inspiration

Professional Opinion: Maxie McCoy on When—and How—to Take a Sabbatical

Professional Opinion: Maxie McCoy on When—and How—to Take a Sabbatical

Have you ever had a moment of such intense frustration that your mind wandered to ditching it all, putting your things in storage, moving to a foreign country to just be, and create. You probably shrugged it off as totally illogical. Completely impossible. Crazy. And irresponsible. But what you should really do the next time your mind goes there is do it. Literally do it. Take the leap.

Get Psyched: 5 Female Entrepreneurs Share Their Mantras

Last week when we were watching the VMAs, one moment stood out to us more than any others—and no, it wasn't one of Miley's outfits. Instead, it was when Demo Lovato told herself "I am enough" right before going on stage. We've all had those moments where we need a little extra encouragement, which was why it was so refreshing to see that huge pop stars have them, too. In solidarity with Demi, we tapped five of our favorite female entrepreneurs to tell us what they tell themselves when the going gets rough.

Read Up: Create & Cultivate Book Club

Read Up: Create & Cultivate Book Club

We could wax on forever about the virtues of books: they're portable, they feel good in your hands, they look good in your apartment, they give you a chance to get off the internet—and most importantly—you learn something. That's why we're kicking off Create & Cultivate Book Club! Each month, we'll pick a book (we're also open to suggestions!) and invite you to read along, and in a couple of weeks, we'll check back in to see what you think. At the end of the month, we'll wrap it up and discuss how/if the book was applicable to us and what we were able to apply.

Quotation Marks: Create & Cultivate CHI

Quotation Marks: Create & Cultivate CHI

Our team is still buzzing from all the energy, creativity, and general great advice we collected at #createcultivateCHI. The photos are in, so are some fun videos, and we've rounded up a few of our (and your!) favorite takeaways from the conference below. Feel free to repost, share, create, and cultivate! 

Professional Opinion: Maxie McCoy on Cultivating Inspiration

Professional Opinion: Maxie McCoy on Cultivating Inspiration

Creator and Director of Local Levo Maxie McCoy knows a thing or two about getting out of your own way to make a path toward your dreams. We can all learn a thing or two from Maxie's soul searching (and to that point, she'll be mentoring at #createcultivateCHI!), which is why we asked her to share her advice and adventures in just going for it. First read about her life (and career) changing trip to Bali, then read below for how she continued making room for inspiration once she returned home.

Office Inspiration: Kristi Kohut @ Lulu + Georgia

Office Inspiration: Kristi Kohut @ Lulu + Georgia

We've got some seriously incredible sponsors lined up for Create + Cultivate in Chicago. If you're lucky enough to be in attendance, you'll find them in your gift bags (the VIP gift bag is worth the cost of admission alone), on the conference floor, and in the coming weeks, we'll highlight a few of our favorites right here on the C+C blog. Because sharing is caring and they're too awesome not share.

First up: Lulu & Georgia, the lifestyle boutique of our dreams.