I hope if you get the call, you answer

Tuesday // August 1 // 2017

 

I hope if you get the call, you answer.

If you feel the fear, you do it anyway.

I hope if a dream or an opportunity comes your way, you make a promise to yourself that you will say yes.

I hope that when you take the leap, you leap again.

That you build more courage to continue to say yes until that’s the only option.

To say yes to your big, incredible ideas, your creative mind and beautiful heart.

I hope that if you aren’t in a situation that lights you up, you acknowledge it and change directions.

I hope that above all, you say yes to what feels aligned with you.

 

-Olivia X

 

 

Don’t Tell Summer’s Greece Guide: Milos, Greece

Monday // July 24 // 2017

 

Milos is one of those places where you go to without doing much research beforehand and instantly feel right at home.

As soon as Ashley and I stepped off the ferry from Santorini, I felt a sense of ease, peace and excitement wash over me. We had been staying (basically living) in Ios for two weeks and were ready for a new adventure. We had seen photos of Milos popping up on Instagram and both felt drawn to it. We were greeted by our lovely driver who was ready to take us to our home away from home, Santa Maria Village. Santa Maria is honestly one of my favourite hotels I’ve ever stayed at. It was perfectly located right above the port town and had everything you could want. I was beaming from the moment we arrived to the moment we left. We spent three days  exploring as much of this magical island as we could.

Sarakiniko 

About a five minute drive from Santa Maria Village and we were transported into what felt like walking on the moon, aka Sarakiniko.

Sarakiniko milos greeceSwimwear: Ark SwimwearSarakiniko Milos

Where we stayed: Santa Maria Village

Be sure to ask for Michael. He knew everything about the island and gave us the most incredible restaurant and excursion suggestions. Aside from the beautiful rooms and epic pool, the breakfast buffet was one of my favourite parts of staying here. They had authentic greek food – feta cheese, tomatoes, cakes, coffees and more. As a digital nomad, their breakfast nook made for the perfect working environment as well. Here are a few of my favourite photos from our stay.

Santa Maria Village Milosbest hotel in Milos greece santa maria village milos greece Best hotel in Milos Greece best hotel in Milos greece

Adamas – The Port Town of Milos

In the midst of the relaxing port town of Milos, there is the BEST ice cream shop ever called Aggeliki. We went there every day there! IMG_5724 IMG_6061

Pollonia – Enalion 

If you’re looking for the best Seafood ever, Enalion is located right on the waterfront in Pollonia. The town itself is romantic, chic and the perfect spot for a sunset and dinner. We ordered a shrimp dish that was out of this world.

Best seafood in Milos Greece - Enalion PolloniaBest seafood in Milos Greece - Enalion Pollonia

Hope you enjoyed our guide to Milos! If you’re heading there, please let us know!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Partnering With People and Brands Who Believe In Your Ideas

Friday // July 21 // 2017

 

Collaboration has been a guiding word for both me and Don’t Tell Summer over the last year. If you were at #RadLivin in March, or even saw the lineup, you would see that collaboration is something that we believe is key to success in whatever you’re trying to achieve.

When first putting together the #RadLivin festival, our annual festival that inspires you to do what you love now, I knew that the only way it would work is to collaborate. To collaborate with individuals, speakers, artists, vendors, sponsors, and more. There were a few key things that went into deciding who to collaborate with that I’ve included below. I hope this helps you if you’re wanting to collaborate or partner with an individual or brand.

 

They must believe in the purpose behind your idea.

Whether it was a speaker or sponsor, the most important thing behind the decision to partner with them or have them be a part of the festival was that they needed to fully believe in what #RadLivin is about and why it exists. If you’re looking for a partner and all you’re thinking about is a financial or otherwise stated exchange, it will be missing something; heart. It will seem like a necessary factor when putting together something, but it won’t ever be fulfilling unless the person or company you’re partnering with understands your idea and believes in where it is now and where it’s going. Which leads me to the second point.

 

You want to partner with a person or brand who believes in the trajectory of your idea.

I would get chills in certain meetings with brands; that’s when I knew it was the perfect fit. For example, when I sat down with ING Direct Dreamstarter, the partnership felt in alignment because they not only supported the purpose of the first #RadLivin, they were behind where it was going; where it was going to grow. *Find people and brands who not only believe in where you are, but in where you’re going.

 

Create a collaboration that’s positive and beneficial for all. 

Whether we’re doing a collaboration with a hotel or partnering with a brand for a bigger initiative, our highest priority is creating a collaboration that is positive and beneficial for everyone involved. This has lead to the best success and amazing collaborations because when you look at how something can be positive for all invovled, you come up with more creative ideas than you could imagine. You look at how you will all succeed, which not only makes the partnership stronger and enjoyable, but a knock-out success.

Before reaching out to any individual or brand to collaborate, we always map out how it would be beneficial for all invovled. Particularly with #RadLivin, we look at how it will be beneficial for the brand, the attendees, speakers and us. If you can’t easily work out how your partnership would be beneficial for everyone involved, it probably isn’t the best collaboration to move forward with.

 

Partner with people you enjoy working with.

