Good Things Are Gonna Come

Anyone else have something big going on today?

Something you’ve been planning, building, stressing about, losing sleep over, and waiting forever to finally get here?

Today’s the day.

Let’s do this. You’ve got this. ❤️

’sGo

Labor Day is coming, which apparently means summer is supposed to be over and I can’t wear this white dress until next spring.

Summer has always been my favorite season. Long days, warm nights, fire flies (which I don’t get in Colorado but I get summer hummingbirds).

I’m apparently in the minority though. In a YouGov survey this year, only 26% of Americans chose summer as their favorite season. Fall won with 32%.

Seems like so many people are always trying to rush into the next season. Can we just slow down?

Before everyone starts shoving pumpkins in my face and telling me to put in my fall boots and sweaters and eat all the pumpkin spice EVERYTHING…

Tell me, what are you going to miss about summer?

I love events!!

All parts of them!

I love the pretty parts of course. The room when it’s finally set. The beautiful signage. The vendor booths. The little details people probably don’t even notice. The goody bags with tissue paper that I spend way too much time fluffing.

But weirdly, I love the no so pretty parts too.

The boxes everywhere. The last-minute print run. Realizing you need 40 more copies of something you thought you already printed. Tracking FEDEX packages 25 times a day!

But events aren’t cheap! 🤪

Venue fees. Food. Drinks. Printing. Décor. Tickets and registration platforms. Signage. Goody bags. Emcees, Random things you didn’t know you needed until 48 hours before the event.

And AV. Dear God, AV.

Somehow the microphones, projector and a couple of lights can cost more than feeding an entire room of human beings. 😂

Then comes the week of the event, when your house or office looks like a small fulfillment center, you have 47 lists, you wake up at 3:00 a.m. remembering something completely insignificant that suddenly feels like a national emergency, and at least one thing you ordered is definitely not showing up on time.

I’ve been producing events for more than 20 years and every time I’m in the middle of this part, I think:

Why do I love this so much?

And then the doors open or the start gun fires, the guest arrive and the venue fills up.

Something that existed only in your head and on a hundred spreadsheets suddenly becomes a real experience that people are having together.

And in that moment I think, There is nothing else I’d rather be doing.

So yes, this is what event production looks like a few days before VoiceQuest CONNECT.

Getting excited for Thursday!!

If you live to be 80 you get 29,220 days on earth.

Time - it’s one of the most valuable commodities we have, that we can never get back.

Sure, we have memories, but once a moment is gone, it’s gone forever. That’s why it’s crucial to use our time with intention.

Think about it - how often do you fritter away your time on things that don’t truly matter or bring you joy? Whether it’s endlessly scrolling through social media or putting off important tasks, we’re essentially throwing away our time.

Using your time with intention doesn’t always mean pushing yourself to the limit or constantly being on the go. It’s also important to rest and recharge, especially when you’re feeling overwhelmed or burnt out.

Resting with intention means being mindful of how we’re spending our time and making sure that we’re truly taking care of ourselves. It means giving ourselves permission to slow down, be present, and do things that bring us joy.

So, make a promise to yourself - use your time intentionally. Let’s prioritize the things that bring us happiness, fulfillment, and joy. Make every moment count.

Dolly Parton wrote “I Will Always Love You” in 1974 when she was leaving Porter Wagoner’s show to pursue a solo career.

Years later, Elvis Presley wanted to record it. For a songwriter from East Tennessee who had grown up loving Elvis, this was enormous.

Then, Elvis’s manager, Colonel Tom Parker, told her they would only record it if she gave up half of the publishing rights.

And she said no.

Not because she didn’t want Elvis to sing it. She desperately did. She has said she cried over the decision. But she also understood that the song belonged to her and that the publishing rights could matter for the rest of her life.

So Elvis never recorded it.

Then almost 20 years later, Whitney Houston recorded the song for The Bodyguard. Her version spent 14 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became one of the most successful recordings in music history. Dolly still owned her publishing.

But Dolly didn’t know Whitney was coming.

She didn’t know that saying no to Elvis would eventually become one of the best business decisions of her life.

She only knew that what she had created was worth more than what she was being asked to give it away for.

Sometimes knowing your worth means saying no (even to Elvis) long before you know what the yes will be.

I’ve never been able to get an orchid to bloom twice.

The last one I had, I kept alive for almost a year after the flowers fell off. I researched how to water it. I moved it around to try more sun, less sun.

I kept waiting for another flower, but never happened.

When I moved into my new place in May, my landlord gave me an orchid. It was beautiful! Then, after a few months, the flowers fell off.

I was so sad but I kept watering it and talking nice to it, and a few days ago, I looked closely at the orchid and saw two tiny buds starting to grow.

I know it’s just an orchid.

But I’ve thought about those little buds a lot these past few days in a season of change.

I think we spend a lot of time assuming we know when a season is over. The flowers are gone and it gets quieter.

And meanwhile, something is already growing. You just have to keep watering it.

Today is my birthday! 🎉

Find your people who believe in you the way this little girl believed she deserved that crown.

Better yet—believe in yourself!

(Me rocking it in 1981/82 with a cardboard aluminum foil crown held together with scotch tape on my birthday).

Social media has allowed everyone to get good at sharing their highlight reel.

The dinner out.
The vacation.
The promotion.
The cute picture where everyone looks happy.
Smiles.

And sometimes, we really are happy.

But a photograph captures a fraction of a second. It doesn’t tell you what happened that morning. What someone is worried about. What they cried about in the car. What they’re carrying quietly. Or what happens after they put the phone down.

I think we all forget that sometimes.

We see someone smiling and think, They’re good.

We see them posting and think, They’re good.

We see them showing up to work, answering texts, making plans, laughing at dinner and think, They’re good.

But “looks good” and “is good” aren’t always the same thing.

So check on your people.

And when you do, don’t always settle for the automatic “I’m fine.”

Ask again.

“No, really. How are you?”

You don’t need the perfect words. You don’t need to have advice ready. Sometimes the most important thing you can give another person is comfort to tell you the answer they almost didn’t.

Social media is a highlight reel.

And life is everything happening outside the frame. ❤️

My beautiful niece is heading into her senior year in a few weeks, and I love this senior photo of her SO MUCH!

That laugh. That ease. That little bit of “I know who I am” mixed with all the things she still gets to figure out this year.

Senior year is such a strange place to be. You are still very much in one chapter, but everyone keeps asking you about the next one. Where are you going after you graduate? What are you doing? What do you want to be?

Well, she doesn’t need to have all of that figured out yet. I just hope this year she keeps becoming more of herself.

I hope she stays curious. I hope she makes a few mistakes. I hope she changes her mind about things. I hope she finds people who make her laugh this hard.

Mostly, I hope she knows there is no prize for rushing through this part of life, to slow down and enjoy it, there will be plenty of time for what comes next.

For now, I hope she keeps laughing.