43 Pieces of Advice: Charlotte FACES 2017

Danielle Busby, star of TLC’s “Outdaughtered“: “There is always tomorrow. A lot of people ask, ‘How do you do it?’ and the No. 1 thing is: I start my day off with trying to keep God as the focus, so with a devotional and keeping my head clean and telling myself I was given this life to take care of and to be the mother of these extraordinary babies and Blayke, and that’s what I’m going to do every day. And it’s gonna be challenging, but there’s always the start of tomorrow, and you will get through it.” Image: Bennett Brown Photography

Kandace Springs: “Be yourself. But, keep an open mind. You may learn something about yourself you didn’t know. But, deep down you know who you really are.” Image: Ashley Hylbert

Molly Barker: “This too shall pass.” Image: Piper Warlick Photography

Michele Dudley: “Don’t clutch anything in your life too tightly. Live life with your hands open to give and receive, with a willingness to change course as needed to follow the path that God has laid out before you with gratitude.” Image: Piper Warlick Photography

Erin Santos: “I definitely wasn’t ready to jump into the foundation right after she passed away. I had to do it in my own time. I think people think they need to make big decisions quickly when they experience tragedy because they don’t know how much time they should allow themselves. Give it time. It wasn’t until I walked from this path completely, for me to discover that it was something I was meant to do. This path is not for everyone though, so really look inside and determine if you are willing to sacrifice yourself at times for the good of the cause. Also, leaning on people around you is key. Stop telling yourself they are tired of hearing from you. Allow yourself to talk with them without holding back, but then also allow yourself to shake your situation off and have a good time without the feeling of guilt.” Image: Piper Warlick Photography

Clary Hilliard Gray (left): “We would channel our inner Nike and tell them to just do it!”  | Liz Hilliard: “We would also tell them to take it at their own pace and level.” Image: Piper Warlick Photography

Captain Demetria Faulkner-Welch: “There is nothing more rare or more beautiful than a woman being unapologetically herself. Don’t be afraid of being different, be afraid of being like everyone else.” Image: Piper Warlick Photography

Glennon Doyle Melton: “My friend Nadia Bolz-Weber always says, ‘Write from your scars, not your open wounds.’ And I think that is important. The way I write, people think that I am writing everything in real time. Oftentimes when people do that, it comes off as a cry for help and not art. We have to let what happened to us sink in to get truth out of it, then serve it back to people. My other favorite piece of advice that I got recently was from my friend Liz Gilbert. I called to ask for parenting advice, which is so funny because she doesn’t have any kids. But she said, ‘Your family is in an airplane and there is a lot of turbulence right now. What do we do when there is a lot of turbulence? We look to the flight attendant. And if they are freaking out, we start to freak out, but if they look calm, you feel calm. So your kids are looking at you on the plane right now. You need to keep smiling and serve some freaking peanuts.’ Since I have been steady throughout this time, my kids believe that despite the turbulence, we will all be okay.” Image: Amy Paulson

Dockery Clark: “Listen well and be solutions-oriented. I’ve negotiated a lot of big deals over the course of my career, and if you can find out what a “win” is for the other side, you’ll succeed every time.” Image: Avonne Photography

Rebecca Wofford: “You cannot be anyone other than yourself. When I am true to who I am, things have a way of magically working out.” Image: Piper Warlick Photography

Sharon Reed: “Take time to explore, experiment and discover who you are and what you stand for. Take risks and be willing to fail, for this is often how we grow and learn best. Stay open to life and embrace learning, for the journey never ends. Remember that there is no success without sacrifice and hard work, and no acclaim worth attaining if we lose ourselves in the process. In the end, the security we seek is found in the currency of trust, self-respect, faith, love, respect, kindness and acceptance, from which we can then make our way in the world.” Image: Piper Warlick Photography

Sara McMann: “I had a college coach — Rocky Bonomo at Lock Haven University — who said when it comes to competition (but can also be applied to life), ‘Don’t go by what you feel, go by what you know.’ Feelings change. They go up and down, and you can react to a situation completely depending on your mood that day or based on the circumstances. That’s helped me with sports a lot.” Image: Piper Warlick Photography

