After watching Dave Wilkin’s TedTalk, I reached out and invited Dave to be part of my #FuelPersistence interview series. Dave is the Founder of TenThousandCoffees.com- the world’s first movement democratizing opportunity by connecting industry leaders with the next generation, over coffee. Being a Millennial myself, I really resonated with his message; mentorship and authentic conversations over coffee have influenced my personal and professional growth as well. Fitting that today, Sept. 29th, is National Coffee Day.

Who are the people who show up continually in your life to push you forward? In other words, who are your crew?

Whenever I think of a supportive community, rowing references seem to come to mind. Perhaps there are reasons for rowing often being referred to as ‘crew’.

I’m excited that today, singer/songwriter Robyn Dell’Unto, is “Speaking From the Heart”, and sharing her experiences with all of us. Not only does Robyn sing and write songs, she also teaches young people to do the same. Founded by Robyn Dell'Unto in September 2011, ‘A Song Of My Own’ is a unique and interactive songwriting workshop designed to support children and youth in their exploration of music and song. Over 200 original songshave been written and recorded during A Song Of My Own workshops since the program’s inception. After hearing about the work that Robyn does, I had to invite her to take part in this series. Thank you, Robyn, for the beautiful work you are doing!

What is one word that would describe summer for you?

For me, I think of SHINE! Perhaps it is because of the warm sunshine, or that every living thing seems so alive and free.

One of those things that I keep free and flowing during the summer is my hair. You see, those who have naturally curly or wavy hair will totally understand; no matter how hard you try to straighten your hair, heat or moisture cause it to go back to its flowing state. Therefore, in the summer, I spend less time straightening my hair, as there really is no point with the humidity and my love of being in the water.

Do you have to sit for long periods of time? How does your body like it?

Today, I’m writing this post standing up – with my laptop on the counter, as opposed to sitting down.

I hurt my back this week from sitting at the computer for too long. I got up after working at my desk for several hours, which can be typical given the nature of my work; that day, my body gave me a not-so-pleasant reminder that it doesn’t like to be sedentary.

I'm pleased to announce my new series called:November is the time to become your own CHAMPION.  This is a month where you should start to express gratitude towards YOURSELF.  I hope you will join me!  

While I have been talking about relationships for the past week or so, I have yet to bring up a very important relationship in people’s lives.  The one with yourself.  Many put this relationship at the lowest level of priority.

Many of us want to help others; I am the same.  However, you can’t help others in the most effective manner if you aren’t helping yourself first.  If you have ever been on an airplane, you have probably heard the safety announcement, “Make sure that your own oxygen mask is on first before helping others.”  The same principle applies here. You’ve got to attend to your own needs, before you can go about helping others effectively.  My struggle has involved making other people the focus of my relationships, without first taking time to nurture a love for myself.  While I was always going out of my way to help others and to let them know how great they were, I would never do this to myself.  I was just me.  I was certainly not like the girl in the video below.

I read this quote recently and realized it is true.  However, I believe in this battle against yourself we have two opponents: the outside world and ourselves.  I personally believe the latter is the harder fight.

For example, I was at the beach this past weekend with two good girl friends. We have different body shapes and sizes, yet we are fighting the same battles.

The first is our struggle with a society that constantly has images of how individuals should ideally look. The media puts out the message that we should change ourselves and our imperfections to a standardized “ideal” image in order to be happy and accepted.