think or swim

Shirt: Ivy & Leo, Jeans: LOTUS, Shoes: Jessica Simpson

So you may be wondering what the heck is going on? "I thought this was a personal style blog. Why the picture of a book? Why all of these quotes? What's gives?" Well my friends, I have had this book on my mind all week and I wanted to share. I threw in some pictures of what I wore today to make it more relevant to the blog...but this (Think or Swim) is what I really wanted to share. Why? Because it is just that damn amazing....that's why.

Have you ever met someone who blew you away? I mean, impacted you to the point that it made you believe less in chance and more in fate. I have. About 13 months ago I was at a press event for the NC Governor's Conference for Women. There had to be over 100 people there. This woman I had never met walked right up to me and said "who are you"? Who am I, I thought? Shoot...who am I? How do you answer that? I knew to tell her my name, where I worked, and how I was affiliated with the event we were at and connected to the people in the room, but somehow I felt like this stranger was really asking me to tell her WHO I was. It was the craziest thing. I felt vulnerable, and interesting, and a bit uncomfortable. Her name was (is), Leslie Palmer. We talked for a few minutes (I felt an instant connection to her), exchanged contact information, and connected for dinner a week or so later. I found out that she is a teacher, life-coach, business woman, mother, trainer, and that her passion lies in helping people get the most out of their lives by teaching them how to sort through their "stuff". You want love, a new job, or to change your life in some momentous way? What is holding you back? Probably figuring out HOW to do all of that. For most of us, our life just kind of happens TO us, We don't necessarily feel like we are out actively creating it. Well, at least I felt that way most days. It was kind of like that movie Groundhog's Day with, Bill Murray. Every day just a slight variation of the last. I was waiting. Waiting to feel confident, waiting to find my passion, my life's work, my DEFINITION. Assuming that in time I would just kind of figure it all out (or at least hoping that I would). Leslie and I became fast friends and then life (and an out-of-state move on her part) got in the way of us seeing each other for a year. In fact, when we reunited last Thursday, it was on the exact date that we last saw each other one year before. I remember because I got really sick last summer, almost died, sick. When you almost die, you have a tendency to remember the dates surrounding that event. Leslie impacted my life in a monumental way. She gave me perspective, food for thought, she helped me really see things and taught me to let go of the thought that the past could have be any different. Read that again..."let go of the thought that the past could have been any different". She made me think differently. In a new way. A deeper, more aware way. Now, do not get it twisted. Leslie is not some fruit-cake guru who was trying to get me to join a cult. She wasn't claiming to be some religious leader, not did she ask me give her half of my paycheck, or  encourage me to drink funky Kool-Aid that would "expand my mind". She's just a woman. Like you and me. What she has done that makes her so special though is contribute. She has contributed to and impacted people's lives in a way I can only hope to. She has LIVED. Really lived. 

So, when she told me that she paired up with an equally amazing man to write a book, I was not that surprised. We walked to our cars after dinner and she handed me this book. I put it down when I got home and it sat on my dining room table from Thursday to Monday untouched. On Monday night after work I picked it up, intending to read for 30 minutes or so before going for a walk. Needless to say, the walk never happened. I sat, in my work clothes, on my loveseat and read this book cover to cover. I had "ah-haaa" moments,  and I cried. I clutched my chest, closed my eyes, and at the end of that emotional journey, I had peace. I felt like I had been let in on an amazing secret. I felt encouraged, and inspired, but most of all, I felt empowered. Empowered to suck every amazing thing out of this life that I possibly can. I also felt light. I felt like I finally had the tools to start to really let go of the burdens of the past and GO. 

I don't know if this book will impact you the same way that it did me, but my hope is that it does. I always thought that life never came with instructions...with a manual (if you will), but apparently it does.

If you would like to buy 'Think or Swim' you can find it HERE or on Amazon.com. 

Enjoy. I know I did.