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Audrey JoAnn | Content and Copy Writer

Compelling Copy for Female Founders

3 WORDS THAT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE

March 15, 2017

I am a big, BIG listener to and lover of podcasts. I nanny during the day, so — while I can do baby talk and love hanging out with my best 13-month-old pal — sometimes I need a little more stimulating “conversation” during my weekdays. Podcasts might not provide the back-and-forth of your typical conversation, but at least I can get a laugh or learn something interesting throughout the day.

I subscribe to funny ones, like My Favorite Murder (you might not think murder is comical, per se, but the hosts somehow tell these real-life horror stories in an unabashedly fascinated and, yes, humorous way); inspirational ones, like The Skinny Confidential: Him & Her (Lauryn Evarts is the creator behind the blog, The Skinny Confidential, and the banter with her husband, Michael, on their podcast is all at once informational, relatable, and hilariously real); and mindless, fun ones, like Straight Up with Stassi (she’s my favorite Bravolebrity and always has interesting guests and behind-the-scenes stories that I live for).

The latter is what I was listening to a couple weeks ago on the treadmill when I was happily surprised with a more serious topic than Stassi normally goes into. In this particular episode, she brought on a life coach who gave advice on working through anxiety, not letting others’ opinions get to you, and a simple method to understanding your place in the world. The life coach said that sometimes we get bogged down by other people’s expectations, and even our own expectations about how we think our lives should be going or how we should be dealing with things. (Raise your hand if you’re thinking, YEP, because I sure was.)

And then we get disappointed when life doesn’t go according to plan, or when we fall short in some way. So, she explained that we should all have a phrase to come back to when we’re feeling lost or out of sorts, no matter if it has to do with your personal life, work, relationships, or even just being stressed out in traffic. This phrase should be your home base, your reason for what you do and how you act in every situation and every second of the day.

It’s super easy to find your phrase, too, and I’ve been going through this exercise of sorts with everyone I know. The formula is simple: “To (verb) (noun).” You fill in your own blanks for the verb and the noun, and it can be ANYTHING that describes the core of everything you are and do. Or the core of everything you aspire to be and do.

Mine is: To cultivate authenticity.

In everything I do — in my relationships with friends and family, in conversations with strangers and loved ones alike, in my writing, in baby talk with the kiddo I watch, in putting emails together, in practicing yoga, in planning my finances, in copyediting for the magazine I freelance for, in participating in social media (which can feel very fake at times, am I right?) — I want to cultivate authenticity. I want to do my part in providing real, genuine, ME feedback. Or content. Or conversation. Nothing forced or contrived — that is my number one priority in everything that I do.

It’s astounding (and very, very difficult for a longwinded writer, such as moi) to pare down your very being to three words, one of which you can’t choose yourself. To me, it’s easiest to come up with your noun, the third word, first; it could be love, peace, community, connectedness, joy, creativity, freedom, patience, ease, courage, happiness, badass-ness (that’s my sister’s…), solutions, legacy, meaningfulness, levity, humor, and so on, and on, and on.

It should come to you fairly simply — what is the thing you want to bring with you into EVERY situation, every interaction, and every moment of your day? From there, think of how you want to bring about that thing daily. Do you want to create it; share it; be it; solve it; cultivate it; advance it; grow it; love it; practice it; enable it; protect it; charge it; immerse it?

After you’ve picked the verb and noun that fit you and your aspirations to a T, find a way to constantly be reminded of these words. Put a Post-It on your mirror. Add your words as a daily reminder on your phone so you see them at the same time every day. Turn them into a piece of art. Anything! Just do something to constantly remember your phrase as a sort of mantra to bring into all decisions, interactions, and thought processes.

Just the slight shift of keeping my phrase in the back of my mind the last couple of weeks has modified conversations, my approach to conflict, the prioritization of my day, and lots of other significant aspects of my life. And it was SO EASY. And kinda fun, right?

So, what’s yours? What are the three words that can provide you balance and perspective when everything else starts going haywire, or when you need to feel a sense of groundedness? (Let’s pretend that’s a word for a sec.) I would seriously, truly love to hear them, either in the comments below or in an email: audrey@audreyjoann.com.

BLOUSE // JEANS (sold out; similar here) // SANDALS (here and here) //LIPSTICK (in “Sugar & Spice”)

ALSO! You can still use my URL to get four bottles of (delicious and quality, heeey) Winc wine for only $30, plus free shipping: trywinc.com/frecklesfigs. Read all about why we love Winc here.

Photography by Jessica Steddom.

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Welcome! I'm Audrey, and I adore connecting with female founders and telling their stories in a way that matters & lasts for years to come.

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audskelton

Me, trying to figure out what to do with my hands Me, trying to figure out what to do with my hands without a bump. 👐🏼 Wallace, trying to figure out what we’re doing out of the house. 🤨

First family walk in the books! All of 10 minutes. 🤪 (Also, does anyone else notice the rainbow over Wally?... My heart. 🌈🥺)
1 week old. 🤎 The hardest, most emotional & mos 1 week old. 🤎 The hardest, most emotional & most rewarding week of my life. Babies’ sleep schedules, y’all. They are not for the faint of heart.

