2020 is finally gone and at first I was excited to put this crazy year behind us, but right towards the end things took a turn for the worst for my family. We've all contracted Covid.  This has been such a crazy situation because I was banging my head against the wall trying to figure out how this all happened.  I was feeling guilty because I felt like I did not protect my mom who has underlining issues and now she is fighting for her life.  After talking to my family, I finally decided to give myself some grace and accept that God's plan is not our plan and that he knows best and can heal us all if it's his will.

So moving forward in 2021 my theme for this year is Gratitude.  I've always practiced being grateful, but I plan on leveling up my gratitude meter.  If I've learned nothing else from this Covid monester is that you have to be grateful for the small things.  I plan on living my life to the fullest because you never know when your time will be up.  

I've been living in Gwinnett county for almost 8 years and I've never really discovered all that the county has to offer, but that is about to change.  As I produce the show daily I will also share what I've learned about Gwinnett and all of the places that I intend to visit.  This is me being grateful for the small things.  I will spend quality protected time with my family and friends and just enjoy the simplicity of life and all that it has to offer.

As my family recover and work on getting back to a new normal, we will never take life for granted again and gratitude will be a core value of how we live our life moving forward.

Stay Safe!
Until Next Time
Make It A Great Day
Audrey

Before Covid-19 took over the world, I thought I knew what I wanted.  I had just opened my new podcast studio where I would be hosting the the show from and also producing podcasts for others.  I was on my way to speak at Podfest in Orlando Florida and that was exciting.  I did get a chance to go and speak and had an amazing time only to return home and in few days the whole world just shut down.

I thought to myself, what the heck is going on.  For a minute I felt like this would soon be over, but in just a few short weeks I lost my uncle to the virus and about two weeks after that I lost the best man in my wedding to this same virus.  I closed my studio down, because the whole world was on lockdown and on top of that I was deathly afraid to leave my house.  

During the time that I was sheltered in place I took the time to look at my life and my business.  I realized that for over 20 years I had been chasing success, but had not reached the level of success that I wanted to achieve.  Although being on locked down gave me time to think, it also sent me into a mild depression, because I started to focus on all that I had done wrong up until that point.  What's crazy is that I didn't know that I was slightly depressed.  It was not until my husband suggested that I might be going through a mid life crisis.  I stopped to think about what he had said and thought to myself that maybe I was going through a mid life crisis.  As time went on and I became less afraid I started to venture out again.  I was sheltered in place from March 9th - June 6th.  I would not leave the house at all except to go on the deck to get fresh air.  

My 17th wedding anniversary was coming up on June 7th, so my husband and I decided to take a short trip.  We left on June 6th to go to a beautiful quaint town called Helen which is about an hour and a half drive from my home.  It felt so good to get out of the house and just be around people.  We kept our masks on for safety and avoided really large crowds.  We had a great time.  I had forgot how nice it was to just relax and not worry about business or anything else for that matter.  While there I had even more time to think.  I started to reflect on my life and again I beat myself up, because here I was at 53 years old not really sure about what the heck I was doing with my life.  Even though my trip was great I was still confused about what I wanted to do with my life at this point.  

God has given me the ability to come up with some of the most amazing ideas that I've turned into businesses.  Now I had 3 amazing businesses, but I was my happiest when I was hosting my podcast.  The problem with hosting Good Morning Gwinnett, was that I didn't believe it could earn me the kind of money I wanted, so instead of focusing on what brought me joy, I was chasing money and to be honest I was so unhappy.  

In July my husband and I went on our second short trip to a ranch in Madison Georgia, which is about an hour and a half away from where we live.  This was one of the most beautiful experiences I've ever had in my life.  I love horses and this was the first time I was up close and personal with one.  We went horseback ridding and that was so much fun.  We met an elderly couple who had drove in from Florida and they were so nice.  I was so relaxed and had more time to think.

On my second adventure I declared that I would only do my podcast and everything else would take a back seat to that.  My mind was made up and I was ready to make it happen, that was until I got home and that belief that it wasn't going to make me the money that I needed kicked in.  So for the next 3 months I agonized over what I would do.  Finally at the beginning of October I decided that I was going for it and nothing was going to stop me not even myself.  So, I paused everything else I was doing and just focused on growing Good Morning Gwinnett.  Once I made that decision and stuck with it I felt like I was reborn.

It was a little scary thinking about starting over at 53 years old, but I loved what I was doing and I had to believe in it enough to know that because I loved it, it would take care of me.  I sleep so much better because I believe that I have finally accepted that Good Morning Gwinnett is my purpose and my passion.  Now I am excited about the road ahead and to see just how it all plays out.  As I take this journey of living my best life and being true to myself I will share it here with you.

I hope you feel inspired to be true to yourself. Stay safe and stay strong.

Until Next Time
Make It A Great Day!
​Audrey