Kimberly Mashek — Have a Heart for Kids; High School Counseling and Loving Through Every Season

In this episode honoring Father’s Day, Mary Lyn has a beautiful conversation with the greatest influence in her life — her Dad, Dell Hill. He shares his life through stories — how he grew up and what his passion has created. His entrepreneur journey of creating Selwood Farm — his 40 year business that is also his home — just outside of Birmingham, Alabama. Today’s episode is his walk through the past 80 years of life, 40 years of creating and developing Selwood Farm, and his heart for family, life and relationships. 

Today’s conversation is about the sweetness of growing up in smalltown Alabama and the vivid memories he has of neighborhood, high school, and community where everybody knew each other and supported each other.  Dell shares about life as an entrepreneur — and how he’s poured his life and creativity into his 40 year business alongside his wife of 57 years. As owner of his business, Selwood Farm, (and still working daily!) an 800 acre property that has held the name Selwood since 1834, Dell is synonymous with this beautiful place he calls home. With more than 10,000 guests at the farm annually, the specialness is experienced by everyone who breathes its fresh air, enjoys meals in the country house, attends an outdoorsman event or experiences a world class quail hunt on the property. 

Dell served as a lieutenant in the army, worked in the chemical corp, served in the Senate for the state of Alabama and also as Probate Judge; he graduated from Auburn University in 1964 and still bleeds orange and blue. Among many amazing titles, the best one he holds is Dad. Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there who are leading their kids and families with love, commitment, and selflessness. 

In this conversation you’ll hear:

• How our fathers teach us through their actions 
• How home and business can create a life well-lived
• What life in the 1940’s was like; and its sweet simplicity
• What can be experienced through staying committed to relationship
• Why the great ride of life and enjoying every drop  is the destination 

Resources:

• Selwood Farm’s Website: selwoodfarm.com
• Selwood Farm’s Instagram: @selwoodfarm
• One Creative Act’s Instagram: @onecreativeact
• Mary Lyn Jenkins’s Instagram: @marylynbigfish
• Big Fish Co.’s Instagram: @livebigfishco
• Big Fish Co.’s Website: livebigfishco.com 
• Mary Lyn Jenkins’s Book: The Transformative Power Of Language

In this solo episode, host of One Creative Act, Mary Lyn Jenkins, guides you through the benefits and importance of claiming what you value at your core — Core Values. You’ll want a pen and paper for this episode as she directs you step by step on how to create your Core Values for life, business and home. The seasons have changed again; and spring to summer means we’re entering the third quarter of the year. It’s never too late to get anchored in what you value. Have fun listening and get your compass tuned and aligned for the remainder of the year by creating your Core Values in this simple and lighthearted episode that provides you with more than just inspiration. 

Mary Lyn shares the four core values that make up her business, Big Fish Co. as an example of how to create your own. More than just pretty-sounding words, Mary Lyn explains the value behind every word and how this exercise can support every decision you make. 

Mary Lyn is a multi-passionate entrepreneur who coaches women to take action and create and fulfill their dream. She is an author and Certified Coach. Her past work includes 15 years in interior design; 15 years in teaching yoga, owning yoga studios and facilitating leadership development programs; 24 years in marriage and the proud momma of two teenagers. She was Yoga Journal’s cover model in 2016 and taught the NFL recovery movement for six years. Now, the founder of Big Fish Co, her commitment is to coach creative women to build a business that matters. She lives in a little beach town in Florida with her hubby and kiddos. 

In this conversation you’ll hear:

• Why seasons are the most valuable measure of time
• How to create an understanding of what you value at your core
• How to create core values for your life, business and home
• What we can experience differently because of having core values
• Why changing seasons and having something stead like core values is beneficial

Resources:

• One Creative Act’s Instagram: @onecreativeact
• Mary Lyn Jenkins’s Instagram: @marylynbigfish
• Big Fish Co.’s Instagram: @livebigfishco
• Big Fish Co.’s Website: livebigfishco.com 
• Mary Lyn Jenkins’s Book: The Transformative Power Of Language

Brittany Palugod is a New Jersey native now living in New York City. She’s a creative of the best kind — wildly organized, generous, thoughtful, very detailed, and an equal visionary with a big heart and full of infectious personality. She and the expertise she offers through her company, Clean Slate Consulting Co. has guided me from my bricks and mortar business website to my new (and lovely) Big Fish Co. website that launches this month! I actually met Brittany many years ago; we’ve worked together through leadership platforms, teaching yoga, coach training platforms, operating yoga studios, volunteer work and serving on a foundation board. We’ve laughed together and cried together, but if I have to come up with a theme, ours is a friendship that proves you SHOULD work with your friends. 

Today we talk about what has shaped her and impacted her recently. As a newlywed, Brittany has been through the heartache of miscarriage and shares vulnerably and courageously what she and her husband have moved through. We talk marriage and business; and moving through every moment of it together. She shares that softening was her greatest strength. 

