Today was bittersweet as I completed my business coaching certification. I’m certainly thankful for every one in my class. I am forever grateful for your support, tough love, and words of encouragement throughout this 10 month journey. I can never express my gratitude for every single one of you, the coaching you have offered me, and the road of opportunity you have paved for me. I hope each of you sparkles in your future endeavors! You certainly have taught me how to shine!
The choices that we make now affect the opportunities available to us in the future.
(Source: marieforleo.com)
NO FISHY HANDSHAKES!
I’m so glad Arlie is enjoying her new baseball tee from The Finishing Touch! Perfect for a queen on her move in day to her new apartment in Raleigh, NC. 
All three winners representing from the sweeps pageant earlier this year have won a preliminary award at the Miss North Carolina Pageant this year!
Miss Durham, BrieAnna Hester, rocked the stage in her royal blue two piece. She took the preliminary swimsuit award on the first night of preliminaries for the 75th anniversary of the Miss North Carolina Pageant. 
Jessie Christine Smith, Miss Tarheel, kept the trend going with her preliminary swimsuit win on Tuesday night. On Wednesday night, performing a ballet en pointe to Swan Lake, Jessie tied with tap dancer Miss Raleigh, Amanda Sowards, for the preliminary talent award on Wednesday night. 
Tonight is finals for the Miss North Carolina Outstanding Teen Pageant held in downtown Raleigh at the Memorial Auditorium. Good luck to all of our teen representatives - Miss Raleigh’s Outstanding Teen, Kathryn Payne; Miss Durham’s Outstanding Teen, Morgan Hendrix; Miss Tarheel’s Outstanding Teen, Pammy Peters.
(Source: pageantpics.com)
Jessie Christine Smith, Miss Tarheel, takes the preliminary lifestyle and fitness award at the Miss North Carolina Pageant last night! So proud to say I am the Executive Director of the Miss Tarheel, Miss Durham, and Miss Raleigh pageants. Visit www.pageantpics.com to view more photos of last night’s competition!
Sparkle on!
The Finishing Touch client, BrieAnna Hester, wins the preliminary swimsuit award at Miss North Carolina last night! Congratulations, you deserved it! You had “the finishing touch” and sparkled on that stage!
Sparkle on!
(Source: pageantpics.com)
Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.
(Source: http)
What is the worst fear you have ever felt? Maybe you had butterflies in your stomach or sweaty palms. Your heart was probably about to pump out of your chest and you may have thought in that very moment that you just might jump out of your skin.
Skydiving has got to be one of the grandest things I have ever done. Five years after I set the goal to go skydiving, I eventually mustered up the courage to actually call the place. The whole ride there I was thinking to myself, “This is the worst decision of my life.” Even as I walked in the hangar and started to sign all the papers stating that if I died during the jump my family couldn’t sue the place I still had that feeling of fear, but I continued on.
Why? You might ask.
Well I had those same feelings that I described earlier. The butterflies, sweaty palms, pumping heart feeling is what told me everything would be OK. 
I was able to experience one of the most free, exhilarating feelings of my life by jumping out into the big blue because I can decipher fear from danger.
We aren’t afraid of excitement, but the last time I checked excitement has all the same side effects as fear - butterflies, sweaty palms, pumping heart.
I think about all the time I have spent on a stage. The feelings I just described is the same way I feel before stepping on stage and I can’t get enough of it! Any chance I got I wanted to be center stage. Whether on the actual stage, in a gymnasium, or just in front of my class the show was always on! It’s a type of adrenaline you just can’t ever replace.
A lot of people miss out on uber grand opportunities because they are afraid. SO WHAT?! Fear does not mean you are in danger. Fear means that you are facing something that you are unfamiliar with and it makes you feel a little discomfort. I will tell you, some of the grandest things I have ever done in my life are due to following my “fear gut,” crossing my fingers, and jumping.
There is a real freedom when you can finally decipher fear from danger. At this point, you are not letting fear control your decisions and you will have some of the grandest experiences of your life. Did I mention the glow that you will have once you realize that you faced your fear and you accomplished something that not many others have ever done before? Imagine how much you will sparkle when you get to tell the story of how you faced your fears and did something you never thought you would do in a million years. Now that’s a grand feeling!
Sparkle On!
