Selfish™

Allison Jenks and Dana Peddicord loved doing hair and makeup and so they made it their job! I love hearing the story of the hard work they put into their company to make their dreams come true!

Allison Jenks is an award-winning hair and makeup artist, co-owner of BLUSH + GLOW, and blogger living in Lexington, Kentucky. With over 6 years of experience as a professional hair and makeup artist, Allison knows how to make you look and feel your absolute best on your wedding day, or any day for that matter! Specializing in bridal updo’s, Allison’s work has been featured in numerous local, and national publications. She was recently featured on the cover of TOPS in Lexington as one of Lexington’s leading ladies. A newlywed herself, Allison understands what it is like being the bride, and is ready to help you plan your perfect bridal look. You can always find Allison with a purse full of bobby pins, ready to tackle any hair conundrum that occurs.

Dana Peddicord resides in Lexington, KY where she is a wife, mother, and co-owner of Blush + Glow. Having a background in pageantry, Dana learned from a young age that the right makeup and hair can really take you places. Packing her own set of sparkly tools, Dana loves working with Bridal, Maternity, Commercial clients, and beyond. If the occasion is special to you, its special to her, so never hesitate to get your glam on with Dana! Having her professional work featured in a number of local, state, and national publications including Southern Weddings Best Hair Stylist in the South, Dana has the experience and perfectionist attitude that will ensure you look perfect for your event. Dana is a lover of fashion, fitness, and spending time with family and friends. Her daughter, Grace, two puppies, of yes and husband… keep her on her toes but that’s why they make champagne, right? Dana looks forward to meeting and working with YOU!

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“We used to always say we will say yes now and we will figure it out later. You just kind of go with it. If it doesn’t work out, wash your face.”

Amanda Nighbert is so chock full of knowledge about nutrition, sometimes I don’t think she is human. She freely shares valuable information with the world, which is just one of the reasons you’ll call her The Renegade Nutritionist.

“We are living in a society where we are under-nourished and over-fed. And what that means is that we are eating a lot of calories, but the calories we are eating are not high quality nutrient calories, they are basically like empty calories. So we are walking around overweight, sick and malnourished.”

Amanda Nighbert is a registered dietitian specializing in weight loss nutrition, a fitness enthusiast, and a working mom of two. Amanda is passionate about motivating, supporting and educating people to meet their wellness goals. She has worked in the field of weight loss for the past 18 years helping thousands of patients. She is so excited to have the opportunity to work with even more people via her online programs. She is an avid reader and feels that the science behind weight loss, diet, and nutrition is always changing. This rapid change can create confusion and frustration with the average person trying to be successful at weight loss. Her goal is to bring the latest, cutting edge strategies and techniques to her clients in the most concise and educational manner.

Amanda is a strong believer that dieting is temporary, something you start and stop. Therefore it is more important to focus on lifestyle changes to truly see long term weight loss success. Her goal is to teach her clients simple yet effective lifestyle changes they can make and easily sustain to see lasting results. Success does not have to be about perfection but rather more consistency. Amanda believes in implementing strategies that work in the real world, with real people, who lead real, hectic and often crazy lives.

“It’s not necessarily new and recent, but I do feel like the most critical shift we are able to make in our nutritional profile is all around fat. We have lived in a fat-free, low-fat generation since 1977.”

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Ever since I met Leigh Weinraub several years ago, I have been captivated by her energy and quiet confidence. With even just the audio, I have a suspicion you’ll feel the same way.

“Fear is the universal roadblock for all of us. It’s just that each person develops their own unique, intricate system to coping with the fear and they develop a lot defense mechanisms and psychological coping strategies from very early on in their life to deal with that fear. Fear is inevitable and you can’t avoid it, and you have to learn how to cope with it.”

Leigh Weinraub is an entrepreneurial powerhouse and renowned speaker; a triple threat visionary with intelligence, passion and a lifetime desire to help others reach their personal best. She also still has a wicked backhand.

Leigh was an avid tennis player growing up, rising quickly through the national junior tennis ranks before accepting a full scholarship to play at Northwestern University. After graduation she coached the tennis teams at Dartmouth and Northwestern, leading the latter to consecutive Big Ten championships and a top three national ranking.

Through coaching she saw the need firsthand for using psychology in sports and enrolled in the Masters program at Northwestern for Counseling Psychology. Upon graduation she built a thriving practice, working with both athletes and non-athletes, using innovative “walk and talk” sessions to instill confidence and empowerment.

While working with a young athlete she wrote BREATHE upside down on the bottom corner of a shirt to help her focus during a tennis match. Others started asking for the same. So she printed dozens, her clients asked for more. Word got around and eventually sparked the Mind in Motion movement - apparel, accessories, bags and journals, all focused on the visual cues of words to remind each of us to be our best selves.