Laresa Thompson: “Make sure you are balancing work and life. While work is important, your family and friends are the key to why you are who you are and where you are. Enjoy spending time with the people you love, and cherish the memories. And spoil yourself! You (we!) deserve it!” Image: Piper Warlick Photography

Tami Simmons: “Treat people the way you’d like to be treated.” Image: Piper Warlick Photography

Becca Self: “Follow the things you are passionate about. Never lose the ability to laugh (particularly at yourself). Always learn from others.” Image: Stacey Gudeman Photography

Fontella McKyer: “Remember to always work with integrity. Because when you do so, the ROI (return on investment) will be priceless.” Image: Piper Warlick Photography

Ali Washburn: “People ask us all the time if they’re being ghosted (when someone you’ve been dating abruptly ends all communications without explanation), and if you have to ask, the answer is usually yes. It’s not easy to tell someone that, but if a guy or girl is going to ghost, you don’t need that kind of person in your life!” | Lauren Levine: “We hear SO many bad ones, and most of them involve ghosting. We’ve all been through it, and we’ve probably all done it too, unfortunately. I used to try to make excuses for guys. Now I realize that if someone likes you, they will make it very clear. No need to chase anyone around or accept poor communication. You don’t need that in your life!” Image: Amanda Moss of Back Seat Photography

Kristin Schell: “You know what? It’s not either/or, it’s both/and. I’m sitting in the carpool while I’m talking to you, and I’m totally transparent about that. My family always will come first. If not, then what message does that send? One of the frustrations that I was having is that I love Southern hospitality, and I love to have people in my house. But that’s not always a blessing to my kids or my husband. And, quite frankly, I can’t keep the house clean enough to have people over. But the need is still there. So you and I can meet outside, and you don’t have to see all the crud on the couch. Then it serves the purpose. So, truthfully, it’s not how do I do it all, it’s just become a way of life, which is the way hospitality’s supposed to be. It’s not supposed to be something we do, it’s supposed to be something we are.” | Image: Kasandra Keyes

Christine Rinkert: “My mom always taught me to give people the benefit of the doubt. I put that advice into action daily — you never know what kind of a day someone has had or what’s behind a decision they made. I truly believe my mom had it right.” Image: Piper Warlick Photography

Karisa Pennell: “Accept love and opportunity! I have a mantra that goes something like, ‘I will walk through open doors.’ This has led me to be adventurous and fearless when I may have started to doubt a next step. I think many of us in a creative field have trouble finding and believing in our true worth because it’s hard to put a price tag on something as emotional as creations. But beyond a financial standpoint, if you don’t believe in your work, no one else will either. So graciously accept it and own it!” Image: Piper Warlick Photography

Megan Melgaard: “You really never know until you try, and if you can use your internal compass to help guide you, I think a lot of us have the answers inside, but we have the tendency to bury them. So I would encourage people to uncover their internal compass and listen to their intuition, and rely on divine intervention, because it will point you the right way. I have the tendency to get in my own way at times, so I’d also say, take a step back and use the support system, or build a support system, that you can use as a sounding board. Say, ‘This is really where I think I should go, what do you think? What are the pros and cons?’ And at the end of the day, exercise caution. If you’re looking at a trail that has three different paths that you could take, it’s okay to go down one of them. But listen to yourself and know the way back, in case you decide, ‘OK, I don’t really feel good about this path that I have taken; I can go back and take another route.’ More or less, just be aware and leave a trail of breadcrumbs.” Image: Catrina Maxwell of CatMax Photography

Maria Montaño: “A friend once shared with me a Maya Angelou quote that I think is priceless: ‘I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.'”  Image: Piper Warlick Photography

Cary Bernstein: “When the judge rules in your favor, get out of the court room as fast as you can.” Image: Piper Warlick Photography

Janet Ivey: “I was a sophomore at Belmont. I was feeling a little down — I wasn’t sure where life was taking me. Sarah Cannon came every year [to speak at Belmont], and it was the most packed chapel that we ever had. I remember she said three things: ‘Love God, never take yourself too seriously and always be kind.'” Image: Grannis Photography

