When you are surrounded by a world that is telling you what should make you happy or successful, it’s important to get out of the noise and find what truly brings you life. My dad, Gary Ervin, is joining us on this episode to talk about the important lessons he has learned from taking risks and making mistakes. His insight on finding meaning, making good decisions, and focusing on what’s truly important is valuable for anyone and everyone to hear.
Listen in to hear Gary share how he decided to embark on his climbing journey, as well as how it helps him get out of the noise of life and leave a legacy of significance. We go through the many lessons he has learned and written about throughout his life to give you some serious perspective on what really matters and what is truly important.
Listen to the Full Episode:
What You’ll Learn In Today’s Episode:
Who my dad is and how he has impacted the family.
Why he decided to climb the biggest summits.
The cost and how he justifies his journey.
How he weighs decision making.
The importance of owning your mistakes.
How to recognize your own unique summit.
The value of getting out of the noise and gaining perspective.
The importance of finding balance amidst the “hustle.”
A lot of people don’t want to talk about the dark times, but in order to live in the light and live a full life, you have to face unpleasant things sometimes. Learning from and finding ways to move forward from hard times is often what shapes us and allows us to move into a greater space of purpose. Ashley LeMieux is my good friend, as well as a speaker, author, and thought leader who has faced some super dark times and has an inspiring story and message to share with the world.
Listen in as Ashley takes us through her journey and discusses the depths of pain and how to handle it. For those who are in a really difficult season of life or dealing with great struggles that seem endless or unbearable, this episode is for you! There is so much that Ashley has to share that will help you figure out how to shine through the darkness, hold onto hope, handle injustice, and more.
Listen to the Full Episode:
What You’ll Learn In Today’s Episode:
The possibility in pain and the importance of hope.
Ashley’s personal story of pain and how she discovered how to shine through the darkness.
How injustice deeply affects us.
How you can have hope despite the worst outcomes.
How it is possible to experience joy and pain simultaneously.
The turning point that helped shift things for Ashley.
The difference between pain and suffering.
What Ashley learned from pain.
The question you need to ask in response to pain.
How to show up to the big fight against injustice and pain.
Staying connected, inspired, and driven to do our best in this crazy life isn’t always easy, so I’m excited to (finally!) bring you this podcast, where you will hear stories from me, my guests, and my friends that will help motivate you to live your life to the fullest. In this premiere episode, I open up about myself and my story so you can get to know me and why the message of living fully is so important for me to share.
Listen in to learn how I got through a dark time of living from a place of fear and desperation and transformed my life to be vibrant and joyful. I’ll share some of the steps I took to make this change, why looking to others to fix you and solve your problems isn’t the way to freedom, and how to lead yourself to where you need to be.
This post was sponsored, and paid for, by SunTrust. All opinions are my own.
Manifest. What the heck does it even mean to manifest? This word has become a huge part of my life in the recent years and it’s something I talk about a lot in my content. Truly, it’s just a fancy word for making your dreams a reality.
A huge part of manifesting for me is creating a visual. I need an image of something, or a concrete number, to really manifest something into reality. That’s where a vision board comes in for me. I make a vision board at the end of each year with my goals for the next year on it. I loved looking back at last year’s vision board because about 80% of the things on the board came true…down to the specific detail: an all-white kitchen, my savings goal a specific amount to save, a very specific stroller for Ford, and so many more things. One of my favorite parts about creating my vision board is pulling the old goals and visions down and holding what used to be dreams in my hands as I stand in the reality of those things.
I want to share with you what’s on my 2019 vision board and how you can get started creating your own. Get started with a cork board, and tacks to pin your “visions.” I usually go to a local bookstore or someplace that sells magazines and get a ton of them. I go by theme. Last year I bought home magazines because I knew I wanted to buy a home. I wanted to have a healthy baby and family so I got a few parenting magazines and so on. I then begin the process of flipping through these magazines and cutting out words and pictures that represent my goals.
I usually have specific goals too that I will print off and pin to the board, or that I will write on a post it note and stick up there. When we drove by the home (the one we recently bought) I knew I wanted to manifest that specific home, so I wrote the exact address on the post it and put it on my vision board. Then I took the steps to make it happen. And now we are in that EXACT home.
I also print off my bank statement and literally cross out the amounts in my checking and savings account and write the number I want to see in there at the end of the year. I get this number by doing a budget. One that I used this year and HIGHLY recommend is this one from SunTrust HERE. It helps me to make a realistic goal of what I want to save while keeping with the rest of my budget intact. of what I can save. Then that opens a million doors, as financial confidence always does, like buying a home or starting a business.