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“When the mind is focusing on and concise of positive words, you are going to increase the chances of having positive emotions which inevitable can create healing and strength.”

André Wilson is a force - I love that he knows what needs to happen and he gets it done. Whether that is putting a fashion show on or being a brutal honest about your wardrobe.

“A trend is going to come and go. The low-rise skinny jean - that wasn’t for everybody. It really…trust me, it was NOT for everybody.”

André Wilson is President/CEO of Style Icon, LLC. Founded in 2010, the style, fashion and brand development company focuses on empowering men and women through style and non verbal communication.

In addition to personalized style consulting, Style Icon produces fashion shows, corporate seminars and fundraisers to raise money and awareness for non-profit organizations.

As a well-respected stylist and consultant with over 20 years of extensive industry knowledge of trends and non-verbal communication, André Wilson and Style Icon have appeared on E! News, Wall Street Journal, Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood, People Magazine, US Weekly, USA Today and worked with celebrities Valerie Bertinelli, Kate Gosselin, and Sofia Vergara(Modern Family).

“Let’s start where you are. You have to give yourself some self-love right now, where you are. You are beautiful, you are breathing, you are alive. You are on your way to somewhere.”

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Bri Seeley’s energy is contagious! I think of that saying that you are the 5 people you surround yourself with. In this case, I need Bri around a lot more!

Bri Seeley is a born catalyst and natural truth-teller with a history in counseling, psychology and entrepreneurship. Despite her two degree’s in fashion design, she was unknowingly taken down the path of healing and transforming lives as a coach and hypnotherapist through a series of “accidents,” “coincidences” and divine guidance. She combines a lifetime of experience with psychological concepts, hypnotherapy and Universal Laws - plus, over a decade of entrepreneurship, coaching and counseling expertise to catalyze your personal revolution. Her specialty is in truly helping you give yourself permission to leap and activate your soul’s path. Bri’s best-selling book, Permission to Leap, is available now on Amazon. You may have seen her on NBC’s The TODAY Show, Forbes, Thrive Global, Medium, New Day Northwest, and Huffington Post.

Website | Facebook | But How? Podcast

I love the story of compassion that Drew Ackerman shares. Through his struggle with insomnia he developed a tool to help others fall asleep, and even though it can be tough to keep continuing to create content he is motivated that there are people in the word going through pain that he can help ease through his podcast.

Drew Ackerman is the creator and host of Sleep With Me, the one-of-a-kind bedtime story podcast featured in The New York Times, The New Yorker, Buzzfeed, Mental Floss, and Dr. Oz. Born out of Drew's childhood insomnia, Sleep With Me was inspired by late-night comedy radio, which was the only thing that helped him fall asleep. Created in 2013, Sleep With Me combines the pain of insomnia with the relief of laughing and turns it into a unique storytelling podcast. Drew's stories on the show are inspired by his childhood as the oldest of six children and past jobs as a fuzzy dice and iron-on patch salesperson, fruit fly monitor for the State of California, and librarian for one of the largest jails in the country. Through Sleep With Me, Drew has dedicated himself to help those who feel alone in the deep dark night and just need someone to tell them a bedtime story.

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“ Who am I to give up on this idea to just give in and want certainty when I know what that feels like, what they’re going through. Even though I haven’t been through that exact circumstance.”

Emily Ho’s passion for blogging and helping brands tell their stories blends seamlessly into her encouragement of body positivity. I love her ability to know what she stands for and be able to share that with so many people.

Emily Ho is the Founder and Chief Strategist at Authentically Social, a digital marketing consultancy focused on fashion and lifestyle brands. She is also the blogger behind Authentically Emmie, a body positive plus size fashion and lifestyle blog.

Her writing and blog have appeared on Oprah.com, Business of Fashion, Buzzfeed, Ladies’ Home Journal, Refinery29, and more. As a digital influencer, she’s worked on campaigns for Natori, Kohl’s, Lucy Activewear, and David's Bridal, among others.

Emily's unique background of corporate brand and product management plus her position as a digital influencer leads to informed, results-oriented programs for clients.

She earned her undergraduate degree and MBA from the University of Kentucky, and currently resides in Louisville.

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“I have found that I am getting more and more selfish, and what happens when I do that is I thrive. More people read or more people interact or my business grows or I become happier. So I think we have to really prioritize ourselves and do things in a way that is not always pleasing others in order to help advance ourselves so that we can be the best people for those around us.”

I’ve never met someone so passionate about growing other people than Mike Hilton. Mike is such a positive person and an inspiration to be around. You will be instantly motivated to find your passion and take action today.

“Anytime we stubbed our toe it an obstacle, is really just a highlight reel in the making. If you never hit the obstacles, you will never really have the highlight reel.”

