33 Things on my 33rd Birthday

Woah and just like that, I’m 33! I told a friend yesterday, I feel like I’m 23 but living a 43-year old’s life lol.

A few years ago I shared 31 things on my 31st birthday and today I thought I’d bring the tradition back.

As much as I love helping people legally protect and grow their online businesses, I do like to talk about other stuff every once in a while ; )

So here goes nothing! Here are 33 things I’ve learned this past year:

1. If you pluck a grey hair, it doesn’t just go away and never come back.
2. I don’t care what anyone says, grey hair is most certainly caused by stress.
3. Puppies are adorable. But they’re adorable for a reason — they’re basically like babies that bite and chew on everything.
4. If you really want help and support, you have to let people help and support you.
5. Just because someone is blood related doesn’t make them obligatory family. And it doesn’t mean people who you aren’t blood related too can’t be more family-like than the blood ones.
6. If you speak up for yourself and speak your truth, you will always make someone else mad or uncomfortable. It’s OK — there’s safety in that. Living a wishy-washy life where you hold back your opinions and thoughts isn’t really living.
7. “Not caring about politics” is a privilege.
8. Becoming an anti-racist isn’t about how many squares you share on Instagram. It’s about the real work behind the scenes, who you vote for, and also how you put your money where your mouth is.
9. Grapefruit Spindrift is the best. It’s also best-served ice cold.
10. Investing in a great shampoo can make a world of difference (looking at you, Oribe).
11. “To have a friend you have to be a friend.” – my Mom.
12. Homegoing is one of the best books I’ve ever read.
13. Downloading Facebook eradicator (the Chrome extension) is one of the best things I’ve ever done for my mental health and business well-being.
14. The right people will be attracted to me (business wise).
15. Making your own tomatillo salsa (& sneaking a sip of it) is totally worth it.
16. Making your own bread is also worth it (especially this super easy honey oat one).
17. People may try to take from you what they can get — but it’s up to you to hand it over.
18. The only people who are upset about you setting boundaries are the ones who benefitted the most from you not having any. (I know I saw this quote on Instagram this year and it stuck with me. I don’t know where I saw it, so I apologize that I can’t credit someone!)
19. Some people think that when they’re ready to start a business, they can just come along and swipe your content, program names, or business ideas. They’ll never be successful with that strategy, laziness or entitlement — so don’t give them a second thought.
20. Even a global pandemic or wearing a mask to keep others safe can and will be politicized.
21. Some people will not wear a simple mask or stay in their homes to save other people’s lives (this one was tough to learn this year.)
22. If you cook more at home, splurge on a fancy (or fancier) ingredient to add to a few meals per week. It elevates the whole experience.
23. There are a few positives to staying home and not going out as much: using and appreciating your space more, saved eating out costs, less food waste, etc.
24. Save food, because you never know when there could be a pandemic that leads to a shortage.
25. Making your own broth is so easy that you won’t believe you ever bought some. Save your veggie scraps and peels in a Ziploc bag in the freezer. Toss in a big pot, cover with water, add a bay leaf, tomato paste, + salt & pepper, and simmer for 60 minutes.
26. People are doing their best when it comes to supporting you through grief or pre-grief. They probably just don’t know what to say.
27. Don’t put a hot pan right on top of a plastic-like cutting board. It will melt and smell terrible.
28. If you have a business, commit to emailing your email list 1x/week. If you can’t do that and you’re filming Reels, you’ve got your priorities mixed up (in business).
29. Your website matters. I know a lot of people out there will tell you that you don’t even need one because they’ll teach you some other way (in their $7k program…) — but don’t listen to them. You need a great website, with high quality, SEO-driven content on it, an easy way to buy from you and get in touch.
30. Spend less time on Instagram, more time outside.
31. Go places without your phone.
32. Listen when people talk, and expect that they will do the same for you.
33. Most things are outside of our control. That’s a really uncomfortable and scary feeling that’ll likely never go away.

That’s a wrap friends! I’d love to hear which # you relate to most in the comments below!

Thanks for reading 🙂