Stay Spicy

You're probably wondering what "Stay Spicy" is and where it came from some. Well, here is a bit of the Stay Spicy origin story.

Origin Story

I had a job and a team I absolutely loved. 

I had some great cheerleaders, too. But I also had my share of haters. Oh yes, some people have a lot of opinions about me. That's fine. But the thing is, they choose to share them in a cruel, cutting and often very public way. 

What I've learned is that so many of us experience this same kind of thing. Marginalization, discrimination, bullying, or just plain meanness. But we don't talk about it. And, we think it means there's something wrong with us. 

My friend Sheri informed me, it means I'm just cool enough to have a few haters.

About a year ago, I was on a plane coming from or going to another work trip and dealing with more haters. I called up Sheri for some emotional support. We chatted for a bit, but I had to get off the phone because the plan was about to take off (it wasn't the only thing about to take off). I said "goodbye" and Sheri said: Stay Spicy.

Born Spicy

I was born spicy. 

I basically came out of the womb saying “I’ve got this, hold my beer.” At the age of two I declared to my mother, “you’re not the boss of me, I’m the boss of me!” Hands on hips, face set determinedly. My aunt even nicknamed me “spicy” with a glint in her eye as she too had been a spicy young girl.

Here’s the thing: we were all born spicy. In our own way. Whatever that means to us. Because we were all born wonderfully unique. Which begs the question: Why do we try so hard over the course of our lives to be just like everyone else - to fit in.

Perhaps it’s like Linkin Park said, “I wanna find something I’ve wanted all along, somewhere I belong.” Everyone should feel like they belong, but belonging is the opposite of fitting in. 

Fitting in means you’re like everyone else. Belonging is when you feel accepted for who you are — spiciness and all.

As we seek out that sense of belonging in our lives, we fall prey to those who just want us to fall in line. We get told (explicitly or implicitly) to tone it down, to shine a little less bright, to try a little harder to fit in, to take up a little less space, to talk a little less, to be a little less.

And little by little, we become less of ourselves.

Trust Your Rebel Heart

We often listen to these messages because they come from ‘trusted’ sources or authority figures like our parent, teacher, partner, boss, friend, colleague. 

And we should listen to them, right? 

Wrong. 

We should be listening to ourselves, our own inner voices. Our rebel hearts.

After listening to people tell me for years that I belonged in the background, that I was obsessed with building my brand, and that I was wrong for doing it. I finally found my truth. 

It was buried in the back of my closet in a box of junk from my childhood. A newspaper clipping of five-year-old Lynette reminded me of who I am.

I am someone who uses my voice to inspire, motivate, and help others. I found another truth — not in a box of stuff, but inside of me once I started listening. 

That other truth: I was tired of being told that who I am is not who I should be. 

So after decades of being told who to be and who not to be, Sheri and I decided to trust our own rebel hearts — and help others do the same.

We launched the Demythifying Brand Podcast to help everyone find their authentic brand and share it with the world. 

Our sign off after every episode is Stay Spicy.

Time For Change

We found by talking to each other, our guests and our listeners that everyone had a story about being told or encouraged not to be themselves, or at least not all of themselves. This is a big, pervasive, systemic issue.

So how do you change a system? As Dolly Parton said "if you don't like the road you're walking on, pave a new one."

And so, Stay Spicy Inc was born with the purpose to build the community and tools to empower everyone to be their most courageous, authentic and spicy self.

Because we weren’t born with imposter syndrome, not believing in ourselves.

We weren’t born consumed by other people’s insecurities and drama.

We weren’t born worried about being too loud, assertive, smart, pretty, intense, fast…we weren’t born worried about being too anything.

These are things that our systems and society have ingrained in us over time.

It’s time for that to change.

What If

What if, instead of dimming, taking up less space, conforming, pleasing, we all were just our spicy selves?

What if we all developed a no assholes policy.

What if we proudly said “I’m not just a pretty face. But I’m also that.”

What if instead of worrying about what other people think or say about us, we realize we’re just cool enough to have a few haters.

What if we said, “instead of telling me I’m unworthy and then labeling me with imposter syndrome, pull up a chair at the table for me and hand me a microphone.”

What if instead of wasting our time trying to make everyone else comfortable, we saved our fucks for magical shit — because we only have so many to give.

What would work look like? What would relationships look like? What would the world look like?

Let’s fucking find out.

That’s what Stay Spicy is about. Not just about swearing (but also that).

It’s about unlearning the harmful messages we’ve received over time.

It’s about busting myths and speaking our truth.

It’s about finding our authentic self and putting it out into the world, unapologetically.

It’s about changing the way we talk to and about ourselves.

And most importantly it’s about creating the community and tools for everyone to be their most courageous, authentic and spicy selves.

Because the world needs us to be. Because we were born spicy — and we deserve to be who we were born to be.

Stay Spicy everyone.