On my 36th Birthday, I wanted to share 36 facts about me that you may not know. After 36 spins around this beautiful world, here's a snapshot of my life:
1. I was born the day Elvis died. I have always shared my birthday with 24 hours of Elvis on TV. The King and I are forever linked.
2. My first home was a trailer. My little sister and I shared a bottom bunk bed.
3. I was a church kid: Sunday morning, evening and Wednesday nights we were church’n.
4. When I was in the 1st grade, I took our family car for an accidental ‘drive’ and nearly died.
5. I wrote Oprah a letter when I was 8 telling her I wanted to be just like her.
6. I went to military school for 3 years.
7. My father died at 42. I now count aging as a huge blessing.
8. When my sisters and I were bored at home, we would turn off all the lights, bring out flashlights, crank up the Michael Jackson and pretend we were in a night club.
9. When I was 14, we moved from Milledgeville, Georgia to Newcastle, Australia.
10. I was horrible at math at school. Until a dollar sign was placed in front of the numbers. Then I got very excited.
11. My mother used to stage ‘photo shoots’ for us girls. We would take white bed sheets and use tacks to hang them on a wall. We looked at beauty magazines and Audrey Hepburn films (and used our Aunt's old prom dresses) for inspiration.
12. I wrote out ‘contracts’ for family members to sign when they borrowed money from my piggy bank. Some now have thousands of dollars in interest owed.
13. I was terrified of fire growing up. I used to stage ‘fire drills’ in our home and had an emergency bag packed next to my bedroom window.
14. My favourite summer films growing up were: Mannequin, Can’t Buy Me Love, The Buttercream Gang and Weekend at Bernies.
15. I read my first Tony Robbins book at 15.
16. I was fired from my first job at 15 working at a clothing store.
17. I have never had my ears pierced.
18. My first career ambition was to be a TV news anchor, like Tina Hicks on 13WMAZ.
19. I was part of a community theatre company at 18 and played ‘The Shrew’ in ‘Taming of the Shrew’ quite convincingly.
20. I worked at a computer store for 2 years while at university. I knew nothing about computers but learned everything about digital photography.
21. I landed my first ‘real job’ in PR working for the Australian Medical Association and moved to Sydney at 21.
22. I landed my first TV job (as a news publicist) at 23.
23. At 24, I went backpacking solo for the first time to Europe.
24. I wanted to move to New York, but that dream direction changed when Shane De Giorgio entered the scene – and we moved to London instead.
25. We got married in Fiji.
26. I ran a half-marathon once. Likely never to happen again.
27. My first 4 weeks in London, I was interviewed by the actor Hugh Grant. My first 8 weeks in London, I landed my dream job working at the BBC.
28. My sister lived around the corner from me in London. It was dangerous and oh-so-fun.
29. After a few wines one night, my sisters and I started our own blog. This was our first business venture. If you want a laugh, check out It's A Sister Thing. We had no idea what we were doing, but our mother loved it.
30. I started writing my first book 'Grit, Grace and Hustle' at 27 – it took me 7 years to finish and publish.
31. The first year of my business was one of the hardest years of my life. I lost 3 beloved family members and experienced a miscarriage. All while working full-time, coaching, building an online business and completing a coaching certification.
32. My step-father and I had a rough start when he came on the scene, but are very close now, I call him my ‘Jiminey Cricket’.
33. My son and I were in a car accident last year. I now deal with ongoing chronic pain and knee issues, and my son has a permanent scar above his right eye.
34. I moved from London back to Newcastle, Australia when I was 5 months pregnant. I struggled with sickness throughout my pregnancy, and had a 20 hour labor then an emergency c-section. We had issues with feeding, sleeping, all of it. Motherhood is amazing and hard.
35. I launched my first mastermind this year. It has been on my ‘dream list’ since starting my business 5 years ago - now my sisters (and Mama!)
have joined me in the business.
36. My radio segment ‘Coffee and Faith’ has been on the air for nearly 2 years.
Now, here we are.... hello 36!
I have some 'fine lines' around my eyes, I am a little wiser, a few more scars, but I am grateful for it all! And looking forward to see what God has in store for me over the next 36 years :).
PS: If you need some inspiration today, listen to one my FAVOURITE Elvis moments here.
PSS: If you want more content like this: subscribe to our youtube channel, we have amazing inspirational music playlist and tons of content to help you share your God-given genius with the world.
#lifeonherterms #lifeonhertermsmedia #rachelreva #christianwomeninbusiness #motherhood #femaleentrepreneurship #marketing #gritandgrace #gritgraceandhustle
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