6th Anniversary Reflection

My heart is FULL!

Never in a million years would I think I would receive this outpouring of love and support for something that started as just an "idea". Although my first article was published on 8/30/2017, we celebrated our anniversary last night to keep our date for Sip and Chat consistent. To prepare for the celebration, I had a lot of time to reflect and wanted to share a few things with you.

1. Be consistent and persevere!

If you don't read anything else, I want you to at least get that. I started Sip and Chat in 2020 during COVID. When I first started, sometimes no one would attend. Even when no one attended, I still did the presentation. This was important to me because I was clear on my purpose. I often felt discouraged. When people attended, sometimes there would be no engagements. I am grateful for the consistent people that always encouraged me. I remember my MVP Bed told me once "Danou, once people see what you are doing here, they will come." She hardly ever misses a Sip and Chat. She has definitely been one of my biggest supporters.

2. Surround yourself with champions

Last night, as we were wrapping our celebration, Bed said, next year we should do a gala. Right after that, everyone else echoed YES. They can foresee it for us. I started the loyalty program for Daenne's Journal where you can earn points for doing the things you love. Not only was everyone excited, they wanted their points immediately for participating at the event. Last year during our anniversary, we played a game and everyone suggested that I start a podcast. This year we will launch our podcast by the grace of God. My champions foresaw this for me even before I did. Surround yourself with individuals who loudly cheer you on. You want to surround yourself with people who believe in your vision. There will be many doubters and naysayers. We want them to, but keep them out of reach. To all my champs, thank you. Thank you for reading, attending events, and sending words of encouragement. Just thank you for being AMAZINGLY YOU!

3. Put God first in everything you do

I took some time off in July to seek God and know what to do with Daenne's Journal moving forward. I always knew that it would be something big with multiple open doors, but I never knew what it would be. I didn't hear anything. Nothing became clear to me. Within the last two weeks, God answered me loud and clear. He created an opportunity for me to be featured on one of Nevada's most prominent radio stations, KNPR. Click here to listen to the show. I start at 24 minutes. I got an opportunity to direct such an amazing project at work. I wish I could show you the end result (maybe one day). God made a way for me to record the podcast for free while receiving classes on how to use studio equipment.

4. Just do it!

Whatever you are pondering on, JUST DO IT. Whether you do it or not, time will still pass you by. You might as well make the best use of time. Next you know, it will be 6 years later. You can either be starting 6 years later or reap the benefits of your perseverance. Our online community is there to support you in your next endeavors, click here to join us.

Xoxo,

DD