How To Keep Going When You Feel Like Giving Up

At some point in our lives we've felt like giving up on something. Giving up on a relationship, going after our dream, maybe even on life all together. Maybe today as you read this, you are feeling that way right now.

We all now that feeling, even the happiest of happy people, have woken up, only to wish they were still asleep and didn't need to face the day. And I hope that this little bit of words, will speak to your heart and stir up that success story inside you, stir up that champion in you, and stir up the joy that is waiting to help get you through!

John Mason said: "There is a common thread that runs through the lives of exceptional people. They are beaten over the head, knocked down, vilified, and for years get nowhere. But every time they're knocked down, they stand up. You cannot destroy these people."

Life is gonna throw some poop at us, we are going to make bad choices that might  dump a pile of poop on our lap, and maybe keep dumping that poop on us for a while, or we might have people that are not so good for us, throw poop at us!

Now, we can either say, oh life is just poop and I can't take it anymore, or "going after my dream is pointless so I just better settle for this poop life, poop relationship, poop attitude........"

BUT, let me remind you that some of the most beautiful blossoms in the world, grew from a lot of poop (AKA manure) in their soil!

•If you are going through a rough break-up: remember that you smiled and laughed and had fun long before you knew this person and you will smile and laugh again, without them. And sometimes God will pull the weeds from our lives, so that a beautiful flower can grow instead. And sometimes we can't even realize that it was a "weed" until much later! ha ha ha

•If you feel like all your dreams will never happen: remember that every great dreamer felt this way, but kept going! Sometimes it's the problem that we face and find a way around, to do something differently, that actually becomes the very reason for the success!

•If you feel like your finances or job, or lack of a job are getting you down: Sometimes it's been in the very moments of losing a job, that you are able to take a new job, you never would've thought of, or started a new business and it turns into something more successful than you ever thought! Sometimes what looks like a loss, is actually the stepping stone to your greatest success.
I know of a story of a guy who, had his car totaled on the first day of his job, in the parking lot. He didn't even like his new job, but as he spoke with the insurance man about his car and how it was his first day on the job, the insurance man said how nice and friendly he was, and that they were hiring. He ended up getting a job at the insurance company, making more money, all thanks to what looked like a really bad day! We must look for treasures and opportunity blessings all the time. Sometimes they are hiding in the middle of what looks like a BIG problem!


•If you just don't feel like waking up and going on: Know that today, you can choose to make one small step to making a difference in your own life! Go on a walk in the sunshine, listen to your favorite happy song, remind yourself of what you love, like and what makes you happy! You never know if tomorrow or next week might hold the moment that will be the best day of your life so far, waiting with a blessing bigger than you could've ever dreamed!

And know that any success worth having came with a lot of work, and a lot of moments when you are feel like you're too tired to go on, and usually a lot of people telling you how you are no good, and it will never workout. And there is no worthwhile success story that happened overnight. There are many months and years that go unspoken when talking about "overnight success"!

"If you call this an overnight success, than that night needs to be in the records books, for world's longest night of all time!" - anonymous

If you feel like you've reached where the road stops, the "pavement ends"...all that means is, it's time to put on your trail running shoes and blaze a trail where maybe, no one else has gone.

CHALLENGE OF THE DAY: Refuse to give in to the temptation to quit!
All great champions and successful people refuse to quit. Yes, things may get hard, the road may be bumpy, you may feel like giving up.....but you won't. You won't stop until you're reached the top, and you will have the most awesome, success story to go with it!

You don't have a good success story without  major moments of things looking like they weren't going to work out!

The words:
I CANNOT: have never produces anything
I WILL TRY: Is almost like giving up
I WILL: is going for something with determination, even if small at first
I CAN: is building up the belief and positivity you need to make something great out of your life

What are you going to commit to doing today besides, NOT GIVING UP?

You were born to succeed, don't let the poop of life, people's words, what others are doing, or some hardships stop you! Be like a hurdler, running and jumping over each "hurdle problem", each time getting faster at it, jumping higher, so whatever problem come your way...you say, "no problem, I can do this! And it will make me jump higher, be more creative, grow stronger, develop more character than I had before."


