How I Turned My Life Into Liquid Gold; And How You can Too October 23, 2015 – Posted in: Blog

One year ago we arrived in the Sunshine State. Full of gratitude, excitement and hope, we embarked on what has been our greatest adventure, yet. I’m here to share the tools to plan your greatest journey with a Liquid Gold Dream Plan.

As a jewelry designer who started a passion-filled business based on personal travels to international coastlines, I thought I knew what I was in for with this move. After all, it wasn’t the first time that I was going to move somewhere that I have never even visited. My life’s greatest adventures started the same way six different times.

First, I ventured to an unknown city for college, outside of Philadelphia, West Chester University. In my third year, I took a leap of faith and moved to Cádiz, Spain (not knowing a soul). This magical city is a gem on the most Southern tip of Europe, closer to Morocco than Barcelona. I lived with a host family who fed me a diet of more garbanzo beans than any one person can handle, but they were very kind. I met friends from the West Coast, who ironically had all traveled to Cádiz together, and I was the only East Coast student. Many of us became instantaneously life-long friends and studied, traveled and flamenco danced until the sun came up.

My third conscious leap of faith adventure came after realizing I had an appetizer of the world after studying in Spain…and I was ready for the next bite. When I chose to pack my bags and embark on Semester at Sea, a 100 day journey on a ship around the world, it was beyond my wildest dreams of what I ever thought I’d see and experience in one lifetime. We spent our days studying (amongst other activities) while traveling the open seas and fulfilling business projects in ports around the world. These ranged from volunteering at Mother Theresa’s Orphanage in Chennai, India to canoeing down the Mekong River Delta in Vietnam for my International Marketing course. There, we learned how a company made coconut candy by hand through the dense jungle infrastructure and sold it in Ho Chi Minh city…truly an entrepreneurial spirit.

After college, I moved back to Pennsylvania for awhile until the bug hit again. Off to NYC, I moved onto my fourth adventure without any job lined up (early twenties = no fear) and moved in with a friend from Spain who (thanks to the universe conspiring) had an opening for a roommate. I did what I knew best…hustled. I worked every promotional job from liquor brands to jewelry designer shows. I took the wrong trains at 3am after promotions leaving me deep in Brooklyn, walked about a thousand miles in heels and had my eye on the prize –landing a job on Madison Avenue. I accomplished the mission.

That was, until the next adventure brought me to Dallas (or my boyfriend-now-husband’s) adventure I should say. I never pictured myself moving there but took it in stride as another opportunity. Unfortunately that opportunity didn’t have any natural water sources, and after living by the water for so many years around the globe, I felt like a fish out of….you know.

While I designed jewelry for clients inspired by turquoise waves and powdery sand, I was landlocked. I longed for the salt in my hair and the waves at my barefoot sandal-wearing feet. In the end, we landed exactly where we were meant to be.

Seven years later and five years after starting my first jewelry business, we angled for a move that we desperately wanted. The move included sun, sea and saltwater therapy.

This was different. This was a journey for myself, my husband and two doxies that would surpass these experiences because after our “7 year layover in Dallas,” this was no small adventure. After a lot of manifestation work and clearing practices, we felt the universe was aligning to make this move happen.

We had a rollercoaster of blessings in disguise and eventually decided to explore a barrier island.

I felt like the piece of my soul that was missing all of those years in Dallas was located on this barrier island the entire time.

It was just waiting for the right time to be found.

As I sit here with soaring pelicans right in front of my face, dipping and dive-bombing for their daily catch, I have to pinch myself to confirm this isn’t a dream. A life-long journey that spanned continents, careers and a trust in the universe is what made all points converge. I’m beyond grateful for all of our friends here who have quickly become like family. From neighbors to my incredible group of entrepreneur friends, it’s amazing how hard work, determination, and manifestation has seemingly, seamlessly put us all in place. I now have a business which gives back to charity with every wholesale order, get to work with incredible brides, designing jewelry for their weddings in paradise, and truly wake up every day excited to help other women sparkle.

You may think this all sounds too good to be true.

I promise you, it’s all within your reach if you take the time to write it down, plan and refuse to let obstacles get in your way. You may miss happy hours, but your happiest hours are waiting for you.

Below, I’m supplying you with the 5 GEMS OF ADVICE to turn YOUR life into liquid gold, PLUS a printable fun sheet to start your planning. If you have a big move, whether it’s personally or professionally that you’re looking to make, start today. I’m certainly not making any claims to being a life coach –I’m just showing you how you can do it too.

Read the list below first, then download and print your own fun sheet to start planning here.

CBJ GEM: Honor yourself by starting a binder. Download and print this to take the steps to turn your life into liquid gold.

1. Research contacts in your existing network:

If you have an ideal place in mind that you’d like to move, chances are there are only 6 degrees of separation within your own network to get you there. Check with co-workers (albeit discretely), online groups or even alumni from high school, college or business school. Never underestimate the power of expanding your network to help you achieve personal goals. Attend a networking event, find a group online of people who already live in the area or who are studying in the profession you aspire to have one day.

2. Write it down

If you don’t write it down, it’s not a real plan. Simply jotting down goals for 3 months, 6 months, 9 months and a year will give you actionable and realistic goals to meet. Before you sell your house, you need to clean your closet. Baby steps.

3. Consolidate and declutter

It’s not called a Japanese art for nothing. If you do not declutter and clear your life of excess items, you won’t have room for abundance and for the universe to deliver the gifts of life which you’ve requested. What’s the point of asking if there’s no room?

4. Envision yourself already there

Visualizing is such an undervalued tool. Picture yourself there. Whether your dream is to own an alpaca farm in Colorado or a bar in Riviera Maya, close your eyes and envision what you’re wearing. What does your house look like? What do YOU look like? I did this and it’s scary how close to reality it turned out 7 months later. I’m also a HUGE believer in EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique). I think I’ve told every single person I know about it.

5. Give it EVERYTHING

When you actively do all of the aforementioned steps (and not just say you’ll do them), it’s virtually foolproof. I’m talking about it from experience. While I leave the life coaching up to my other entrepreneur friends, I will give you my own personal experience to use as a vessel, because you deserve it too.

As I work fingers to the bone to make my jewelry business grow, I now do it with salt in my hair and the waves at my feet. We have one life to live and things can change in an instant. I’ve watched friends and family wish, want and hope. They say, “Maybe next year, when the kids are done with school, when I reach my goal weight or when “the time is right.”

My point is, if the time isn’t ever guaranteed, how are you sure it’ll ever be “right”?

Follow your dreams, never give up, and don’t let anyone steal the wind from your sails. My biggest advice is to be open to all of life’s greatest possibilities.