project 30 – jacki

Jacki, 30

What would your 30 something self tell your 20 something self if you could?

Oh my, I would tell her so many things. Dear 20-year-old Jacki Carr, slow down, girl. You are a tidal wave of emotions and you are so quick to react with an aggressive ego. Take a moment to pause, access your breath and gift yourself with the beauty of choice. And for the love of women empowerment, you call yourself a feminist yet you don’t’ support all the women in your life with your whole “girls don’t like me” story. Drop it. Yes, I am calling you out. Let your guard down, open your heart and stop being scared of girlfriends – they will lift you up, hold you close and teach you. Be willing to learn and stop being a bulldozer. You are a contribution by being you, stop the force, start the flow. Now. Love, 30-year-old Jacki Carr

What do you wish you took more seriously in your 20’s?

Honestly, I wish I took human connection more seriously. I broke my own heart and the hearts of others recklessly. I was so quick to change friend groups and jump when things got vulnerable or hard. I was super fun to hang out with at bars and parties, but hard to crack into deeper. I met beautiful, amazing human beings in my 20s and definitely was stuck in trying to fit in verses being my true self, so everything felt a bit contained or trite. I know this now.

What do you wish you took less seriously in your 20’s?

Well, I have a moustache tattoo on in left index finger to remind me to take life less seriously and laugh more. I can say, at times in my early 20s, I took my career very seriously and let it overtake my life’s focus while allowing other goals, like relationships, travel adventures, and fun to fall to the wayside. It was intertwined with value ($$) and self-worth. It is a true practice and continued journey to explore, this one.

Favorite memory from your 20’s?

WOW, choose one favorite, so hard!  My favorite memory would be a huge family trip to Greece.  I grew up in a Greek school and my amazing parents, 2 younger sisters and I finally made the trek to hang on some beautiful beaches, explore islands and eat a lot of feta.  We all left with matching tattoos!  I said it!

In your early 20’s where did you think you would be (work, live etc) by 30?

Oh this is great. At the start of my 20s, I had packed up my life from Indiana University and moved to LA with my best friend. I was going to start in the PR & Entertainment industry to get my foot in the door and then eventually do Marketing & PR for NIKE Women’s Sports. I also was going to be married at the ripe age of 24 with kids before 30 because I had claimed I did not want to be an “old Mom”. I wanted to marry a doctor and rock a big rock on my left hand. Seriously, who is that girl?

And where were you by 30? What did your life look like?

At the age of 30, right now, I reside in Venice Beach, CA and I am recently engaged to a total stud and we co-parent 2 rescue dogs, Bear and Moose. We are practicing until we are ready to parent human kids (soon, but later). In case you were wondering, Chris is not a doctor and nor is my ring a huge gawdy rock. It is nature inspired and honest and delightful, both the man and the ring. I own my own coaching business, Goals on the Rocks where I coach clients to live a life of their most rad design all over this Globe via phone, SKYPE or mountaintop. I also co-founded Rock Your Bliss, a yoga and blisscrafting movement with Mary Beth LaRue. I have a powerhouse family and incredible group of women and men in my life that hold me accountable, rock me to a higher possibility and allow me to be raw and fully me in the shiniest and well, darker moments.

Were you ever worried that it wouldn’t all fall into place?

Is this a trick question? HELL YES I was worried. My 20’s were an emotional roller coaster. There were these crazy reality check moments, like when the Credit Card company is calling at 3am or you oversleep for work on your last strike or you get rid of your car and your job moves your position to Beverly Hills and you have to the take the Los Angles Public Transit system. Let me tell you, putting that heavy navy blue BeachCruiser on the front of that bus bike rack is not for the faint of heart. And don’t even get me started on the dating mess… a different blog, a different time. So yes, there was massive fear, worry and doubt.

What is the greatest gift about being a woman in your 30’s?

W – I – S – D – O – M…I feel this peace and calming in my soul that must only come with age. The tidal waves of emotion have subsided and I am (still) learning to ebb and flow. I have a tool belt to rock my personal power and I have major goals to make my mark. And let me tell you something else, my body responded immediately to this wisdom, this peace, this calm. Both my physical body and my emotional body, I feel light and I feel connected more than I ever did in my 20s. Bring on the 30s!

When you look out onto the horizon. What do you hope your life looks like at 40?

I am so excited to become a Mother, create a home and one day host Christmas. My fiancé and I are moving to Colorado to build our life in Boulder with a connection to nature, daily hikes and a lot of flannel. I see a flourishing and purpose-filled coaching career that leaves me feeling whole and inspired. And yes, I do see an airstream and karaoke in my future, whether I include it in my speaking engagements in the future, you will have to see. And I see fun with family, great friends and red wine.

What’s a quote/ saying you try to live your life by?

I have a choice. Always.

connect with jacki / Website / rock your bliss /  Facebook /Instagram: @jackicarr

Tags: 365, 365 til, 365 til 30, adventure, Explore, family, goals, goals on the rocks, Gratitude, gro, growth, happy, humor, Inspiration, inspirations, Jacki Carr, Joy, Kate McClafferty, Laughter, Mary Beth LaRue, project 30, project 30's, rock your bliss, turning 30, universe