Don't give up. Lace up your trail shoes and get blazing a new trail today...

Huge hugs and cheering you on, your friend Kandee

PEEK INTO KANDEELAND   *   COME BE MY FRIEND ON FACEBOOK   *   AND ON TWITTER   *   AND  INSTAGRAM  *   AND COME VIRTUALLY HANGOUT WITH ME ON YOUTUBE

10 Things I'm Loving Right Now

 I asked you all on facebook what video you wanted to see next, and the winner went to:

10 THINGS I'M LOVING RIGHT NOW

So here are the 10 things from tech to beauty and the nail polish I'm wearing, that I forgot to mention in the video...

 First, most asked questions from the video -
#1. WHAT  NAIL POLISH AM I WEARING:
Color Club Nail Polish in Edie

#2. WHERE'S MY MARILYN MONROE MUSTACHE SHIRT FROM: 
I got mine at NORDSTROM by ELEVEN PARIS

NOW ONTO THE 10 LOVES....

Come and watch the video with me and I'll also put links to all the stuff below in case you like or want any of it, click the play button to watch 10 THINGS I'M LOVING:

10 LINKS Of LOVE:

#1. Tea Tree Gel from The Body Shop

#2. ROCKSTAR 3-FINGER-RING PHONE CASE by Jagger Edge
Not only does this look super cool, it makes holding you phone so much easier! (No dropping your phone on your facein bed, with your fingers in the ring part! BONUS!!!) And the ring part makes it act like a stand for video watching. I love this and the girls from Jagger Edge that sent this to me as a present!

#3. URBAN DECAY SMOKED PALETTE
I actually LOVE this palette MORE than the NAKED PALETTES!


#4. MISS CANDY SWIRL NAIL LINGERIE FROM L'OREAL:
They are limited edition, so just pick em up at any drugstore while they're available.

#5. NAIL DECORATIONS - HEX NAIL JEWELRY

#6. TARTE BRAZILIANCE SELF-TANNER - (I love Tarte because they are paraben-free)

#7 . THE BODY SHOP BODY BUTTER - in  MORINGA (tropical + vacation smelling + kinda like gardenia) OR  STRAWBERRY (and you will just smell like a Strawberry Shortcake doll)

 #8. INSTAX CAMERA: (takes the coolest fun colored polaroids, with the rainbow film, link below too)

(I got mine at Urban Oufitters, but don't get it there, I found them cheaper at Drugstore.com)

AND YOU NEED: INSTAX RAINBOW POLAROID FILM

#9. L'OREAL VISIBLE LIFT CREAM BLUSH IN ROSE GOLD

#10 LIP LOVES-

MAC RED LIP PENCIL in CHERRY: (everyone should buy this color- wearing this in video)

TOO FACED RED LIPLINER in Perfect Red:

TARTE COOL RED LIPSTICK in WILD (I'm wearing this in the video)

HOT PINK LIPLINER - MAC Embrace Me

 HOT PINK MATTE LIPSTICK- Illamsqua in Corrupt (I'm wearing both in this picture)

Honorable Mention:

This is Rihanna's "Re-mix" of the MAC classic Ruby Woo, which is a retro matte, that has clay in it, so it's truly matte, it's a no shine, no gloss red, that I love because it looks like a pin-up mouth, and you don't get red all over your teeth.
BUT the weird thing is, this is only available online and it's already SOLD OUT...BUT!!!! But, it will be back again in June, so you can go on over to MAC COSMETICS and they say you can sign up and be the first to get it when it gets back in stock!

Huge, ginormous hugs from your vbff (virtual best best forever), Kandee

PEEK INTO KANDEELAND   *   MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL O'FUN   *   MY FACEBOOK  
*   MY TWEETS   *    I INSTAGRAM HERE

3 Reasons Not To Be So Hard On Yourself

We are all human. We ALL make mistakes. But how you handle the mistakes in your life will MAKE THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE to decide if you will go on to have a victorious life, filled with a success story or if you will always be the victim and just turn your life into one big depressing, sob story, with little or no success.

