Behind the scenes of moments in my life. Who am I? I am Jody. A lifestyle blogger, a mama of 2 kids, a wife to a husband who is deployed across the world and a HUGE advocate for doing what you love in this life.
I strive to live each moment as authentically that I can. But I wasn't always like this. I didn't always KNOW me and I'd even go as far as saying for the first 30 years of my life all I did was strive to be:
What everyone else wanted me to be.
Perfect Wife (to my practice husband).
Perfect. Period.
Liked by EVERYONE.
Fake happy. A smile on my face but slowly dying inside because I wasn’t being my real true self.
Anything that kept me running from all the pain, anything to keep me distracted. Distracted was a way of life for me. A way of life that kept me safe and kept me protected from all of those feelings I just didn’t want to feel.
Then I spent 5 years single… no scratch that. I spent 5 years in a relationship with myself. Discovered true love. Started a massive personal development journey that I'm committed to bringing others on because of the benefits I've seen.
Professionally I started teaching, coaching and speaking… reaching hundreds. Which is amazing and I'm so honoured… but I know my purpose is to reach SO MANY MORE!!!!
And?
In. Walks. Samantha Laycock.
I'm going to say I am luckier than the average beginner blogger because her usual process is:
Coach-friend for life.
She doesn’t just walk away from you. She stands by your side and continues to watch you grow and supports you when you need it the most.
I got to start with Samantha as a friend. I've seen her stumble, we have shared tears and screamed together. I wish I could tell you what a gift of a person she is but that's not the reason behind my guest blog here today.
I'm going to fast forward in time and then I'll go back to really make my point. Those who follow or know me, know that Thursday was a huge freakin day… major surgery… potentially huge consequences kind of day. It looked like I was all over social media!
How does she do it? Man, that's commitment.
Nope, that's a blogging manager!! I SUCK at technology. It is not my wheelhouse. But I can speak from the heart and I can listen and be authentic and connect to those around me.
So after a while of Sam trying to drag me through the technology side of things… she finally said…
Let's let YOUR gift shine.
And she has handed me that chance. The chance to embrace what I am good at and how I can impact those around me without having to worry about all the other things.
I was missing deadlines cause it was taking me HOURS to do a graphic. I still needed a translator to know margins, videos, etc and I kept wasting time. Time I don't have to waste. And I almost quit my blog. I want to SPEAK not to get wrapped up in SEO.
So now what I do is speak onto paper and speak into videos and hit send. Samantha makes it look beautiful. I get the final say and she asks me for pictures, etc and memories and she just knows how to put love into a blog post. How to make it hers with my words … but to make it MINE. With My Words.
Then I have the time to directly respond to my tribe… my people that I'm connecting with. I comment back, I get to reach out. Cause I'm not crying over-editing. I'm getting to let my light shine. And now I have time to write my books and reach out more for speaking opportunities.
Samantha isn't just someone who helps with blog tips or someone who writes the best blog or graphics or SEO or watches your… numbers? Averages? She is all of that but more.
She can free your time. She does what she loves to do by ensuring that you are doing what YOU love to do.
And after today? Time is something I know for sure I will never get back. Time is something none of us can get back. A lesson that most of us learn too late but I am here to tell you not to wait until it is too late.
You are meant to do what YOU are freaking amazing at and let Samantha do what SHE is freaking amazing at. Your life begins to change when you become intentional with your time.
You can find me at my lifestyle blog where I talk about all things living a life as a deployment family, public speaking and mental health. I am grateful for all that I have in my life and that includes you being here and reading this.
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