Finally, 2020!  After 365 days it has finally arrived.  Many people would agree that 2019 wasn’t the best of the best but as my buddy Buddha would say, “Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.”  As we greet this New Year with enthusiasm (or trepidation depending on your point of view) I challenge you to go forward and be yourself, your authentic self.  But what does that mean to be your authentic self?  We all have roles that we play in our life, employee, boss, wife, girlfriend, daughter, mother, best friend, frenemy, etc. It isn’t who we are or we aren’t but what we do. I recently had someone ask me what drove me to start my own business. I realized I haven’t truthfully answered that question for most who ask. So, 2020 here’s to being authentic! My response took a hot second, but this is it from the beginning. At the end of 2019 a good friend subscribed me to a vlog about goal setting to get ready for 2020. A portion of it was about having goals that truly fit your purpose. I’m happy to say I’ve had a super amazing career which I love, so I naturally assumed whatever goal I had for myself in my career would, of course, make me happy. Six years ago I moved to Chicago to work at an amazing salon in the city and expand my career as a platform artist representing a major hair care company. It took about 2 years to feel like I reached my goals but at the same time I felt overwhelmingly unsatisfied. I decided to get advice from a coworker who is still the wisest person I know. She encouraged me to read some books and start practicing quieting my mind and living in the moment. If you know me personally you will understand what a challenging feat this is for me. Taking time to concentrate on the present moment made me realize I wanted to chill the F out. Back to fun in the sun Florida! I took a couple of weeks off to concentrate on what I wanted, how I wanted to feel, what I want my life to look like. When I did go back to work I only worked 3 days a week and started planning a trip for a month away. When I was younger I would have never dreamt of taking that kind of time off work, having the mind that it is something I just wouldn’t be able to do at all, EVER. This time helped me focus on what is next for me and reflect on where I’ve been. Working in Chicago helped me realize the confidence other people had in me and that I should have in myself. I became a hairstylist to improve people’s lives and help them feel good about themselves inside and out. I became a platform artist to inspire hairdressers around the world, help them see the pride in the work we do and how we can touch so many lives. I gave myself the time to focus on what my purpose would be next. My old goals were something like the newest BMW, the nice house, but my purpose has always been people. My purpose is to inspire people and drive them to inspire others to not just look and feel good but being authentic to themselves and sharing their inner beauty with the world. Founding Moxie To Go was the next step for me. It gave me the opportunity to work with my amazing beautiful clients in the studio, share some of the most special moments of someone’s life i.e. their wedding day with our bridal clientele, and provide a flexible work environment for HMUA and the like who want to improve their lives and their families lives with this career. My challenge to you for 2020 is to take the time to quiet your mind so you can find the answers you need inside yourself, share your inner genius and your purpose with the world. In closing the words of Amy Poehler, “You attract the right things when you have a sense of who you are.”