Inspiring Women: Careers, Family & Style

The term “looking up to someone” is one we have heard since we were kids. Well first off we were short so we literally had to look up, and secondly, that person had something so special about them we wanted to be just like them. I have this vision of myself that has been shaped by some of the amazing women I have met during my journey. My whole life I have wanted to be successful – to have the job, to have the clothes, to have the lifestyle. And I’ll be damned I had to work very hard to achieve that success. I am 24-years-old and there is SO much I still have to learn. Thankfully for me, I have quite a few women that I look up to who constantly inspire me to be just like them.

In an industry that celebrates youth, I want to celebrate successful women with one of the most important qualities in a person – life experience. I have always been a goal chaser and have high hopes for myself to achieve success. These women are role models to me for many reasons. They are true to themselves and through that they have achieved success that meets many definitions.  These women are entrepreneurs, top sellers, women of faith, mommies, and just downright bad asses. I am lucky enough to be connected to each of these women through blogging and social media, and even luckier that they took the time to answer these questions for my blog! I hope you are as inspired as I am, because in my eyes these women are #goals, and I won’t stop pushing until I can achieve an ounce of success that they have!

Amanda Champion – A Glam Lifestyle

I met Amanda at NYFW and ever since then she consistently blows me away! I remember sitting in a hotel room with her and she was on a conference call with her work. To be able to juggle a call with a client while getting ready for shows at NYFW really is #goals. From her A+ choice in handbags to her glamorous Floridian style, Amanda is someone I really look up to both professionally and sartorially.

Lindsey Lutz – Life Lutzurious

I also met Lindsey at NYFW! She is such a spark and we talked about everything from her designer Stella McCartney shoes to NFL football. She is so charming and insanely stylish. I love her style because it is so out there. She has no fear when it comes to fashion and I really admire that. In addition she is mom to an adorable son Asher, and is also a lead sales manager at her job – she is a TOTAL BOSS.

Ruthie Ridley – Ruthie Ridley Blog

I haven’t met Ruthie, although I honestly feel like we have met! I think it’s because she is such a genuine person and pours her heart into her blog. She is inspiring to me because of the way she effortlessly maintains her timeless fashion style, while being a super-mom to 3 adorable kids, and while being a woman of faith! Ruthie truly is is an amazing person in heart, soul and style.

Age: 33

Location: Sacramento, CA

Job Title: Discharge Follow Up Nurse

What job title would you give yourself?:  Chief Executive Fashion Blogging Queen LOL (Totally unrelated to my 9-5)

Education Background: Registered Nurse, Associates Degree.  Nursing has always been a means to an end for me. I enjoyed taking care of people but it was never my passion.

How does your career motivate you?: I will answer this as a blogger as I hope to transition out of nursing into full time blogging eventually… It’s kind of my second job at the moment! My career motivates me to be okay with being stretched, pushed out of my comfort zone and embrace all forms of change as I go along.  Seeing those around me go for it is also very motivating!

What inspirational qualities do you look for in other women?: Strength, drive and persistence.

Name two women that truly inspire you, someone you know personally and someone you don’t know: Oprah and my friends Jessica Sheppard and Angelle Marix

How would you describe your style?: Timeless, girly, flirty!

Favorite piece of clothing: My floral Lularoe Dress

What has been the highlight of your blogging and personal career?: This has happened recently actually! Home Depot reached out to me to collaborate on a sponsored post! Ben and I could not believe it! We thought it was a scam! LOL! It’s not and our new appliances arrive later this month! Can’t wait to share more on this project!

Annie Spano – Annie Spano // Style Collective

To be honest I don’t think I would know any of these ladies if it weren’t for Annie! Annie is the founder and CEO of Style Collective – a network created to empower women, specifically bloggers. I met Annie at NYFW (go figure lol!!) and we had such a blast. She is such a down-to-earth person who genuinely wants to lift women up. To me there is nothing more inspiring than that!

Age: 32

Location: Raleigh, NC

Job Title: Founder and CEO of Style Collective

What job title would you give yourself?: Chief Head of all the Heads. Haha, meaning that I’m the head of all the people who are the head of something on my team! It’s what my Head of Tech Stuff calls me (and yes, that’s his title lol).

