#tacomasports

Recently I had the pleasure off spending a fun filled weekend with friends in the Tacoma area discovering a few of the wonders of the area. We visited the beautiful Gig Harbor for a dusk cruise spotting Sea Lions and then some great food; caught the Gondola up @CrystalMountain and hiked down the scenic mountain side where I normally ski in winter, and did a great yoga class at the base; we caught a brilliant sunrise at Sunrise, Mt Rainier; and paddle boarded right in the heart of Tacoma. This was all part of @tacomasports #MountainCitySea campaign promoting the incredible diversity of the area and yes while this was a #sponsored experience for me I truly had a wonderful time. With the help of my good friend and talented videographer @ColinAC (Tenacious Ventures) we created this video to share the experience with you all. Big thanks to the #TacomaSports team, to @Kolbyjack, @bridgetbaeth and @emilyruth253 at @JayRayAdsPR and the folks who made this so much fun and shared this adventure with me: @bertymandagie, @themandagies, @emilymandagie and @luckyalexandra. #TacomaWA #GigHarbor #MtRainier @visitrainier @mountrainiernps (at Tacoma, Washington) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bm4fYsyhXZ9/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=x4de6k4oxmvj

Change your perception and change your world... Perception is a really interesting element of life to me. Our perceptions shape how we digest the world, it's a lens that is unique to every one of us. As we move through life, if we're open to it, we can have big shifts in our consciousness that alters that lens and thus our experience of the world. Isn't that fascinating? It's the reason I've always loved this quote from Aldous Huxley... "There are things known and there are things unknown, and in between are the doors of perception." And possibly why I love the band The Doors so much because this quote was the inspiration for the name of the band and their music. I've always been hungry to learn and experience new things so as to challenge my perceptions and ultimately alter them. Thus I have wandered through life opening as many doors as I can. It's impossible to walk through all the doors, but I like the idea of moving through as many as possible because if we could walk through all the doors we might become completely aware, cleansed of the filter of own perceptions altogether, free to see the world as it truly is... "If the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear to man as it is, infinite." William Blake I love this shot because it's a different perspective we don't normally see, like walking through one of those doors. I took it recently on a trip with @tacomasports hiking on the beautiful @crystalmountain. Changing your perspective can help change perception. 😉 #TacomaSports #TacomaWA #MountainCitySea #sponsored (at Crystal Mountain Resort)

I think one of the best qualities you can cultivate in yourself is the ability to be open to change and unforeseen opportunities. As human's I think we like to think we know what's going to happen. We pick a destination or outcome, pick our path to get there and we try our best to ignore everything that comes up along that path that might change our destination. The issue I have when I find myself doing this is how do I know the outcome I've selected is actually the best outcome for me? And what if I am missing a whole new and better outcome by ignoring the opportunities that arise along the path? As is so often the case I find parallels between my experiences in my professional life and my time in nature. I've really enjoyed running my own business over the past year and had planned to focus exclusively on that for the foreseeable future but one of my clients offered me an incredible role that shifted my mindset completely. After much thought I've decided to deviate from the path I thought I wanted and I'm excited to share that I've decided to split my time between my company and the position of Chief Operating Officer (COO) at @realogicssir (Realogics Sotheby's International Realty)! For the past nine months I've been their Executive Advisor, supporting the company with business and marketing strategy so I know how wonderful this company is and I'm thrilled to take a leadership role with them. The culture of innovation and collaboration was simply to enticing not to be a part of. Similarly I got up at 3:30am one day last week to shoot a magical sunrise on Mt Rainer only to find that my favorite shots were actually in the other direction. After quickly bagging the Rainier shot I followed a path on a hunch until I got this incredible view and was able to capture this beautiful mountain scene flooded with brilliant morning light. It might be strange but this is one of my favorite shots ever. So not a bad week, two great experiences, two different environments, both not part of my original plan. There's a lesson in there somewhere! 🤔 . Thanks to @tacomasports for the trip! #MountainCitySea #TacomaSports #TacomaWA #MountRainier #sponsored (at Mount Rainier National Park)

Last week I was lucky enough to be invited by @tacomasports to experience some of the amazing places in and around Tacoma as part of their #MountainCitySea campaign. That campaign name is definitely true to form as we boated around Gig Harbor, hiked around Crystal Mountain and paddle boarded in the heart of Tacoma. But the jewel in the crown is absolutely the incredibly beautiful Mt Rainier! We got up at 3:30 to travel to the place called Sunrise (also aptly named) to catch this spectacular sunrise on Rainer, something I'll remember for a long, long time. It actually reminded me that I need to get my butt out of bed earlier more often because that light was something else. If you haven't experienced this mountain at all I couldn't recommend it more to you. She has a power and a beauty somehow unique to her. Those who've been I'm sure will agree! ⛰ . #TacomaSports #TacomaWA #MountRainier #sponsored (at Mount Rainier National Park)