  After a lot of talking and crying (mostly from me), we made the difficult decision to return him so that he may be adopted out to a family with no children or older ones that were more educated with how to approach a dog.  My heart hurts but I know he's somewhere happier running around and being loved on.

On to happier news, Max is registered for VPK...this is happy for everyone except me.  I'm still not sure what I will do without my "ride or die" sidekick with me all day everyday. Max is super excited especially since he will be in class with one of his very best friends.  I just can't believe that it's happening all so quickly!

So with my partner in crime off to dream his big dreams and do bigger things,  I have found myself at this really weird place in my own life.  I'm caught somewhere between "WhatTheHellDoIDoNowsVille" and "HowDoIFillThatTimeField."  Thankfully, the answers came by taking a leap of faith and yes, reconnecting with some old friends.

I am very excited to have become a Scentsy consultant.  Any of you who know me knows how obsessed with things that smell amazing.This is a great way of me to share that with the world and yes, maybe even make some extra money along the way.  You can find my page and shop here.

But the real progress and thing I am currently most excited about is my opportunity to volunteer my time and work as a Difference Maker.  A long time ago I taught a small cake decorating class and met this wonderful woman who just happens to run the Office Depot Foundation.  I liked her immediately.  We lost touch for some time but recently reconnected.  Through her, I was invited to two separate conferences that were meant to inspire and lift these brilliant ladies and CEOs.  Little did I know how much they would impact me.  Going to these things was very much out of my comfort zone.  You want me to sit with these female CEOs, Innovators, Titans of Industry and mingle?  I'm nobody!  But I did it.  And I wake up every day so happy that I did. I had women who I never met before speak and it changed my life.  I'm happier, my marriage is healthier and I am even a better mom.  

Going to these events and, as Dr. Traci Lynn (that's her in that top photo) would say, "Stretched my wing out", I am so proud to say that I am working with a great team in assisting the Summer Internship Program at Office Depot Foundation.  I haven't been so excited about something that is happening for myself in a really, REALLY long time.  I'm using my creativity and helping a team inspire so many young people and it's being valued and appreciated.  We're working closely with a bunch of non profits to set up events and we're really teaching the future generation how important helping your community really is. The best part is that I can bring Max who has quickly and unsurprisingly become a rockstar.  

I've also made some really good, new friends. I met a woman who climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro and for whatever reason, thinks I am awesome and wants to be friends with me.  I met a woman who, even at a young age, has devouted herself to helping others through her love of fashion.  She has literally clothed orphans and people who cannot afford to provide basic necessities to their children.  She has also inspired me to buy clothes for myself for the first time in 3 years!

 I'm off on some really exciting new adventures and I'm resolving to blog more to keep the few of you who read my little life blog updated.  I really missed writing on the regular.  I didn't start this project with any perks or freebies in mind, I started it because I truly, honestly and genuinely love to write. That's what's new with me.  I'm hoping to make it through my next journey unscathed but I will keep you posted.

Until Soon,

Kate