Who are you most inspired by?

My sweet, stubborn & over 100 grandma. She was a force to be reckoned with. She Inspires me every day. Her ability to talk to anyone & her kindness is something I miss.

She wouldn’t put up with crap & taught me not to do the same. Her ability to knit her own clothes & make me sweaters I still have. Makes me forever grateful.

She was the matriarch of my family & she was determined to stay in her house until she couldn’t. I miss our conversations & sitting in her living room & looking up at the mountains in her town. I recall our many family reunions where we’d sit & eat shrimp late into the night. Our family reunions when she’d make over 7 cakes for the family. We lived on them for days & would often fight over the remaining pieces.

Savner deg Farmor.

What’s a common misconception people have about happiness?

I think it’s clear that money doesn’t buy happiness. I’ve been living gratefully for over a decade. I live each day in the moment, by practicing being in the now. It’s taught me that it takes very little to make me happy.

Having Mar e Largo face & a shake & bake tan doesn’t make you happy. Being true to yourself does.

What do I mean by being true to yourself? Treat yourself with kindness & gentleness. It’s not about owning the latest gadget or buying a new wardrobe because something didn’t go your way.

Doesn’t make you happier just broker & more in debt.

Happiness is about practicing being grateful for what you do have. I’ll never forget when I was homeless but I had a safe place to shower and it made me feel safe when the shelter wasn’t.

It’s not about taking what you have for granted but being grateful for it. So you don’t have xyz. Do you really need xyz or is it something you’re telling yourself. Be happy & content everyday not with the future but with right now. That’s what happiness is.