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Thank you for getting in touch! I look forward to hearing from you!

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You can also contact Kelly at kelly@thelipstickandink.com.

5 years ago, a part of me was lost. I had been liv

5 years ago, a part of me was lost. I had been living as a version of myself that I had carefully crafted. I was blinded into thinking I was being true to who I was when the reality is that I wasn’t. I was a young woman who doubted her talent, who quieted her voice, and who feared rejection and failure. I was a writer who had forgotten how to write my own life, handing my pen to others to write it for me.

But on January 13, 2018, I made a choice to look in the mirror and face the part of myself that I had suppressed for nearly a decade. When I did that, I brought back to life the part of me who loved to write, who had so much to share, who wanted to impact others with her words. It was the day that the idea for Lipstick & Ink was born.

This month, I'm celebrating 5 years of Lipstick & Ink. More importantly, I'm celebrating the conscious choice I made to embrace who I am and what I stand for. L&I is more than a blog and a business. L&I is ME. It gave me purpose when I didn't have one. It became the catalyst of my growth. It taught me impactful lessons about myself that have shaped me into the person that I am today, 5 of which I share in this post (swipe to read!):

1) Listen to Your Intuition
2) Shut Down the Inner Critic
3) Dare Greatly
4) Stay Authentic
5) Trust the Journey

Not only that, L&I has allowed me to cultivate an amazing and supportive community, one that I am incredibly grateful for. Thank you for following along, for subscribing, for engaging, for saving, for choosing me as your career coach, and for sharing anything and everything L&I. It means the world that you are here. Cheers to another year 💋

📞 Ring ring, your #innervoice is calling - are

📞 Ring ring, your #innervoice is calling - are you answering? It's my inner voice - the voice of my higher self, my intuition - that's guided me through many career moves, one as recent as last month.

I've held numerous customer-facing roles at my company, but since launching L&I, my career passions have naturally shifted. I realized that I wanted to make moves, transform my career & find a role doing similar work to what I do with L&I - developing people. This time last year, I made it a goal to find an internal role doing just that.

I used my network to introduce me to new teams and leaders. I reached out and asked for coffee chats to understand where my best fit was. I found ways to highlight my skill sets. I volunteered and took on stretch projects. Despite navigating tumultuous times with hiring freezes and layoffs, I persisted.

Then, one day, I saw the strategy ops team was hiring for a role to help ideate, build, and scale our employee programs. I heard my inner voice tell me to put myself out there and apply. Long story short, I went through the interview process and received a call a few weeks later that I had gotten the job. There were a lot of things to consider on my end, so I made a pro/con list, wrote down my fears and concerns, and talked to my family and mentors about it.

I knew what to do in the end and my inner voice gave me a gentle nudge to accept the offer. I listened and let my inner voice guide me through the uncertainty and trusted myself to make the choice that felt right to me.

I share this because there's a lot of uncertainty now in the job market. With talks of a looming recession and more anticipated layoffs, it's hard to know what the future holds. And it's in these times that you have to turn inward, ask yourself the hard questions, listen for your inner voice, and be brave to make moves. If something doesn't feel right, dig into why. If you're feeling a pull to make a change, take the risk. If you're unsure of your direction, trust the answer will come. Let your inner guidance lead the way.

You are in the driver's seat of your life. Your inner voice, your intuition, is your compass and your internal GPS. Follow it 💋

New year, new layoffs. That’s apparently a thing

New year, new layoffs. That’s apparently a thing now. The instability of the economy and corporate America means that we can no longer rely on the notion that good work and high performance brings job security. That’s what makes all of these recent layoffs (specifically in the tech sector) traumatic. Whether you’ve been laid off or watched, like me, as your colleagues were laid off, know that it’s okay to not be okay. Take the time you need to process, to grieve. We’re human after all and this stuff really effing sucks.

Here’s how I’m coping (and how you can too):
☞ Connect with those affected, extending empathy and support
☞ Vent to family and friends and being open to accepting help
☞ Step away from the computer, move your body, go for a walk or do a workout
☞ Journal about how you’re feeling and express all the emotions
☞ Take time to do something you enjoy for YOU
☞ Maintain the perspective that “this too shall pass” and that you can only control what you can control

Just like we have the last 3 years, we will get through it. We will persevere - with the support of each other. (P.S. If you or someone you know is currently going through a layoff, please let them know I am here as a career coach to help.) 💋

2022 - what a year. While this is quite literally

2022 - what a year. While this is quite literally the highlight reel, 2022 brought about a lot of lowlights too. Life gave me a bit of a push and a shove and I was forced to roll with its punches. But here we are, the end of another year and hopefully like me, you can look back on the year and appreciate the progress made and the wisdom gained. My top lessons of the year:

✩ 𝐋𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 + 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 – Because of my health scare this year, I realized health is top priority. Our body will send us signals when things are not right – it’s up to us to pay attention to them and make sure we take care of ourselves.

✩ 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥 (𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐨𝐤𝐚𝐲) – I’m the type of person that wants to do ALL THE THINGS. In the past, I would forgo sleep and not take care of myself for the sake of checking things off my to-do list. This year, I gave myself grace. I recognized I’m only one person and can accomplish only so much in a day.