In this conversation you’ll hear:

• How miscarriage created awareness for what is most valuable in her marriage
• How softening is strength
• Why the mess is part of the creative ride
• How the roadmap in marriage is the foundation you establish
• Why we have been created for relationship 

Resources:

• One Creative Act’s Instagram: @onecreativeact
• Mary Lyn Jenkin’s Instagram: @marylynbigfish
• Mighty Women’s Website: livebigfishco.com/mighty-women
• Big Fish Co.’s Instagram: @livebigfishco
• Big Fish Co.’s Website: livebigfishco.com 
• Brittany Palugod’s Instagram: @brittanypalugod
• Clean Slate’s Website: cleanslateconsulting.co

Fabulous. That’s what Diana Naramore is. She’s also one of the hardest workers I know  — in parenthood, marriage and business. She and her husband/business partner, Steve, built a model for what small business can be when sweat, tears, perseverance and lots of kindness are in the recipe — and it’s something that was the experience of home for me when I first moved to Seattle, Washington in early 2000. The Sip & Ship, now with two locations — the flagship store in Ballard and the sister shop in Greenwood —  is now 20 years old. 

With the perfect tagline — sip, ship, shop — The Sip & Ship is a neighborhood hub for grabbing a cup of coffee, an oversized warm chocolate chip cookie, while picking up a beautiful letterpress card and gift for a friend and mailing all your packages for personal or business needs all in one swoop. It’s kid friendly, dog friendly, and people friendly. Everyone inside aims to please and provide every guest with the highest level of acknowledgement, interaction and care. It’s a kindness store; and today, Diana shares her best practices, her family struggles and successes while building and believing in small business, and how she's persevered in creating life through the Sip & Ship and welcome people in with love every step of the way. 

In this conversation you’ll hear:

• What works in business when your business partner is your husband
• How kindness must be modeled and taught
• Why a mission statement creates the anchor for your business
• How uncertainty through creating business is the adventure 
• Why family matters in small business 

Resources:

• One Creative Act’s Instagram: @onecreativeact
• Mary Lyn Jenkin’s Instagram: @marylynbigfish
• Mighty Women’s Website: livebigfishco.com/mighty-women
• Big Fish Co.’s Instagram: @livebigfishco
• Big Fish Co.’s Website: livebigfishco.com 
• Sip & Ship’s Website: sipandship.com
• Sip & Ship’s Instagram: @sipshipshop

Kimberly Mashek is the daughter of a U.S. Navy EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) Instructor and as a result, has lived all over the country. She finished her bachelor's degree at the University of Florida,  and worked as an Infant -Toddler Developmental Specialist for the State of Florida's early intervention program, Early Steps. After completing her Master's of Education in Counselor Education she was hired by Duval County Public Schools in Jacksonville, Florida, where she served three school years as the middle school counselor and for the last six school years as a high school counselor at one of the largest comprehensive high schools in the district. 

Kimberly is a wife, mom, a student advocate, a yoga teacher, and an avid DIY-er. As an extremely organized creative, her talents run deep. I met Kimberly a little over 10 years ago when she walked in to take a yoga class and soon thereafter, became my student through my leadership teacher training. Her heart is for the next generation. She is committed and passionate in making a difference in the lives of kids and so it’s very fitting that today we talk about the seasons — the seasons of a school year and that another school year is wrapping up for her. We talk about how we each are the SOMEBODY a kid needs and in being that, we create a connection to home and a sense of security for a kid. 

She, along with other high school counselors, don’t always get the credit they deserve for pulling kids to the finish line through challenging seasons. On this One Creative Act’s first birthday episode, it’s very appropriate to spend this time with Kimberly; and we acknowledge her and all of our school counselors who have worked from dedication and love to support families and our children throughout the school year. 

In this conversation you’ll hear:

• What makes a difference in making a difference in the lives of kids
• How to get involved with your kids
• How parent + counselor partnership is the recipe for teenage success
• How embracing seasons allows us to experience life fully
• What our high school counselors need the most — involved parents

Resources:

• One Creative Act’s Instagram: @onecreativeact
• Mary Lyn Jenkin’s Instagram: @marylynbigfish
• Big Fish Co.’s Instagram: @livebigfishco
• Big Fish Co.’s Website: livebigfishco.com 
• Kimberly Mashek’s Instagram: @kimmieloo

Karen Torrone’s perspective is simple: see what needs to be trimmed in order to succeed, be  a model for consistency and practice what you want to have happen. And her resilience and kindness almost seem supernatural. After experiencing the murder of her mom in 1998, she’s got a thing or two we can learn regarding forgiveness and moving forward. She’s dealt with pain, healing and forgiving. It was through the practice of yoga and renewal in her faith that she gained clear insight into not giving up and instead, giving love. 