While we’re talking finances, just a little side note on manifesting your dreams—having financial well-being made all the difference for me. The second I started making financial goals and saving and feeling good about the decisions I was making with my money, things started really taking flight. So many Americans want to make their dreams come true but they ignore this very important piece. I encourage anyone reading this to check out onup.com. It has anything you could ever need to start thinking about your finances, as well as tips and tricks to help you manifest any financial goal you may be pinning to that board.
Once you’ve completed your vision board, it’s super important to put the vision board in a place where you can see it. I put mine in my office and look at it every day. Also don’t be afraid to add to your board throughout the year. As you see on mine I kept some goals from last year, added some new ones and left some blank space for the visions (or goals) I’ll add throughout the year.
This is truly one of my favorite things to do at the end of the year and a huge piece of my goal setting for the New Year. I hope you guys loved this post. Check out the YouTube video I did HERE.
This post was sponsored, and paid for, by SunTrust. All opinions are my own.
Money. Why is it so hard to talk about? Why is it this hush, hush thing that we keep hidden and never have open conversations about? Talking about money can be taboo, but that has to change to move from financial stress to confidence. This was the catalyst for SunTrust starting The onUp Movement nearly three years ago.
Financial confidence is something that I strive for every day, and my journey with saving money, sharing money, and spending money is one I’m really proud of.
Ever since I was younger, my family has been teaching us about money. About how to manage it and save it and how important it is to give back no matter how much we’re making. We called it: Share, Save, Spend. We had a beloved advisor who really helped us to develop these habits around money and I strive to do it in my own family now.
A YouTube video just went live about how Kyle and I have done this lately, but in case you didn’t see it here’s a run-down and some of my tips and tricks.
So, let’s start with SAVING, since this is in the forefront of my mind lately because we just bought a house!! Saving is huge, and it’s something I was not always great at. What really helps me with saving today is to have a goal in mind. An exact number really helps me. I cannot even begin to tell you what having a savings account, with even a little bit in it did for me. It freed my mind, allowed me to be creative and took the fear of the “what if” away. It is CRITICAL. When we bought our house, I was able to put over 40% down just because of how real I got with my savings. Also, since we were buying during the holidays I had to think of what I needed to save for holiday expenses. Usually I started the holiday season without budgeting. However, knowing how much I was putting down on my house, I had to be sure I didn’t overspend during the holiday. I actually used this really awesome calculator here https://onupmovement.suntrust.com/tools/holiday-calculator/?cid=IF%7q4Mallory and it helped me get that number right. It also takes those unexpected expenses into account like travel etc.
Here are some shots of our empty house. Up next is saving buy furniture for our home in January. We now have double the space, and Kyle and I both came from smaller spaces before this one so we don’t have a lot of furniture. I’m so excited to move in!
Now, let’s talk SPEND. I will admit that I am a spender. I used to be a lot bigger of a spender than I am now. Now I splurge on what I call life things…things for Ford, things for our home and experiences. Being that we are in the business we are in, the holidays are crazy. Putting together everything from gift guides to Vlogmas and just the typical craziness of the holidays, we had to take a step back and make a plan this year. It was really important to us that Ford’s first Christmas not to be all about work and creating content so we made a decision to take a trip. We just got home from the most incredible trip to Vail! It really enabled us to take a step back and enjoy this time as a family. These are the types of things I like to spend on these days. In order to do these types of things you have to budget. I am not a fan of going on a trip and being so tight you can’t splurge on dinners and lift tickets and all the extras. I have done my budget a million different ways in the past, and I really like having a worksheet or some sort of spreadsheet to fill out. Here’s a great downloadable budget worksheet that you can use to get you started https://onupmovement.suntrust.com/live-your-dreams/holidays/holiday-budget-tool/?cid=IF%7q4Mallory
Here are some photos from our trip!
And last, but definitely not least, let’s talk SHARE. It’s been called so many different things in the past, the hero’s journey, to whom much is given of much is required, philanthropy, whatever you want to call it it’s such an amazing thing when you start giving back. Another thing that was huge in my family growing up was sharing. Whether you have more than enough or not much at all, it’s an amazing thing when you can share in any way. Sometimes all I could afford to share was my time, and that’s an amazing thing to be able to share. Then later I was able to share money, which is also great. I now use my influence to share. Being in the position I’m in as an influencer, I am able to use my platform to share a lot of information. This holiday I chose to bring in some other influencers to shine a light on sharing. We packed lunches for hundreds of kids in our local Nashville community one day and we had the best time doing this. Here are some shots of that and a short video as well.
