How to Glow Up: 18 Habits to Elevate Your Life

Heading into a fresh new quarter is the perfect time to start a new routine. I want to walk into summer looking better, feeling better, having more confidence and just feeling dang happy. I’ve chosen 18 habits to do every single day, no matter what, for the next four months. We're calling this the Glow Up Challenge! If you like checking things off your to-do list, this challenge is for you! My goal is to make things as simple as possible. I’ll share what I’m doing, and if you’re interested in following along, you can pick and choose which habits you want to do too. Of course, these are just suggestions. You can create whatever habits you want, but once you choose, you commit.

Are you ready?! Let’s get glowing!

1. Skincare routine - AM & PM

I’m really committing to doing my skincare both every morning and every night. I’ve decided to invest in good products instead of trying a bunch of different, mediocre products and not liking them. How much skincare are you collecting instead of just having a few quality pieces? I think that goes for everything, actually; it’s a life lesson I’ve learned!

2. Gua sha, ice roll, or facial massage

You can do a facial massage with your hands, or you can use a gua sha tool. What I do first is gently pump my lymph nodes to open them up. Then, I put some serum on my face and do three passes of each movement. I’ve been doing this forever, and I swear it’s made such a difference in my jawline and depuffing my face! Leading into the next habit, make sure you drink lots of water so you can flush all of this out.

3. 80+ oz of water

Something I’ve adopted from Dr. James DiNicolantonio (@drjamesdinic) is adding salt and lemon to my water. It makes the water that much more hydrating! Simply add a little bit of pink Himalayan salt from a good source into your water; you don’t need a ton. Then, throw in a splash of fresh lemon juice. If you aren’t squeezing a fresh lemon, just be sure to get a good brand of lemon juice without anything weird added to it. It might be jarring at first, but once you have it, you’ll start craving it. It really does make a difference and totally changes the game!

4. Whitening toothpaste

My personal preference is a smoker’s toothpaste to really boost the whitening results!

5. Get outside

Go for a walk, take a bike ride, hang out in the pool, etc. Spend some time outside doing something you enjoy while getting some fresh air.

6. Five minute meditation & affirmations

I keep it simple and do quick five minute meditations from YouTube. It’s super easy! After meditation, I write down what I’m grateful for, affirmations for the day and what I’m manifesting for the next quarter. I would suggest having something to keep your notes in that you can always refer back to.

7. Beauty collagen

I like to mix my collagen with a little bit of creamer, froth it up and pour it into my coffee. It helps strengthen hair, skin, nails and even bones!

8. Fat burning pre workout

Sometimes I mix my collagen and pre workout together to make a juice, and it tastes incredible. When picking out your supplements, ask yourself, “does it work,” “does it make me feel better,” and “is it dang delicious?” If you’re using something that isn’t working for you, it’s okay to switch it up.

9. Stress reducing probiotic

Probiotics aren’t only working for me for consistency, but they’re working for my body. They help a ton with bloating!

TIP: Make a “Glow Zone” by creating a space or basket with all of your supplements. This will help keep them all in one place and remind you to take them.

10. Lash & hair serums

I’m working on growing out both my hair and lashes, and serums really help!

11. Read

I love to read, so I want to intentionally make time for it. A good fictional book helps me turn my brain off for a little while and unwind. My current read is Ask for Andrea by Noelle Ihli.

12. Signature scent

Pick one signature scent for yourself and stick to it for the full challenge. Bootzie Oil is my fave! I’m also doing a signature scent for my home. I always feel amazing when the house smells good, but also fresh and clean.

13. 20+ minute workout

I’ve been loving pilates for my workouts! I want to normalize something, especially if you’re just starting your glow up, just starting your fitness journey, or even if you’re just not feeling great. It’s totally normal to mess up, sweat a lot and have to pause during your workouts. Some days will feel harder than others, and that’s okay.

14. Plan day, goals & track habits

Set up your daily habits and goals, and map out your day in your planner. It’s quick, and I love it because it helps me identify my top priorities for the day!

15. Tidy & organize space

Clean up and declutter your space. Keeping on top of the clutter, there will be less things to dust and less things to put away. It just makes life so much easier! Plus, you will feel lighter from the inside out because your environment reflects how you feel.

16. Bath or full body shower

Baths are my fave. They’re such a great way to relax, wind down and get some reading in!

17. 5K steps or more

I’m combining this goal with the “get outside” goal so I can knock out two at once. Taking my dog for a walk or walking to breakfast with my husband usually helps get me to my 5K goal.

18. Booty mask

I feel like the cellulite booty mask I’ve been using is making a difference, but I want to be more consistent with it. As a warning, it does have a tingling effect. If you want something that works without the burn, I would suggest this one from Truly.

