I’m getting a little VULNERABLE…but I can’t help it. Today, I am inviting you into my journey, my career, and my desired impact after over a decade of hard work.

We were raised by immigrant parents in a rough and tumble neighborhood in East Los Angeles. I didn’t learn to read until I was 11 and I wasn’t good at math… The stories I told myself as a child were “I’m not smart,” and “I’m a slow learner.”

Unbeknownst to me, being a late bloomer when it came to education meant I became super creative and I really loved learning.

>>I graduated with a 4.0 at the top of my class and earned a scholarship to UCLA Law School.<<

I felt like this was the path I was supposed to be on, that I was not just going to Law School for myself, but that I was representing my community and culture.

The gravity of that responsibility made me afraid to admit how unhappy I was.

It was then that my mom had a relapse with brain cancer, so I left law school on a whim. I knew I needed to be with my mom and that life was too short to stay unhappy for another minute.

That was the day my then-boyfriend JD asked me, “If you could do anything for the rest of your life, what would it be?”

I looked him straight in the eye and said, “I want to be a photographer.”

He said, “Okay…but you don’t have a camera.”

On New Years Day 2006, I opened up my first camera.

I left everything that was predictable and safe to follow my heart.

I went to the University of Google and YouTube, and with ONE camera and a bunch of rented gear, we worked our way up to the 1% of the 1%.

>>In just a few years, I was named one of the top 10 best wedding photographers in the world.<<

When I look back on my career now, I think it’s tempting to think the journey is liner. But there is nothing wrong with not knowing the end but being okay taking the first step.

Every amazing decision I’ve made in my life was taking the wrong step but the wrong step led me to the right one.

As I was running one of the largest photography businesses in the world, I started consulting with other business owners. I was seeing their genius and helping them with their strategy to build a brand and market it on social media.

Watching them succeed empowered me and JD to take that passion and curiosity and start Social Curator, a monthly subscription for entrepreneurs.

>>To do big and crazy things, you have to big and crazy dreams.<<

Oh friends, thank you for being here. Thank you for connecting with each other. Thank you for chasing your dreams along with me.

You have one wild, crazy and beautiful life, and it is so short… What are you going to do with it?