I’m also helping to plan a huge charity event in Nashville for the homeless. More to come on this event later.
So that’s a little run down on how I share, save and spend my way to my goals in life. Thanks so much for reading and for following along.
We are living in a pumpkin obsessed culture. It’s like the moment fall arrives we’re craving pumpkin flavored EVERYTHING (but toothpaste). I’m clearly down with this trend and here is THE BEST pumpkin muffin recipe ever. Thanks to my friend Olivia for sharing her secret recipe with me.
Pumpkin Muffins Recipe:
Bake: 350°
Mini Muffins: 12-15 mins
Loaf: 45mins
Ingredients:
1 cup butter soft (2 sticks)
3 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 16oz can of canned pumpkin
(Everything Below Combined in a sifter)
3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Make this recipe with me:
Directions:
In a larger mixer, cream together your butter and sugar. Then add your eggs one at a time, creaming together after each one.
Add vanilla (yum!) and mix.
Put your dry mixture in the sifter and add it to your creamed mixture. Alternate adding the dry with adding pumpkin (it mixes much easier!) until both ingredients are completely incorporated. I usually add them in thirds.
Using a small scoop, add 1 scoop to each mini muffin paper.
Now pop these babies in the oven to bake for 12 to 15 minutes at 350° (for mini muffins). Test with a toothpick to make sure they’re done!
I can usually get close to 70 mini muffins!
I don’t know if my favorite part is the flavor or smell coming from the oven! What do you think about pumpkin flavored foods and products?
Okay, so I come from a huge family. Like enormous. When I was little, our home was always bursting at the seams with cousins – at all times. But my mom and aunts were always ready, with quick and easy recipes on hand that could feed an entire army. Their yummiest recipe? Chili! It’s one of my FAVES – and it only takes 10 minutes and feeds sooo many people. Maybe it’s a southern thing or a cozy fall weather thing, but I’m all about chili and ready to share my family’s ‘not so secret anymore’ recipe.
How to make The Easiest, 10 Minute Chili:
Pin this easy chili recipe for your next Fall family gathering!
This recipe is really only two steps: the first step (and pretty much the only time you’ll actually need to be at the stove!) is browning the meat, then cooking it together with the onions and peppers.
Drain out any extra liquid then add all the rest of the ingredients and cook them on medium heat for 30 to 45 minutes. That’s it!
Oh, and don’t use too much hot pepper!
It’s so easy! This is my favorite time to catch up with my sweet Ford and Kyle – and smell some sweet and smoky chili.
I love topping my bowl with a dollop of sour cream and sprinkle of cheese! You can also serve it with green onions and tortilla chips if you wish – I love all the pops of color and flavors that chili works well with!
Salads… doesn’t that word totally bring you back to trying to fit into a prom dress? It does for me. But salads are fancy now! In fact, there are entire establishments devoted just to this leafy green treat.
You guys know how much I love creating recipes for you… so meet my chopped salad (I like to call it my “Chopt Salad” because of its tangy little twist). It’s a meal fit for a family, a husband, a teacher or college student looking for a healthy lunch idea. And it’s so so SO good! My fancy $24 chopping knife and containers make this super easy and quick too!
Here is the official recipe…
No time now? Pin it for later!
You can use any kind of lettuce, I just like how crunchy Romaine is! I cut the ends of the lettuce off before but then all you really need is to lay the lettuce and ingredients in the center of a big ol’ cutting board (or two) and slice those babies up! It can be a little messy but there’s not much to cleanup. This fancy-schmancy mezzaluna knife helps too!
Then it’s time for my favorite part… the fresh avocado dressing! Making it is even easier than making the salad!
No time now? Pin it for later!
This dressing is super versatile because you can adjust the flavor to your tastes! For me, the more lemon and basil, the better. And they all mix together perfectly with a hand held processor.
I like to shake up the dressing with my salad in these cool reusable containers I found but it’s so good as a drizzle too!
This salad usually serves up to 3 or 4 people so it’s great for a light weekend lunch for the whole family!! Let me know what your favorite part is in the comments below!
No time now? Pin it for later!
No time now? Pin it for later!
