Every Monday we profile an inspiring woman in the community as part of our FACES of Atlanta. In each interview, we ask them the same question, which is, “What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?” Their answers are always compelling and give us a window into their world. Today, we have compiled all of the FACES of Atlanta along with the SB FACES of the South for 2016, and we are passing along their words of wisdom. Let these words guide you for the new year and beyond.
TOP ADVICE FROM OUR FACES OF ATLANTA 2016
“Strive for balance in your life. Get outside your comfort zone so you can embrace positive change. Constantly work on loving yourself. This is the advice I tell myself every day, and while I am still a work in progress, I’m getting closer every day.”
“If you keep comparing your life to someone else’s, you will never be happy, therefore focus on yourself to create the life you dream of.”
“At the vanguard of your path, be sure of who you are, what you want and why, so that those who wish you ill can’t easily throw you off course. It’s not necessary to tolerate people who make you uncomfortable purely because they might give you a job.”
LC: “Never be afraid to go after what you want; if you fail, learn from that and try again.”
PR: “I am in perfect timing with the universe.”
JS: “Wear sunglasses and sunscreen, take your vitamins and floss.”
RH: “What stands out is a piece of advice that was said when I was learning to whitewater paddle: ‘Look where you want your boat to go, not where you don’t want it to go.’ I find that I use that in life and in business.”
“My dad always told me to ‘follow through.’ Worked in basketball; still works in life.”
“Maya Angelou … ‘When people show you who they are, believe them.'”
“When in doubt, don’t.”
“Jeff (business partner) has always given me great advice because he is a brilliant trainer. My favorite was when I was first teaching at Stellar, he said, ‘Lose the notes and just trust yourself.'”
Dee Ann Turner of Chick-fil-A |Image: Jeff Roffman
“I have two. One’s from mom life, and one’s from work life:
My work life was from Chick-fil-A former president Jimmy Collins, who said, ‘It’s kindness to refuse immediately what you eventually intend to deny.’ I talk about this idea in my book. We try to be nice sometimes and not tell people the truth, but the kinder thing to do is say no immediately, rather than dragging it out and disappointing someone by raising their expectations and not fulfilling them.
My mom advice is, whether it’s at the end of the day, the end of the month or the end of a season, you have to look back and say, ‘I did the best I could. I wasn’t always perfect, but I did the best I could.’ I think especially as a mother, when you’re raising three kids, have a career and are involved with many things, sometimes I think we hold this really high standard for ourselves. When everyone else lets us off the hook, we don’t let ourselves off the hook.”
D: “Breathe!”
L: “It’s OK to make a mistake. It’s better to try and not succeed than not to try at all. I have a tendency to hold back and not try things for risk of failure. As I’ve aged, I’ve realized that it is no big deal to mess up, so go for it!”
“Listen, think and then speak.”
“Never stop learning. There is something to learn from every situation you encounter and every person you meet.”
“My mother passed down the best advice given to her from my very sensible German great-grandmother: Fifty percent of the world will love you no matter what you do, and the other 50 percent will dislike you no matter what you do. Don’t waste your time trying to change the ones you can’t. Focus on the good 50 percent.”
“You are not better than anybody, and nobody is better than you.”
“Honesty is the best policy, and you’re never fully dressed without a smile, courtesy of my mom.”
“Try easier. When you care so much about what you do, you can try so hard you end up stressing yourself out and ultimately taking yourself out of the moment. So … try easier.”
“The best professional advice I’ve ever gotten was at my grad school orientation. The dean said — in no uncertain terms — that writers must write even when not inspired. You just have to do it anyway. Definitely something I hear ringing in my head daily!”
“There are a couple moments that stand out in my life and both come from my older brother, Byron. I wanted to go to photography school, but the classes were only offered during the day; I would have to quit my accounting job to attend school full-time and live off student loans. My brother said, ‘You will figure it out. If you want it bad enough, you will figure it out.’ That was 15 years ago and I still say that same phrase to myself when things get tough. Also, when I was suddenly single and didn’t have a job, I was at my lowest low. I was on the phone with my brother saying, ‘What am I going to do now?!’ My brother, in the most matter-of-fact voice said, ‘You are going to do CatMax! Make it happen!’ He was a true influence on me as a child and during the toughest times in my life.”
“Do what makes me happy. I understand that every decision I make I have to live with — whether it’s good or bad — so why not choose to do something that brings me joy? If I focus my energy on things that I have control over, I can influence the outcome to be how I want it to be. I create my own reality.”
“Don’t make your passions a hobby — live them, breathe them, be them.”
“Hope is not a strategy. Also, ‘Don’t give up what you want most for what you want now.'”