Today, Karen also shares what it takes — and what it took to keep a community together, connected and wanting to come back after almost 400 days of closure due to Covid mandates.. She shares what it takes to forgive something that seems unforgivable. She shares how to stay in life living fully and to fully serve no matter what comes your way. 

Karen Torrone has a wealth of experience in life and business. Born and raised and now an eleven-year  business owner in her home of Staten Island, New York, Karen serves her community through 5 Boro Power Yoga. She is also a co-creator and co-facilitator of Lit From Within Yoga, an upper level virtual training platform for yoga professionals and leaders. 

In this conversation you’ll hear:

• What forgiving is and what it isn’t
• How to deliver quality always
• How creating consistency is through taking one day at a time
• How serving brings the highest reward

Resources:

• One Creative Act’s Instagram: @onecreativeact
• Mary Lyn Jenkin’s Instagram: @marylynbigfish
• 5 Boro Power Yoga’s Instagram: @5boropoweryoga
• 5 Boro Power Yoga’s Website:  5boropoweryoga.com
• Big Fish Co.’s Instagram: @livebigfishco
• Big Fish Co.’s Website: livebigfishco.com 
• Lit From Within Yoga’s Website: litfromwithinyoga.com 
• Lit From Within Yoga’s Instagram: @litfromwithinyoga 

One of the common threads in my marriage to TF Jenkins is our love for building things together. Today’s episode is a nod to our anniversary that we celebrate this month and our 24-year journey of creating home together. We’ve grown up together over the past two decades; and building things has always been part of our story.

We love history, studying historical architecture, knowing where every antique we have originated — we love what our parents have passed on to us. We love adding to the harmony of the already-existing landscape versus being in opposition with it. Everywhere we’ve had the opportunity to build and create, we’ve shared a desire to put something back into that geographical area that looks like it’s always been there; and today we share it all.

TF studied Building Science at Auburn University and law at Cumberland School of Law. He combined his love for building, restoration and law and pursued historical preservation; later, with a cross-country move, TF transitioned into finance and wealth management while keeping his love for building things. TF always embraced creating home with me — with our first home in Washington, second in Colorado, and third in Florida. In seeing how structures were built throughout history when homes were designed because of where the sun set or how the wind blew, creating cool spaces when it gets hot so the house’s design has sustainability and longevity, and also thinking about the durability of materials that make for a newly designed home to look like it always belonged — these are the things TF and I have loved studying as we’ve built through the years. 

Today we talk about building together and the people who supported each construction project and how special it has been. From craftsmen, beloved architects who we worked with and adore, and community visionaries — check them all out in the show notes below. I am so thankful for TF’s partnership and creativity for 24 years and for all that we’ve built together. I hope you enjoy this love story of creating home through the years between me and my favorite project manager, TF Jenkins. 

In this conversation you’ll hear:

• Why enjoying every step of every project is the project 
• How to take risks and stay together through it all
• How working with the best people produces the best product
• How building things and creating home pulls us together 
• What matters most  — the process

Resources:

• One Creative Act’s Instagram: @onecreativeact
• Mary Lyn Jenkin’s Instagram: @marylynbigfish
• Big Fish Co.’s Instagram: @livebigfishco
• Big Fish Co.’s Website: livebigfishco.com 
• TF Jenkins’ Instagram: @thomasfain
• Rivergrass Wealth Management’s Website: rivergrasswm.com
• Julia Starr Sanford’s Instagram: @starrsanforddesign
• Starr Sanford Design’s Website: starrsandford.com
• South Main Colorado’s Website: southmainco.com
• South Main’s Instagram: @southmain.co
• Steve Mouzon’s Instagram: @stevemouzon
• Steve Mouzon’s Website: originalgreen.org
• Buchanan General Contracting Company’s Website: buchanangc.com
• Chelsea Antiques’ Instagram: @chelseaantiques1
• Goodlife Looms Rugs’ Instagram: @goodlife_looms

Owner of two amazing yoga studios — the original in downtown Charleston and also a location in Mt. Pleasant — wearing and living her  title – Director of Solutions — not only in business but in family and life, Beth has always been one to watch to see how it’s done professionally, gracefully and always with humor and fun. Today she shares why she’s chosen the high road in business for 19 years. 

I met Beth Thomas almost 20 years ago. She was a single lady, entrepreneur, and changing the landscape of Charleston, South Carolina, by building the first power yoga studio on King Street. She’s seen  a lot of change in her booming town during the past two decades and experienced the same amount of change personally — now, married, a mom, and spending time in two cities she calls home — Greenville and Charleston — Beth is now the sole owner of Charleston Power Yoga after her business partnership dissolved. Today, we talk about it; moving out of a partnership when it’s not expected and how to handle it even when you don’t know how to handle it. Through her business challenges and the impact of Covid on her team and business, Beth’s grace, leaning into faith and a deep sense of humble leadership caused the doors of her business to remain open. Rebuilding a community space that is now thriving is a necessary message for every entrepreneur and there’s no one better to learn from than Beth. 

