From the desk of...

TRUE STORY...

Growing up I was made fun of and heard these things repeat over & over again in my head:

"Your smile's like the Joker!"

" You've got a big mouth & all gums!"

" You have such big, bug eyes!"

" Your big nose looks like Gonzo from the muppets!"

" You have a big forehead!"

" You have such big ears!"

" Your hairline looks like Eddie from the Munsters!"

" You have rabbit teeth!"

all of which, I used to look in the mirror and just be so darn hard on myself and believed all the negative comments, all the way until I was 42 years old! ( I'm now 48! ).

But because this happened...

My daughter started to grow up. As she did, everyone would tell us how she's really starting to look like me. Her big eyes, smile, shape of her face..

One day I was driving with her in the front seat for the first time, 6 years ago, and I looked over at her getting so grown up, and I was staring! I thought to myself, WOW! She really IS so darn beautiful!

That night, as I was staring in the mirror taking off my makeup, I started to be hard on myself as usual:

- ugh, chin hairs!

- ugh, where did that double chin come from?

- ugh, bags under my eyes!

- ugh, jowls? What the heck?

Then I stopped myself in my tracks! Who are you looking at you imbecile? Your beautiful daughter looks just like you! That means that YOU are beautiful too!

So I closed my eyes, took in a long, slow breath, told myself I'm beautiful too, then opened my eyes back up & stared at myself in the mirror. This time, seeing someone different.

This time I smiled. Even giggled with remembering EXACTLY WHO told me all of these POSITIVE things over the same four decades:

"You have amazing eyelashes!"

" Your smile is so genuine!"

" You have such white teeth!"

" Your energy is so infectious!"

" Your eyes look so magical"

" You have great shaped brows!

" You do your makeup so pretty!"

" You don't ever need makeup, you have natural beauty!"

" Your gestures are so sexy!"

" Your face tells such great stories!"

" You're such a beautiful creature!"

I ran all the compliments I ever heard over the years through my head, and after looking at my daughter, seeing her in me, this was the very first time, in 42 years, I actually believed them! Up until then, it was so much easier to believe the negative things about me, then the positive.

Now, if I look in the mirror and see things I don't like, like thinning eyebrows, chin hairs, bags under my eyes...

I just laugh and tell myself my own advice: "Control what you can control".

I do quick fixes & touch ups. Take extra time to clean or whiten. But for what God gave me: my eyes, my lashes, my nose, my mouth, my gums, my teeth... and how I look at myself and others, how I treat myself and others, how I carry myself...

I look in the mirror every single day & say: You are the example to your daughter. She is beautiful, and YOU are beautiful!

Now go kick some assets today!

I no longer hear those negative comments. I've learned to let go of any negative people and their comments of days past, and only surround myself by the ones who help lift me up. I focus on and carry all the positive compliments with me, ringing in my ears, to allow an extra pep in my step.

My point: I think you have all seen me evolve into my best self over the past 6 years. Just getting closer & closer to my inner and outer beauty. I had to literally MOVE to get myself & my kids further away from things, situations & people who were holding us back, and build myself and kids up- build brick by brick, day by day, one step at a time, within ourselves, our home, and my business.

What you see now, did not come easy. Me, my books, my kids... our successes...

We're in a very good place, but we're still climbing.

My message to you:

Focus on the positives.

BE uplifting to others.

Stay the course.

Never give up!

And YOU are beautiful too!

One love,

Gonzo.

Lmao.

I mean, Christine.

www.bumble-fly.com

Are you in it for the GLORY?

Christine DerOhannesian

I'm sure many of you have heard this quote before: "It's not the destination, it's the Journey". And not as popular, but still the very true: "Don't let perfection become procrastination".

Well I keep both of those quotes in mind when wanting to do something or be in a certain place in my life. Generally speaking, we always find it challenging to find the RIGHT TIME.

They say "The time is Now!" or "Let your tomorrow start with Today", and many other inspiring quotes that get us fired up. We have something in mind we want to pursue, either on the forefront or back of our minds, pumping in our hearts, flowing in our blood, passionate in our dreams...and for a split second or longer moment, we hear quotes like this, especially coming from success stories and we get pumped up.

Here's a question, how many of us find ourselves back in that same starting point over and over again? Start and stop. Wanting to, but don't? Inspired today, discouraged tomorrow? "Reality" kicks in, we feel stuck, or "Can't find the TIME"?

When I reflect on the most successful periods in my life, I found only ONE thing consistent, I used to pray daily for STRENGTH, PATIENCE AND WISDOM.

With maturity, I discovered:

> Strength not only means the ability or courage to DO something, but the judgment or humbleness NOT to.

> Patience is a fine line as well. When are we being patient vs lazy? Assertive vs aggressive? Again, the key may be judgement.

>Wisdom is deceiving. We can convince ourselves and others of just about anything. We can justify why something is good or bad, right or wrong. Some have this talent or use it more than others, but we ALL have it. What is wisdom exactly? It's understood to come with experience, having a history of failures to understand success, have made many mistakes to finally get it right. Do we have to be old to have wisdom? Or, can we learn at an early age, to simply have good judgement?

Everything I mentioned is all debatable.

Here's one common element: TIME.

What are we doing NOW? How are we shaping TOMORROW? What we know in our YOUTH. Our understanding when we're OLD. Even patience itself is TIME. Do we give it a little more or less TIME.

What is TIME? And how do we use it for us or against us?

There is this delicate place between SPACE and SECURITY. And I discovered that place in itself is called TIME.

We often sway between space and security.

We want to give ourselves or others SPACE, where you allow yourself or someone -whether it be a friend, lover, employee, boss, or even a child- the room to discover something on their or our own. Space to be independent. Space to move, breathe, feel alive or figure it out.

However, at the same time, we all want SECURITY. We're seeking assurance that every thing will work out just fine. That our loved ones will be there for us. We never get too old to sometimes need a hug, to be held, or for someone to say "I got you!"...and of course the security to know IT WILL BE OK.

Take the risk! Just do it! Take the plunge! Make the jump! You can't move forward standing still!

All great.

But what's the RIGHT thing to do? When is it ever the right TIME?

When do you start to be careless? Harmful? Irresponsible? Or worse, selfish? Risk losing or getting hurt?

Judgement and time go hand in hand.

But how do we figure it all out?

I think it all boils down to INTENTION & INTEGRITY.

In thought and challenge over all of this, I found myself thinking back to "it's not the destination, it's the journey", " don't let perfection become procrastination" and then had to stop myself. They seemed like cliches without any true direction. So I questioned myself with "what is my intention?".

My INTENTION is to be along side of those I love. To make a difference in their lives and many others. To not preach my knowledge, but teach my lessons. To help discover purpose, placement, character, value and meaning. My INTENTION is to help others find their best selves, and within that success, I find mine.

Yes, life is a journey. Yes, you should seize the day. Yes! Carpe Diem!

But when you think of your INTENTION, apply strength, patience and wisdom, you land at INTEGRITY.

Maybe step one can simply be to ask yourself, what is my intention? We all want to live our lives to the fullest. But what does that mean to YOU?

How do we arrive at success? How do we be content?

The best advice I can always circle back to, is Just BE!

For ME, I'm not in it for the GLORY, I'm in it for the STORY.

Don't Judge