I’ve slowly been introducing you to the YBC® team that works so hard in contributing to bringing this community more of the good stuff - from love and relationship advice, to delicious recipes, to DIY projects, to strength workouts, I hope you’ve been enjoying their input. If you have anything in mind you’d like to see, please let us know!
For today’s YBC® Team post, we thought it’d be fun to share a little Q&A. We’ll ask each team member the same question and see what they have to say. We’d love to hear your answers, too, if you’d like to share down in the comments section below!
Candace
1) What is the single best decision you've ever made and why? Healing my gut for sure. I feel like it was the root cause of so many of my issues - from anxiety to depression to hormonal imbalances to acne - once I healed my gut, everything started evening out.
2) What is the best advice you've ever received and why? This is so freaking simple it’s almost embarrassing, but a friend once told me that you can google anything, and it just clicked for me. Don’t know how to use photoshop? Google it. Don’t know how long to cook pork chops? Google it. Want more tips for SEO? Google it. Don’t know the name of that song but you know a lyric or two? Google it. Don’t know how to write a business plan? Google it. It’s so simple it’s almost stupid, but once I realized that Google is my BFF for anything I don’t know, I realized the answers to all my questions are out there. No longer did I have the excuse that I didn’t know how. For someone who is an entrepreneur, this was priceless.
3) What's a life hack you swear by? This is more of a business hack, but all my important links are stored in my Notes on my phone so that when I need to tell people to ‘swipe up’ for an upcoming event, retreat, my book, our newsletter, etc., all the links I need are right there.
Allison
1) What is the single best decision you've ever made and why?
The single best decision I've made was taking a job outside of my comfort zone. When I was laid off from a very comfortable assistant office manager position back in November 2008, one of my aunts - a previous nursing director at a major NYC hospital - informed me of an opening in her department under their director of operations. It involved collecting data on hospital staff's hand hygiene compliance while concurrently providing non-compliant staff with immediate education. In layman's terms: I was telling doctors to wash their hands if they didn't. Ever the introvert, I've never been confrontational nor vocal; I never argued with friends or family, and I was never one for lengthy classroom participation. Still, I needed a paycheck. The first year of that position was rather uncomfortable at times, and having staff occasionally challenge me left me choked up and red in the face. However, taking that job it also helped me find my voice. It helped me learn how to speak with confidence and empathy, even in the face of disagreement. I am more comfortable being strong in my convictions. I'd like to think that I would have eventually gained this confidence, but that job truly jump-started it, and I am grateful.
2) What is the best advice you've ever received and why?
Never get on a subway car in NYC if it is empty! It may seem like a dream to have so many available seats to choose from, but there is usually a reason behind it, be it a broken air conditioner or the acrid smell of urine permeating the entire car. This may seem like a more unique choice for "best advice ever", but I'm sure any seasoned NYCer would agree with me here! Ha!
3) What's a life hack you swear by?
Need a good streak-free cleaner for your eye glasses? Put some cheap vodka in a travel-sized spray bottle and invest in a nice little microfiber cloth! My lenses have never been cleaner! However, keep that bottle around the house and perhaps not in your purse or bag; who knows if carrying a technically-open container of vodka is legal in your state. 😉
Katie
1) What is the single best decision you've ever made and why?
The single best decision I've ever made was to get divorced. As for why, I've gotta say, it's really tough to articulate. But in short, leaving my marriage forced me to reevaluate what I wanted love to look like in my life, and then to start over and rebuild most of my preexisting ideas of what love SHOULD be from the ground up. It's been a hard road and I'm still working at it, but so far this journey has led to significant personal growth and more meaningful connections with both significant others and friends/family.
2) What is the best advice you've ever received and why?
Some advice I got recently is to hold your significant other to the same standards as you would your best friend. It's super simple in principle, but kind of amazing. I'm pretty sure I'm not alone when I say I've tolerated a lot more crap from significant others than I would ever tolerate from my best friends. I mean, if I had applied this principle years ago my dating history would look MUCH different. Think about it, it totally makes sense! If you give this a shot, I'd love to hear about your experience and how it changes your relationships.
3) What's a life hack you swear by?
Even though we're heading into red wine season with increasing speed, my background in chemistry has come in handy when needing to chill a bottle of wine (or beer!) quickly. If you've tried putting your wine in the fridge, freezer or on ice and it hasn't done the job as quickly as you'd like, try making a -20°C ice bath (that's -36°F below freezing!!) using a 1:3 ratio of sodium chloride (SALTTTTTT HOMIEEEESSSS) to ice, by weight. Pour some water over the top to increase the contact area of the cooling bath with the bottle of wine, which you can also rotate as it chills to make the process more efficient!
Lauren
1) What is the single best decision you've ever made and why?
