Posted on by Stephanie's Corner

Breaking Up Is Hard To Do

“They say breaking up is hard to do,” sings Neil Sedaka, and I can tell you, he’s certainly correct on that! Breaking up any relationship is hard to do, especially when you have been with a person for so many years. But what happens if you are no longer happy? Should you just stay with that person because you are comfortable and afraid of being alone or should you just continue to be miserable and pass up any chance to be happy?

Its one thing to be in a relationship that is fulfilling it’s another to be in the relationship, “just because.” If after so many years you realize that you no longer have the same feelings for this person as you did when you met, you no longer are attracted to this person, or for other circumstances like cheating, lying and abuse, you need to leave this relationship. It’s one thing to love another person, but being in love with another person is an entire different ballgame. I know couples that broke up simply because they were not in love with each other anymore and they wanted to be happy with someone else.

That is where the attraction to someone else goes hand in hand. When you fall in love with someone you feel the chemistry between each other, where as, when you just love someone there really isn’t too much chemistry that attracts you to want to be with the person. You may indeed love him or her, but you don’t feel compelled to want to spend every waking moment with this person.

I have heard stories of people breaking up because they feel as if the other party just doesn’t understand them or is in the relationship because it “benefits” the other person. My question is simply this: Why would you want to be with a person who just doesn’t understand you, doesn’t want anything to really do with you, and is only with you because it benefits them one way or another? Its true that we get very comfortable in relationships that last years, even months. Sometimes we get way too comfortable which then makes it even harder to do what we know in our heart we need to do, but we can’t bring ourselves to do it. Then there are the relationships where one party lies, cheats, or worse off abuses the other person either physically, emotionally, or mentally. Anyone who abuses another person is simply a bully- period. They have such lack of respect for human life but they also have very low self-esteem. That is one of the reason they are abusive.

Just like bullies on the playground, people with a lack of self-esteem often terrorize someone who has self-esteem. Jealousy is often one of the other reasons why the bully picks on a person. The bully gets self-esteem through terrorizing his/her victim. They make this person somehow eventually believe that they are worthless, incompetent, and rejected. Not only is it a power trip for the bully but they are also gaining negative self-esteem by taking away your positive self-esteem. And to most people, this is the hardest relationship to get out of. People often argue that the victim “enjoys” being abused, but that is far from the truth. The truth is they feel they have nowhere to turn and also feel embarrassed as to what has been going on. They feel as if they will be judged, as if they caused their partner to be abusive. This can’t be further from the truth. Sometimes they don’t want to believe that the person whom they have loved would want to hurt them. They feel as if other people are jealous of their relationship. But once they can see through all the fog, they realize they deserve better, that they are worthy of love and respect they made a play to leave the relationship. Its also important to know that asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness but it actually shows that you have courage to stand up for yourself.

In conclusion, for the most part, we don’t enjoy hurting someone’s feelings. And telling someone that we no longer love him or her the same way when we first met is not easy. But when we feel in our heart that we no longer love this person, it’s not fair to ourselves, and its not fair to the other person. No one wants to live a lie. But no one wants to be forced into a relationship either. Breaking up isn’t meant to be easy, but all the tough decisions we make in life aren’t easy, but in the end if we find ourselves happy, making the tough choices in the end are worth it.

Posted on by Stephanie's Corner · 4 Comments

10 Facts Every Woman Should Know

1. Everyone has rolls when they bend over. Your body is NEVER going to look perfect. Ever.
2. When someone tells you that you’re beautiful, believe them. Stop thinking that people are just saying it, no they mean it.
3. Sometimes we all wake up with breath that could kill anything that is breathing.  Bad breath happens to everyone.
4. For every woman unhappy with her stretch marks is another woman who wishes she had them. There are so many women who wish they were moms, remember that.
5. You should definitely have more confidence. And if you saw yourself the way others see you, you would. Your can accomplish anything you set your mind too!
6. Don’t look for a man to save you. Be able to save yourself. Men are not heroes, be your OWN hero and save yourself!
7. Life happens outside your comfort zone.  If you never take any risks, you never grow. Life is about growing and learning. Don’t be afraid to live the life YOU want.
8. We all have that one friend who seems to have it all together. That woman with the seemingly perfect life. Well, you might be that woman to someone else.
9. You should be a priority. Not an option, a last resort, or a backup plan. Ever.
10. You’re a woman. That alone makes you pretty damn remarkable. 💕

 

Posted on by Stephanie's Corner

With My Birthday Approaching, Here are 3 Things I Have Learned This Past Year

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Welcome to April, or as I like to call it; the best month ever! Okay, so I am bias to this because my birthday is in this month and it is about 4 days from today. Yippee!