Education Background: BS in Mathematics and MBA

How does your career motivate you?: I love being able to motivate and inspire women to take action in their lives. For many years, I felt helpless under the leadership of a toxic woman who I now call my work bully. I hope to be a leader that mobilizes the resources that women need to succeed.

What inspirational qualities do you look for in other women?:

1.            Be a team player, don’t tear others down to lift yourself up.

2.            Be humble and hustle! People are inspired by the hustle and they want to see hard work because it influences their own behavior.

3.            Go for your dreams and don’t wait for anyone to hand you anything; if you want it, go get it!

Name two women that truly inspire you, someone you know personally and someone you don’t know:

1.            Dr. Carole Barnett, my leadership professor. She changed my life and she is someone who inspires me and I hope to be able to impact women the same way that she has impacted me. I interviewed her on my podcast a few weeks ago and it is one of the most popular episodes, which is incredible.

2.            Kendra Scott, I love her story and how she created a billion-dollar business out of $500 from her spare bedroom. She had grit, determination, and persistence, which is so important when you are an entrepreneur. Her story shows that you can do anything you set your mind to if you don’t take no for an answer.

How would you describe your style?: My style is classic! I actually don’t go shopping that often and would rather buy a great designer handbag, belt, or shoes to go with my basics. I use Rent the Runway so that I can experiment with my looks.

Favorite piece of clothing: I love coats, I got this really fabulous and timeless grey coat from Club Monaco last winter and I can’t wait to wear it again!

What has been the highlight of your blogging and personal career?: using my blog to share my unique voice with the world! I started with fashion and eventually found my way back to true north; I love talking about leadership, self-development, and those types of topics. I think that our generation values their purpose more than previous generations, so I’m really proud to be able to share my voice about finding your purpose and passion through my blog and my podcast.

Catherine Grace O’Connell – Catherine Grace O

I also met Catherine through Style Collective, through Annie, because I did an interview series of Catherine’s journey to blogging. She is primarily a survivor, and uses her story to inspire other women, break down ageist boundaries in the fashion/blogging world, and live a meaningful life of wellness. Catherine beat the odds and overcame Lyme Disease, you can read our interview on Style Collective here.

Age: 56

Location: Evanston, IL Suburb of Chicago

Job Title:  CEO CatherineGraceO and Beauty and the Beast Productions, Radio Host Cat & Kaehler, Journalist Thrive Global, Founder of the Fierce 50 Revolution and Bridging the Gap Campaign

What job title would you give yourself?: Director of Age Disrupting and Inspiration

Education Background: Vanderbilt University Double Major Economics and French…studied International Finance with the intention of working in 3rd world countries. Masters of Spiritual Psychology University of Santa Monica

How does your career motivate you?: I have a couple of tag lines that embody the inspiration. “I’m not changing clothes. I’m changing lives.”

“Fashion’s my medium. It’s not my message. I started down this path not knowing where I would be today. I had never heard of Instagram. Two years ago, my daughter encouraged me to start a page. I had no idea how to upload a photo or do a caption. It was hilarious! I naturally brought in my spiritual background in my messaging. I had a lot of people reaching out to me for help. Particularly those with Lyme Disease or major illnesses. I started by sending my cell phone to every single person and developed personal relationships. I spoke with 100’s of people that called me.  I’ve never been motivated by money. I can barely tag clothes as I really don’t care about that at all. I adore fashion but it’s just a means of getting my message across. All I truly care about are people. I care about relationships and touching people’s hearts. I know that I can be vulnerable to a fault. But the truth is, someone has to be to give others permission to open theirs in return and let the walls down. We must have the courage to be real so that others don’t feel so alone. I’m motivated every single day by the amazing people that I’ve met. The best part of my job is being on the radio and connecting to others. It’s also producing creative content with an inspirational message for national brands in my production company, Beauty and the Beast Productions.

What inspirational qualities do you look for in other women?: Truthfully, I’ve never seen race, color, size or anything. I’m an empathetic intuitive and I feel people. I feel their hearts and their pain as though it’s my own. When I was a young child, my heart hurt seeing others in pain. It still does. I started volunteering as a young girl and I’ve never stopped making my life about serving others.