I think the single best decision I’ve made up to this point is quitting my dream 9-5 corporate America job to live overseas with my other half. It was 2012 and I had been with ESPN for 3 years; it wasn’t an easy decision but also one I’ve never ever regretted. Traveling the world together for 5 years gave us the opportunity to experience different cultures, appreciate the world’s wonder and gave us life experiences we’d never be able to “purchase” off a shelf or while sitting in an office building 40 hours a week.
2) What is the best advice you've ever received and why?
Someone once told me not to spend my skinny years thinking I’m fat. Obviously, this person didn’t mean this literally because I’m the tiniest human but I apply the concept to a lot of negative self-talk when it pops into my head. For example, if I find myself complaining about my skin, I’ll remind myself that I’m never going to be younger than that very moment. When I’m 60, I don’t want to look back and think I wasted my best years complaining about things I don’t have control over.
3) What's a life hack you swear by?
Okay, so this isn’t a life hack, per-say… but it’s a great travel hack, for sure! If you’re ever in a new or unfamiliar car (rental, a friends or family member’s etc) and you need to fill the tank, look at the gas icon on your dashboard. There is a small white arrow pointing to which side the tank is on. It’s called a directional indicator and it’s absolutely genius!
Dan
1) What is the single best decision you've ever made and why?
This is a tough one. There are so many different ways to answer this question. I'm not sure I can even pinpoint the best decision I ever made. We make thousands of decisions every day so it is hard to tell. I guess having a baby, getting married, moving to a new state, starting/quitting a job, etc. will be the most common answers. Since I do not have a child or a spouse, I guess my answer will be different. I will say that joining a CrossFit gym was a big one. I left that community over a year ago, but it has really helped me become more disciplined person and I am better able to understand my body and how to get the most out of it. I am not a fan of the CrossFit community, but I do think they are on to something as far as exercise science is concerned. I just wish they would step down off their high horse and be a little more open to other ideas. So I guess one of my best decisions is joining, and then quitting, CrossFit.
2) What is the best advice you've ever received and why?
I have received lots of advice throughout the years. As a teacher, I find myself giving out advice on a daily basis. This might sounds cheesy or cliché, but the best advice out there is the idea that you should treat people the way you want to be treated. It is so simple, yet so many people have a tough time with it. We need to remember that the majority of people we encounter in life are good. It really is the answer to most of the problems we see in the world. Just remember that everyone you meet is dealing with something you know nothing about. Don't be so quick to judge or to accuse, people are usually good natured.
3) What's a life hack you swear by?
One life hack I swear by is using a basket to grocery shop. I will never use a cart. I find that I will spend significantly less in the store with a basket as I will not have as much room to fill with garbage. I am not shopping for a family of five, so I guess that makes a difference. Holding the basket in my hand makes it much better and limits me from filling it. It stops me from dropping useless items that are impulse purchases only. Give it a try, you may be able to cut down your monthly spending.
L.G.
1) What is the single best decision you've ever made and why?
Best decision I ever made…..seeking help for postpartum anxiety. I only wish I hadn’t waited until 4 months in to do so! You may remember from my guest post, but from the moment I gave birth, I struggled to recognize, accept and get help for intense and crippling postpartum anxiety because, one, I was overwhelmed with taking care of my newborn colicky baby, two, I didn’t even know where to start, and three, I was holding out hope that I wouldn’t need medication and therapy to feel better. When I finally had an all out panic attack, I reached out to a therapist and have never looked back! I feel 100% better and my only regret is I wish I hadn’t waited so long!
2) What is the best advice you've ever received and why?
When I was 16, my father, who was a commercial pilot, gave me flight lessons. After a few months, I decided I’d rather hang out with my girlfriends that summer, going to the mall and movies, instead of getting up at 0530 and studying air propulsion and thrust all day, so I quit going. A few months later, when I realized what an opportunity I just gave up, I went back to my father and asked him if I could sign back up. He said “If you had really wanted to do it, you would’ve done it, and if you really want to do it now, you will find a way.” He was right. I didn’t find a way because I didn’t really want it. Now, I always go back to that advice when I think about something I want to do - get my Master’s degree, learn a foreign language, obtain another fitness certification. Nothing bothers me more than someone complaining about their current situation and doing nothing about it! If you really want to change, you will find a way.
3) What's a life hack you swear by?
Ok, it took me a while to realize this but a fitness hack I swear by is “always know before you go!” I never go to the gym without my exact workout already planned. If I show up without an knowing what I’m doing, I don’t get it done. I make sure to either visualize in detail what I’m going to do, from warmup to cool down, or write down my workout before I leave the house. When I do so, I am so much more focused, energized and accountable. If I say “oh, I’ll think of it when I get there,” then 9 times out of 10, I’ll have to push myself through my workout with so much more effort and it ends up being half-ass. Oh, and always shop the outlets on a major holiday! Huge discounts!