Episode 4 Season 2: My Boudoir Session: How did I manage to show it off?

 During a boudoir photography session, I donned lingerie and had my picture taken. I'll share why I did this and how I felt about the experience. Why do a boudoir session? What do you get from it?

Am I sexy enough? Can I feel the self-confidence boost I desire from a few pictures with barely anything on and false eyelashes?

Well, yes, I did it.

Two times, I had two different sessions with different photographers. 

There is a difference in their styles but one thing stays the same; Showing off our full potential for self-confidence. 

Is it the make-up? The hair? The clothing or lack of? It could be jewelry or heels.

The key to being self-confident is to brave the fear of exposing a side of yourself that is usually connected to so much self-doubt. 

Exposure in ways that go deeper than skin, makeup, and all the rest to prepare you for a shoot. This type of exposure shows you authenticity you cannot deny. 

In many ways, self-image can become distorted. You start to see something totally different from how other people view you. Your body, image, and beauty fade into a melting pot of self-doubt, gathered negative experiences to form a mental model that contradicts confidence. 

Does the boudoir session really help? 

Podcast episode: About my session

Daddy Issues? and so much more. Episode 2 Season 2

 

In this episode, we delve into how our childhood experiences can shape us into the adults we become.

I share my personal stories about the struggles I faced during my childhood, which ultimately helped

me become the person I am today. Although I still face challenges, I have learned to accept and

understand my past to better deal with my present.

Listen Now

Daddy Issues? Really? Labeling our issues is a great pastime nowadays. The in thing to do.

Our baggage comprises past experiences that we lug around with us and bring into our present.

Blaming our parents for our faults or even traumatic events that we don't move on from can drag us down.

Should we blame the people in our past or how we did not move on from it all?

Episode. 16 - How old am I? How old do I feel?

 

When I look in the mirror, I wonder how I got this old. Without the visual proof that I am no longer someone in my twenties or thirties, in my mind, I see and feel like a young adult.

Like many older people, you do not consider yourself different from the decades before. 

Then come those moments in life when you are reminded you are no longer that young person but an older version of that same person.

Having young women tell you they envy you for sitting at a bar alone. Telling you they wish they had the confidence to do so.

The doctor upsells you vaccines for people over fifty. 

The hairstyles you found as samples for the hairdresser to cut and style my hair are commented on as old lady styles.

Woman's Magazines

Episode 15 - SERIOUSLY. WHAT IS MY PROBLEM?

The answer to self-sabotage is not to self-sabotage yourself. Years of research and several bookshelves filled with self-help books have brought me to this astounding conclusion. I could have saved myself a few bucks or hundreds if I had put the red heels on. (in the podcast I said they were 6 inches but 3 inches feels like 6 to me: only referring to shoes though lol) Writing has been a therapy. Looking at past writing, you can view the ebbs and flows, ups and downs, and highs and lows, to most of it. Self Sabotage, I have mastered; that trait or quality is apparent whether I would like to acknowledge it or not. Drowning in inspiration and advice from the books, podcasts, and audiobooks, my "ah ha" moment, or what I call my "holy crap" moment, started to come clear to me. Not that I did not know this already, the notion I lack self-confidence and that I sabotage everything with my fears; the new realization was the fact that I was waiting for something to change. What the hell was I waiting for? All this time, I was waiting for change to happen. Was it to come in a lightning bolt to jolt my life in a new direction? Maybe a special delivery right to my front door? It will not manifest, especially with me shutting the door on change every time it appears. I took time to reflect and stood back from it all before the pieces started coming together. Now in no way am I where I want to be, but the door is open for new and exciting things to enter my life. One thing that holds me back is the lack of self-confidence; it is more an ingrained negative self-perception that most likely has some deep seeded root that someday will surface. The first thing that sparked was when I was listening to an interview that led to the question: 'When was the last time you felt outstanding? My answer was First, I'm not too fond of shoes and shopping altogether, and I often wonder if I am some other breed of woman. Second, I like simple, or at least that is what I thought before. Friends had invited us out for an evening of dancing at a club. You always see high heels on women, but not for this chick. My friend convinced me I needed to let loose, have some fun, get dressed up, and go all out. So we went shopping, and I purchased high heels. Totally out of my comfort zone, I turned heads, attention was on me, and I survived. My feet hurt like hell, but I ROCKED. Amongst the self-help shelves, I read: "Your higher self is in direct opposition to your comfort zone." My comfort zone has weighed me down to the point that I have become complacent, and as harsh as it sounds, I have become useless. I was, on the whole, the useless component of making my dreams a reality. As corny as it is, "my higher self was in high heels!" Comfort be damned. My comfort zone was the 'invisible me' blending into my surroundings. Alone in my safe, comfortable zone where the world does not judge me. The red shoes remind me that I look awesome, feel powerful, accomplish goals, and ROCK outside my comfort zone.

Episode 8 - It is NEVER too late to be GREAT

Sex'n'Fries - the Podcast. this episode was amazing. It was my first with guests. It went pretty well considering no one had clue what they were doing.

How many times have you heard "Life got in the way" ?

How about "That is way out of my comfort zone!"?

When I was heading towards my fifties, I was stuck in a 'it is what it is and it is how it is'. Let me explain...

I had somehow learned that my age defined me and what I was to do. It was not obvious to me, but looking back, I realize how I was stuck in a predefined path.

The very day I left my mom's house after her funeral, the world seemed closed, claustrophobic and heavy. My world was changing whether I wanted it to or not.

Holy hell, now what?

As I learned to be an orphan, I realized that I was still learning. I realized I also had years and years of experience.

POW right on the side of a head spinning moment.... I already had the tools, smarts and now I needed to step from the comfort zone of 'letting things happen' and expand to another step.

If I knew then what I know now, most likely nothing would be different and I am sure I would not want it to be. All the crap I have lived through is my portfolio, it valuable life lessons that I continuous learned from. I might have failed a few exams here and there but you also learn from that.

Tracy:
Hello, my name is Tracy Hicks. I am an imperfect Wife, Mother, Daughter, Aunt, and Nana. I have a beautiful daughter, and two equally beautiful granddaughters. I turned 50 years young this past January, and haven't looked back. I am an Entrepreneur, and an Associate Market Builder with MONAT Global. I've lived in Ontario my whole life, but love to travel. I am living my best life.

https://healthyhairwithtracyhicks.mymonat.com

Tracy talked to us about the changes life takes us through but how we start to fit into our own skin.

Barb

Hello, my name is Barb O'Dell. I am a Transformational Life Coach. A personal growth junkie from a young age. I have a passion for helping people to overcome obstacles and challenges. I have been married 36 years and have 2 grown children. Currently living in Ontario I am loving life and myself with the help of all I have learned in life so far.

https://www.itsyourlifecoach.ca/

Barb talked to us about how sometimes life lessons can take you on a transforming personal journey and it is not always easy to see your own value in those lessons. Barb also shows us that your greatness arrives at any age and you are the one that gets there.

Thank you to both my guests. I hope you enjoy this episode!

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