And with my birthday approaching, I started to think about this past year; where I was and where I am heading. If you never read any of my books, then you don’t know that I have had experiences in my life that have been life-changing. Some experiences broke my heart while others just made me stronger and wiser. That’s the thing though, about life- every opportunity, every experience either makes you or breaks you if you let it. And in this past year of my life I have learned some major lessons that I would like to pass on and share with you.

1- There is almost always more than one way to accomplish something. There are always those folks that go for the traditional way, but there are usually multiple alternatives. The alternatives aren’t always better, but some folks don’t even want to know that they exist. You don’t have to do it the way everyone else does. That’s where out of the box thinking comes into play. Some people may be threatened by doing things a different way, but your life shouldn’t be determined by what other people think.

2- Make peace with money. Money doesn’t change people, it unmasks them. There are folks that only care about getting their share of it at whatever the cost. They don’t care about people, they only care about money. I’ve always said that money is evil because it makes people do things that they shouldn’t do just for a piece of it. By all means, make your money, but create your own definition of success when it comes to money. Don’t let it rule your life!

3- Love the process. Everything in life is a process. Everything that you do should largely be about the process, not the outcome. Memories are made because we see every moment of life as a gift. Not everything is going to happen for you overnight. Clients of mine sometimes drive me crazy with this one because they think social media is going to get them success overnight and it NEVER does! Same can be said for relationships. People rush the process of getting to know someone. They focus on that “happy ever after” instead of the “once upon a time.” Every friendship, every romance, every business relationship is a process. When getting started, just get started. Enjoy the process.

Life isn’t perfect and sometimes things will happen that are horrible, but if you remember that everything happens for a reason, it’ll give you a sense of hope. And there’s always hope. To be hopeful is to look on the future positively, to see opportunity in challenges. It’s looking at life as the glass half full rather than the glass half empty. Life is hard and will kick you in the butt if you let it. But hope gives you the strength to keep going. Hope is that voice inside that says, “Yes, you can.” And when you believe that, anything truly is possible.

Posted on by Stephanie's Corner

Red Flags To Look For Online Dating Scams

With the number of new online dating apps popping up as well as the number of folks using dating apps at an all-time high, here are red flags to look out for to determine if your prince or princess charming is for real and not a scammer.

1) Profile is not complete. Scammers often are not specific in what they are looking for in a mate.  And they don’t answer questions when asked either.

2) They said, “I Love You”  and haven’t met you in person yet.  Some people can sound great on the phone, but when you meet them there is nothing there; or, physically they just don’t meet your standards. How can someone honestly love you before having met you in person?

3) They said, ” I Love You,” on your first date.  Again, you just freaking met in person, and they say they believe in love at first sight, and that you two are soulmates and they feel it, blah, blah, blah….  Love, true love takes time to build.

4) Playing Games.   He doesn’t want to give you his phone number, he only wants to communicate via email, or Facebook Messenger, or through the App. (Remember, there are a number of services where you can get a phone number with almost any prefix.)

5) He or She won’t FaceTime –  Now with the option of facetiming you can tell right off the bat if a guy or girl is trying to scam you simply by them refusing to FaceTime.  They always have an excuse as to why they can’t do this.

6) Fake Photos: On Dating Apps, it’s almost a sure bet that there are tons of Fake Photos! Do a Google Image search to see if his photo shows up on stock photo sites or catalogs.

7) Money! Money! Money!  1) The first questions that are asked are, “So, how much money do you make?” and 2) They ask you to borrow money and give you some story as to why they are desperate for the funds.

These are just a few signs that the person you met is either trying to scam you out of money or the guy/girl could be married and is cheating on their partner.

You can avoid all heartache if you know what to look for and also how to ask questions right from the first message you receive. Don’t give too much personal information away either! They don’t need your phone number, address, work address, social media pages, etc. Start slow and really get to know someone first.  Set up a meeting in a public place. If they fail to show up – next!

