“You must strive to find your own voice because
the longer you wait to begin,
the less likely you are going to find it at all.”
Dead Poets Society
Today is my first day of work! As in the first day I am pursuing a more unconventional career in favor of my passions and writing. Am I an expert in travel or fashion? Well, no. And I’m certainly not the best writer in the world. So why? Why leave a career where I’ve seen success for something so unknown? Answer: to “contribute a verse”… and we’re going to do it TOGETHER.
I went from a grad student working in the gig economy to Gabbana. I’m proof that whatever your dream or station, you can make IT; you can make that thing you’ve been wishing for happen. Yes, it’s a romantic ideal but it’s relevant and important. To achieve the extraordinary you just need a place to start. Maybe it’s here. It requires a bit of work, and I’m going to do the bulk of it for you, but by finding our purpose and passion, and putting them into motion, we can impact a day, an evening, a moment, and what we’re left with are these incredible memories. The moments money can’t buy.
To quote John Keating (played by the incomparable late Robin Williams) in Dead Poets Society:
We don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for. To quote from Whitman, “O me! O life!… of the questions of these recurring; of the endless trains of the faithless… of cities filled with the foolish; what good amid these, O me, O life?” Answer. That you are here – that life exists, and identity; that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. That the powerful play *goes on* and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?
This might be a bit transcendental, but why the hell are we doing this life if not to “contribute a verse”?
What I am about to say is not ground breaking or poetic but I can’t find other words so I’m going with this for the time being: purpose through passion is the gateway to impact. Find your purpose, share your passion, and you will create lasting impact, on your life and the lives of others. In my former role, sitting in a corner office racking my brain over data, spend, and budget, I couldn’t fully flex my creative muscle, I couldn’t be as “impactful” as I’d like.
So my PURPOSE in this new role is to share my passions and my experiences, the good and the bad, to hopefully make your life a little bit richer so that TOGETHER we can contribute a verse, we can be IMPACTFUL; be loving, be inspiring, see great things, taste great things, have fun, make memories, simply put, be happier than ever.
A fantastic cannoli and a glass of prosecco wearing a Dolce & Gabbana dress while on the coast of Sicily with twinkling Christmas lights illuminating the night sky, surrounded by the people I love, the man I love. Five years ago when I set out on this outlandish journey to create a richer life I dreamed that day. I knew eventually it would be true. I’d WILL it into existence. So here we are again. It’s time to take my learnings over these past years, the ones that made me into this little firework of ambition and drive, and share them with you. And know that my blueprint is scalable! On an average Friday night you can make cannoli cream, buy some Korbel, set up some twinkle lights in the backyard, wear a $2 thrift store dress, kids running around, and be just as happy as I was that evening in Sicily, and THAT’S a moment you’ll probably remember. In fact, I know you will, because that’s how I was raised. In a modest household filled with love, by parents with the philosophy that life is ALL about making memories, about purpose, passion, and impact.
Today begins my next chapter, my new job, and a HUGE part of my role is helping you find your purpose and passion to create impact, whatever that may be. I’m going to show you how to make any day of your life extraordinary, even in this insane environment. But in all of this uncertainly, we can be comforted by the fact that we don’t know what tomorrow holds. So let’s take this opportunity to find our voice and control the narrative. Let’s start creating impact, making memories, living a richer life, together, today.
The Cheeky Genova 