#cancercantdobackflips

16th September 2013

It is with a heavy heart I try to wrap my head around news I received today. At 25, I expect to hear about weddings, babies or promotions. But today, I heard of a former cheerleading teammate who is now battling cancer.

At 25, cancer should never enter our realm of thought. I’ve lost three of my four grandparents to this awful disease, watched as friends’ parents have fought, survived and lost battles and celebrated with others who have become stronger than ever.

I came home today, looked through countless photos and did the only thing I knew would clear my mind and bring it back to a positive place. I went for a run. Our bodies are born to do amazing things. To carry us for miles across pavement, to do triple toe backs and to fight. We are born to stand up to disease, trust in our faith and know that it will all be OK.

Katie is one of the most energetic, caring and positive people I know. She has quite literally held me in the air; shown me what confidence and kindness look like, whether that be after taking first place or fighting back from last; and now she has quite the cheerleading team by her side.

If today teaches anything, it’s that there are a heck of a group of people out there fighting for the exact same joy.

#cancercantdobackflips

You’ve got this girl.

What do my values have to do with my career?

16th September 2013

A few months ago, a friend of mine passed along a copy of the book Remarkable!, but with a stack of summer reading by my side (sorry Kevin, Divergent sucked me in far too quickly), it sat by my bedside … until last week. During a quarterly client meeting with Chick-fil-A, Chick-fil-A’s VP of Marketing, and also the book’s co-author, David Salyers, gave each of our agency partners a copy and shared a presentation on some of the book’s core tenants as it related to the business.

On a cross country flight this weekend, I packed it in my bag determined to get started. I finished the book before we landed. One of the book’s tenants really struck a chord with me and it was the nature of values.

Typically, we define values as things like kindness or honesty, however, David and Randy Ross define values as the impact made on a person’s thoughts, beliefs, decision-making processes and performance.

The interesting twist, which the authors also point out, is that in order to be our most successful, our work and personal values almost always converge. The exercise certainly got me thinking about what I might define as my own values. I hope these tenants (and others) are ones that I can consciously bring to bettering my work and personal relationships.

1. Having a balance between work and personal life

For me personally, I don’t thrive under 14 hour workdays. I work really well when I can work average days at the office, take a break and get back to it for a period of time at night if possible. I know that in order to produce my best work, I need an environment that encourages me to be myself outside of the office and stay focused for core periods of time.

2. The opportunity to communicate and build relationships with others

While I would certainly categorize myself as a competitive person, I try really hard to focus on building up those around me before myself. It’s certainly not an easy task sometimes, as our natal reaction as humans will always be selfishness. However, I thrive in an organization where camaraderie and collaboration are core tenants. You never know the day someone is having or the difference a small vote of confidence can make. For this reason, I know roles which allow me to work closely with others in strategy, planning or account management would be the best fits for me in the agency world.

3. Positivity

This one might sound silly, who doesn’t value positivity? I value my ability to maintain good relationships and a structure where relationships trump results. The funny thing is, I find if you treat people well and approach problems with a positive attitude, they often work harder, spend more or come back more frequently, which ultimately leads to better results.

What are your values? If you spend any time thinking on the topic (or reading the book), I’d love to hear your thoughts.

DISCLOSURE: Chick-fil-A is a client of Engauge, however all thoughts represented are my own and are not necessarily a reflection of Engauge or Chick-fil-A.

We bought a HOUSE!

29th August 2013

August has been quite the busy month, I turned 25, spent some great time with family (and an adventure or two in-between) in Charleston and in the most recent and most exciting news…P and I BOUGHT A HOUSE!

We’ve been dreaming of owning something for a little over a year now and started more seriously looking early this summer with a vision of learning about the process, taking a look at neighborhoods, putting together a must-have list and making a move on something later this fall. My lease isn’t up until just after the new year and my current roommate and I just aren’t quite ready to say our goodbyes, so on paper, our charted plan sounded fantastic.

But then we found ourselves narrowing the list and neighborhoods rather quickly…

And then the housing market seemed to pick up over night…

And then we walked into a little house, that didn’t meet half of the things on our list and we fell in love.

As first time homebuyers, it was certainly a roller caster of emotions.

Phase One: Where the heck do we even begin?!

With a realtor. We have always been big Trulia fans (I even have it to thank for finding my last apartment), but when it came time to actually look beyond open houses, Chris from Coldwell Banker became our BFF.

Thanks to some searching online, we calculated approximately how much we wanted to spend each month and how much we were comfortable putting as a down payment.

We also had a rough idea of a few neighborhoods we really liked, so narrowing everything with those parameters made the first few conversations a breeze.

From there, we spent the next few months casually checking out houses as they came on the market. There were no stupid questions in Chris’ eyes and boy were we over the moon thankful for her non-judging ears.

Phase Two: Can we really do this? Are we even capable of owning a home?

Yes we can, stop freaking out. That was pretty much my mantra, or P’s to me, as the searches got closer. We even saw one house we both really liked, which was quickly shot down by our stand-in Home Inspectors, also known as both of our Dads. Seriously, does everyone’s Dad climb on the roof of a house the first time they see it?!

As we learned more about the process and started falling in love with actual streets, it really started to sink in that yes, this is not House Hunters and yes, we were going to find a house and yes, I would be parting with a big chunk of my dear savings account.

Phase Three: This is it.

Our house went on the market on a Friday, we saw it early Saturday (after a canoe trip and in our bathing suits) and put together an offer in the car just down the street. Hey, when you know you know right?

This little guy captured my heart from its sparkly glass window in the front door all the way to its walk in master closet (anyone who owns a home built mid-1900s knows this is a miracle, aka an addition).

From the moment we put in the offer, we were terrified. I thought I might throw up. After a sleepless two nights and two counters (one on each side) we were under contract by Monday morning. Until closing, I was still convinced someone would swoop in and take it from us.

Phase Four: That costs HOW much?

I’m not one for spending money. I’m a saver to my core. When my brother was spending all of his money on Lego sets, I was saving my dollars in my piggy bank, with statements written on paper inside. So needless to say, this process was slightly gut-wrenching.

We knew going in that we wanted to keep our monthly payments very manageable (and with the opportunity to put more towards the principal monthly when it allows) and walk away with a cushion in other accounts, were anything to happen in the future.

The little costs certainly caught us a bit off guard, so we were glad we were prepared. Appraisal fee, inspection fee and knowing that we would end up paying a portion of our closing costs. We went with a mortgage broker and she made the process a breeze, explaining everything line-by-line, which again, we appreciated more than she’ll ever know.

After singing names a bajillion times and handing over more money in one sitting than we likely ever will again, we were approved homeowners. At least now we are on to the fun furnishings part (oh hey Craigslist).

Phase Five: Happy dancing.

There was a lot of happy dancing this week. While it may be a few months before I call this little guy home (and have to move in with a BOY), we are officially, official homeowners.

Excited, overwhelmed, curious, happy, tired, nervous, blessed, thankful…the range of emotions is endless, but it’s a roller coaster I’m not ready to get off anytime soon.