So here's 3 tips on how to handle the mistakes when they come, and they will. If you think your life is mistake free, then that is the FIRST mistake you've already made! Whether your mistake was a bad relationship, doing something harmful to yourself, just making ANY bad choice, you know what yours are, here's some things that will help:

#1. STOP LOOKING BACK AND WISHING YOU HADN'T DONE "IT"
Whatever your "it" is, quit wasting your precious time wallowing in "oh if only I had done that differently...."  OR "I just wish I could go back and .....", well, you can't. And to live in the past is crazy, because you can't go back and change one thing, and thinking about it all the time is just going to make you CRAZY, frustrated and depressed.
Mistakes happen, they're a part of life, and we're going to make more. If you didn't you'd be some super human that needs to go down in the record books for a life free of mistakes.
Get yourself a ticket out of "Wish I, Coulda-Woulda"-LAND, it's a place where no one is going anywhere. It's like me spending all my time wishing I had green eyes, that's not gonna change their color and even if I tried to pretend they are green with contacts, it's just going to look fake and weird.

#2. SOMETIMES OUR "MISTAKES" OR FAILURES CAN BE OUR BIGGEST BLESSINGS
I remember when people said that me having Jordan, even though I was already married, but  was really young, was a huge mistake. Jordan has been my greatest blessing, and without him, I wouldn't have been led to a series of other choices, that eventually got me to a place which looked like even more mistaken choices, that actually led me to start writing my blogs and doing youtube. And I wouldn't even be writing this today if it wasn't for all those things that went wrong.
That is what I think is one of the great things about God, he can use what might look like our greatest mistakes, and because God is about GRACE, he can turn what looks like a mess into a beautiful masterpiece that we never dreamed of.

#3. YOUR GREATEST HEARTACHES CAN BE YOUR GREATEST GIFTS (to others)
When you go through something, it can give you a heart, sympathy, kindness, and understanding for others who've gone through the same thing, that you didn't have before.

I know what it feels like to lose a loved one, be alone, choose relationships just because your lonely and not because it's the best relationship, I know what it feels like to be cheated on, broken up with, divorced, be a single mom, to feel like others are doing better than you, that your not good enough, pretty enough, thin enough, popular enough, all those things and more. But know that you are more precious than diamonds and each mistake or failure can add to your sparkling success story, you can be a sparkly, disco ball, "cracked mirror", like I always say:

"A cracked mirror sparkles more light than a perfect one. Go out their and be the most perfectly-imperfect sparkly disco ball of light in this world"

Mistakes and bad choices are a part of life. Accept that and learn from your mistakes so you become wiser, stronger, and grow a bigger heart that is full of more love and understanding for others. And, as you give yourself more understanding and room to make mistakes and go easy on yourself, you'll find that you will do that for others too! And that is what the world needs, more people who are understanding. It's usually the people pointing fingers at others, that actually hold a life full of big mistakes that they haven't healed from, so instead they point out what others are doing wrong to make themselves feel better.

Be the person that is wiser, and understands more, and offers a heart of forgiveness and understanding. Because your only other alternative is to be bitter, depressed, frustrated and living in the past. And if you're living in the past, well, that's almost like you're crazy, because that's not real or possible unless your name is Marty McFly.

And remember, our lives our like tapestries,

 we may only be able to see the one side that looks like knots and tangles thread, but on the other side, each one of those knots and tangles are a part of a beautiful picture.

I've been through what I thought were huge failures, and sometimes those huge failures are the exact thing that helped me get to an even bigger blessing and opportunity. Remember, the greatest, most successful people in the world know a secret:

That you "fail" your way to success!

Leave your past where it belongs, in the past.

Learn from your lessons and embrace mistakes.

Know that the people who point out the mistakes of others, usually have way BIGGER mistakes they have hidden in their hearts.