Wallace is hitting all his milestones, has learned the alphabet, and is picking up Latin. Just kidding. But he CAN poop 3 times in an hour and a half 😎, and he eats like a champ, is so strong that we prefer to tag team diaper changes for now, and makes the sweetest, cutest noises all day long. (And night.) Like even his cry is cute. 😩

One of my friends called this time the “wet weeks”: urine, breast milk, spit up, night sweats, tears, blood, more tears. It’s a lot, and it’s temporary. So even in the hard moments, we are reminding ourselves that the hardest things are often the best things. 

And this really has been the best thing.

So, so thankful for a hands-on husband who’s been so involved in everything... there’s something indescribable about watching your partner care for your child and step into a big, new role like this so gracefully. And we are thankful for ALL of the support, near and far (... mostly far), from our family and friends and coworkers. What a week... here’s to continuing to figure it all out together as a family. 😌
At 5 a.m. my water broke and at 3:44 p.m. our worl At 5 a.m. my water broke and at 3:44 p.m. our worlds and hearts were changed forever. Everything in between was a gritty, fast-moving tidal wave of emotion, pain, instinct, and a kind of love I never could’ve imagined.

Welcome, Wallace Ronal Skelton. 🤎 You kept us waiting until you decided, very quickly, you’d like to be here. I’m still in disbelief that you are ours. 

January 4, 2021 • 7 lbs 4 oz • 20.5 inches • Sweet as can be.
Well, this baby friend doesn’t exactly have our Well, this baby friend doesn’t exactly have our sense of punctuality which realllly threw me for a loop after thinking & saying for months that I was certain he/she would get here early. I’ve drank 3 boxes of raspberry leaf tea in 3 weeks, walked dozens of miles, eaten way too many dates, done hundreds of squats and bench step-ups... and now I’m surrendering. You come whenever you feel like it, little one. I’m comfy enough and can still sleep through the night (minus a bathroom break or two) so we will just keep on waiting and letting you teach us our first lesson of parenthood: PATIENCE. I knew I could always use some more of it. 😉 #40weekspregnant #pregnancy
scenes from our blissful, muddy, much-needed morni scenes from our blissful, muddy, much-needed morning hike. ☀️🍂 in a year that’s felt like 5, getting outside whenever we can has been my favorite way to reset. so thankful to live in such gorgeous surroundings!
our first and probably only christmas just us thre our first and probably only christmas just us three! quiet and simple and a little sad but mostly filled with hope and gratitude. hope yours is special in all the best ways. 🤍
the most freeing parenting advice i’ve heard so the most freeing parenting advice i’ve heard so far? (and i’ve gotten a lot this year!) our children NEED to see us to mess up. they need to see us walk through mistakes, fix our messes, apologize, learn, and readjust.

as someone who very much realizes i’m nowhere *near* perfect but is also terrified something i’ll do might mess my kid up for life... hearing this advice has stuck with me so profoundly. i think about it every day, especially as we get closer and closer to becoming parents.

we don’t need to get it right. in fact, we’re serving them better when we get it wrong AND course correct openly. when we can admit our faults and say we’ll do better next time.

i had a friend tell me a few months ago she apologizes to her baby all the time. she’ll say, “i’m sorry that i really don’t know what you need right now, but i’m learning... i’m sorry that you’re upset, let’s figure this out together.”

and i thought that was a beautiful way to own and lean into the truth that parenting isn’t having the answers all figured out—at all. it’s guessing and learning as you go and being able to be humble enough to apologize to your infant when you don’t get it right (and then your toddler, and then your kid, and then your teenager).

these next 18+ years are going to be an adventure, i can already tell. lots of mess-ups. lots of sorry’s. lots of goodness. 🤍

oh, and... can we all agree that the worst parenting advice is “sleep when the baby sleeps”?! as the lightest sleeper ever, i don’t need that pressure in my life. 😅 

photo by @jilliangoulding
the body of the grinch but the heart of cindy lou the body of the grinch but the heart of cindy lou who. ♥️

(wrong holiday, i know—but let’s not pretend 90% of us don’t already have christmas stuff up already okay?)

however you’re celebrating & whoever you’re celebrating with today, i hope it’s special. happy thanksgiving, friend! 🦃🍂💛 #thanksgiving #35weekspregnant
simple joys today: 🍂a pecan praline almond mil simple joys today:

🍂a pecan praline almond milk misto in the @starbucks holiday cup.
🍂early monday morning grocery run with my husband for simple thanksgiving ingredients for our 2-person party (well, 3 technically i guess 😜) on thursday.
🍂cool mornings.
🍂fall colors.
🍂the charlie brown christmas album on repeat. (i honestly think this is my favorite album of all time. 😂 we even got it on vinyl this year. i listen to it from end of october through january every single year.)
🍂random fall-y at-home manicures.
🍂2 short weeks in a row.
🍂phone calls with family.
🍂baby hiccups, kicks, and rolls & starting to distinguish between knees, hands, and a booty sticking out of my stomach. 😂
🍂sleeping in.
🍂finishing up home projects. (y’all, WE FINISHED THE FLOORS. praise.)
🍂a clean home.
🍂daily walks & clean air.
🍂soaking in the joy of our last childless vacation/staycation.

so much to be grateful for. and this year it’s really the little things that are the big things. what are your simple joys you’re hanging on to right now?
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