“In elementary school, I really wanted to play soccer. Unknowingly, my mom signed me up for a boys’ team. I remember going to practice and games, and it was intimidating to play with the boys, so I just hung back on the field. My dad went to one of the games to watch and afterwards, he said, ‘Jenny, you gotta go to the ball. The ball is never going to come to you.’ I really took that to heart. Although soccer didn’t pan out for me, I’ve applied that idea to other aspects of life and learned to overcome any fear by facing it head on.”
“You can be whatever you want if you work for it.”
“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
“My grandfather taught me to always live by the Golden Rule: Always treat people how you want to be treated, no matter what.”
“1. Do not judge other people; be tolerant.
2. Do not ever give up.”
CS: “Trust your intuition.”
CH: “You become an average of the five people with whom you spend your time: Choose wisely.”
“Don’t be afraid to do something unconventional and take a risk. Oftentimes it produces the greatest rewards.”
“Don’t be discouraged by the inability to make a big splash, focus instead on what you can do and do it well. It’s okay that you’re not changing the world today – but don’t give up on changing someone’s world today.”
“Follow your heart. Be true to yourself — that’s the best gift you can give to those around you and the world!”
FACES OF THE SOUTH 2016
“Don’t listen to the critical, even the thing in your head telling you that you aren’t good enough, you don’t look good enough — you just have to put it away.”
Image: Jeff Vespa
“Live each day fully present in that moment. Don’t let the fear of the future rob you of what is happening right in front of you.”
Image: Ashley Hylbert
“I have this quote by Minor Myers hanging in my office, and intentionally look at it every day as my North Star: “‘Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.'”
Image: Johan Sandberg
“The best advice was given to me by another mom. She said that one of the greatest things you can do for your child is to allow them to be themselves. I have repeated this often to myself, as a parent, to encourage my children to be who they are, not who I think they should be.”
Image: Zaire Kacz
“I don’t give advice, but I can share information. I have always tried to follow the light. I seek the good and the possible and understand that there are no real failures, just lots of opportunities to learn.”
Image: Dollywood Foundation
PB: “The harder you work, the luckier you get.”
AT: “Be true to yourself.”
Image: CatMax Photography
“Don’t let someone else’s limitations define your reality, and don’t let them tell you what’s not possible. It may not be possible for them, but it may be very possible and realistic for you.”
Image: Eric & Jamie Photography
“Actor Chris Pratt posted this to Instagram: ‘I had to hustle hard and go hungry … And I never had a plan B. I never stopped believing. Ever. Don’t give up. Apply constant pressure for as long as it takes. It will break before you do. Go get it.’ A lot of family members have pressured me to quit and go back to a desk job. My response? HELL NO! I’m doing this for me. No one else. Proving to myself that this life is worth it, that I can do it. For me and only me.”
Image: CatMax Photography
“Roll your sleeves up and just get it done. Because I think when you really do some soul-searching, you know when you’re ready for a change. I had the experience and I knew that I was ready to take a next step. So, when you know you’ve done your homework and you know you’ve practiced, just do it. Don’t let fear hold you back.”
Image: Ashley Hylbert
“There have been so many great nuggets but there are two that stick with me: No. 1: The most important things in life aren’t ‘things.’ We can get so caught up in having stuff but, at the end of the day, what we have doesn’t equate to who we are. No. 2: If you live for people’s praise, you’ll die by their criticism. Don’t give anyone that much power over you; you’re worth more than that. Oh, and No. 3: Age, weight and salary are just numbers.”
Image: CatMax Photography
“I firmly believe you have to create the life you wish to lead.”
Image: Grannis Photography
“I’m going to share a bit of advice I received from the delightfully inspiring Mignon Francois, owner of The Cupcake Collection: Don’t expect anyone to understand your vision. Seriously, it’s unrealistic and selfish. Get a notebook, write your ideas down and journal about it every day. Pray about it, reflect on it and piece the puzzle together — and when the time is right, you will know.”
Image: Leila Grossman
“My mission is to empower people who are seeking better health to create a balanced way of living. Food should be an enjoyable, social and celebratory part of our lives. The last thing I want people to think in adopting a whole foods lifestyle is that you can’t enjoy a glass of wine with friends or eat at your favorite taco bar.”
Image: Ashley Hylbert Photography
“Be willing to look at yourself and your part during times of conflict. This is where you will find real growth, peace and understanding.”
Image: Mary Craven Photography
“One of my favorite quotes is, ‘Be true to yourself, help others, make each day your masterpiece, make friendship a fine art, drink deeply from good books — especially the Bible, build a shelter against a rainy day, give thanks for your blessings and pray for guidance every day.’ — John Wooden”
Image: Tommy Garcia/USA Network)
“Be present.”
Image: CatMax Photography
All FACES of Atlanta photographs by CatMax Photography.Â
To read all the FACES of Atlanta and be inspired, click here.Â
About the Author
Heidi Potter