MY A-TEAM LIST

(In alphabetical order by first name)

• Ally Carter

Short Intro: An author who is most famous for her Gallagher Girls series, Heist Society series, and Embassy Row series. She mainly writes in the young-adult genre, but also has some books in the adult genre. Learn more about them here!

Why They Inspire Me: I fell in love with her Gallagher Girls series when I was first introduced to it during my senior year in high school. Ahem – Zachary Goode – ahem (*swoon *heart eyes). Then as I finished college, found a typical job, worked that typical job day in and day out, I started to think deeper about how I wanted my career to progress. Because let’s be honest, I didn’t like my job. It didn’t speak to my soul. I loved writing and expressing myself and paranormal romance stories (oh yeah, total sucker for these – I’m drooling just thinking about it). I came across her Dear Ally, How Do You Write A Book? book. This book is like the teens/young-adult version of Stephen King’s On Writing. Ally Carter provides insight, practical tips, advice from other successful authors and shares her experience about becoming a writer and what to expect from the career. I love her books and loved that she shared her wisdom to aspiring writers. After I read this book, hope renewed in me that I actually can make it as a published author.

• Brave Wilderness

Short Intro: A YouTube channel that educates on environmental conservation and awareness. It is hosted by the Brave Wilderness team which includes Coyote Peterson, Mark Vins, and Mario Aldecoa. Learn more about them here! YouTube channel link.

Why They Inspire Me: I’m a huge lover of the environment. Its animals, plants, oceans, mountains, critters, and yes, on occasion, its people (when they aren’t being mean dumbasses). And I love watching these environmental advocates go out into the world and explore, have adventures while also educating the public about the importance of taking care of Mother Nature. Because nature has been good to us so we should reciprocate respect. The Brave Wilderness team does this in a cinematically beautiful, entertaining way that appeals to kids, adults, seniors, and sure your cat or dog too! I’ve watched their content from the beginning, when they were at less than a million subscribers. And they are well over millions of subscribers now. Love the team, love their wholesomeness, love their passion, and they remind me every day of the beauty and adventurers of our natural world.

• Christy Wright

Short Intro: She is a Certified Business/Life Coach who works with Ramsey Solutions. She helps to empower others and provide practical tips and insight into how others can make their dreams of running their own business come true. She especially works to empower women who are interested in starting their own business. Learn more about them here!

Why They Inspire Me: I was first introduced to Christy Wright’s book Business Boutique when I was listening to The Ken Coleman Show (another team member from Ramsey Solutions and also included on this list!) and trying to exchange a job I didn’t feel filled up my soul for one that did. I’ve always been interested in being an entrepreneur or being a small business owner because I’m just the type of controlling and idea generating wacko who wants to do work that fits my vision (aka do whatever the hell I want). In her book, Christy guides individuals, especially women, through the steps of turning a hobby or passion to an income generating stream. I loved her philosophy and her words of encouragement. And even if you’re not interested in starting your own business, I think check her out because she’s a beautiful soul who gives me motivation to not give up on my dreams.

• Elizabeth Gilbert

Short Intro: She is an American author who writes short stories, nonfiction, and adult fiction. You probably have heard of her from the iconic movie and book Eat Pray Love. Learn more about them here!

Why They Inspire Me: If you’ve read any of my other posts, you’ll know that I wasn’t the biggest fan of Elizabeth Gilbert. No reason. I just thought Eat Pray Love was overhyped. But that’s before I picked up and read her book Big Magic. Her words of wisdom, vulnerability, uncensored honesty and inspiring messages immediately changed my view of her. She speaks truth and I love it! And Big Magic quickly become one of my go-to books to help encourage me during my writing process. If you’re a creative person, this book is a must read. If you aren’t a creative person, this book is still a must read. I really connected with her message about the magic that surrounds us in this world and how there is this magnetic attraction between us and the ideas floating around just waiting to be utilized. We are meant to live our most creative lives. To be the vessels that channel these ideas in our unique way to share with the rest of humanity. And I sure want to honor my creativity by appreciating it and producing the meaningful works I am called to do.

• Gena Showalter

Short Intro: She is an American author who writes paranormal romance, adult fiction, and young adult fiction. Her most popular series include the Lords of the Underworld series, Everlife series, and The White Rabbit Chronicles series. Learn more about them here!

