Hey Reader!

This week brought me SO much joy. 🥰

Last weekend, I got to spend time a whole day with the Girl Scouts of Girl Scouts River Valleys, reading to the daisies and the brownies, and then talking to the older Scouts about embodying power and truth. And mannn it was such a joy. They even got me a custom jacket with my name on it and now you can’t tell me nothing because I’m an honorary Girl Scout. 🥹🥹🥹 So much love to Marisa Williams, CEO of GSRV for this dream partnership, championing my work! I loved every bit of it. 🥹🙏🏾

Then I’ve spent this week at a lake house because I'm on manuscript deadline for my next book (coming Fall 2026!). And writing this book has been so energizing because this feels like the book I’ve meant to write for a long time. It is a book for such a time as this. Water brings flow, and going by it has been the best enabler. I had one of those moments this week where I read back what I had just written and literally said out loud: "OH THIS IS A BANGER!!" Send prayers of ease and alignment because this book is NECESSARY. 🤞🏾🔐

But yeah, let's jump into what else has been been on my mind this week. 👇🏾

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RANT

It’s time to let that baking soda go.

I know this might actually feel like an attack, friends. Buttttt it is time to let that baking soda that’s been sitting in your fridge since 2021 go.

You shoved it to the back of the fridge some years ago and frankly forgot it was there for a reason. That orange box been absorbed ALL THE ODOR it can. Lemme hold your hand when I say: its probably turned into rock salt by now.

LET IT GO! Lmaooo.

And if it makes you feel better, you can send it away with love. All you gotta do is take the baking soda, throw it into your garbage disposal, pour some white vinegar and watch the bubbles fizzle. It will clean your pipes, so WIN WIN.

Your emotional support box of baking soda has put in work and done what it can.

Get a fresh box.

Oh and while I’m here, clean out your cupboards. I know you got some expired things in there. No shade, no tea. Love you down, regardless! (oh and if it helps, I actually have a purge checklist). WE ARE LETTING GO OF ALL THE EXPIRED THINGS IN OUR LIVES, Y’ALL!!!

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REFLECTION

The work finds you when you stop forcing the door.

Being at this lake this week, watching the water while I write, I've been thinking about how differently I'm approaching this book compared to the others I've written.

With my previous books, I was GRINDING. Hustling hard. Making things happen through sheer force of will. And don't get me wrong, that work was necessary. But this time? This time feels different. 🥹

I'm not chasing inspiration. I'm not forcing chapters. I'm sitting by the water, doing my 2-hour spurts, and the words are just... flowing. Like they've been waiting for me to get still enough to receive them.

And here's what I'm learning: Sometimes the breakthrough comes when you stop trying to break through. 🗣️

I spent so many years believing that if I wasn't exhausting myself, I wasn't working hard enough. That rest was something I'd earn AFTER the success, not something that would help me get there. That ease meant I wasn't serious about my craft.

But what if ease is actually the point? What if the lake and the 2-hour spurts and the breaks in between are exactly what my creativity needs to do its best work?

In between chapters this week, I've been paying attention to the world. And LAWD, this book is necessary because we really do need to be better. But I'm not writing it from a place of anxiety or desperation. I'm writing it from a place of alignment.

The difference between striving and alignment is this: striving exhausts you on the way to the goal. Alignment energizes you because you're already in the right place.

I think about how I used to measure productivity. Did I hit every single deadline? It didn’t matter if exhaustion was the price I paid. I’d run myself into the wall to not disappoint.

But now? Now I'm asking different questions. 🤌🏾

Does this feel aligned? Am I honoring my energy? Is the work flowing or am I forcing it?

And when I read back what I've written and think "OH THIS IS IT! THIS IS A BANGER," it's not just about the quality of the words. It's about knowing I wrote them from a place of fullness, not depletion.

Your best work doesn't come from exhaustion. It comes from being so aligned that the work flows through you, not from you.

Reader, I don't know what you're creating right now. What dream you're building toward. But I want you to consider this:

What if you didn't have to force it? What if the right pace, the right environment, the right energy was actually slower and gentler than you've been allowing yourself?

Maybe your version of "the lake" is early morning quiet before anyone else is awake. Maybe it's a specific playlist. Maybe it's working in 45-minute sprints instead of 8-hour marathons. Maybe it's giving yourself permission to take a whole day off when your body asks for it.

So here's what I'm sitting with this week: What would it look like to trust that the work will get done without burning yourself out to do it?

What doors might swing open if you stopped trying to kick them down? 🚪

Send those prayers of ease and alignment for me. And maybe say one for yourself too. 🙏🏾💫

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RECOMMENDATION

Celebrate the troublemakers in your life (big and little).

At the Girl Scouts event, I read the kiddies "Little Troublemaker Defends Her Name" together, and I loved how much they loved it.

My next set of books is coming next year, so I’ll be switching over my merch to match them. So we’re clearing out my merch inventory! TAP IN, because once certain things are gone, DASSIT.

✨ Shop for the Little Troublemaker ✨

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​You can get signed copies of "Little Troublemaker Makes a Mess" and "Little Troublemaker Defends Her Name," as keepsakes that honor kids who speak up, explore fearlessly, and embrace mischief with heart, humor, and a little bit of chaos. We’ve got t-shirts and Little Troublemaker Makes a Mess aprons too.

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✨ Shop for the Professional Troublemaker ✨

We got hoodies, t-shirts and pins for those who are bold, unapologetic, and unstoppable. Being a little rebellious never looked so good. 🤌🏾

Get 20% off our Professional Troublemaker stuff if you use the code TROUBLE20!

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Whether you're shopping for the little one who's learning to use their voice or the grown one who refuses to stay quiet, we've got something that celebrates exactly who they are. 🗣️

So here's what I'm wondering:

What boundary have you been hesitant to set because you're worried about other people's reactions? And what would it look like for you to work from alignment instead of exhaustion?

Hit reply and let me know. I read every response. 💫

Cheering you on,

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P.S. Grab my LIFE AUDIT (aka Purge Checklist)! It’s time to release what you are not using.

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