10 Things Iโ€™d Tell My Younger Self ๐ŸŽ‚


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Dear Reader,

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Todayโ€™s my birthday, and I thought I'd share 10 things Iโ€™d tell my younger self.

โšก๏ธ ๐—ฆ๐˜๐—ผ๐—ฝ ๐˜„๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ณ๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป. Whether in branding, business, or life, start messy, start scared, but start. Youโ€™ll grow through the process.

โšก๏ธ ๐—Ÿ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ผ ๐˜€๐—ฎ๐˜† ๐—ป๐—ผ, whether itโ€™s with clients, friends, or family. Not everyone is your person, and youโ€™re not everyoneโ€™s either.

โšก๏ธ Get some kick-ass, sexy photos of yourselfโ€”youโ€™ll thank yourself 10, 20, or even 50 years down the road. P.S. ๐—œ๐˜โ€™๐˜€ ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐˜๐—ผ๐—ผ ๐—น๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ฒโ€”find a talented photographer. ๐Ÿ˜‰

โšก๏ธ Good food fuels the body, but real connection feeds the soul. ๐—Ÿ๐—ถ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ ๐—ต๐—ผ๐—น๐—ถ๐˜€๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—น๐—น๐˜†โ€”๐—ป๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐˜๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—บ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฑ, ๐—ฏ๐—ผ๐—ฑ๐˜†, ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐˜€๐—ฝ๐—ถ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐˜, and keep people around who challenge and make you laugh.

โšก๏ธ Choose a partner who ๐˜ƒ๐—ฎ๐—น๐˜‚๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—ด๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐˜„๐˜๐—ต, and date a LOT to know yourselfโ€”because when you marry, youโ€™re marrying the whole family, too.

โšก๏ธ Donโ€™t drift through life in the dark or on a hamster wheel. Your trauma isnโ€™t your fault, but ๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ณ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—บ ๐—ถ๐˜ ๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ฏ๐—ถ๐—น๐—ถ๐˜๐˜†.

โšก๏ธ ๐—–๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐—ธ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐—ฟ๐—ฐ๐—น๐—ฒ ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ด๐˜‚๐—น๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—น๐˜†. Friends who donโ€™t support your dreams or challenge you to grow donโ€™t deserve a front-row seat.

โšก๏ธ Celebrate your cultural identityโ€”๐—ฑ๐—ผ๐—ปโ€™๐˜ ๐—ฏ๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ถ๐˜ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ณ๐—ถ๐˜ ๐—ถ๐—ป. Standing out is powerful, so donโ€™t be afraid to be seen.

โšก๏ธ Invest in therapy and find someone who truly gets you, culturally and personally. ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ต๐˜ ๐˜€๐˜‚๐—ฝ๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜ ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—ป ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ธ๐—ฒ ๐—ฎ๐—น๐—น ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ณ๐—ณ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ.

โšก๏ธ Be your ๐—ผ๐˜„๐—ป ๐—ฏ๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ด๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜ ๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ. Other peopleโ€™s opinions may be loud, but your belief in yourself counts the most.

โ•ฐโ”ˆโžค Bonus: โšก๏ธ Remember, you can be ๐—ฏ๐—ผ๐˜๐—ต ๐—ฎ ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฝ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ฎ ๐˜„๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ธ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—ฝ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ด๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜€. Show up for yourself, do the work, and enjoy the journey.

xo,
Alpana

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PS. Help me decideโ€”what should fill my glass today? ๐Ÿฅ‚ 

โ€‹

The Secret Sauce is Your Story

Become a confident storyteller for your brand to stand out and sell more. I'm a Visual Brand Coach and Award-Winning Photographer (featured in NY Times, Instagram, Apple). I help badass women entrepreneurs own their stories, showcase their uniqueness, and create brands that are downright magical. Ready to make your brand sizzle? Get your hands on my free brand guide packed with five essential ingredients to create an unforgettable brand experience.

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