Lifestyle: Aileen of Lavendaire

11:00 AM

Tell us a little bit about yourself

I’m born & raised in Southern California, and I absolutely love it here. I am a lifestyle blogger, vlogger and podcaster, I create content for a living. I’ve explored many different creative paths though, including singing, songwriting, music producing, film producing, acting, and hosting. I consider myself a genuine creative who is interested in everything. I really enjoy writing, reading, dancing, yoga, and travelling as well.

Tell us about your everyday work day?

Every morning I try to follow a routine that includes journaling, making a green smoothie, and meditating, then I’ll get to work for the rest of the day. Sometime in the day I try to catch a yoga or zumba class to move my body for once. I loosely block out my week with this schedule:

Mondays and Tuesdays are my shooting & editing days for my YouTube. I try to block out those two days exclusively for creating content.

Wednesdays and Thursdays are my writing/meeting/podcast days, days where I write my email newsletter, blog, and podcast, and have my weekly skype meetings & calls with my agents, trainers, collaborators, and anyone else I need to meet with. Thursday is also the day that I record my weekly podcast! I always feel super accomplished once I get that done, because it’s been a new challenge for me.

Friday is my catch-up day, I usually take time on Friday to reply to emails that weren’t urgent during the week, run errands, do B-School classes (an online marketing program I’m doing), and really catch up on work. I’m trying to carve time on Fridays to work on music, because I want to make time where I can be creative outside of work.

How do you stay motivated through that?

Honesty, I’m really grateful to get to be my own boss and create my own work. I’m always motivated because I know that everything I learn & do contributes to my future success. If I get lazy, then it’s my loss. I know I am responsible for my life, so of course I want to do what’s best for myself.

I also know that I wasn’t motivated in previous jobs when I didn’t care about the work I was doing. I can only be motivated when I truly love and believe in what I do. My goal after I graduated was to find a career where I could do something I love, something that I’m good at, and something that makes a positive impact on the world in some way. And with my blog and brand, I’ve finally found that. :) So although I admit that sometimes I get lazy and want to take a break, I am still committed for the long haul, and I’m set on pursuing my dreams for the rest of my life. I don’t know what’s more motivating than that.

Where do you get most of your inspiration?
From reading inspiring books, journaling my thoughts, and appreciating other artists’ work. I’m really inspired by music - when I discover a new song that has fresh beats that are laced together in a way I’d never heard before, I’m like WOW. THIS IS AMAZING. HOW DID THEY DO THIS. WOW. My body like really GETS into it and it’s the best feeling in the world. I’m also really inspired by visuals - when a video is shot and edited in a beautiful or unique way, or even when I find an Instagram feed with dreamy colors and an aesthetic that really makes me feel something.

Creating content could get rough overtime, what do you do to get you out of a rut?

I take a break and cook something, play piano, take a shower, or play this game called Tsum Tsum on my iPad (haha). Sometimes you just have to clear your mind and do something else for the creativity to start flowing again. If you’re stuck and you’ve been sitting there for a while, it doesn’t help to keep sitting there. You need a change of environment, a change in your mindset. Sometimes if I’m stuck on writing something, I will just start writing anything, and let it flow organically. It doesn’t even have to be related, but I just write as I “talk” to myself on paper. Eventually something comes out of it and it leads me to where I need to go.

What is your philosophy, what are things you live by and work by?

Everybody is an artist of life - we each have the power to design, shape, and create the lives that we desire. Once you take full responsibility for your life, you can really take it anywhere. You have to have a strong sense of commitment to what you want, and an infinite amount of patience and perseverance to make it in this journey. It’s not always easy but it’s definitely worth it. I believe in being a lifelong learner, in being kind and compassionate to all living beings, and in bringing more love into this world. I believe that once you start working to become your happiest self and pursue a life that you love, you will inevitably be contributing to a more positive world.

If you could go back five years, what would you tell yourself?

Five years ago, I was really lost in life and overwhelmed by the pressure from society and peers to get a good job and “succeed” in life. I would probably go back and tell myself to chill out, worry less, and enjoy the present moment. I’d encourage myself to have more fun in life and explore all the things that I loved. Don’t be so anxious to get to the future, don’t be too worried about having it all figured out. Just enjoy that transition period of life because it’s a special experience to be young and just beginning life. It’s a beautiful phase of life that should be treasured.