Why They Inspire Me: She was the first author I read that introduced me to the adult romance genre. Yeah, the first book I read in the adult genre in high school was a steamy paranormal romance. I love Gena Showalter with all my heart and I can praise her all day – but I won’t because I have to keep this brief. What’s there not to like about her? Her wit, humor, and personality are already winning traits. Not to mention her enticing storylines and relatable-yet-blistering-sexy characters will have you hooked, regardless of what you read by her! She’s part of the reason why I even wanted to write and publish my own books in the paranormal romance genre. I wanted to create something (produce a book/story) that made people smile, laugh, ugly cry, get their stomachs in a knot, and swoon just like the way Gena’s books affected me every time I read them. Which is basically every week for the last decade. Especially during the times when life gets hard. She never failed to lift up my spirits.

• Jazza (Josiah Brooks)

Short Intro: An Australian artist and YouTuber who produces art related videos and encourages others to always have fun with art and creativity. Learn more about them here!

Why They Inspire Me: This man puts a lot of work, effort, and time into the video content he creates. All for our entertainment on YouTube. But in addition to being a hard-worker, he’s down to earth and overall a great guy with a big heart. I love that he’s willing to be dorky (ahem, embarrass himself for our amusement with ridiculous and grandiose antics sometimes) and always encouraging others to be creative and experiment with art and creativity. That’s what got me hooked onto this channel. I first found Jazza’s channel when I was trying to learn how to draw. And his original tutorial videos are still very useful today in helping those interested in drawing to learn the basics. I never get bored watching any of Jazza’s videos. Like the rest of the list, when I’m in need of a bit of inspiration or just to watch a talented individual do their work (because you know it’s satisfying to watch skilled people work their craft), I scamper over to his channel. I always find myself smiling by the end of his videos and notice my mood increased ten-fold.

• Jessica Brody

Short Intro: An American author who primarily writes in the young adult and middle grade genres. She is known for her Unremembered series, the Disney Descendants: School of Secrets series, and various young adult books. Learn more about them here!

Why They Inspire Me: I was first introduced to Jessica Brody when I took her class Write a Bestselling Novel in 15 Steps on Lynda.com (free writing course through the library). From the first video, I knew I was going to vibe well with her teaching style and personality. She gave the best practical tips and actionable steps for those interested in writing and publishing a novel. While I was taking her class, I decided to read one of her books which quickly resulted in me reading three of her books over and over again for weeks. Jessica is an amazing teacher! And she breaks down the daunting task of writing a novel into achievable steps that any aspiring, novice writer will surely be able to follow. So if you’re interested in writing a fiction novel, check out her classes. Oh and check out her books. They’re entertaining and awesome! I was so lost until I took her writing course. She gave courage and support to help me finally believe I had what it took to actually write a full length novel.

• Ken Coleman

Short Intro: He is an American career coach who is part of the Ramsey Solutions team. His book The Proximity Principle helps individuals move towards finding and doing work that makes their heart light up. His show, The Ken Coleman Show (available on radio and YouTube), offers career advice. Learn more about them here!

Why They Inspire Me: I was perusing through YouTube (as I obsessively do), trying to find some guidance on how to move forward from a job that made me feel unfulfilled, and The Ken Coleman Show was recommended to me. This was a godsend. Let’s just say after watching dozens of videos later, downloading several free resources from the website, and meticulously reading The Proximity Principle book, yeah, I really like Ken Coleman’s content. The concepts he shares are so simple, but sometimes we need to hear it from someone else to finally have it click in our thick, resistant heads. Ken charismatically hosts the show and provides compassionate, honest, and practical advice both on the show and in his content. Especially in getting you to contemplate about finding your “sweet spot” or the intersection between your talents, passions and mission. And I am using what I’ve learned to start moving towards finding work that is meaningful to me.

• Scott Alan Turner

Short Intro: He is a Certified Financial Planner, former “money moron”, and hosts the podcast The Scott Alan Turner Show. He also created Best Money Academy which provides courses and content on financial literacy for all ages. Learn more about them here!