A few tips:

If you track your habits, you’ll be able to see your trends. The Habit Tracking Challenge insert from the Daily Grind is great for this! At the end of the week, you’ll see what you’re hitting every day, and what you’re missing. If you notice there is something you aren’t getting done, pick a different time to do it.

Try stacking some habits. That will make it easier! For example, brush your teeth with your whitening toothpaste, then follow that up with your skincare routine. Doing one will prompt you to do the other, and they will just become part of your routine.

Take before and after pictures. Sometimes it’s hard to see changes from day to day, but pictures will show you how far you’ve come!

Last but not least, if you miss something, it’s OKAY. You don’t have to start back over at ground zero.

I hope this helps give you some ideas on how to glow up, and kickstart your own challenge! Drop your habits below so I can cheer you on!

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How to Build A Business on Social Media

I love sharing what I do with others, and today I’d like to go through some common questions I get about how to build a business on social media. It’s a passion of mine, and I want to help as many people as possible! I started my business over ten years ago. My husband also retired from his corporate job, and we both work full time from home. I have a lot of experience with many ups and downs, so I have a lot of opinions on the matter. You’re going to get the full transparency version of what I really think about a lot of things! You might feel the feels, get emotional, and dream a little bit bigger today.

Without further ado, let’s jump right in!

If I have an idea for a business, how do I actually get started?

If you can progress by a millimeter today on one goal that you have, it will transform your life. Just do one small thing, like buying the domain name for your website. You will feel so good about it!

How do you overcome fear and gain more confidence in front of the camera?

The best way to do this is to flip your psyche. Think about what it is that you’re scared of (what if there are no views, what if people will judge me, etc.). Then, think about what would happen if you kept holding yourself back. In three months, what would that mean to the growth of your business? What about the income? What would that mean in six months? In nine months? You would probably not be moving forward.

Let me blow your mind a little bit more… flip your mindset to, what will your life look like a year from now? How have I affected my future? How many less places in the world am I going to see? Who are the people that I’ll never meet? Don’t get me wrong, it’s hard, especially at first. I always think about these questions in times where I feel scared or like giving up. It’s crazy to think and super emotional. If you can’t do it for you, do it for the people you love most. Once you start, you’ll gain a little momentum. It will get easier the more you do it, and become a snowball effect of gaining confidence. You just have to start; it’s the only way. You’ve got this!

Are there any books you would recommend to help along the way?

When you’re looking for a book, you’re in a certain season of learning. Figure out what season you’re in, and what you want to expand on. What do you want to develop in terms of a skill? Don’t just buy a book because the cover or title looks or sounds fancy.

A few books that helped me are:

Unleash the Power Within by Tony Robbins (confidence)

Push by Chalene Johnson (goal setting)

The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy (huge eye opener for me)

The Magic by Rhonda Byrne (gratitude)

Start by Jon Acuff (confidence & self belief)

Honorable mention: You Can, You Will by Joel Osteen (achieving success)

How did you learn what to do on YouTube and Instagram when you first started?

What I did was look at a lot of people whose content I liked and tried to figure out what they were doing. I tried to be inspired by them without duplicating what they did, because I never wanted to become a watered down version of them. The best person you’re ever going to learn from on social media is yourself. The more you can post, the more you’re going to find yourself, what works, and what your audience wants to see. Your audience will speak to you through likes, comments, etc. and it will naturally grow. You can’t control how many likes/followers/etc. you get, but you can control how much content you put out. You have to be patient and consistent.

Even though there are so many social media personalities, how do you stand out from the rest?

There is something that makes you special. The only way you’re going to figure it out is when you start posting. Put out a lot of content, and there will be something that people will be drawn to. Like I mentioned, your audience will always tell you what they want to hear. There are things that you geek out about and maybe you’re hiding it. Let that out and share it! It will shine through that you truly love it. I used to do fitness videos that didn’t really juice me. Then, I decided to try doing a Disney video and a decorating video, and people freaked out! That’s how I found my niche.

Adding authenticity, speaking from the heart, and adding some form of value are also super important. As a society, we love the idea of the veil being pulled back and seeing what’s going on inside. If you think you don’t have anything to share, think again! If there is something that you love or brings you joy, share it. That doesn’t just mean products, it can be things like meditating, your routine, a workout you love, etc. That’s how you create a planet of people who understand you. If you’re concerned about someone not getting you, that’s okay. They’re not your people and shouldn’t be following you anyway.

How do you come up with content for multiple platforms?

Work smarter, not harder! I run my business through what I like to call my “Content Machine.” I have one main cog of my “machine,” and for me, that’s YouTube. This main cog feeds all of the other cogs. In filming a video, I have content for a bunch of other platforms without ever having to create it. What I do is work it backwards, in a sense. First, I film the video. Then, I’ll take a still of the video or take a cover photo, and that can be a post on Instagram. I may take a couple of snippets of the video that will be an Instagram story. I’ll take some verbiage from the video that could be a blog post, etc. This is how I schedule it all out without overwhelming myself. If you overschedule or overplan, you’ll end up paralyzing yourself in doing that thing.

