16 Nov stephanie powell.

pensacola, florida  |  creative director. graphic designer & founder of hello dreamers.

What is your greatest accomplishment to date?

Wow. There have been quite a few amazing ones to mention. Of course, marrying the love of my life and the joy of experiencing childbirth rank high, but to date; my greatest personal accomplishment was choosing to leave a secure corporate job to start working for myself. In life there’s this accepted standard list of accomplishment that society expects us to achieve. Although becoming an entrepreneur is becoming more common, it has not secured its place on the standard list of accomplishments.

Preparing myself for the advice and suggestions that other people felt obligated to share without being persuaded to turn my back on my dream meant a lot to me. Realizing that I had the courage to take a leap of faith and actually doing it was a huge accomplishment.

Is there such a thing as work-life balance?

I believe there is such a thing as work-life balance. I believe it has a lot to do with prioritizing those things that are of personal importance, setting boundaries and being clear about what I’m willing to commit to. In the past, especially after my daughter was born, I would blindly agree to projects thinking people would totally understand my limitations. Of course they didn’t, so I’d spend time that I wanted to spend with my family working on projects, because I wasn’t clear. Now, I provide my available hours, explain when I am not available and impose time to simply unplug. I make plans with my family a week in advance and inform them of days that my work will spill over into time that we normally spend together. This new way of planning my days has made a big difference in my stress level and the quality of the time I spend with my family.

What gets you through a rough day?

A latte or chocolate. Some days a latte and chocolate. A hug from my daughter or a kiss on the forehead from my husband works wonders, too!

If you could tell your younger self one thing, what would it be?

Enjoy life one day at a time. There’s no need to rush it to get to the next best moment. In time it will all come. Spend every moment you can taking it all in, before it passes you by.

What is your best advice on how to live a graceful life?

Living a graceful life is a choice. I choose to live in the present and accept that I can’t change the past. I enjoy helping others whenever I can. I smile a lot and choose to be grateful regardless of what I may be facing. Oh, and I definitely believe that living a graceful life requires humility.

side note from j. jane:

Do you have a dream? I highly recommend that you check out HELLO DREAMERS and connect with Stephanie today. I love her style and ability to motivate women to live their dreams—this lady is awesome.