I look for women who are kind, supportive and compassionate. I surround myself with women who have a positive outlook on life. I don’t have a competitive bone in my body. I’ve never understood competition and with all the inner work I’ve done, I know that competition comes from a space of insecurity. Not in sports, where it’s natural. But with women, there’s no place in my life for competition. If someone feels they need to compete or step on another, that’s their issue, not mine. I believe in shining my light brighter and never trying to dim another’s.

Name two women that truly inspire you, someone you know personally and someone you don’t know: Cathy Williamson, @themiddlepageblog. Cath is one of my cofounders of The Fierce 50. She’s a kick ass cancer survivor who shouldn’t be here today. She has an amazing attitude about life. She doesn’t believe in competing either. She also is a Southern Belle with a bad potty mouth and I love that refreshing quality. She makes me howl. I had someone send me a nasty message and I asked her about it. She said “I want to give them a PP.” I said a “what.” And…she texts back, “A Pussy Punch.” How can you not laugh at this proper Southern Belle when she says things like that! I adore her. She’s one of my closest friends.

Mother Theresa is someone I deeply admire and connect to as my inspiration. I have to be careful as I have a bit of a “sacrificial” quality to my nature where I have always put others ahead of myself. I’m changing that now and becoming more balanced in my life. It really is imperative for us to love ourselves first. We must fuel ourselves in order to be our most empowered and effective in the world. She was an amazing role model and she has inspired much of the work that I do. Clearly, she was old and wrinkled yet she was one of the most radiant women I’ve ever seen. I also adore Princess Diana.

How would you describe your style?: I call my style “Boho Chic.” It’s a bit different than others as I have two parts to my personality with the “Boho” side the dominant side. I’m usually found makeup free in yoga clothes or meditating on the beach or jumping in the ocean and letting my hair air dry. I rarely wear makeup or get dressed up. When I do, I love getting really decked out. Before I became a fashion blogger, I had never had a blowout or had my makeup done. I still do my own makeup and my hair much of the time. But I love getting my hair done and dressing up to the nines. I also believe in women making their own rules. To me, there are no rules when it comes to age. Women must dress according to what makes them feel beautiful. It’s all about the inside. If you put something on that’s not really you, you’ll feel it and it will be obvious in your energy. I’m an energy worker and it’s all about energy. I feel energy intensely. You can’t lie to me as I can feel you long before you say a word.

Favorite piece of clothing: That’s a hard one! Really…I’m a Fashion Blogger remember??? Quite honestly, it would be yoga attire. I adore everything at Carbon 38. I’m obsessed with brands like ALO Yoga and I’ve discovered some new brands on that site. I also love graphic tees by Spiritual Gangster. They’re so easy, comfy, fun and inspirational!

What has been the highlight of your blogging and personal career?: You do ask hard questions! Goodness, so much! I love my career. The best part will always be the people. Mike, my business manager, and I do things very differently. We were very conscious and intentional that we were not going to be like everyone else. We set out to carve a unique path with a unique message. In our production company, we partner with major brands like Madison Reed as we are working on a national campaign with them. It’s all about message as that’s the inspiration for the company. Most of the brands we work with tell us that we are very refreshing as they don’t see those qualities in the blogging world very often. We focus on fostering a personal and long term relationship with every company we work with.  I desire to serve as a role model for women of all ages. I’m particularly inspired by my Millennial friends and I intend to be a positive role model. I really don’t care about being a model. I only care about being a positive role model. I was so disempowered by abuse and trauma for most of  my life.  I don’t see myself as a victim any longer as it was a great blessing now that I’m on the other side. There really isn’t any experience that I haven’t had personally. I’ve had eating disorders, dealt with sexual abuse, psychological abuse, lost babies, life threatening illnesses, an NDE and so much more. My heart is bursting with compassion for all. It’s my deepest desire to leave this world a much better place and to make sure that I’ve the best person that I can be.

Thank you ladies for participating and continuing to inspire me!

You can check out all of their blogs here:

A Glam Lifestyle

Life Lutzurious

Ruthie Ridley Blog

Annie Spano // Style Collective

Catherine Grace O