August is my favorite month for a number of reasons. I’ll start by stating the obvious– it’s my birthday month, whoop! But, my love for August goes far beyond my birth month, August represents the birth of something new. Have you ever wondered why school usually starts in August? Or that the week has 7 days, and not 8? Well, thanks to some digging, I found some pretty enlightening information about the sweet number eight:

Biblically:

The number 8 in the Bible represents a new beginning, meaning a new order or creation, and man’s true ‘born again’ event when he is resurrected from the dead into eternal life. (read more)

Numerically:

Some of the more recognizable traits of the 8 are drive, ambition, authority, efficiency, organization, management, discipline and control. The 8 is goal-oriented, focused, has good judgment, can discriminate and is practical, a realist. (read more)

Get my drift?

As I enter this New Year, at 28, I continue to learn so much about myself and the ever-changing world around me. Some discoveries have been great, others have been saddening. But, life is truly about welcoming the new and not being attached to what becomes familiar. I’ve decided a Note to Self is in order, to guide me through 28 and the years to come.

I pray this list empowers you just as much as it has empowered me through my life experiences… Hello Twenty-Eight.

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28 for 28

1. Give yourself a break, like just stop doing and be still for a minute or eight.
2. Preserve and protect your freaking awesome energy.
3. Don’t be too quick to make new friends, friendship is one of the must undervalued assets in the human experience– they will NOT come easy.
4. Do what you feel like doing, instead of what you think you should be doing.
5. Pray more.
6. Workout and eat right, for the sake of longevity.
7. Network with those who can take you HIGHER—not lower or at the same level.
8. Most “networking events’ are the same, so select your presence wisely.
9. Peer to peer “networking” really isn’t as efficient as you think.
10. Stop trying to be “something or someone” and just be who you are.
11. Your professional brand is FAR more important than your personal brand. If you don’t know the difference, maybe you could use a consultation?
12. Yes, working for someone (an established business or organization) is more important and credible than “doing your own thing.”
13. Education is priceless, even though it costs a lot of money. If you don’t have one, get one.
14. Realize how dope you really are.
15. Save money, invest your funds, opt-in your company’s 401K plan–duh.
16. It’s okay to have a setback, but use that time to prepare for the come up.
17. Negotiate your salary, you should make more money every year– period.
18. At 28, age is more than a number. It represents a certain level of awakening and adulting, don’t downplay being a grown up.
19. The law of attraction is REAAAAAL! You are what you attract. Don’t like what you’re attracting? Take a look inside and make those adjustments
20. It is unwise to spend time on Unnecessary Creation, a friend shared this book with me, and I learned: to consider the opportunity cost of spending your life only on pragmatics. You dedicate your time to pleasing everyone else and delivering on their expectations, but you never get around to discovering your deeper aptitudes and creative capacities. Nothing is worth that. 
21. Nurture your friendships. Treat them like plants that always need water and if you don’t water them–they die.
22. Focus on yourself in the most selfish, liberating way— everyone else does this exact thing.
23. When answering the infamous question, “What do you do?” Lead with your MOST VALUABLE SKILL, not your dream. What pays you the most? What are you being retained to do most of the time? Lead with that, first.
24. Pray more.
25. Take time to be alone and in your own energy to learn yourself. What do you actually like doing? What’s your pet peeve? Are you the outdoor or indoor type?
26. Dress like you’re the bossiest beotch you know.
27. Family first. For real, because when your job is over, and business isn’t booming, and you and your boo fall out, and your friends start choosing sides– family actually is all you have.
28. Date on purpose, you’re 28.

Selah,

 

Giselle