Guest Post: Stephanie from "Big Mario Life"

Today, I've invited Stephanie from Big Mario Life to stand in for me while Phil and I wrap up our quickie trip to Cali. Stephanie is a new blog friend of mine; I am so glad for the thoughtful comment she left on one of my posts a few months ago, because it led me back to her own blog, which is very much a hidden gem. One of the first things I do when I come across a new blog is to read the "About" page (I find it to be a great snapshot of the blog and author) and when I read Stephanie's, I was hooked. Beautifully written, I actually laughed mid-paragraph with her choice of words; a description so matter-of-fact and awesomely appropriate, I knew right away I'd be following her. You can read it, here. Go ahead...I'll wait. :)

Stephanie is a talented photographer, a gifted writer and she is ridiculously gorgeous, to boot! I hope you enjoy her post as much as I did!

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Aloha!!  I'm so honored Angie asked me to stop by her little piece of heaven (aka her blog) and live a little aloha with you!  I can't wait to "meet" all of you and share some Girl Power!  (Did that remind you of the Spice Girls?  Hee hee hee.)

When Angie first told me the theme, I was super excited.  I tossed around lots of ideas, unable to make a decision, but I kept coming back to a very empowering quote I learned a few years ago when studying Italian.  The Boyfriend speaks Italian fluently and I didn't want to be left out so at the beginning of my 3rd year of law school, I bought a few Italian books and got to work.  Totally rational decision, I know.  I am not yet fluent -not even close- but I did learn a very inspiring quote in the process.  "Volere è potere."  It's pronounced kind of like  "Vo-lay-ray ay po-tay-ray."  The colloquial translation is "Where there's a will, there's a way" but I much prefer the literal translation which, according to my Italian book is: To want is to be able.  Another translation I've seen is "will is power."  Both are pretty awesome if you ask me.  To me, this means that all you need to accomplish something is simply the desire to do it.  If you have that, you're set!  The desire will drive you, motivate you, and empower you.  How awesome is that??  Everything you need to accomplish your goals is already within you.  Talk about empowering, right?

When I felt overwhelmed studying for the bar exam last summer, I repeated this quote to myself.  When my computer crashed half-way through the first day of testing and I had to write the entire 3-day exam by hand, I repeated this quote to myself.  When I sat anxiously awaiting the results nearly four months later (with a glass of wine in hand), I repeated this quote to myself.  (I passed!)  And now, in thinking about whether to embark on a new business venture, I repeat this quote to myself.  The thought of starting a part-time photography business while still practicing law is incredibly overwhelming but anytime those doubts start to bubble up, I repeat this quote to myself.  Volere è potere.  If I want it, I can do it.  Will is power.  Repeating this quote has motivated me to commit to the new business and {hopefully} I'll have a very exciting announcement for you in the next couple of months!

And that's it!  That's my inspiring quote.  It's gotten me through some challenging times and empowered me to chase dreams I never knew could become reality.  I wanted to share it with you because I wanted to share the Girl Power.  Hopefully those three simple words will remind you that if you want something, you already have all you need to go out and get it!  To me, that's definitely Living Aloha. :)

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Thanks for chattin' it up with my peeps, Stephanie!

Please stop by and visit Stephanie on her blog and show her a little love, will ya? And while you're at it, check out her Etsy shop, here and follow her on Twitter, here.