Chastidy Mader, MSN, APRN, FNP-BC

I attribute my success to humility, accepting my own weaknesses, and not being ashamed of them. The biggest task is releasing fear. By considering all aspects, people would have assumed I couldn't do what I'm doing today, and I could have let that fear grip me and keep me in a stagnant place. However, I decided that I wasn't going to live in fear anymore. Well, or more so, you're going to experience fear, but you just do it afraid, have courage. I could have let fear dictate my future after everything I had been through, but instead I moved forward despite it. I didn't let it hold me back, instead I let it propel me forward.

The best career advice I've ever received is to not take things personally. You go from civilian to entrepreneur to business owner, and you learn this whole new language, lifestyle, and behavior pattern. You learn how to process information and utilize it for the betterment of the company and yourself every single day. So again, the best advice I have received is to not take things personally, and to use the information that you receive to create a positive outcome in the end.

My advice would be to make sure that it's a career that you are going to be willing to incorporate into your life, because it isn't really something that you're able to leave behind when you go home. It's something that stays with you. No matter where you go, the people that you take care of become a part of who you are. And there will be people that you will never forget, no matter how much time goes by from that time you cared them. Also, make sure that you are mentally, physically, and emotionally prepared for the task and for the career, because it is very grueling. Basically, take care of yourself first, or you will not be able to take care of other people properly.

One of the biggest challenges I experience is when I pour myself into clients, and sometimes it doesn't exactly work out the way that I hope. Sometimes people get upset, no matter what the case is. I've had to learn, again, to not take it personally, because everything that happens in another person's life and the way that they react isn't always about you. Their behavior doesn't change my motive, because I know who I am today. As for opportunities, I have an aesthetics arm of my business about to open up called Fresh Face Fridays. I've paired with a lady who has been a Mary Kay consultant for 32 years, and we're going to come together and help women become their most physically beautiful selves in addition to transforming internally. A lot of women go through addiction and they kind of lose their looks, and that's something that can trigger people to return to that lifestyle, because women want to feel beautiful. So I'm going try to help people accomplish that too.

Honesty, transparency, authenticity, and loyalty are the values most important to me in my work and personal life.