You can get tons of tips here: Click This

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What Entrepreneurs Do Wrong On Social Media

Here are some social media tips for starting out, because let’s face it, most young entrepreneurs think they got the social media marketing “down pat,” but in all seriousness, they aren’t even close.

1. Start small You’ll want to start small and try 1 or 2 platforms. Often times folks sign up for every social network under the sun and try to grow each of them. Guess how long they last? Building profiles for multiple social sites is hard work, so it’s best to start by only tackling two at first. Once you find the right ones for you or your brand, then start to narrow your focus on those. Eventually you may want to scale your social media strategy to include more services, but you have to crawl before you can walk. Start small, and then grow to other social networks as your confidence grows. Success breeds success.

 

2. Don’t fret about follower counts! Don’t believe all the folks out there that sell you the notion that you can attract thousands of followers in a matter of days. Sure, you could do that and it’s not hard. But the types of followers who are going to be following you are mostly bots. Or they’re just following you in hopes that you’ll follow them back. Ultimately, they aren’t followers who would engage with you. You want social media followers that are going to listen and interact with you, and 10 of those followers is worth more than a thousand bots. It takes a while to organically build up a great social profile. Focus on building great content and being helpful, and the followers will come. Don’t buy followers. (If you want to read up about content marketing, you can click here)

3. Don’t annoy your followers! Sounds like common sense, right? Unfortunately, lots of companies that are just starting out with social media think the best way to “promote” their brand is to publish coupons, offers, news, and anything else related to their business. Rule of thumb: if it’s something you personally wouldn’t like to receive, avoid it. Your social media goal is to be helpful first. People follow and respect brands that are helpful, not self-promoting shills. Give first, then ask. Try posting useful links to industry articles, answer questions, and engage. The followers, engagement, and ultimately sales will come if you’re helpful first.  Great brands didn’t get that way by failing to deliver on an authentic brand promise.  It’s all about being authentic, not fake.

Posted on by Stephanie's Corner

5 Ways To Love Yourself Everyday

Sleep, wake up, work. And repeat. That’s a daily grind that we all seem to go through daily as we dread the next time the alarm goes off. There’s more to life than work. What is one thing you can do every day to take care of yourself, to gain some important, “me time?”

Start your day off with meditation and exercise.

Sit and focus on how you breathe for at least 1 to 5 minutes or preferably 15 to 20 min. Connect with nature by taking your workouts outside (also great for getting your daily dose of Vitamin D), do some yoga, or simply stretch. Endorphins will surface and lift your spirit and immune system higher. I love going for 2 mile walks.

Read.

Pick a few articles from blogs and websites that you find inspiring and read them throughout the day. Most people don’t’ have time to simply read a book, but if you choose to read a book, make it fictional. The reason is so you can find an escape for at least 15-20 minutes a day reading something that enraptures your imagination.

Put yourself on a schedule so that you make time for play.

Use your vacation days or use a personal day. Even a single mental health day or a short trip out of town is a great mental booster! Get out of your normal routine and do something out of the ordinary. Too often we get use to our comfort zone, that we fall into a rut or we burn out, so use your vacation days before they roll over. Also take time to enjoy the weekends. Weekends with no play are no fun.

Have A Hobby

Letting your creative juices flow with stop you from getting caught up in the monotony of daily life. You also can find it fun and interesting to learn a new skill, or polish up on one that you already have. You could also meet new people as a result of your hobby and join a group or go to a workshop/class on it. Cooking, sewing, woodwork, painting, the ideas are endless and up to you!

Unplug from technology.

What is the first thing people tend to do when they first wake up? They grab their phones, tablets, or laptops and start plugging away. Leave the electronics alone until you’ve given yourself time to get ready for the day ahead. Make time for breakfast, which usually gets ignored or forgotten about and save the email, Facebook, and other social media platforms for the end of your morning ritual.

Have a great Valentine’s Day- Remember to LOVE yourself FIRST.  If you don’t, you can’t expect anyone else too.

hearts

Posted on by Stephanie's Corner

Stop Trusting Viral Videos

 

You go on Facebook or Twitter and there you see a video of folks involved in some type of dispute.

You are automatically outraged! How could this be happening? You comment on every news media outlet on social media and you post it to your own profile.