✩ 𝐅𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 + 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 > 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐀𝐋𝐖𝐀𝐘𝐒 – I’ve learned that work can wait. Your health is of utmost importance, as is time spent with your family. If those two aren’t coming before work, there’s a problem and things need to change. At the end of the day, I know I’m not saving lives in my job and I’m going to remind myself of that next year when I find that I’m bending my boundaries.

✩ 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 – This year was rough on so many levels. I often got caught up in the victim mindset, the “woe me” and “why is this happening?!” It was always remembering that gratitude was there that got me out of those negative feelings and thoughts. Even when things feel like they’re falling apart and nothing is going right, gratitude is what can help you persevere and get through it.

✩ 𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 – I look back on this year and sometimes wish I had taken more pictures to capture my favorite moments. But then I remember I told myself in those moments to be present, to cherish it, to soak all the goodness in. And for that, I am grateful I did.

How I’d like to respond to all the “𝙐𝙍𝙂𝙀𝙉𝙏!!!” requests I receive at work (but in all seriousness, do not).

Instead, I do the following:
⫸ 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁. Collect the facts and ask yourself, what’s really at stake here? If you don’t know, ask.
⫸ 𝗜𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝘂𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿. This can help to make a timeline decision of how you prioritize.
⫸ 𝗗𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁, 𝘄𝗮𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁. I’ve learned that sometimes by responding right away, I’m unknowingly taking on the ownership when someone else may have otherwise.
⫸ 𝗔𝘀𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝗲 𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱/𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲𝗱. Be upfront about your other priorities and determine if you need to move some of your other tasks around. Sometimes “ASAP” doesn’t always mean you have to drop everything.
⫸ 𝗕𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘀𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗻𝗼 𝗶𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲. Use your best judgment and recognize you have the power to decline if you are being asked to do things out of your scope. Discuss with your manager if you are not sure. If it’s your manager making the ask, have the conversation about reprioritizing your tasks to accommodate the urgent request.

Now, let’s forgo any urgent requests for the rest of the year, shall we?! HAPPY HOLIDAYS ✌🏼💋

Ever heard the term, “your network is your net w

Ever heard the term, “your network is your net worth?” Let me just say, there’s a lot of truth to that. Even though I stress all the time that you need to be in the driver’s seat of your career, that doesn’t mean you have to figure it all out on your own. Sometimes you need someone riding shotgun with you, guiding you through your career journey and helping you achieve career success.

That “someone” can easily be multiple people (i.e. your Personal Board of Directors) and may fluctuate and change throughout your career, based on the guidance you need. They can be:
• A mentor
• A sponsor
• A career coach
• A {supportive} manager

When you have these 4 types of people in your career corner, they can not only guide and support you, but also:
✔️ Open doors for you and help you expand your network
✔️ Challenge you and give you honest feedback
✔️ Advocate for you and look out for your best interest
✔️ Coach and develop you to sharpen your strengths and cultivate new skills

Navigating your career can be isolating, anxiety-inducing, and stressful but you don’t need to go at it alone. Fill your career corner with people who can best support you! 💋

Here’s the tea, friend 🫖 Things have been a l

Here’s the tea, friend 🫖 Things have been a litttttle crazy over here the past few months. From selling our condo, moving from the city to the suburbs, going through home renovations that never seem to end, working long hours, to keeping up with life commitments. Whew, it’s been a doozy. So much so, that I’ve quite literally started losing my hair because of the stress 🫣 (any and all tips appreciated btw).

I shared in a recent L&I email that amidst all the chaos, I got caught up in a phase where nothing seemed to be going right. As mishap after mishap occurred, I succumbed to the dreadful victim mindset. I got caught in the vicious cycle of pitying myself and focusing all of my energy on the setbacks, which only made things worse.

After weeks of “woe, me,” 😓 I remembered a book I read last year: The Power of TED (The Empowerment Dynamic). In it, author David Emerald shares that rather than staying stuck in the Victim role, you need to change the power dynamic and shift to the Creator role. 😫➡️🤓 While the Victim prefers to look back, re-hashing negative stories, the Creator looks forward, taking an optimistic approach and choosing to think about those stories differently.

I decided it was time that I snapped out of playing the Victim and embodied my inner Creator again. I recognized that I wasn't going to retrain my brain and reframe my behavior overnight but that I could make intentional choices to get there. For me that meant:
⇢ Acknowledging my inner conflict and accepting what needed to change.
⇢ Reminding myself that even when things in my life are swirling out of my control, I have the power to choose my reaction to it all.
⇢ Manifesting that things will work itself out and that this is just a temporary blip of circumstances.
⇢ Adopting a #gratitudeattitude. Having gratitude during a challenging time doesn’t always come naturally, but it's always there - I just have to remember to choose it.

Your turn to spill the tea: how have you shifted from being the Victim to a Creator? 💋

NAVIGATE

LET’S BE FRIENDS

CONTACT

kelly@thelipstickandink.com

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