glow |gləʊ| verb [ no obj. ]give out steady light without flame: the flame of the fire glowed in the dark.• have an intense color and a slight shine: she seemed to glow from a light within.
I loved being part of the Glow and Lead Panel of leaders and founders for the My Forward Life movement at the AVEDA Institute in Dallas this week, alongside the beautiful Iesha Goree, Restaurateur and Founder of The Amadi Guess Foundation, and the lovely Marzia Prince, Personal Trainer and Founder of the Healthinista.
We had an incredible time sharing our own personal journey toward success through interactive conversation on leadership, style, business and overcoming life’s challenges. I was honored to be asked to speak and share my own personal story and insight into the business world.
I wanted to share some of my answers to my favorite questions from the panel with you if you weren’t able to join. Hope you enjoy!
What was your biggest challenge in starting your endeavors into business?
“I think for me, it was fear of failure. My own fears of not being good enough. I dropped out of nursing school 3 months before graduation (during my final semester of clinical rotations) when I moved to Dallas because I didn’t feel like it was for me. I knew there was something else, but I didn’t know what that was. But, I kept pushing through. Sometimes, the biggest challenge is just not being afraid to fail. Allow yourself to make mistakes, have faith in God and keep pushing through. Keep going.”
How do you balance it all? Family, business, personal life?
“This is one of my most frequently used blog topics for my lifestyle posts. I have a 3 year old and a 1 year old, and they are the biggest blessings in my life–but learning how to balance a busy life is crucial when you are a full-time wife, mother of two and have a business to run. Honestly, it takes a lot of prayer, planning and organization. Family comes first–always, right after your relationship with God. God is ultimately first. If you seek Him first, everything else will fall into place. If that gets out of order–that’s when things start falling apart. It’s all about learning how to steward what God has entrusted to you. Take care of what you have. One thing I’ve had to learn is you can’t just keep adding things to your schedule without eliminating some. Every time I add a new activity to my schedule, I need to take something off. I have to consider my commitments prayerfully and carefully before I commit and say “yes”. I pause and pray before making decisions that will add to my schedule in order to slow my life down to a more manageable level. Make sure you’re healthy as an individual, take care of your family and then your business. If you’re healthy and your family is healthy–your business will thrive.”
Why is philanthropy such an important part of your life and business?
“I believe the biggest blessings require the greatest responsibility. I used to compartmentalize my spiritual life and my professional life, but then I realized that God gives us a mission through business to reach people for His kingdom. There are no sections of our life that are marked off from God–they are all His. So, the talents, money and resources He gives us is to be used for His glory and purposes. He blesses us so we can bless others. He will provide you with the tools you need to reach your part of the world. The goal is to ultimately love Him by loving others.” Our business is our mission field and our work is our worship.
How do you describe your personal style?
“I think I’m more edgy–but I like my style to be put together and effortless. I’m not a girly-girl, and I love black. My style icon at the moment is Chrissy Teigen, because she looks fabulous no matter what she wears. She looks beautiful in maternity style, shorts, an evening gown–whatever. She’s effortless.”
What do you want to do in the next 10 years?
“Can I say I don’t know?? Haha! I do pray for more opportunities to meet more people because the more successful you get, the more isolated you become. It really is true that the bigger your influence gets, the smaller your circle becomes–and that is really hard for me, because I love people. I don’t like to be isolated, so I hope in the next 10 years I will have more opportunities to have deeper relationships with more people. I just keep praying that God will continue to open doors for my family and I as we continue to say, ‘yes’ to all that He asks us to do. I’m believing for even greater things in the future–I’m so excited to see what God has in store! He has brought me this far, and our best days are still ahead. All I know is that I desire God’s glory to be all around me and I pray daily for more opportunities to carry people closer to their destiny.
What should we do to be like you?
“The other ladies are right–networking is a great way to meet new people. You can go to events like this, seek out mentors you admire and read books on business and leadership. But honestly, the best thing I know to do, is to pray. Pray about it. Pray about your life and the desires of your heart. Pray to be at the right place at the right time. I believe that everything is divine, and nothing is coincidence. Come to God with anything–big or small. He cares about your life and has given you the desires of your heart. Pray about it and work hard to get there! He will equip you with everything you need to be the best version of yourself.”
How do you navigate your social circle as you move up?
“Like I said, when you get bigger your circle automatically becomes smaller. That can be hard, but it isn’t always a bad thing. Don’t ever judge others for not being where you are–but, you need to be careful of the relationships you keep close to you. Who are you allowing to speak into your life? Sometimes people can kill your dreams. Be careful who you share the deepest parts of your heart with. Be mindful of who you spend your time with. You want good people around you that are going to encourage you and lift you up. Be very selective about who you allow into your inner circle, but don’t exclude yourself so much that you aren’t able to influence others. Pray and recharge with the Lord each day so you have something to give to others. That way, when you’re around people who drain you–you have something to give. You can’t give water out of an empty well. You can’t give what you don’t have.”
