thank you… a lifestyle
I started Thank You… a Lifestyle in 2019 as a candle company!
I was inspired by what I thought was doing “the work.” I had gotten into burning spiritual candles, using crystals, repeating affirmations, and setting intentions. This is what I believed “the work” was—the external, pretty stuff. I was inspired to create Intention Setting Candles infused with healing crystals: Joy, Freedom, Success, Abundance, Gratitude, Love, Peace, and Discipline. Each candle had its own scent and was infused with clear quartz to amplify the energy and intention.
Intention Setting Works.
I remember saying, thinking, intending to have time to focus on my business and make it successful early in 2020… Shortly after that, I was laid off due to COVID-19. Now, I had ALL the time for the business. (When setting intentions and manifesting, you cannot control the HOW.) I became a full-time entrepreneur. I still thank God for the unemployment and stimulus checks that held me down during this time, because intermittent pop-up shops and 3–5 orders per week were not enough to support me and my daughter!
In 2021, unemployment was ending, and the stimulus checks were gone. I was selling out at most of the pop-up events I participated in, but [in my Kendrick voice] it’s not enough. This was also when my anxiety peaked. One of my good-good girlfriends connected me with a business consultant in need of an Executive Assistant. God is always right on time. That’s one connection I will always be grateful for. The addition of a part-time remote job helped me stay afloat.
But you know life is gonna life… insert breakup here.
It was a short but intense relationship that revealed a lot to me. I wasn’t devastated by the breakup itself but by the realization that I had been in the same relationship over and over since my daughter’s father. The common denominator? Me.
It’s me, hi—I’m the problem.
What is “wrong with me”?
Queue Therapy!
Let’s start the actual work, chile.
I started therapy in March 2021. On my first call, I talked through tears for 45 minutes straight. Every week for the next four years, I kept showing up—with fewer and fewer tears, thankfully.
By April, I was enrolled in an 8-week coaching cohort, followed by a 3-month cohort that June. Look at me—doing the work for real. This work isn’t pretty, but it came from intention. The intention to heal, to find better ways of being. The intention for love, abundance, joy, and peace.
My focus on candles slowed down mid-year, and I decided to pivot. I started building out an Executive Assistance and Business Support venture. I was enjoying my remote position and realized I could do this for other small business owners. I added another client… then another. By 2022, I had four clients. In 2023, I had ten—and two independent contractors working for me.
Remember: we cannot control the HOW. The business I wanted to focus on wasn’t even the one I had in mind!
Let’s back up to 2021 again. This story is important because, again, when manifesting and setting intentions, you cannot control the HOW. You must stay open. I remember wishing I could redecorate my apartment. I was on Pinterest saving decor for every room. Then, during a family trip to Florida in June, I got a call: the water heater burst. My ground-floor apartment FLOODED. Life be lifing! The damage was so bad the apartment had to be gutted. My daughter and I lived in a hotel for three months, then stayed with my mom for four more.
By April 2022, we had a house “re-warming.” New paint, cabinets, floors, furniture—all covered by insurance. A few weeks after moving back in, I was scrolling through Pinterest and realized: the chairs, the couch, even the still-on-the-way chair—looked just like the ones I saved.
Set your intention. Believe you’re worthy. Let it go. The when and how is up to the Universe.
Fast Forward to September 2023.
I attended a conference in Atlanta with my mom. The energy of being in a room full of beautiful Black women, many in positions and spaces you aspire to be in, is just indescribable. One panel focused on entrepreneurship and hustle culture. Afterward, I connected with one of the speakers. I don’t remember our whole conversation, but I do remember her asking, “How much money do you want to make?”
I had never thought deeply about it, so I said, “$100K.”
She looked at me like I had two heads. “That’s it?” she said.
Her question opened the door for me to dream beyond what felt “reasonable.” $100K is great, but aren’t I worth more? I left that conference with a new mindset and a new client (not the panelist).
By January 2024, I had started a new full-time job with benefits and a retirement plan. I had six clients and two assistants on my team. That year, I made the most money I ever had—just a whisper away from six figures.
Now We’re Caught Up.
It’s 2025. I work full-time in a job I love. I have two clients in my business. I’ve completed several long-term coaching cohorts. I’ve concluded four years of weekly therapy. I’m financially stable and comfortable.
When I look at today, I remember five years ago.
I can see the intention to heal, to evolve, to find joy, peace, love, and abundance all evident in my life now.
The work is constant. You must be intentional. You must commit.
Life will always life. The only thing you can control is how you show up.
You can show up defeated, bitter, indifferent, and as the victim…
Or you can show up joyful, loving, optimistic, and powerful.
What do you want?
What Do You Want?
WHAT DO YOU WANT?
What is your intention?
