Inspirational Podcasts for The New Year

We are embarking on 2018 and it's super exciting but terrifying at the same time. I remember the end of 2016 and how I was so excited for 2017 but boy, was I in for a ride. My business completely shifted from tank tops to decorating skulls. Before it shifted, it completely plummeted. Like went from selling 10 things per day to nothing. It wasn't a gradual shift either, it was like BAM! All the sudden, nobody wanted my shirts anymore. The views and money stopped, but that rant is for another day. Wow 2017, what a year full of ups but mostly downs, honestly. I'm so ready to see this year in the rear view, which brings me to binge-listening inspirational podcasts. I've never been a podcast person. In fact, I always made fun of my grandma because she lived for talk radio, yet here I am listening to inspirational podcasts, HA - how the tables have turned!

Some of my favorites are:

#1: Style Your Mind Podcast - I mentioned this podcast a little bit in the previous post, but there is so much more that needs to be said. When I discovered Style Your Mind, I was in such a dark non-motivational place, you could even say borderline depressed. My business was in the shitter (or going through a transitional period), my self-worth was deteriorating because here I am 26 with no back up income, and everything became in-question. When you don't love yourself, it's extremely difficult to understand why anyone else would love you. Style Your Mind was like the extra push I needed to rediscover myself and figure out what the hell I wanted out of life. I started listening to her while drinking coffee in the morning and it truly changed my whole routine, which in turn changed the course of my days then weeks and now months. I live for Cara's outlook on life and know you will too! She's a master life coach, published author and 24/7 badass. You can find her podcast here, and her website here, which has all of her books and everything to do with Cara.

#2: The Laptop Lifestyle - You would think you have to already live the "laptop lifestyle" to listen to this podcast, but NOPE! If you're stuck in your career and just want to listen to some badass, inspirational stories and entrepreneur how they got here's, then this is for you! I find it hard not to be inspired when listening to experienced, successful people who started from the ground up and chased their dream. In fact, I live for shit like this. The host usually features a guest who is either living or has lived the laptop lifestyle. The best part is a lot of the time it didn't start out that way. In fact, most of them led corporate lives and were bound by the 9-5 clock before they broke off on their own and became self-made entrepreneurs, bloggers, marketers etc. One of my favorite episodes is: Finding Your Creative Freedom with founder of Dazey LA, Dani Nagel on Oct. 24. You can find that episode linked here. It really hit home for me and I was in tears by the middle for some reason, it could've been my period but I'm pretty sure I was just uber inspired. If you're lacking business/marketing inspiration then this is one of best that I've found, other than Style Your Mind.

#3: Girlboss Radio with Sophia Amoruso - Love or hate her, Sophia Amoruso is the founder of the word girlboss. She started from Ebay and built a million dollar empire known as Nasty Gal. She sold it and is now a full-time motivational speaker and girlboss. Get ready for more how they got there's; in fact, this whole podcast is dedicated to speaking to successful people about their first job and breaking down where they started. TALK ABOUT MOTIVATION - this podcast is full of inspiration and the content completely dependent upon who the guest is. One of my favorite episodes is with the founder of Dry Bar - so inspirational! Listen to that episode here to get a good feel of the podcast.

#4: The Skinny Confidential Him and Her Podcast - This podcast is more of a lifestyle based podcast, but it's packed with inspiration to get and stay healthy, skin & haircare tips, plus successful blogging and social media inspiration. The Skinny Confidential started out as a blog by Lauren and has since blossomed into so much more. I love that there's a man's perspective on this podcast too. Michael is so understanding of women's issues while retaining his manhood- I love it!

#5: Almost 30 Podcast - The Almost 30 Podcast isn't a business based podcast, it's more about spiritual health, wellness etc., but it's still one of my favorites to put on while I clean or work. It's an easy listen and provides tips and tricks on living your best life in your late twenties. Even if you're not 20 or even 30, still give it a listen because some of the guests provide the best insight on your overall spiritual and wellness health plus some humor along the way.

Do you like posts about podcasts?

 I'm thinking of doing pop culture podcasts next.

Now what are you waiting for? 

GO GET INSPIRED AND KICKASS FOR 2018. 

HAPPY (almost) NEW YEAR - Xo, Ashley

2018 Goals - More/Less

Hearing the usual New Year, New Me crap, is a little bit like a broken record around this time of year. I'm not knocking people for bettering themselves with a new year approaching; hell, that's exactly what I'm trying to do as well. I'm just saying let's change it up a little! For some reason, I've never been one to sit down and write goals. I have them, but never really took the time to write them out and visualize myself actually accomplishing them. It sounds bad I know, but until listening to one of my favorite podcasts- Style Your Mind by Cara Alwill Leyba, I never knew the importance. Cara is a master life coach and is my absolute favorite thing to listen to when lacking inspiration, creativity, marketing skills etc. She literally just makes you want to grab life by the horns and make it your own. I highly, highly recommend checking her out. I will make a separate post for Inspirational Podcasts for the New You. Anyway, she stresses WRITING DOWN YOUR VISION so you can reflect on it throughout the year. For some reason, this really stumped me. Who do I want to be in 2018? I found the easiest way for me to decide who I wanted to be was to start with who I didn't want to be in 2018. Cara talks about the more/less strategy in one of her podcasts : Episode 66 to be exact. The more/ less strategy is basically deciding what you want less of in the new year, which leads you to what you crave more of in your life. It's actually a super fun, reflective process.  SO HERE WE GO...

IN 2018 I WANT TO:

Drink less booze, more water

Eat fast food less, cook more

Work out more, argue less

Judge less, love more

Create more, stress less

Less material items, more adventure

More experiences, less streaming

Less technology, more nature

More discovering, less conforming

Less worrying, more living

More traveling, less sitting

Less comparing, more progressing

R E A D  M O R E, W A T C H  L E S S 

Less city, More beach

More simplifying, less collecting

Less TV, more podcasts

More salad, less tacos

Less contour, more nail polish

More self-worth, less self-doubt

Less beer, more champagne

More understanding, less yelling

Less dreaming, more planning

More saving, less splurging

Less questions, more decisions

More apologies, less excuses

Less coffee, more tea

More music, less overanalyzing

LEARN MORE, COMPLAIN LESS.

Comment your more/less resolutions below - it doesn't have to be as long as mine or as random, but it feels great to have a reference point for the upcoming new year.  

XO, Ashley

Apartment Sense

The day has finally arrived for me to announce my new blog, Apartment Sense. As some of you know I currently live in an apartment and struggle daily with the issue of space and organization. Due to this, I have been doing quite a bit of research relating to small spaces and what works opposed to what does not, and what will actually fit in my apartment.
Though this styling blog has been fun, my main focus has now shifted to apartment oriented topics. To be clear: I will still post on this blog but the topics will only include fashion and cosmetics. To follow Apartment Sense click here.
What will Apartment Sense consist of? I have an array of ideas floating around my head, but don’t know where to place them all yet. Keep in mind this blog is a working progress and is in its experimental stages, but I am still completely excited to pour myself into something new and exciting! I am even more excited to share it with my readers. No set plans yet, but maximizing space will be a huge part of the focus of this blog plus frugal spending.
(I am an admitted shopaholic,but I am savvy so I think it evens out.) I want readers to look to Apartment Sense when searching for inspiration to maximize and liven up their small space. I want this blog to be centered around functionality and taking the little amount of space you do have, and using it wisely.
What would you like to see in Apartment Sense? Tell me in the comments!
Btw, Happy New Year!