Mike Hilton believes that everyone has a responsibility to use their talents to positively impact the world around them. This idea took root at the University of Dayton, a community based on servant leadership. It gained momentum through teaching high school and playing an active role in the lives of emerging leaders. It was published in Mike’s book, The Next Great You. And it continues to take shape at home in Lexington, KY, a vibrant community that brings ideas to life.

At home in Kentucky, Mike is the proud husband and dad of Team Hilton. He’s a believer in the powerful ability of food to bring people together, and is always looking for opportunities to break bread (or chili, or BBQ, or grilled things). And when it’s time to recharge, all he needs is his hiking boots and a dirt path.

“Have the self-confidence to realize you are going to be able to handle that unexpected turn when it comes. It may hurt and it may not turn out the way you want, but you might as well just get walking and enjoy the ride a little bit. “

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Amy Kaufman has such a fun job! While it probably wasn’t fun to be banned from the Bachelor set, I love her story of being able to make the best of that situation. I can’t wait for you all to hear the insider scoop she lays out for us in this interview.

Amy Kaufman is a staff writer at the Los Angeles Times, where she has covered film, celebrity, and pop culture since 2009. On the beat, she reports from industry events like the Academy Awards, the Sundance Film Festival and the Grammys. In addition to profiling hundreds of stars--Lady Gaga, Julia Roberts, Stevie Nicks, Jane Goodall--she has broken major investigative stories on sexual harassment in Hollywood. Amy currently lives in Los Angeles with her Australian Shepherd, Riggins, and dreams of living in a Laurel Canyon tree house.

Even if you have never watched an episode of The Bachelor, you will be so amazed at some of the insider information Amy shares in her conversation with me. Banned by ABC, Amy could no longer attend press visits to the show tapings and cover the show for the Los Angeles Times, so she took her writings elsewhere. Amy wrote the book Bachelor Nation: Inside the World of America's Favorite Guilty Pleasure and shares insider information on the operations of The Bachelor.

“We’re not actually that different than these people on the show. Getting to interview so many of them and breaking that image down, was refreshing for me.”

Book | Twitter | LA Times articles | Instagram

My husband Brandon and I have a phrase we use often, it’s “And that’s okay.” As we recap our days, we will mention something we wanted to get done, but never got around to doing. “And that’s okay,” the other one will say. It’s our way of giving each other the forgiveness we needed to give ourselves.

We say it so much, Henna gets to use it. She lays in bed until the afternoon, and we don’t want to make her move to make the bed, so we will say, “Henna’s extra tired today, and that’s okay,” as we move on to something else.

The timing of this season of episodes is never what I intended it to be. I always think I am going to be far more proactive with my free time and want to sit down and edit the episodes in the week or two following my interview. I frequently share how editing the episodes is my least favorite part about hosting a podcast, however the conversations I have with people from all over the world make it worth it, but nonetheless, I procrastinate for far too long.

Of course, the timing always seems to work out perfectly in the long run. This time as I was editing during my Christmas break and knew this would come out around the New Year, many of the episodes reminded of the various resolutions we establish with ourselves this time of the year. You can find mine here. So much of this season is wrapped up in improving yourself or going after those dreams.

The problem is, we often forget to tell ourselves how much we have accomplished or were able to experience before we got to those resolutions. I can beat myself up for not editing those podcast interviews, but I wouldn’t be recognizing the amazing time I’ve had in my new job or the new friends I have gotten to enjoy.

Selfish, to me, is much more than the massage we take time out for each month, or the bubble bath we take on Sunday night to ward off the Sunday Scaries, but its about keeping our mental mind game in check. Instead of having anxiety over the 10 pounds you resolved to lose this year, think back to the amazing meals you were able to have with your husband during date nights. Sometimes we may choose not to get up and go to the gym in the morning, because we just have to read the last chapter of the book we're loving. You may not say yes to every friend that invites you to an event, because you are having a great time at home. What a blessing that is, that we have the ability to experience new restaurants, that we found a book that demands all our attention, and that we have a home we enjoy being in.

I am eager for you to dive into the stories of Mike Hilton and Bri Seeley who want nothing more than for individuals to be leading with purpose. They have developed tools to encourage you to do that, while giving you permission to leap. Amy Kaufman and Drew Ackerman took unfortunate situations and made them into brilliant business decisions. You couldn’t have made up these stories of redemption if you tried! André Wilson and Leigh Weinraub really break things down psychologically for us. André looks at why we are dress ourselves a certain way and Leigh wants you to look within to find that motivation you need. Emily Ho shares how having an audience changed the script she was telling them and herself. Amanda Nighbert is chock full of the knowledge and solutions you’ve been looking for when it comes to managi