There’s just something special about California.  I never anticipated I would become smitten with it considering I don’t watch much TV and I’m not a follower of Hollywood at all.  The glitz and glamour of Hollywood isn’t my cup of tea yet there’s something that draws me there and I can’t put my finger on it.  It feels like home to me and I always look forward to going back the moment I leave.

It only seemed fitting that I start the Joy Journey in Los Angeles.  My soul-searching really began there.   A good British actor friend of mine (and one of the most authentic people I know) Treva Etienne pointed out to me that I wasn’t really living my truth and that it was of the utmost importance if I was ever going to be truly happy.   I already knew this but to hear it from another, it really struck a chord in me.

I tend to be a people-pleaser, let others take my power and put on a smiley face when I’m shattered inside.  These things were killing me, inside and out.

After that conversation with my friend, I flew home the next morning.  I barely remember the flights I took home.  I came back a changed women –a profound shift had happened sometime between that conversation and my arrival home.

Now I’m heading back to California to begin my next phase, to turn the page and spread JOY!  There are so many people there who’ve helped me birth this project in one way or another.  It’s time to give back!

Stay tuned to my blog next week for updates, pics and video direct from Los Angeles!

The Give Joy Now project came about from, what I like to call, my “spiritual crisis”.  About a year ago, I found myself soul-searching like never before.  Nothing seemed right anymore and all the labels, titles and work I was doing seemed suddenly all wrong.  I was lost, to say the least.

I decided I couldn’t pretend to be happy anymore so I shed myself of everything in my life that didn’t “fit” and set off on a mission to find myself again.  After looking under a lot of “rocks” and hitting lots of brick walls, I realized the thing that made me happiest had never left – it was with me all along.

I loved to inspire people, uplift them, make their heart sing by showing them how beautiful and talented they are.  I’m unequivocally an optimist in every sense of the word and I believe, without a doubt, anything is possible.  After that “ah-ha” moment, I knew my purpose was to spread JOY!

So here I sit, in a room nearly empty with a couple of packed boxes at my feet.  I’ve sold my house, let go of most of my personal possessions and I’m set to head out on the journey of my life.   I’m not sure where this journey will take me or even if it will be successful, but that doesn’t matter to me because it’s not about what you have – it’s about what you give.

I invite you to join me on the journey, to share in the adventures, discoveries, successes and the failures.  This isn’t just my journey, it’s OUR journey – and it begins today.