Contest Countdown 🎂 🎂 🎂 (To My Birthday)

How we gonna wrap up this #DontSettle summer?

On Instagram of course, with five solid weeks of picture perfect contests, rolling right up until Labor Day (AKA my Birthday) Weekend. (September 2nd: Holla!)

That cake? (And celebration of life.)  Still going down. Everything else gets the reboot. (So stay tuned 'ya scaredy cats of creativity.)

Each Saturday, check out @WriteOnGrrrl for a new quote from Settling Down, a humorous novel of female empowerment by Dawn Keable. To enter: (1) Follow me on Instagram, (2) Tag your favorite beach babe, then (3) Submit your picture perfect takeaway of what the quote o' the week means to you.

(Be sure to use the hashtag of the week, so I can find you.)

This time 'round it's a team effort: Creativity? On you. I've got the prizes. And my uber talented husband @thefunkyphotog shows up as your (non-Simon Cowell) judge.

Every week he'll determine one lucky winner of the #DontSettle prize pack, that will include: An autographed copy of Settling Down, a fierce luggage tag (for your own personal journey), twenty #DontSettle prayer cards (so you can help spread the message) and a piece of dope jewelry to vary weekly (and featured in the Saturday slide show).

➡ Contest rules (ugh. Sorry to be the wet blanket.) :

1. Open to lovelies ages 18+
2. The world needs love, but this contest is open to US mailing addresses only.
3. Previous winners of any #DontSettle prize pack must wait (60) sixty days in order to win another prize. Thank you for allowing us to spread the love equally. 

The #DontSettle Summer Ultimate Beach Bag Giveaway

The #DontSettle Summer Beach Bag Giveaway

Oh, hello #DontSettleSummer

Welcome to the official kickoff of the #DontSettleSummer!

The vibe? Massive female empowerment, baby. 'Cause there's an epidemic in this world. Of women afraid to live their best lives. Yup. Instead of having the faith to believe there's something even more amazing on the horizon, too many girlfriends are willing to grab what's easy and in front of them, whether it be a man, job or a clearance handbag.

That my friend is called settling. 

And it needs to go the way of the mullet. File under extinct.

The #DontSettleSummer festivities are gonna pop off with a bang, way before any 4th of July fireworks, with exciting giveaways across the big three social media channels:  Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Stick around if you:  

• Are a voracious reader of women's fiction, ya know, like my debut novel Settling Down.
• Like your stories to go down with humor, sharp wit and the undying expectation that you, as a smart chick, can be entertained without packing away your intelligence. 
• Enjoy cheering on other ladies on their life journeys, while internalizing their lessons to improve your own situation.
• Are committed to growing into your best person. And then growing some more. And then...you get the picture.
• Wanna stomp on stereotypes that there's a one-sized journey of life.
• Like free stuff, like beach bags, luggage tags, autographed vacation reads AND jewelry.

Settling is about giving up your power.

The #DontSettleSummer is about taking it back.

Permission to Read, Granted.

Oh, hey, old friend. 

Where have I been?

Well, writing a book for starters. Maybe you've heard about it? Settling Down A Novel. It's good stuff. In fact please read the following review. That I may (or may not) have just made up.

"It's really funny,"  André M. Brown, professional husband, NFL watcher and reader of exactly one book for women. (Disclaimer:  He read it at least 5 times. Maybe 10. He is an expert.)

Actually just writing doesn't even begin to encompass the massive amount of work I've been in the midst of. Yup, I dreamed up the story in my head, then sat on my ass for the better part of several years to write the words. But in addition, and more powerfully,  I've been creating a vision for my voice that's way bigger than a book.

A movement if you will. A revolution even.

A call not to settle. 

Not in love. Not in life. Not in happiness.

Not at your job. Or within your family. Not in your health.

Not in your clothes. Where you're supposed to live. How many kids you're supposed to have. The age that you're supposed to be married. Or stop wearing a bikini. Or give yourself a sensible bob haircut.

Do NOT settle. For anything!

Here's the thing in this life. We spend so much time asking for permission. Permission to be ourselves. Permission for our opinions to exist in the world. Permission to be validated. To be seen. To be heard. 

Permission to live.

Why? I dunno. The best I can figure out is we feel less scared when there are rules to follow. Markers to gauge our lives. Things that we're supposed to cross off our cosmic to-do-list in order to feel like we're making progress. Or that we're doing things correctly. 

We just blindly go along with tradition. Because you're supposed to. And that's how it's always been done. And because they say so. 

Whoever the hell 'they' are.

But what if there are no rules. No right way to do things. What if you started asking:  Who makes you the expert of everything, especially me?

I think you'd find the answers change. And if you're brave enough to shake things up, you will be better than okay. You'll learn that you can survive, and hell yeah, thrive,  just being true to you.

So welcome. Or welcome back.

Let's do this. How 'bout we #DontSettle together.