MONDivation: Finding Yourself

My life has definitely gone in directions I couldn't have predicted.  And though I am happy with where I am at this point, I always have that voice in my head asking me... Where are you headed?  What does the future hold?  Are you on the right path towards achieving your goals and dreams?  Will you be "OK" in the future?

Modeling was something I wanted to do since I was a child and the fact that I now do it full time and spend my days traveling and meeting all sorts of new and artistic people in all sorts of places is thrilling.  But I can't help but think about the fact that it is a job with a deadline.  With the way the industry is changing I can hope that it is something I can do for longer than just my 20's... actually, I'm fairly certain I can, but I know I want to do even more than just being a model.  I want to do something that I can really use my personality, creativity, and people skills to the fullest.  I want to be a host.  I want to have a talk show. I want to be able to help people achieve their own dreams.  I'm sure I'll "want" many more things.   I wouldn't say I'm completely lost by any means but I would say I am in need of some restructuring and re-prioritizing in my life.

I think it is important every now and again to step back and analyze where we want to go and how we are going to get there.  It is easy to get distracted by all that is happening in our lives but even if we don't know exactly where we are going, we can at least focus our energy in the general direction and trust that we'll get there eventually.

Happy Monday!

MONDivation: Going Places

I think daydreaming is one of the most underrated past times.  I could sit and imagine myself in different future situations for hours.  On the cover of Vogue, with my own talk show making people laugh, helping others achieve their dreams, being surrounded by tons of 300 lb dogs, having a massive closet just for my size 11 shoes, drinking champagne all day and not being hungover... I could go on.  And because I'm a HUGE believer in visualizing the things we want to achieve and places we hope to someday be, I think it is absolutely a wonderful use of one's time.

I absolutely love this quote and I think anybody can relate to it.  He or She, and whatever place you are at in your life.  Having the knowledge that we can always be improving upon ourselves and working to better our situation gives us the freedom to dream up anything we could possibly want... and go for it!

I feel like this a lot.  I feel like there are big things coming for me.  Huge positive changes.  New and Inspiring people.  Bigger and Better goals to achieve.  And I have no idea how I will get there or when they will occur... but by God... they are coming!   And I think as long as I believe that (which I truly do)... then what will be, will be.

Have a wonderful week!

MONDivation (For your Tuesday): Right Where You Are

I hope everybody had an awesome, fun-filled, extravagant, Labor Day weekend!  I spent Friday in Los Angeles then headed down to Newport Beach, CA, where my parents live and where I grew up, to attend a friend's birthday party and the Pacific Music Festival.  I saw a ton of old friends and met some lovely new ones.

It is very important to always push yourself to be better, but doing so makes it easy to criticize ourselves when things don't seem to go exactly as planned.  I truly believe that everything happens for a reason, and it can be hard to remember that things often fall apart so that other things can fall together.  Try not to worry too much about the little details in life and recognize that you are exactly where you are meant to be at this moment.

Have a great week!

MONDivation

Lately I have been even happier than usual and I am almost positive that part of the reason for this is that I have been using my blog as a creative outlet.  I have been making a lot of my ideas come to life and have been noticing along the way that it brings me so much happiness to do so.

I put off launching my blog for a while.  I was so focused on quality and putting out the "perfect" content, that it ultimately hindered me from doing anything at all.  I changed my thinking and instead went into this telling myself that it didn't matter if nobody was reading what I posted, that it was a great creative outlet for me and to value it for that first and foremost.  I don't think I realized just how important that was or how much joy it would bring me, but I am certainly realizing it now.

If I can bring some of my strange ideas to life and make people laugh (at or with me, no preference) then I have achieved one of my greatest personal joys.  Making this weeks Sunday Worship video about Flamin' Hot Cheetos was a huge task but I cannot begin to explain the amount of happiness I felt when it was all said and done and I could share my creativity with those around me.  Please check it out if you need a good laugh!

http://danikabrysha.com/sunday-worship-flamin-hot-cheetos/

Have an inspired and creative week!

MONDivation

One of my friends, Dustin Farivar, was in town for a day this week and as usual I learned more from him in a few hours then I usually do in weeks.  He has taught me so much regarding social media, branding, and building relationships, and is no doubt somebody to pay close attention to.  I wake up daily to an inspirational "morning quote" in my email box and usually a few articles that are relevant to my goals and interests.  One of the many things we discussed during this most recent visit was the idea of setting goals for ourselves and knowing where we want to end up, even if we have no idea how we will get there.  I truly believe that if we want something badly enough, and we put it out into the universe, that we will both subconsciously and consciously do whatever it takes to move closer to that goal.  Dustin compared it to a GPS system.  We have to know where we specifically want to end up but we don't have to know exactly how to get there.  There are many different routes we can take, some longer than others, but they all will eventually get us there if we know where it is we would like to be.

I've been very fortunate in life but there have certainly been many times where the odds were far from being in my favor and I somehow beat them anyways.  Just because something hasn't been done before, doesn't mean it can't be done.  In my opinion, it actually makes it more appealing to achieve.

I have wonderful parents who taught me that I could be anything I wanted in life and I credit them for the amount of drive and passion I have today in whatever it is I am doing.  No matter how many people are telling you that you can't do something, always remember that if you want something badly enough, your opportunities are endless.  The only person that needs to believe in your success is you!

I hope everybody had a great weekend and that you spend this week beating the odds!

MONDivation

My girl Eleanor R. is speaking my language. Something I am not short of in life is goals for myself.  Unfortunately it's hard to tell if I really believe I can achieve them.

I'm quickly realizing as the years pass and I watch my "Life Goals" list change and develop, that it's ok to set goals without knowing how the hell we're going to accomplish them.  Actually, come to think of it, it's even better than limiting ourselves to the realm of what seems possible.  I officially started my list on October 19th, 2009, and though it now has hundreds of future achievements, I wanted to share some (not all) of the very first things that came to my mind almost three years ago.

I want to focus on #3.  I wrote this goal in 2009 and I didn't begin modeling until early 2011.  I put this goal on my list with no idea how that was going to happen or if it was even possible.  All I knew was that it was a lifelong dream of mine and it didn't hurt to put it out into the universe.  Just two and a half years later, I now live that dream every day.  And better yet, that dream allows me the time and means to work towards many of my others.  I love how I can see the hesitation and doubtfulness as I crossed off the word "super", then achieved the goal of being a model, and then added the word "super" back again when I realized I was selling myself short.  At some point it was something I thought I couldn't do.  And if my dear friend Mrs. Roosevelt is correct... which, let's face it, she's pretty legit... then I guess it is something I must do.

As for the rest of those goals, and the hundreds more that are on my list today, I'm realizing more and more that a lot of the things I thought I couldn't do are proudly being highlighted.

I definitely have a lot to learn in life but I have never been more certain about a statement as I am with this one.  Start setting unrealistic goals for yourself.  And start achieving them!

Who's with me?