Natasha Peinke

I attribute my success to my son's future and who I'm going to be in 10 years. I do everything I do for my son. If I wasn't working as hard as I am right now, me in 10 years would be a completely different person, and I could honestly say, probably, like, a lazy slob. And that's just not who I am. I value my place in the world too much to just skim by. I value my place in the world too much, and I value the world too much, and the people in it. You never know who's looking at you and who values you as a person. I can't imagine just skimming by, and someone that I didn't even know who was looking up to me is like, well, I guess if that's what Natasha's doing, I should do that too. I think it's important to always apply your full potential, because you never know who your biggest cheerleader is. I wouldn't just be letting myself down, I'd be letting someone else down. And I'm empathetic. That makes me sad to think about.

Don't give up. The best career advice I ever got is most people will tell you what you're doing doesn't make sense, and it's because they fear doing it. I remember even when I started doing marketing, a lot of people were like, get a real job, get a real job, just get a real job, Natasha. And I talked to my sales coach, and he goes, Natasha, what's a real job? A 9-to-5? You don't want a 9-to-5. You're a business owner, you're an author, you don't want to go back to a 9-to-5. The best advice I've ever gotten is don't give up, and don't listen to other people. Don't let people dictate how you're gonna live your life. There's something I came across the other day - you're born into a world, and they tell you your name, your religious values, your beliefs, and who you're supposed to hang out with, and you have to decide if you're gonna fight for that for the rest of your life, or fight for who you actually want to be. It was really powerful to read. Basically, people decide who you are, and you'll have to decide if you're gonna fight for that, or fight for what you feel inside.

Don't let somebody else tell you how you should be living your life. Don't let someone say, well, you know, you shouldn't be a writer, you can't be a business owner and a woman, you can't be going into computer science, like, you can't be doing any of that. Don't let someone tell you what your future is. How do they know the future? If someone tells you this is your future, just going downhill, be like, oh, I didn't know you were a genie, that's crazy. They don't get to decide. You don't get to tell me what I am, we're not pilgrims.

As a business owner, being in sales, and being an author, the biggest challenge would be the economy and how it's affecting people. People are like, oh, I just can't be doing that right now, I can't be spending this extra expense right now. The biggest challenge I come across is people are like, yeah, money's just tight, Natasha. It's hard to come by when that's how I get paid. But even with that, with every person that doesn't have the money, or doesn't want to spend the money, there's someone else who sees the value in what I do and wants to invest in it. Even with that challenge, there's a way to overcome it. I don't give up. I'm not someone to be like, gosh, well, I guess that just means I gotta quit.

I'd say authenticity - just always being yourself. I feel like a lot of people go into writing something thinking, I want to do this so people know I do this. But you do it because you can't go a second without thinking, I have to do this, like, this is just who I am. I'm writing this book because I'm meant to write a book, not I'm writing a book so I can say I wrote a book. It's just being authentic and always doing what's true to yourself. I really value authenticity and people who have an abundance of empathy and emotions for the world and the people around them. I'd rather have a conversation with someone who tears up when they talk about something than someone who sits there and crosses their arms and just nods their head. I value people who are authentic to who they are. We're born emotional creatures - we're born crying, we were born to be full of emotion and express it. I love people who still hold on to that in a world where we're supposed to just be dull. I value people who are bright and authentic. I definitely value honesty to the degree that's not blunt. I feel like you can be honest while still being empathetic. I really appreciate empathy - people who have a firm grasp on empathy. Because if you're empathetic, you can approach anything with being kind. I value brightness - you know when someone walks in a room and the room just feels lighter? That's what I'm talking about, bright. I value bright.