And remember sometimes a failure or what looks like a mistake, is actually just the manure in your garden to help your flowers grow that much more beautiful!

And I just made a mistake. I stayed up until 3am editing a video, and realized I left a part out, and now have to film it and add it in. Instead of saying, "oh, I was up til 3am for nothing!", I'm saying "It's gonna be even better now, I know it!"

So stayed tuned, it will be up on Youtube today, but after I re-film it and add it in! hee hee

Huge hugs and know you are perfectly imperfect, and I remember, what looks like a mistakes or failure, might just be the key to the biggest blessing in your future!

Love, your Kandee

PEEK INTO KANDEELAND   *   COME BE MY FRIEND ON FACEBOOK   *   AND TWITTER   *   AND INSTAGRAM   *  AND COME HANG OUT WITH ME ON YOUTUBE

How To Be An Extreme Blogger

Yeah, that's my computer doing a gnarly trick at the skatepark. It's a fakie-blogslide.

Sure, Perez Hilton may have tapped out his blogs and The Coffee Bean, but I chose the skatepark today.

Well I chose it mostly for this guy who really wanted to go to the skatepark today:

And to keep it extreme, look at the Extreme Difference in my hair for Throwback Thursday:

I think, that maybe, I look like a totally different person....ha ha ha

And if you never saw this video, or already forgot what I look like in videos with that long hair you can watch this:

huge hugs and you better make today awesome, yes, even if it'd filled with un-fun things, your homegirl, Kandee

PEEK INTO KANDEELAND   *   COME BE MY FRIEND ON FACEBOOK   *   AND TWITTER  *  AND INSTAGRAM    *    AND YOUTUBE

I kissed a boy....but we're not dating.

 I spent the last two days filming a video with more than just myself, which is how I normally roll, but it was like I was really going to work and had a boss. Yes, they hired me to play a part in youtube/commercial. My roll: Melissa -A girl who has been internet dating
Chester See (see him all the way on the right in the tie)
*yes we had a part where Chester had to kiss Melissa (me)...I made a vlog that I need to edit, I'll put it up later. Chester probably kisses girls everyday. Me, I was worried I might just give him an Eskimo kiss or something.

Nathan Barnatt - who is absolutely hilarious, played the cop, far left.
Me....
Sam Macaroni - giving the thumbs up. And we talked about our love for Walt Disney, since he was reading 4 inch thick book about Walt.

Shay Carl - who should win the award for happiest guy on youtube. His whole family is awesome! And I even made it in a Shaytards video for the 2nd time (whoop! whoop!) Click here to see it.

These were the shoes I wore, yes they are mine, and they hurt my feet. So, I wore my VANS that you see there, until I had to put my Jeffrey Campbells back on- cute but these are not comfy.

 

I saw this awesome, box thing, that they tried to hide by putting an exact picture of the street on it! How awesome is that!?

I love working on sets, it reminds me back in my days before youtube, when I was not in front of the camera, put putting makeup on everyone that was.
One of my favorite parts is the food. This was the breakfast table....and although the donuts looked tasty, I had an omelet and pineapple, I love pineapple.  (insert me patting myself on the back for not eating that donuts)

But don't worry, later I drank this milkshake!

 And A huge PS, I think I'm thinking, of thinking about doing a "let's get in shape for summer" video or series of blogs or something, because well, I'm gonna do it everyone might as well do it with me! ha ha ha

I'm off to go write my KANDEELAND blog...huge hugs and that milkshake wasn't even that great, your Kandee

PEEK INSIDE KANDEELAND   *   BE MY FRIEND ON FACEBOOK  *  TWITTER BFF'S   *   SEE MY  INSTAGRAM   *   LOOK MOM I'M ON YOUTUBE

Kandee's 30 Minute Wardrobe Challenge

Ok guys, get ready for 9 minutes of me having 30 minutes to make an outfit. This video is not on my KANDEEJOHNSON channel (if you wondering why you didn't see it! ha ha)

*And I'm gonna show you how to:
•jazz up a white t-shirt
(that I also used AndreaChoice's idea for using your phone to trace a cross on shirt as my inspiration, thanks Andrea!)
•dazzle up a denim jacket

•make a hi-lo skirt with a twist

•and how to customize a plain ol' clutch into a bag with a rocker edge!
•I had also custom painted some shoes, that were Becca's favorite, but that went over the 30 minutes to do!
 
