Almost six months ago, I moved to a new apartment with my best friend, Crystal Enriquez. There wasn't a distinct reason we decided to become roommates. It just seemed, right. So as with most things, I trusted my intuition and went for it. What's unique about our situation is that we're raising two sibling puppies together. I won't pretend like it's been a walk in the dog park, either. It's been really hard. So much so, that I've even asked myself: Why did you do this?

I still have challenges with impulsivity, boredom, and difficulty focusing my attention. To compensate, I've worked on delaying gratification.

In 2016 everything changed when she was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer. I moved home to live with my family for the first time in four years. During those years, I shared a wall with my mother. She became a roommate of sorts, a friend.

Starting a business is hard. When I first started mine, I lived at my parents’ house so I could afford to work for myself full-time. Without paying rent, I could give my baby business a shot. So that’s what I did. I went all in. In the beginning, though, there was a lull (as there often are with new businesses). I had gone weeks—actually months—without making a single sale.

On Thursday morning I woke up with an inclination to do something out of the ordinary. I looked at Crystal and said, "Let's go to Canada." "Are you serious?" she asked.
​

The problem is, you can never get enough of something that almost works.

On taking your personal power back.

When I was a little girl my parents found me standing in my bedroom crying uncontrollably. They were alarmed. It wasn’t your normal, ‘I’m hungry or tired’ kind of cry. It was hysterical…

6 months ago I made the decision to give up alcohol. Simply put, I didn’t like how it made me feel. And I didn’t like the way alcohol pulled me farther away from my values: beauty, balance, and wisdom. Deciding to quit was the hardest, loneliest choice I ever made.

If you would’ve told me a few weeks ago I’d be driving through a massive snow blizzard in North Dakota with two new puppies in the back of a rental car, I wouldn’t have believed you.

Last summer, six weeks before my first race, I decided to give up alcohol. “I just want to see how long I can go without it,” I told my friends. But in my heart, I knew I was letting it go for good (or at least for a good while). Removing alcohol from my life has been easier than I thought it would be. I don’t think about it except when I get invited to social events. That’s when panic starts to set in.

I had never met her before she slept on my couch for two weeks. Frankly, I was worried I was going to regret my decision. Crystal found me on TikTok and later joined my program, Personal Brand Accelerator. After she graduated from the program, she went on to become one of my coaches. I knew her and I trusted her. But I didn’t know know her. You know what I mean?

I remember asking my mom, “What do you think my email address should be!?” The first thing that came to her mind was that I was impatient. Hence, impatientanna@yahoo.com was born. I kept that email address until I was a senior in high school, and I think it became a self-fulfilling prophecy. My dad possessed all of the qualities I wanted at that age: Patience. Composure. Level-headedness. And it wasn’t until a few months ago, that I truly understood how I could unlock these qualities in myself.

On Instagram Stories last week, I asked if anyone had questions about Morning Pages, to which many of you responded with fabulous questions that I will answer here in this blog post. After you read this, you will know everything you need to know about morning pages (at least from my POV :) and have the necessary information to decide how and if you’d like to try them for yourself.

I am so thankful for this trip, so thankful to the Miraval Berkshires for helping me create a life in balance, heal my heart, and realign myself with the present moment.

I strongly resisted going to work at the beginning of summer. I suppose it’s hard for most people to work during the summer, but it really affected me. Mostly because I work in a beautiful office and felt guilty for not wanting to be there. No matter how guilty I felt, I couldn’t shake the resistance. I wanted it to be a place I looked forward to walking to each morning, a place where people enjoyed spending time. Right around this time, Michelle Mercado with Carr Workplaces, gave us the opportunity to decorate our office space.

I never could have known the possibilities that would come from purging my closets, putting stuff in storage, packing up my car, and driving across the country. What I had initially labeled as a “trip for the soul,” quickly turned into one of the best decisions I had ever made for my business.

A list I wrote for my past self.

I left California with half a plan, no place to live and a tank full of gas. And if you were to have asked me why, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you.

One week ago I decided to take a road trip across America… solo. One the first night I almost turned around, here’s why I didn’t.