The Stepping Stone Phase
When life becomes hard, we fold.
One thing I am still learning is that life is full of the unexpected.
Life is about having the courage to turn the corner.
Getting to that next chapter, turn the damn page.
Have we ever stopped to think that maybe all those difficult situations were apart of our story? Think about all the crossroads you’ve had to get you where you are now. This is what I call, the stepping stone phase.
For example; my last career was a HUGE stepping stone for me because I simply wouldn’t be who I am today without that particular phase. My old agent, Jules NewMark, is AMAZING and I am still one of her biggest fans. She started her own modeling agency in Hollywood from the ground up just a few years ago. It’s beyond cool to see all of her success! I was signed with Jules 2014–2015 and we both agreed it just wasn’t a fit for me February of last year.
This was a huge stepping stone moment, I mean, a big one. I walked away from my dream job on a moments notice because I knew deep down, it wasn’t my story.
In the middle of my modeling career, I had a lot of people that gave me heat for the direction I went. Mainly girls that I graduated High School with. They were the same girls who tp’d my house, put Swedish Fish all over my car, and wrote disgusting things about me in my driveway. I was 17…
Later when I was about 20-years-old, I had a fake Twitter account made about me that had more disgusting things said on it. I remember that TotalFratMove posted photos along with a short article about me and completely had the wrong information, saying that I was a student at the University of Iowa but really I had actually been living in LA for two years and have never gone to the University of Iowa… It wasn’t the post that bothered me much, it was all the “anonymous” comments that were at the end of the article…
There are very few people in this world that will get to know you to the bone. If they have to hide behind a computer screen and “anonymously” comment on a website they probably don’t know your story all that well.
Of course, I could point fingers and name names but that isn’t my story. If I could say anything to these people it would be, thank you.
These few incidents have lead me exactly where I needed to be going.
I’m extremely grateful for my past and all of my hardships because it has molded my story into now, something unbelievable.
I stepped over the stone and onto the greenest grass I’ve ever seen.
For the individuals that struggle with the stepping stone phase here are a few amazing things I did to embrace it.
- Never apologize for who you are — people will always find something they can pick apart. Know that everyone is different, that what makes us human. Stand by what you believe in and always do the right thing.
- Say something positive about yourself each day — your body and mind will thank you for this. If you say one thing each day that is positive about yourself, you will one day believe it. It’s your mind that’s telling you you need to please everyone.
- Don’t look for answers — don’t search for answers you will never find. Enjoy life and look up to God for guidance; at the end of the day we aren’t promised anything, it’s about how much faith you have in your heart. You already know everything you need to know, execute it correctly.