Guess what?

You are part of the problem that is happening on social media platforms everywhere; you are judging based on ONE VIDEO you saw without seeing the entire incident!

The parts of the video that seem to ALWAYS be posted are the parts that are the “juicy” details that the media knows will have outrage follow.

When multiple videos present multiple possible truths, which one is to be believed? This is the question most don’t ask themselves BEFORE they judge a video. When do they ask this? Most ask this once they realize that they are being duped by the mass media for a reaction that fits their agenda.

Not only this, but on social media it’s so easy to do two things: 1) Lie and 2) Be anonymous. This can especially be done on Twitter. Twitter today has turned into a place you go when you just need to know the gossip and only do it with folks who believe the same as you do. When you find an “outsider” you attack. This is just what the mass media loves and wants. They love tweets from folks who fit their agenda. Right now they love folks who are against the President and all those people who are for him. He is the enemy and they are fighting this battle with their pose on Twitter. When will these folks realize that this can quickly turn against them?

I was ecstatic to see that Twitter suspended the account of the person who started the latest viral lie. But that doesn’t stop these folks because just as quick as they are to get suspended, they can turn around and create a new account. I have said this many times on my radio show, and I probably will say it a million times more; social media was NOT designed for political conversations nor is it the place where folks should be getting their news from. With so many bloggers who have an ax to grind, and folks who believe anything that they are selling, the internet has made it difficult to understand what it true and what is false.

The add the point, on Facebook this week, a woman created a post saying that a certain number of kids went home cancer free, and she wanted folks to share it so she did what you are “supposed to” do, she said, “ I bet you won’t share this!” Boom- over 1 million folks shared it WITHOUT researching just how true the post actually was/is. I can tell you that if kids who had cancer went home cancer free, and it was a huge number, the mass media would cover it. That is a heartwarming story and they do still cover those, especially on social media.

In closing, I will just give this advice to all who are on social media: 1) Be careful what you write and put out there. It can always come back to bite you later. 2) When mixing personal with business, be smart about it. This means not to incorporate politics and religion as those 2 topics can wipe out half your clientele. And finally, 3) Look at social media more as an investment, not just an activity. (Especially if you are a brand or business)

Posted on by Stephanie's Corner

How Your Data Is Being Used

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So, if you are like anyone else on Facebook, you probably did the 10 year challenge without even blinking an eye.  It’s for fun, right?  Well, if you are like me, you would think that the 10 year challenge is a way for Facebook, scammers, police enforcement and just about any other company to collect data using facial recognition algorithms on age progression and age recognition.

Now only that, but half of the stuff that folks do on social media can be seen as a way of marketing schemes to collect data on it’s audience to best determine how to get you to buy or use their product/service.   When you click an ad on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter, you give that platform very important information.  You might not even know this, but when you pass a billboard on the highway, that billboard is collecting data of you through your smartphone.

For people to even complain about Facebook selling data or data breaches, for that matter, is ridiculous, simply because you are giving Facebook the data in the first place! No one is telling you that you need to give your date of birth, your most recent photos, check-in to places, and so forth.  No one is forcing you to tell Twitter what you think about this, or post that picture of you eating sushi for the first time on Instagram.  The only person doing all of this is YOU!

Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are all public forums.  Yes, you can have your account as “private,” but the platform is still collecting your data whether your profile is public or private.   What it comes down to is not giving out so much information.  These sites won’t know what they know if you don’t tell them!

Be careful what you post.  Be careful about what you say. It can always come back to bite you later on.

Posted on by Stephanie's Corner

Men’s Epic Fails

Sorry guys, but sometimes you really are pathetic. Sending your mixed signals, changing your mind more times than I change my bra, and just being completely idiotic with playing games. But the good news is, us women still love you, flaws and all. Here are a handful of things that you guys may not even notice that you are doing which in turn are ruining your relationships.

Not Planning Things

The first epic fail is that you guys always assume that the woman is the one to make the plans. So while she is sitting there waiting for you to take the lead, you are sitting there wasting time because you feel that’s a “woman” thing to do.

Start Saying Thank You

This is obvious, we give you a gift or say something nice, open your big, fat mouths and say thank you! It won’t hurt and we won’t read anything into that. Not saying thank you is just plain rude!