How long did it take before you were able to really start seeing an income on YouTube?

It is such a misconception that YouTubers make all this money. YouTube is very up and down; one month I can make X amount of money, and the next month, I can make none. It’s very volatile. Many YouTubers have brand endorsements, and that’s how they make a majority of their money. Whatever business you want to start, my best piece of advice would be to get informed. Something I used to do is look at women who were sponsored by fitness companies, because that’s what I wanted to do. I did my research and realized they actually don’t get paid that much, but they get a lot of free leggings. I started to see things differently the more research I did and the more I was exposed to it.

YouTubers can also make money through ads. However, many amazing YouTubers often don’t turn on monetization because it’s not their primary goal. As a YouTuber, having an amazing audience and delivering great content should be your number one priority. Income should be a goal, but it needs to be deeper than making X amount of money. If your business or what you’re doing on social media is all about dollars, people are going to have a tough time connecting with you. You’ve got to find some passion and link that to some level of growth for yourself. Why do you want it? What would that income provide for you and your loved ones? What memories would it create in your life?

In your opinion, what are the things that make the biggest difference?

1. Consistency is everything. Do it every single day and don’t stop no matter what. Every time you stop, it’s that much harder to get started again.

2. Longevity. Sticking with it over a long enough period of time, that’s how you win. The people who don’t give up are the ones that make it happen.

3. Belief, not just in what you do, the product you represent, or the service you provide, but in yourself. There’s nothing different from you than the illusion of what you think someone else is doing. You might think someone else is so perfect, but the reality is that they’re not! They started exactly where you are. Stop discounting yourself, believe in yourself and know that you’ve got it.

If you’re thinking about starting a business, I hope this helped answer some questions you might have had and gave you the nudge you needed to get started. Now, go buy your domain and get to work!

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How to Turn Passions Into Business Ideas

What I want to talk about today is passions, and how to figure out what yours are. A lot of people don’t know what their passions are. Or, maybe you know what your passions are, but you don’t know how to turn them into an income. If you fall into one of these categories, I’ve got you!

We’re going to do an exercise that includes a series of questions. We’re going to do three rounds of those questions, and turn passions into business ideas. While we’re going through the questions, I want you to know that it’s OKAY to not hide the weird. Embrace it! I hid my love of Disney for years, and once I stopped, everything changed.

Grab a pen and paper to follow along!

1. What’s something you really love doing?

If you were stuck on a deserted island and you could bring one hobby of yours, what would it be? For example, maybe you love video games, cooking, gardening, etc.

2. What did you love as a child?

For me, I loved playing Roller Coaster Tycoon, riding my bike, decorating with my mom (she’s the OG), listening to music and having dance parties!

3. If you could do anything, what would it be?

What would you spend your time doing? It doesn’t necessarily have to be something you get paid for. Would you be a dentist, doctor, professional athlete, tour guide at Disney, blogger, etc.?

4. What are you good at?

What’s a skill that you have? Is there something you get compliments on that you’re good at? Or, maybe there is something people ask you for help with because you’re good at it. Those are all skills! Some examples of my skills are my creativity, leadership, public speaking, and helping people plan their Disney vacations.

5. What do you love talking about?

If you were locked in a room and could only talk about one thing, what would it be? I could talk about Disney food and drink and Christmas decor until the end of time.

6. What are your top goals?

What’s a big goal that you have? It could be something like income, a trip you want to take, a house, going skiing every winter with your family, etc.

7. Can you combine any of the talents, loves, or goals you listed above?

For example, maybe you have a skill of decorating, a love for Disney, and a goal of starting a YouTube channel. Do you see what I’m getting at here?

8. Can you turn that into a business?

A business can mean you make $1 a day or $1 million a day. If it makes you happy, it doesn’t matter.

Now, go through the questions two more times. By the end of this exercise, you should have three solid business ideas!

Keep in mind, your business can always start small and blossom into something bigger. Before I started my YouTube channel, I wondered how I could turn it into a business. My mission was to do daily videos that were really good and brought people joy. I wanted to create a safe space where people could come to be happy, escape the craziness of the world and let their weirdness fly. I sucked in the beginning (everyone sucks in the beginning, but you’ve got to get over that). I knew that if I stuck with it, the more I did it, the better the videos would get. That became the beginning of my career, and it has grown into all of these other things. You never know what will come of it, but you’ve got to start somewhere!

Let me know if you had an epiphany today, and drop your business ideas in the comments. I’d love to support and cheer you on! The sky’s the limit!