I had 30 minutes, a pile of random fabric and junk and tools to make an outfit, and this is how it went down:



Now if you want to enter to win the big contest where you can win big money and a chance to get featured on Simon Cowell's You Generation Contest you can watch them talking about it and the rules here, and they talk about me too (hee hee hee):


And if you missed it, which you probably didn't, here is my video again (I feel like a proud 5 year old with a fancy drawing I want to show off, that my teacher said I did a great job)...here is me and THE MR. Simon Cowell:


Maybe this will give you guys a little inspiration to dazzle up some un-fancy-fun clothes in your closet...and maybe you'll even want to enter the contest too (all the details, because I don't know them or under the video description when you watch the video on youtune- just click the little youtube icon in the lower right corner)

Huge hugs from your homegirl, Kandee

PEEK INTO KANDEELAND   *    MY FACEBOOK   *   MY TWITTER   *   MY INSTAGRAM  *   MY YOUTUBE

Cindo De Mayo and my sister...

 That is me, my blue eyed little niece, and my bff, AKA my sister, Tiffany. Now people don't think we're twins that our hair color is different....hee heee, well actually they still do.

What were you doing yesterday, on Cinco De Mayo? Well at about 11:30am, this is what we were doing: We were at the Melrose Trading Post, buying these kids sunglasses for Ellie and getting me a new hat.

If you wanted to know what I've got on, this is it:
*BLACK CARDIGAN -which already has some "vintage looking" holes, from FOREVER21.
*HOUNDSTOOTH TANK TOP - again, the F21.
*BELT- it's one of the oldest things I own, I got it at Ross like a billion years ago.
*RED SHOES- Breckell's from PLNDR. I love them and they are reeeedonkulously comfortable. Because you know I'm a sneaker-kind of girl.
JEANS - Boyfriend jeans - 7 For All Mankind Jeans in Josephina (the cutest boyjeans) I refused to buy expensive jeans, until I bought a pair, realized I lived in them and they became worth every penny, because they last forever and they flatter your figure better than the "saggy-pulling-them-up-all-day" cheapo jeans that fall apart.
HEADSCARF- it's just a bandana I have in my giant bandana/scarf drawer!
SILVER NECKLACE- back to the Forever 21 again!
EARRINGS- cross earrings I got at Claire's.


And since we are part Mexican, well , even if we weren't, we got Cinco De Mayo cupcakes. And actually they were just regular cupcakes, but they put the CINCO sticker on all the Sprinkles cupcake boxes yesterday! They should have made a Mexican Hot Chocolate flavor or FLAN flavor cupcake! I've got cupcake ideas for days! ha ha ha

But the best part was getting to see my sister. She makes me laugh so hard I cry. And she shares my love of cupcakes, speed walking (we've been known since high school for walking really fast), and she gives me great advice if I'm not sure if something looks cute that I'm trying on. She's been able to do that for years!

I miss her and wish we were neighbors....and I can't get enough of her babies...and my babies love playing with her babies....just look again at her sunglass-cutie:

I'm off to go work on another project that I can't wait to tell you guys about...it's kinda hilarious and definitely requiring that I make a vlog video about it on my 2nd Channel on Youtube, TheKandeeJohnsonShow!

Huge huge Monday hugs, your friendy-pie, Kandee

And I'm still in awe, humble amazement and "cartwheel-ness" that Simon Cowell said he's a fan of mine! If you missed it, go on and CLICK RIGHT HERE!

PEEK INTO KANDEELAND  *   MY FACEBOOK  *   MY TWEETS   *    INSTAGRAM  *   WATCH ME ON YOUTUBE