Blaming Our Moods On…

Yes, you guys constantly blame our monthly periods on our moods. Here’s a crazy concept, maybe I’m not in a bad mood, angry, or a bitch. Maybe I said it because it’s true and I meant it. Marinate on that.

Run!

You realize that you really like a girl and she really wants to be with you so what do you do? You run! How stupid, seriously! If you aren’t ready for that type of relationship, all you need to do is communicate that to her and ask to remain friends. If you really likes you, she’ll agree. Running is for fools. Sticking your head in the sand might make you feel safer, but it’s not going to protect you from the coming storm.

You Are Not God’s Gift To Women

I repeat, you are NOT God’s gift to women, so calm down. Stop being overly cocky and over the top and just be your freaking selves! A real woman is NOT impressed with cars, how much money you have, how much weight you lost, the type of job you have, etc. We want you to have a job and be able to drive us on dates, but deep down, we don’t care about this stuff.

Pick Up The Damn Phone

Pick up the damn phone and call us back or text us back. When you go cold-turkey on us and not respond that makes YOU look bad or you look like you are starving for attention. Again, it’s another way of you being rude, and by the way, this is not going to make us NOT like you anymore. It will just annoy the hell out of us.

Proposing To A Woman Just Because…

Why the hell would you want to get married if you don’t love her? This is a major epic fail because then you are stuck in a situation that you shouldn’t be in the first place. This goes for men who get a woman pregnant and feel it’s the “manly” thing to do to marry her. This is for the guy who confuses love with lust. This is for the guy who meets a woman online and then 3-6 months later proposes without really knowing her. This is also for the guy who meets a woman and then suddenly thinks he needs to put a ring on it…. without truly knowing her. This is half the reason who divorce rates are high. But hey, divorce is a completely different topic that we will discuss later but I will say that if this i you- at least you have an out from your misery.

Spying On Us

It amazes me how stupid you guys are sometimes! Social Media isn’t going to help you really get to know a woman. Granted yes you get to see their pics, and you get to see what hobbies and things they like to do, but if you judge a woman based on her social meida accounts, then you are setting yourself up short & not being fair to her.

Being Gross

Talking with your mouth full and shoving food in your mouth, are just two of the ways that you guys gross us out. The other is when you don’t say excuse me after you burp…. ewww.

Arguing Over Nothing

Yes, us women are guilty of nagging you. I get it. But you guys are guilty of starting fights over nothing. Literally- nothing!

Sending Mixed Signals

One minute you talk to us and flirt with us non-stop, the next minute you ignore us. Then you think you have a right to get angry when we do the same crap to you? If you want us but aren’t ready to be in a relationship, open your mouth and just tell us. If we really want to be with you, we will wait. If not, why keep us wondering and waste your time as well?

Wanting Sex And That’s It

Friends with Benefits never work, so why do you guys seriously think that if you just sex from us, that’s okay? I understand that you have needs, so do we, but if you date a woman for a while and spice things up in the bedroom, you’ll have the best of both worlds.

You Put Too Much Emphasis On Looks

I get it, you want a barbie doll type girl. You know, the Victoria’s Secret type. But remember, looks fade, personality doesn’t. Her mindset will raise your children, not her materialism, looks, or her body. Choose wisely!

Trying To Get Us Jealous As A Way To Communicate

Trying to see if a woman likes you or feels the same way about you by lying that you are in a relationship, flirting with other women in front of her, or just wording things in a certain way so you get a reaction out of us, isn’t going to get you the desired response. Instead, you are going to hurt her, and seriously I doubt that is the intention of most men. I’ll fight for you but I will NEVER compete for you.;there’s a difference.

Using Text To Have Serious Conversations:

Texting is good for those hi, how are you doing messages. Texting is NOT good to see where you stand with someone, break up with someone or even have a serious conversation about any situation you are going through. People today have lost the true meaning of communication simply because using text is so impersonal and it doesn’t truly convey the message you really are sending. So before you decide to have a serious talk, save it for face to face and please put down the damn phone!

No one is perfect, I know that. And I am not saying that you guys need to do everything perfectly correct. But if we take a little time to actually THINK before we act or speak, we are not only thinking about ourselves but also remembering that HOW we approach situations effects others too. Your imperfections don’t define you. It’s how you handle them that makes you human.