When do you quit your “day job” to start pursuing your dream?
“Learn to be content with every season of your life. Enjoy where you are right now. God will use every season, every lesson and every trial to prepare you for what is to come. Learn to love where you’re at, and you’ll know when you’ve outgrown the opportunity. Be faith-filled and ready to move up at any time. I was a teacher at one point in my life, and I was asked to edit the year book (probably because I was the only one who would say yes because they only paid 0.04 cents an hour!). However, now I am so grateful for that opportunity. Today, I have a blog and never would have imagined that it would be a very similar format to what I was doing with the yearbook years ago–the online layout, the program, the editing of photos… God will use everything you do for something in your future. Be a good steward of where you are right now, and do everything with excellence.”
All of you ladies are married–when and how did you meet your husband, and do you feel men are overwhelmed by women who seem to have it all together?
“My life seemed to get worse and worse and worse until I met my husband! I was working and enjoying my life, but wondering if I would ever get married. But then, one night in Dallas, I met Field at a bar with my friends. I’m a Christian, and I suppose that’s not where we are supposed to meet our husbands–but God can do what He wants! Field had one office at the time, and I thought he was He was intelligent, attractive and charming–but it wasn’t his success that attracted me to him. It was his heart for God. I had met so many other men before him who had claimed to be faith-filled believers–but they weren’t. Field had a real, authentic relationship with God that drew me to him. He was unlike any other man I had ever met. I wanted someone who could lead me and my family spiritually, and I knew it was him from day one. I’m so thankful I looked for a man like this. We are happily married, and he is the leader of our home. I give him the respect and honor that he deserves as a man–as my husband and father of my children. He knows I am going to serve him no matter. I love our marriage.”
How do you use social media to help your business?
“I use Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram for my brand and business. You should do what comes authentic and natural to you, and be strategic with it. Your social media is a reflection of the quality of your brand. Make sure your photos aren’t blurry, but good quality and pay attention to the cohesiveness of your page. I like to post things I like–fashion, interior design, traveling. Be authentic to who you are so people can get to see a little bit of you. Sharing your life with other people can be hard, but it can also be rewarding. I began opening up my life and sharing my heart with others so they might be able to have a relationship with God like I do. I enjoy sharing my heart and connecting with so many people through social media.”
What is the best way to approach a mentoring relationship with someone like you?
“E-mail is a great way to reach out to someone–it’s more personal and allows you to share more detail than social media outlets. My advice is to keep being persistent. Just because you don’t hear back the first time doesn’t mean you should give up. People are busy with life–their kids, their business–life. Keep trying to create that relationship. Above all else, my time is the most valuable thing to me. I guard my time and the relationships I have. I cherish the time I have to mentor and pray with the women closest to me on the first Wednesday evening of every month. I always leave this time open for fellowship and Bible study with my girls.”
Give us one piece of advice to become a boss.
“Don’t give up. Trust that the better days are ahead, and don’t ever give up. The journey is not an easy one, but I believe that everything you experience in life is part of the process to getting you where you’re going. Zero in on the areas where you feel most attacked in life. That’s usually your area of greatest purpose and blessing. The enemy isn’t creative. He sees that area prospering very soon and wants to break it down before you get there. Trust that God wants to enlarge your territory for His glory. The Bible says that those who love God will do greater things than Him (Jesus). How crazy is that? HE did miracles, he healed, he set people free. To think you can do that, and so much more should strip off any limitations you have and get you out of the box that you see yourself in. Start seeing yourself the way HE sees you–that will help you to accomplish all that He has called you to do with complete focus. You can’t help anyone through what you haven’t been through yourself.”
Strong women need the most help. How can we support you?
“Your stories, testimonies and praise reports inspire me. Everything I do comes from some form of inspiration from the people in my life. Your stories and encouragement are fuel to my passion. Pray for me – believe in me – stand with me. Ultimately, we are better together. Our army is stronger when we lock arms and stand together–then, we’ll be unstoppable. Keep encouraging one another and moving forward together!”
Thank you to My Forward Life and Aveda Institute for having me out to share my heart for ministry, business and beauty! I am so grateful to be where I am in life. I thank God every single day for each blessing He has poured into my life. Consider yourself blessed today and know that I am grateful for you! #hertexas
XO-
Sabrina
*Some photos from David Villalobos