When we first reached out to brands we wanted to partner with for #RadLivin back in 2016, it was a completely new territory for us. As we were a brand new concept, our friends and family urged that we lock in partners that would be able to help us fund the first event. Looking back, I loved my naivety. It was the type of naivety you can only experience when you completely jump into something new with a positive outlook that it will all work out. Rather than reaching out to anyone and everyone, I remember making a list of five brands that felt in alignment with what #RadLivin was about. Brands that I knew cared about not only success, but the greater good of the community around them. I stuck to my guns, and reached out to them. Not only because they were incredible brands, but amazing people to work with. If i was going to follow my dreams of creating that festival, I wanted to share and experience it with people who I enjoyed working with. Otherwise, why else do it?

When you’re first starting out, it can be easy to have a lack mentality – thinking if you don’t partner with that person or brand that wants to fund you, even though you don’t like them, that there won’t be someone else. What I’ve learned through doing #RadLivin is that you don’t need to compromise on funding or enjoyment. There are so many brands out there that will not only support you – whether it’s through funding or collaboration, but that you can love working with. Write down your values, what you’re wanting to collaborate on, and stick to it. If something feels positive, go for it.

 

Lastly, partner with brands that YOU believe in. 

Bringing it back to our first meeting with ING Direct Dreamstarter, why I felt so strongly about partnering up with them for not only the first #RadLivin, but the second, was because they didn’t just believe in what we were doing, we whole heartedly believed in their purpose. Find people and brands in which you love what they’re about – their mission, their purpose, and why they do what they do. When you believe in what the other is doing, this leads to a successful, positive, and lengthy partnership where you both help each other grow and succeed.

 

 

#RadLivin 2017 – Video Recap

Tuesday // June 6 // 2017

On March 11th  in Sydney, we held our second annual #RadLivin Festival. Over 350 incredible, like-minded people came in from all over to get connected, be inspired and celebrate living life to the fullest. The day started out with talks from our speakers – The speakers were 7 down-to-earth, successful individuals who are doing what they love and passionate about inspiring others to do the same. Attendees heard stripped-back stories about how they went for their dreams and gained applicable knowledge on how they can do what they love too.

After the speakers was live music by Dusty Boots and Nathan Hawes and space for attendees to connect and collaborate.

Watch the recap video below filmed by Rui Assis.

 

Continue Reading…

Manifesting Your Dreams, Even If There’s Fear

Tuesday // May 30 // 2017

 

Ever since I was a little girl, I believed that I was a great manifester. Those around me, myself included, called it “luck.” As I grew older and dived into self development and blogs of the likes of Vienda Maria, Rebecca Campbell and Gabriele Bernstein, I knew there was so much more than ‘luck’ involved.

It was about being aligned with what I wanted. Being aligned with what’s meant for me. What started out as manifesting the win of a beanie baby at discovery zone ( a kid’s game centre in Columbus, Ohio), turned into manifesting new adventures, moving countries and a holding a festival in Sydney.

When I was eight, manifesting something like a stuffed animal was quite easy, even though I had to hit multiple jack pots at the games (something that the staff said they couldn’t believe I did). To me it seemed like an exciting task: I saw something, I knew it was possible without question, and I went for it. The older I got, and the bigger the potential risks of ‘going for it’ became, the more fear came in. I had thoughts like, “What if it doesn’t work out?” “Am I making the right choice?” and “Is this even possible?”

I’ve learned that having an awareness of your patterns can help you greatly as you move throughout your path. My pattern tends to be that I am very intuitive, and sometimes I mistake fear with my intuition telling me not to do something. The first time I consciously experienced this was when I landed in Sydney in 2010. I was with my family, getting ready to go to Study Abroad orientation in Cairns and I froze. Not just froze, I hid; in our hotel room. I was riddled with fear that was unshakeable.

As I was about to step into the unknown, I realised that not only was the experience of Studying Abroad in Australia unknown, my life and future felt unknown. Would I go back to University in California after? What does my new present and future look like? It paralysed me to the point that I felt knots in my stomach. Usually this is where I feel my intuition, and so every part of me said this was a red flag and that I seriously should not study abroad. It didn’t feel right. I didn’t feel that I was prepared. After sitting with it for a few days and talking endlessly with the people I trust, I realised that the feeling wasn’t an alarm going off like I thought it was (my intuition telling me to run home) it was an alarm saying, “you’re afraid.”

I decided to let the fear go, and jumped into the unknown, even though it wasn’t easy, I’m so glad that I did. About an hour into orientation, I met one of my best friends and began an adventure that was one of the best things I could’ve ever done and has shaped where I am today. Literally, where I am today. 7 years later, and I live in Sydney.

When manifesting, fears and beliefs come up. Thoughts or subconscious beliefs that we didn’t even realise. By becoming aware of these fears, you can move forward towards what you want. I’ve often noticed that ours fears around something that we want are fears of it working out.

As Marianne Williamson puts it, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.”

I can’t think of anything more true.

When I started to create #RadLivin (The festival I hold in Sydney) I knew there was fear around something I wanted to manifest when the thing that I wanted wasn’t showing up. Whether it was a speaker or bringing on a brand to sponsor the event, for each thing that I wanted to manifest, I looked as to whether there were any fears around accepting each into my space and into the event.

I first learned how to do this through the Manifest More E-Course by Vienda Maria. If you’re wanting to create something or manifest something, I highly recommend it. 

After bringing to light the fears that I had, I was able to acknowledge each one and move past it. I ended up manifesting everything that was needed for the event and more. As I continue to say yes to the unknown, I remind myself to feel the fear and move forward.

What are you wanting to say yes to? Are you making a change, saying yes to something you’d love to do? Share it with us in the comments below. X

Hat: Will & Bear

Romper: Urban Outfitters