In this conversation you’ll hear:

• What comes of choosing the high road
• Why clear communication means fail fast and speak up
• How letting go of old conversations is key to rebuilding
• How life works when we work and love our work

Resources:

• One Creative Act’s Instagram: @onecreativeact
• Mary Lyn Jenkin’s Instagram: @marylynbigfish
• Big Fish Co.’s Instagram: @livebigfishco
• Big Fish Co.’s Website: livebigfishco.com 
• Beth Thomas Plante’s Instagram: @bethplantecpy
• Charleston Power Yoga’s Instagram: @charlestonpoweryoga
• Charleston Power Yoga’s Website: charlestonpoweryoga.com 

Luca Richards is an international yoga teacher and published yoga researcher with over 20 years of experience as an instructor and instructor trainer. He is a professional coach for individuals and organizations, and has presented at internationally recognized conferences including Yoga Journal LIVE, ECA Fitness Conference, Baptiste Power Yoga Global Summit, and at the White House as part of Michelle Obama’s ​Let's Move! Campaign. He has contributed to published academic research studies on the efficacy of yoga in collaboration with the University of Miami and developed a year-long research study on the effects of yoga for at-risk youth in collaboration with Florida International University.

Luca has been a close friend of mine for more than 15 years. Most recently, we’ve created a partnership — Lit From Within — an innovative, 300-hour live yoga teacher training platform delivered virtually for individuals wanting to lead, facilitate, teach and expand in their business as a yoga teacher or content creator; but moreso, to stand confidently in their voice and deepen their experience of living fully and sharing whole heartedly. Luca has taught thousands with his light heartedness and depth of knowledge of the practice of yoga and movement —  Luca lives in Portland, Maine, and today, he shares how he’s been called Home, how his creativity is his core, and why relationships and enjoying the journey are the experience of Home.

In this conversation you’ll hear:

• Why enjoying every step along the way is most important of all
• How doors open when you take a step forward
• Why healthy boundaries are as important as expanding
• How home has a way of calling us back in perfect timing 
• What matters most:  humor, heart and human to human relationship

Resources:

• One Creative Act’s Instagram: @onecreativeact
• Mary Lyn Jenkin’s Instagram: @marylynbigfish
• Mighty Women’s Website: livebigfishco.com/mighty-women
• Big Fish Co.’s Instagram: @livebigfishco
• Big Fish Co.’s Website: livebigfishco.com 
• Luca Richards’  Instagram: @lucarichardsyoga 
• Luca Richards’ Website: lucarichardsyoga.com 
• Lit From Within’s Website: litfromwithinyoga.com 
• Lit From Within’s Instagram: @litfromwithinyoga 

A best friend is everything. And Sally is mine. 

I met Sally my first year of living in Seattle, Washington back in 2000. Our paths crossed because someone said we had to meet — so we did. She’s smart, well-read, proactive, hard working, a great mom and wife and committed to her growth and elevating others. An entrepreneur and Representative of Creatives, Sally is the Founder and CEO of her own company Sally Reps — Representing Commercial Photographers, Photo Stylists and Creative Directors in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle, and San Francisco. Sally Reps is now over 20 years old!

Sally Bjornsen says she circles around creativity — she has had major success in being a representative of creatives instead of choosing a life of creativity for herself. I see things differently. Sally is wildly creative. She is an example of how to embrace creativity and love business while supporting others living into her daily choices of humor, color, and spice. 

This conversation is what happens when two best friends have an hour together. In today’s episode, we talk about the good old days when she was my rep! We discuss raising kids — the differences from when we were growing up and the present generation, their pressures and influences, and how the impact of Covid is far from done on this present generation. We talk about music and the creative options that kids have today to pursue nontraditional education after high school. And we talk about what we, as parents, have let happen and what we can do about it to support our kids to bring back some sense of security for their future. 

In this conversation you’ll hear:

• What two best friends talk about when they have an hour together
• How adding a British accent can lighten the load
• How this Creative Rep keeps her artists motivated and expanding
• How uncertainty through Covid has impacted our children 
• Why privacy for our kids is key
• Why the kids are not alright 
• Why we need to put our phones in the trunk

Resources:

• One Creative Act’s Instagram: @onecreativeact
• Mary Lyn Jenkin’s Instagram: @marylynbigfish
• Mighty Women’s Website: livebigfishco.com/mighty-women
• Big Fish Co.’s Instagram: @livebigfishco
• Big Fish Co.’s Website: livebigfishco.com 
• Sally Bjornsen’s Instagram: @sally_reps
• Sally Bjornsen’s Website: sallyreps.com