YO! You may have noticed that I wrote my two L.A. Marathon posts last week and then I left them up, alone, to be digested for a while. The marathon experience was so profound and so energetically stimulating (and also exhausting) that I just didn’t feel right posting anything on the blog later in the week. Nothing could really pair up with that experience except for REST, reflection, and a week of doing only things that 110% fed my soul and made me happy.
And even though I wasn’t posting on the blog last week, I was creating content for TBB like c-r-a-z-y. If you follow me on Snapchat (@jojoyounger), or Instagram then you know I was romping around L.A. with my OG photographer & blog creator, Morgan. Morgan’s talent behind the camera is one of those things that I will never stop being awestruck about and deeply inspired by, so having him here all week was a real soul-fueler.
( SIDENOTE: Soul-fueling might just be my new favorite phrase / purpose in life. #FuelDatSoul )
Wearing Band of Gypsies // Photo by Morgan Oliver Allen // Chasing the sun on the Venice Boardwalk
I have also done a lot of deep thinking about why I do what I do and how important it is to me to stay true and authentic to my core values of balance, inspiration, active/healthy lifestyle & high vibe, nonjudgmental living on the blog and my social media platforms. For someone as completely impulsive and spur of the moment as I am, putting careful thought and planning into the longterm goals for my brand is something that requires a lot of extra thought and time on my end.
I feel really good about what I came up with in terms of upcoming content as well as goals to work toward for the future, annndddd since you are my amazing readers I thought it was only fitting that I share those initial thoughts and plans with you:
- Create & Share Only Content that I am in Love With / That Inspires Me (And Hopefully Inspires you!). As a blogger, we sometimes agree to campaigns that we are only partially proud of. We also take a lot of photos that are just subpar compared to what we know we are capable of. Finding a delicate balance between being a complete perfectionist and just posting things I am only moderately inspired by is a goal of mine moving forward. I see the MAJOOORRR difference between bloggers who put a ton of thought and effort into their content (think Julia Engel‘s Instagram versus one with a bunch of grainy iPhone photos).
I love the above photo because I feel like it showcases my laidback personality, my hippie vibe & is still totally natural and subtle (no professional hair and makeup, no stylist, no nada). It’s taken on the Venice Boardwalk, home to one of the most casual and “local” L.A. vibes there is, and the clothes are as gypsy-free and wanderlusty as they come (a.k.a MY STYLE in a nutshell). The image is high quality because Morgan is a rockstar, and the editing is on point and very on brand for TBB & the clothing line. All in all… This photo inspires me to create and share only photos that I am madly in love with. Not to say I don’t already do that whenever possible, but to put more of an emphasis on it is important. 😉
2. Write more often for the blog & less detailed/long posts so I can get more out. You might have noticed lately that my last few posts were 3,500+ words. For a blog, that’s a LOT of words. I love sharing my life in detail with you guys, especially super important moments like the marathon, details of my book coming out, etc., BUT I also like the idea of putting content out more frequently which requires less detail. Not less quality, just less detail. This could also mean more posts that have a bit of writing and a lot of photos in them — another thing I love sharing!
3. More collaborations with organizations / brands / people that I TRULY believe in. Last week I partnered with the National Eating Disorders Association to raise awareness for #NEDAwareness week. I don’t think I have ever been so proud of a collaboration in my life — the organization hits so close to home for me, and I realize how important it is to raise awareness for a cause that needs as many thriving, healthy, body-positive women (and men) at the forefront as possible. Sometimes I get so caught up in my own projects and staying on top of my deadlines that I don’t get as involved with associations like NEDA as I would like to, but using my voice and my platform to speak up for what I believe in and want to share with people is really #1 in my book.
4. Have fun with EVERYTHING I am doing, & drop the things that are not fun and no longer serve me. Having Morgan here last week reminded me that I am ridiculously in love with what I do for a living. In fact, everyone I work with reminds me of that on a daily basis (Ty, Cole, Danika, Ali, Brandin, to name a few!) BUT having someone stay with me all week to create content for WORK just reminded me that what I do is honestly a total blast. I feel ridiculously lucky to do this for a living and have the freedom to switch between sitting in front of my computer writing in my pajamas and being in front of the camera all glammed up to everything in between. It can be easy to get lost in the shuffle and let my stress take over from time to time, but last week I realized/remembered there is no rush… A career with longevity means careful planning & taking my time, not leaping into any and every opportunity with abandon. Time. Patience. Breath.
Playing around at Playlist Yoga w/ Calv & Sophie after some videos we filmed last week!
5. More VIDEO content. There’s nothing quite like expressing yourself through video content… In a way, it’s personal in a way that writing just doesn’t have to offer. (Not to say writing doesn’t have its major strengths as well as far as expression goes.) I had SO MUCH FUN creating this video with Morgan, yoga videos we filmed with Calvin & Sophie (above), filming a “Best Friend Tag” video with Brandin (SO FUN can’t wait to share), and all sorts of fun behind the scenes “Day in the Life” vids. I have missed my YouTube channel and let it take a seat on the back burner for a while… Time to get back into it!
6. Lots of active lifestyle content. As time goes on, I realize and also LOVE that my main niche within the social media community is active lifestyle. I dip into other things like healthy recipes, food photos, fashion, health/fitness events, beauty, writing, eating disorder recovery, etc. BUT my main, main focus really is active lifestyle. I don’t ever want to let that part of my brand fall short — I really do get so much fulfillment from inspiring people to try something new when it comes to fitness / yoga / distance running / ANYTHING. More new & improved active lifestyle content to come!
7. Sharing more about my own personal health with you guys. I have recently been through a lot to find the healthiest version of myself and to find out what exactly has been making me not feel well for the last couple of years… And I am working with an incredible functional medicine doctor to get some answers. Tynan and I are working on a little YouTube video about my current health journey, but I also want to share more with you guys here on the blog. There is a lot to say! I have been waiting to get some answers before I talk much about it — so stay tuned.
Gettin’ that healthy lifestyle on with my delish “Mud Hut” Tonic from Lifehouse last week! // Photo by Morgan
As far as other things/ideas… There are a lot. These are kinda the basics. We are also about to do a full on revamp of TBV Apparel that I am beyond stoked about. What do you guys think? Would love your suggestions on what YOU want to see moving forward! You into my ideas?! XO