Hi Tania! Thank you for spending time answering these questions for all of us. I know that you have worked so hard to build your heart-felt business of helping others and your story is so inspiring to others.
Can you tell us a little bit about how you built your vision into a business of helping others?
It all started several years back when my husband and I were getting overwhelmed with all the negative stories we are bombarded with on the news. My husband is a Forensic Psychologist and is faced with a constant stream of sad stories and wasn’t finding any refuge in the media. Feeling overwhelmed and helpless, we decided to turn our energy towards ways we could focus on all the good things going on in our world. We strongly believed that what you focus on grows so it was our goal to spread some positive energy through inspiring stories. When I started Personal Hero, I really didn’t have a plan. My intention was to share positive stories of everyday folks making a difference. I wanted to have a little space in the world where people could turn to escape the bombardment of bad news and be a refuge of good news. Along the way I decided that simply telling stories wasn’t enough. I wanted to find a way to encourage others to start their own ripple of love and gratitude out into the world. I felt that one of the things that was often missing in our society was the simple act of showing appreciation to those that matter most to us….our Personal Heroes. So I started an inspirational line of products with the core intention: honor self | honor others. This became our guiding light – to design beautiful messages to celebrate all the important things in life….including each one of us and the people we love.
I love how you share inspirational stories from around the world. Can you tell us about one of these stories that has touched you the most?
There have been so many stories that have touched me! I think one that has touched me the most is that of Ramela Abbamontian. (link: https://personalhero.com/blogs/love-gratitude-messages/personal-hero-ramela-abbamontian). The reason this so touched me is that it hit close to home. Ramela is a wife and a mother of three and is so very devoted to her family. After being diagnosed with breast cancer it would have been so understandable for her to want to dig a hole and escape. But Ramela found comfort in her faith and her three sweet little children and found the courage to warrior on. When I interviewed Ramela she allowed me to read through her journal that she kept during her cancer battle. What impressed me the most is that she never felt sorry for herself or asked “why me”. Instead she looked to all she had to be grateful for and throughout it all she found ways to inspire others. She is a beautiful example of a warrior and was part of my inspiration for the “Warrior” Gratitude Bracelet.
Your candles are amazing, I love the fragrances that you concoct. What has been your favorite? Are there any scents in the future that you can tell us about?
I really love our Intention Candle line and the design is truly what makes them different than any other candle (thank you Sibyl!). We started with 7 different candles which each express a different intention and all have the overall message of gratitude. I wanted to create something that could be gifted for the recipient to have as a constant reminder of love and gratitude. My favorites are probably Love and Gratitude as those are my two guiding lights. These have also been my two most popular candles, as well as Celebrate. I currently have three scents available and plan to add seasonal scents throughout the year.
Your message, “Honor Yourself. Honor Others” is such an important lesson. What is one thing you do each day to honor yourself?
In addition to showing gratitude for others, I think it is so important for us to also honor ourselves. Often times we are so busy (especially us mamas) tending to the needs of all those around us that we forget to take time for ourselves. I must admit that I am not always the best in this area. I tend to be a bit of a workaholic and it can be difficult for me to shut that off and take some down time. However there are several things I try to do on a somewhat regular basis. I find that when I give myself half hour to an hour in the morning for me time before starting my day I am most productive. When I am able to drag myself up early (I am so NOT a morning person!) my day is so much more productive and positive. I like to start with yoga and a quiet meditation/prayer/reflection on my thoughts for the day and finish with an inspirational or spiritual reading and planning out my day. Last month I created a Three Blessings bracelet which serves as a visual reminder to look for three things during your day that you are grateful for. Along with this we created a Three Blessings Journal page which is downloadable and serves as a place to document your daily blessings and overall happiness. Writing in this journal is how I like to finish off every day.
Thank you so much for sharing with us and for spreading such positivity throughout the world! Your work is important and impactful. What is one inspirational message you would like to leave with everyone today?
My motto is “it just takes one”. We often feel like we have to do “big” things in order to make an impact but that just isn’t the case. Every small act that someone makes has an impact. You never know what your one small act of kindness could do for someone else. It may be something huge to that one person. So whenever I write my stories or create my candles and bracelets I try to envision that one person I am trying to touch. If I just touch one person then I have made a difference.
Thank you, Tania – I hope that others reading this will realize that we can make a difference one at a time! And thank you so much for your generous discount code – happy shopping, everyone!
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