I’ve got two home girls who dream big dreams and crush the status quo. Together, we launched the first ever beyond luon - tales from people who spend their days at lululemon with big dreams beyond the luon walls. I’ve been asked many times for my notes (rather shocking; totally flattered), so i thought i’d post them here for you all to see. Be forewarned: it’s a long one!

I’ve been a girl on a mission….for start lines and finish lines, traditional and proverbial, usually longer and faster has been the theme.

I realized my dreams of being a CEO would be crushed when I didn’t want to wear high heels and stuffy suits to work…and then I found lululemon. I realized I can be all of me – straight from a run, in crops, still sweaty and show up in a board room (or a yoga studio!) What I wear is my art!

I realized my dreams of being “fit” would be crushed when my Mama told me that these thighs were hereditary and the circumference just wasn’t getting smaller. Really, I realized that big can be beautiful and strong is what I was after! Strong is my art!

I realized my dreams of not fitting into a massively growing organization would be crushed when I didn’t fit into a box on an org chart with lines coming out to signify who I was meant to be leading and who my leader was. I realized that some of my very best leaders were the ones who had lines drawn into my name and some of my favorite teachers didn’t even show up on the same “org chart” as me. Then I let my dream of only ever showing up in one box – a sand box, become my real dream. Art in a sand box perhaps?

I dream of being an athlete yet speak of my desire to finish ironman again of that of a spiritual journey…because sport to me is a reflection of what we think is possible versus what is actually possible! And when I think about that long enough, I realize that our lives are in fact a beautiful reflection of ourselves – of who we are and how we show up in the world. I realize that when I’m busy, time feels limited.  And when I set goals that feel bigger than me, I call them dreams….really I’m just too scared to move the by-when up and make it happen! Goal setting and dream crushing can be my form of art.

I thought I needed a shrink, a pyscho therapist, a weekly needle session from my acupuncturist, a chiro, a massage, an astrologer, a shawman…lest we forget a hydro colonoscopy thrown in there. I was on a mission for optimal health + heart healing. Tony Robbins, gluten free, morning meditation, down dogs, mile long runs; I drank algae for breakfast, chia for lunch and bushels of kale thru out the day….and friends, I’ve got news for you: until you decide to shine, there are not enough hours in the day, doctors on this earth or chlorophyll to be consumed to light you up inside. It’s a choice. Your life is an art and art is a choice.

So when I accepted the fact that there might not be a box on an org chart, a title behind my name, a finish line to cross or size 4 in my closet…I realized, my big dreams are to be the best Stephpreneur I can be. That to me means I will approach sport and love and cooking and clothing….like art. I will make my grocery list a blank canvass, my wine glass an extension of my personality and if I wanna flirt with the bar tender, I will call it art. Because art is expressing how you feel. Art is a choice. Art is sooo authentically, juicy YOU that your art is like none other….and good or bad just becomes someone else’s opinion

My biggest dreams that felt beyond me were to move to Hawaii to live a life of a sweet hippie. I don’t really want to just be a hippie…I’d like to run a B&B and be a Stephpreneur (Because how do you differentiate with all of these entrepreneurs?). I want to share ideas and execute epic shit that makes anything vanilla just a lil mo’fun – some might need sprinkles, others a waffle cone….or some might need a new flavor. My 10 year vision is to live in Hawaii – it is a place that lights me up and when people ask “what if you get island fever”…I just don’t know how to answer them? I think you’ve got to live it to experience it. So Oct 1^st I will move to Maui!

And when asked why now, I say why not. Time and money and life and love might not always line up. I got that. And I’ve got the acupuncture, astrologer, chiro + massage receipts to prove it! But when I approach life like art….each day is a blank canvass….and blank is up for interpretation. Blank could just mean dry and ready for more colour or it might be stark white.

If we view our creative expression as the best versions of ourselves, titles and letters before and after our names no longer matter. Nor do bank account balances or inboxes or meetings or greetings.

Life is art and therefore, I’m a living artist!

My homeboy Jason Mraz said at one of his concerts, I’m sure it wasn’t his line and he was probably high….how you do anything is how you do everything.

So how would my life be different if I shifted from being an athlete with a coach to a student with a teacher and what if my inbox became a blank canvass and really I approach my work as an artist. What if I helped my left brain slow down….be quiet…long enough for my right brain to hear her lobe think out loud!

I want to leave you with a poem, written by my favorite artist – you all know her - Danielle LaPorte and she is an author, among many other forms of art: Decide to Rise.

So where ever I land….in whatever box on an org chart or surf board on the ocean, my commitment is to remain an artist…a student of sport….a chosen Stephpreneur who has decided to rise. I hope you will rise with me – the world is waiting for us! Aloha!