Christine Gibbs… I am the fearless girl my mother warned me about.
Thank goodness I have more than 160 characters to talk about myself… that Twitter bio is really putting the squeeze on me! When I read a bio, I’m looking for the answer to my usual question of “why the heck should I pay attention to this person?” You may be thinking the same thing when you read a bio… or maybe you heard I was awesome and you want to be awesome too!! Either way, I have found encouragement, motivation and conviction from receiving insight and hearing the perspectives of other great individuals.
Thank goodness my performance has finally caught up with my ego. But for now we need to skip back in time a decade. When I graduated high school, everyone asked me what I wanted to do with my life. How should I know? I just spend the last 12 years in school!! My life exposure was the size of a thumbnail. I had options including college basketball scholarships. (I dare you to challenge me at a game of horse. I’ve spent hours perfecting my shot and I have no problem showing it off!) Needless to say, like most kids I picked up a summer job at age 17 to save some money while training for the upcoming season. I was hired and fired all within a few months. It was the first and only time I had a real job. I definitely deserved to be fired (saving details for another blogpost) and it was one of the best things that ever happened to me. I threw myself into intense training and a short time later ended up with a shoulder injury that would set me back a year. I’ve never been the “red shirt” type so I decided to delay college while I rehabilitating. Depressed and mopey and wallowing in self pity, I was now 18 and driving my parents nuts.
It was the spring of 2000 and one evening my mother gave me the “get off your butt and change your attitude” speech. In the moment I was surprised that she would have the nerve to challenge me during my “oh-so-sad life.” I must say, my Mom ROCKS. She knew what I needed to hear and she wasn’t afraid to say it. The next morning I woke up, looked in the mirror and said, “Today is the day I change my life.” and I meant it. I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. Sound hokey? Well, ask any successful person to describe some of their defining moments and you’ll hear similar stories.
To make a long story longer… After my personal pep talk… that day I started my own business. Being stubborn and strong has its perks because I threw myself into sales and I would be lying if I said it was “Happy Ever After.” In fact, my life turned into the Great American Theme Park and I soon it felt like I was riding one roller coaster after another. The struggle of learning how to run a business, striving to be taken seriously at such a young age, needing skills that were beyond my years and having very little understanding of financial responsibility – was enough to sink the average person. Learning can be fun but it also has its painful moments. There is no better way to learn then learning from other people’s success and failures. My hope is that I can share meaningful stories and truths with you that will grow and enhance your life.
A Few Resume Highlights
- At 18 I started my own business. I was profitable my first year.
- At 23 years old I married my soul-mate, my best friend, my lover.
- At 24 years old I was netting over a million dollars a year in my business and traveling the country.
- At 27 years old I had my first little girl and my business grew by 100% from the prior year. I started giving more and sponsoring Water Boreholes (wells) in Africa.
- At 28 years old I had my second little girl and my business went international and grew by 300% from the prior year. I was giving away more money than I made in the first half of my life.
- At 29 years old I have 3 companies that are well into eight figures each. I have two amazing little girls that I remind me daily of how blessed I am. I have a husband who is my perfect match and makes me laugh hysterically. I have a relationship with Jesus Christ and peace that is beyond my understanding.
- At 30… we’ll see what happens!
Other Important Facts
- I have a complete obsession with shoes
- I would wear flannel pants to bed if my husband would let me
- I use three seat covers in any public restroom
- I believe that motivational quotes are only cheesy if you aren’t motivated
- I take chewable kids vitamins daily
- I think my best feature is my big, beautiful, sexy brain
- I believe that checkers can be a contact sport.
- I tell people I’m too crazy to know what’s impossible. I have ridiculously large dreams, and half the time they come true.