Why They Inspire Me: Scott has my sense of humor so that was one of the initial draws to his show and content. Not only that, he also shares my values and philosophy on how to build your wealth. His show is easy to understand, hilarious, down to earth and honest. Oh and if you love rock bands or songs (ahem *raises both hands*), each podcast has a snippet of a rock song in the intro! He creates content that makes financial literacy entertaining and doable so that you are motivated to work hard towards achieving your financial goals. I keep Scott in mind as one of my role models. The lifestyle he has achieved, his philosophy about building a healthy relationship with money and family/friends, the passion he has for his work, and his sense of humor all inspire me to keep pushing forward to achieve this in my own life. Your financial guru awaits.

• Stuff You Should Know

Short Intro: Hosted by Charles W. “Chuck” Bryant and Josh Clark, Stuff You Should Know is a podcast that covers topics on just about anything you may or may not be interested in and they do it in a very comedic way. Learn more about them here!

Why They Inspire Me: I love, love, love their content!! Okay, so I’ve always loved learning for the sake of learning and this podcast is basically the cream of the crop when it comes to edu-tainment about random interesting crap in the world. A friend of mine introduced me to this podcast a while back and I have religiously listened to them on my long commutes to and from work. I don’t commute for work anymore. Ahhhh those were the good old days. But I do still listen to them now. It’s like jeopardy. But you’re learning instead of knowing everything, answering questions, and trying to monetize your knack for reciting random facts. They made me excited about topics I never thought I’d be excited for. I’m very grateful that they create this content because it inspired me to start this blog to talk about random things (that you may or may not find interesting)!

• Thousand Foot Krutch

Short Intro: This is a Canadian rock band that comprises of band members Trevor McNevan, Steve Augustine, and Joel Bruyere. Pure rock. 100% wholesome. 1000% AMAZING. Learn more about them here!

Why They Inspire Me: Uhhhhhh where do I even begin with them?! They are fantastic! I’ve always been a lover of rock music. Here’s the thing, if you’re a fellow rock n’ roller, you know that most rock songs include cursing, drugs, sex, and violence. Which I’m totally fine with. I listened to Thousand Foot Krutch and I still have all the quintessential rock elements (the badassery of it all), but with wholesome uplifting lyrics. Mind-blown yet? Wait until you listen to them. Listening to this band (unashamedly every single day to help lift up my mood) actually was the reason why I even started writing my own lyrics again. Their music gave me the inspiration and the juice to get creative with my poetry. And l play their songs over and over again like a broken record, sing it at the top of my lungs, and use it to stay pumped up for whatever project I’m working on. Keep rockin’ til they come knockin’!

• Two Cents

Short Intro: A YouTube show hosted by Philip Olson and Julia Lorenz-Olson that educates people on financial literacy. Learn more about them here! YouTube channel link.

Why They Inspire Me: Maybe you didn’t grow up with parents or a family that talked much about money. Or they didn’t have the healthiest relationship with money. I know that growing up, my family was very hush hush about our money situation. Philip and Julia are like your surrogate financial parents here to guide you towards making wiser financial decisions. They are the cutest, sweetest and most down to earth couple to listen to! Their content is easily understandable to an audience of all ages. Interested in investing? Reducing debt? Saving money? And understanding how money affects us in every sphere of our lives? Two Cents will give knock some sense into you about these topics.

THANK YOU TO MY A-TEAM

I will say all the individuals on this list do incredible work every day and I’m sure they don’t make billions of dollars doing it. So thank you to all these individuals for their love, passion, and dedication. And most of all for inspiring me every day.

Why are they part of my A-Team? Because I feel the passion and love for their work brilliantly radiating. Their souls are full (singing like choirs of angels) doing things they care about. Living their best lives. And that’s an incredible feeling that I’m still chasing after.

Sometimes we aren’t aware of the wide influence we have. I know none of them will read this, but I just have to give my thanks and show my appreciation for all content they’ve created and shared so that others can be inspired and motivated to live a life with their soul fuller. Without them (and many others unmentioned here) and their beautiful messages, I would have given up a long time ago.

I hope to follow in their footsteps one day and create something that’s inspiring to you all. This was my hope with my personal website.

So that’s why I encourage all the readers to think of your A-Team. Because you deserve your best life too. Plus, you’ll feel really good after doing this exercise.