“An Inspiration…”
Shared by Kristina Smedley
“An Inspiration…”
It was 8pm on Thursday night and Sennad and I were excitedly sitting on the couch, cuddled up in sweats and blankets, as our meeting reminder popped up.
Yes! We were excited for this meeting notice. 
“FaceTime Date with Steph”
Just moments later, the three of us were connected.
Sitting around in our comfy clothes.
Catching up on everything that’s been going on in our lives over the last several months.
From states and miles apart; all thanks to FaceTime.
It was [almost] like the old days.
When we all lived in Southern California.
Before Stephanie moved to Atlanta to follow a great opportunity and we moved back home to Seattle.
When we would make tasty dinners (mmm… risotto, that was the best!), open a bottle of wine, and talk for hours.
Sharing stories.
Watching and talking sports (well, that was mostly Steph and Sennad).
Brainstorming business ideas.
And loving our time together.
I miss those days.
But for now, FaceTime dates are great!
Over the last 1.5+ years, Steph has put her heart and soul into the startup she was working for.
Even moving to Atlanta for a year to give it her all.
She has been such an inspiration for jumping out of her comfort zone and trying something new.
Learning a ton, shaping direction, proposing new ideas that could drastically shape and define their future. Making connections, pushing through BS, and having the determination to make a difference.
Since we last saw each other, she decided to move on to new opportunities.
Like many things in life, this startup opportunity had run its course.
Never looking back, she jumped at the chance to travel the world for 2 months!
Exploring Europe, North Africa, celebrating a great friend’s wedding in Australia, and a girls trip to Bali.. before returning home to LA to explore what’s next for her.
I often find myself planning out exactly how I’ll fit in everything I want to do in my life.
All this planning leaves little chance for spontaneity.
There’s always something on the To-Do list that needs to be done first.
I know Steph is serious about her relationships, career, stability, and the impact she has through her life. Just like me.
And I’d bet she has a checklist of things to do as well.
But, she’s also such an inspirational example of just jumping in and going for it!
Of altering plans to capture the emerging opportunity.
And to truly explore and enjoy life!
And the truth is that we are all inspirational in some way.
Although, I don’t think most people see themselves as such.
We don’t have to be one of the world’s greatest motivational speakers, like Tony Robbins.
We don’t have to have millions of dollars that we dedicate to good, like Oprah and Bill Gates.
We don’t even need to be that teacher that everyone loves and looks up to, who gets special notes from their students every year.
Inspiration is like a shadow, we all have one and it follows each of us everywhere.
The good thing is that we get to choose what our shadow looks like.
We can inspire people to be like us and follow our lead (no matter how big or small).
Or we can inspire people to never be like us, to learn what not to do by following our stories.
I know who I want to be.
What will you choose?
**Throwback pic to one of our last SoCal brunches together!
**
#InspirationallyImpactful
#IntegrallyRelational
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