Cathy Monte (right): “My mom, Joan, always says, ‘Dress as though you have a purpose to your day.’ Even if that purpose is just running to Target or the grocery store. It’s not about what you are wearing, but how you feel in what you have on. Because feeling good is looking good. Not the other way around!” | Kristen Garnett: “A mentor of mine told me to be present in this moment because it is all you really have in life. In the world we live in where multi-tasking could be an Olympic sport, it can be tough not to get distracted and be anywhere but ‘here.’ But I try to remind myself of it daily because it is the only way to truly enjoy family, friends, your profession and life in general.” Image: Piper Warlick Photography

Harriette Thompson: “I’m still exercising a lot because I realized that’s the key to health.” Image: Piper Warlick Photography EDITOR’S NOTE: We were sad to learn of the passing of Harriette in October. She was undoubtedly an inspiration to all and we were honored to have had the opportunity to feature her on StyleBlueprint.

Cheri Leavy (left): “Hire people smarter than you are. We succeeded there with the hire of Dominique Paye, our digital media director. Whitney and I wouldn’t want to be on this journey without her. Same with Leapfrog PR Co. They have been with us from the start of the Summits and bring so much strategy to the Coterie. Nicely Built, our new website developers, are an integral part of our future.” | Whitney Wise Long (right): “‘There but for the grace of God, go I … ‘ My mom always said this growing up, and it has stuck with me since then. It floats through my consciousness many times a day, and it truly helps in being reminded to have an ‘attitude of gratitude’ and also realize how fortunate I am in both my personal and professional life.” Image: Submitted

Libby Weihsmann: “Control your controllables. It’s easy to get caught up in this thing called life. I can get worked up pretty easily, and knowing I can only control so many things actually provides me a sense of relief. It’s a reminder to focus on what I can control, and the rest will just work itself out. And if you’re not 15 minutes early, you’re late. Being late drives me crazy! Set an alarm earlier than normal. Set your clocks a few minutes ahead. Just don’t be late!” Image: Piper Warlick Photography

Emmylou Harris (left): “Follow your bliss.” | Melissa Ann Barton (right): “My momma always told me to be kind, be yourself, like yourself enough to like others because being those things makes it easy to follow your dreams!” Image: Submitted

Laura King Edwards: “Focus on the good. Life is too short to live any other way.” Image: Piper Warlick Photography

Dr. Alyse Kelly-Jones: “Put yourself first!” Image: Piper Warlick Photography

Deedee Mills: “In my previous life, the attention to detail had to be there, and it was almost exceedingly so. So for me it’s all in the details. You can ask anybody in here and they’ll probably say it’s too much attention to detail in terms of, ‘That’s a little brown spot on that, that’s not going out.’ I think whether people realize it or not, for them it’s in the details too.” Image: Piper Warlick Photography

Fawn Weaver: “If you look for good, you will find it. Focus on the now, and all you need will be found in that present moment.” Image: Keith Miles

Sara Green: “A sense of gratitude and a sense of humor improve every situation.” Image: Piper Warlick Photography

Catie Starr: “When it comes to life in general and my career, it’s just not to give up. I think there were a lot of times when the general consensus was that I should turn back and do something different, but really just knowing not to give up and being told that your path to being successful isn’t typically a straight up trajectory. It’s wiggly and windy, and just as it feels like it’s going backwards, you just have to keep going forward.” Image: Piper Warlick Photography

Lynn Ivey: “Make every moment count. Don’t worry about the past or the future … the present is the gift.” Image: Gerin Choiniere

Magda Sayeg: “Think fast, talk slow.” Image: Ben Sayeg. Prop Styling: CJ Dockery

Kristan Seaford: “Ask for help. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. You don’t get an extra blue ribbon for doing it by yourself. In the beginning it was very difficult for me because I’ve always been the one who helps others, but I’ve come to understand accepting help is actually a gift to the person helping you.” Image: Piper Warlick Photography