As cheesy as it sounds, when the Alicia Keys song, Brand New Me, came out I listened to it on repeat. Like all the time. It was kind of a pivotal time in my personal life and it’s just one of those songs for me.

keys.gif

Don’t lie – we all have them. Like if I were ever a stripper, my song would be Ginuwine’s, Pony.

When Luke’s, Scarred comes on, I can’t sit still no matter where I am or what mood I am in.

The best “break-up” song is Boyz to Men’s, Never. That’s just my short list.

And in Brand New Me, there are so many lines that just hit so close to home for a lot of reasons. And this is one of my favorites.

keys

 

For so long I was NOT brave…about anything in my life. I was downright skittish. I just lost my mojo and didn’t have confidence in myself. It was a dark time. Most people (except for a few) had no idea and I just continued to put a game face on.

After I got divorced and started to pull myself together, I started to get some of my groove back…like Stella. I surrounded myself with people who loved me unconditionally and kicked the others to the curb. After some time, my confidence was back and I felt a little more whole. I met an amazing man and I decided to go back to a full-time job.

I. Was. Back.

Until I wasn’t, because while I was thrilled with my personal life, my professional life sucked. I’ve written about me starting my blog and building my business all while working full-time. After much introspection and unwavering support and encouragement from my husband, family & friends I finally had the bravery to follow my heart, leave my job and pursue my dream of writing full-time. And while I talk about it in my blog from time to time, I’ve never really “talked” about it…you know, out loud. Until now!

I was recently on a super cool podcast called, “The Brand New You Show” hosted by Ryan Rhoten. And let me tell you…it was a good time!

In the interest of full disclosure, I literally recorded it via phone call while I sat huddled in my closet just so there would be no background noise or barking dogs. Yup, just me and my shoes. No fancy studio. Just two turntables and a microphone (no turntables actually, just a mic. But it seemed like a good time to use that phrase).

So here it is…a little (spoken) glimpse into my journey.

Screen Shot 2016-03-31 at 8.58.03 AM

 

Enjoy

xx

Rachel