text: In this week’s life update: I just got back two weeks ago from the amazing blessing of a vacation with two of my best friends in the magical land of Florida.
  This vacation was everything I hoped for and more. Not only was it a relaxing blessing to spend time with my girls and not think about the rigors of life, it also brought me a lot of clarity on things. For a few days, I acted like a kid. Then for a few days more, I let the kid me and the adult me meet and shake hands. In the middle, they found something wonderful.
  So I wanted to share with all of YOU a few lessons learned from this trip: 💙 Inspiration for storytelling can be found anywhere and everywhere – from observing crowds, to finding new music, to beautiful architecture, to coffee mugs, to (very subtly ofc) glancing at people who look like your characters. 👀
  💙 Listen louder than you talk.
  💙 You often make the best memories when you leave the plan behind.
  💙 Happiness and contentment cannot be things you plan to achieve “someday”. By the time you get to someday, you may be too tired or too sad or too SOMETHING. You have to make time for the things that matter RIGHT NOW.
  💙 Fear of failure is such a dumb cage. Who cares if you don’t get it right the first time? Roller coasters break down and kids drop their ice cream and things need technical maintenance. That doesn’t mean the park is worthless or should be shut down. Clean up, learn up, and keep looking up. Setbacks are a part of life….yours and mine. That doesn’t mean we can’t still make our space and our dreams the happiest place on earth.
  –
  Something tells me I’ll need to learn these lessons again and again. I’m already back to struggling with fear of failure, for example. But this is why it’s good to change our environment and perspective every so often – you can’t always heal in the same space where you were hurt.
  So where you’re hurting, take yourself to a different space. Write somewhere new. Brainstorm where you’ve never been. Edit in unfamiliar territory.