Tag Archives: Gratitude

Life Is Sweet

Posted in Gratitude, Inspiration, Manifesting, Mindfulness, Motivation, Success by

Life is Sweet

Dr Carmen April Life Is Sweet

Life can be sweet and for me, Life Is Sweet!!! I recently celebrated my birthday and birthdays are always a time of both reflection and looking forward. I appreciate all that I’ve learned this past year. I appreciate every experience and every new connection made. I thank God for growth and expansion of my consciousness. I appreciate every opportunity I’ve been granted to help others. I appreciate the opportunity to LOVE.

Life IS Sweet!

Dr. Carmen April           Dr. Carmen April is an entrepreneur and community leader recognized as a Nashville Emerging Leader (NELA) Award Winner, a Nashville Business Journal Top 40 Under Forty Award Recipient and is a Graduate of the New Leaders Council Institute – Nashville Chapter. She is a Podiatrist and Owner of The Foot And Ankle Healthcare Center, PC in the Nashville area. She is also the creator and owner of Ann DeVeaux Boutique, an online fashion Boutique. She is a Reiki Master, a Law of Attraction Practitioner, and an advocate for the power of positive thinking! Dr. April is available for speaking engagements on Leadership & Life Leadership for College Students and Young Professionals and is the creator of the “Design Your Story” Women’s Empowerment Luncheon Series.

Kindness Is …

Posted in Gratitude, Inspiration, Manifesting, Motivation by

Kindness Is ……….

Dr April Kindness

KINDNESS IS………..

       Kindness is when you’ve been wanting to take a picture in front of this mural for quite some time and your friend/sorority sister goes out of her way to meet you there to be your photographer 💗💚!

What is something kind that someone has done for you lately???? @thekindway

Dr April Kindness

Dr. Carmen April          Dr. Carmen April is an entrepreneur and community leader recognized as a Nashville Emerging Leader (NELA) Award Winner, a Nashville Business Journal Top 40 Under Forty Award Recipient and is a Graduate of the New Leaders Council Institute – Nashville Chapter. She is a Podiatrist and Owner of The Foot And Ankle Healthcare Center, PC in the Nashville area. She is a Reiki Master, a Law of Attraction Practitioner, and an advocate for the power of positive thinking! Dr. April is available for speaking engagements on Leadership & Life Leadership for College Students and Young Professionals and is the creator of the “Design Your Story” Women’s Empowerment Luncheon Series.

Punta Cana Bliss

Posted in Gratitude, Manifesting, Mindfulness, Motivation by

Punta Cana Bliss

🌴 Ataraxia: A state of freedom from emotional disturbance and anxiety; tranquillity

🌊 Relaxing in and by the water is one of the most rejuvenating practices for me. Punta Cana was the perfect vacation to feed my soul. We learned new Spanish words, ate the most delicious fresh fruits & veggies my heart desired, many which are grown locally on the resort property, danced in the pool for hours, dipped my toes in the ocean, learned about Dominican culture & way of life and enjoyed the Yhi Spa several times. I’m always grateful for new experiences and the blessing of enjoying life! I don’t take any of it for granted…. #Grateful

Dr. Carmen April            Dr. Carmen April is an entrepreneur and community leader recognized as a Nashville Emerging Leader (NELA) Award Winner, a Nashville Business Journal Top 40 Under Forty Award Recipient and is a Graduate of the New Leaders Council Institute – Nashville Chapter. She is a Podiatrist and Owner of The Foot And Ankle Healthcare Center, PC in the Nashville area. She is a Reiki Master, a Law of Attraction Practitioner, and an advocate for the power of positive thinking! Dr. April is available for speaking engagements on Leadership & Life Leadership for College Students and Young Professionals and is the creator of the “Design Your Story” Women’s Empowerment Luncheon Series.

Grateful For Breakfast In Bed

Posted in Gratitude, Inspiration, Manifesting, Mindfulness, Motivation, Self Care, Uncategorized by

Grateful For Breakfast In Bed

Gratitude

          I believe that the “little things” in life are really in fact the “big things” that matter the most. I’m on the go a lot and so when I have an opportunity to hang out in the bed with my crisp sheets, comfortable comforter and cushy pillows on a Saturday morning or Sunday morning, I do so……..or at least as long as I can before I start to get a tension headache from laying in the bed too long lol! Does that happen to anyone else out there?

          My husband gets up and starts moving around much earlier than I do and in particular, he likes to get up and cook breakfast! I’m so grateful for those random breakfast-in-bed moments that he surprises me with from time to time. Prior to getting married I NEVER ate in my bedroom……that was totally breaking the rules and off limits lol! But, there is no way I’m turning down my husband bringing in a wonderfully prepared breakfast to me out of love. Some rules are meant to be be broken, right?!?!?!??!

Dr Carmen April Speaker          Dr. Carmen April is an entrepreneur and community leader recognized as a 2014 Nashville Emerging Leader (NELA) Award Winner, a 2013 Nashville Business Journal Top 40 Under Forty Award Recipient and is a 2014 Graduate of the New Leaders Council Institute – Nashville Chapter. She is a Law of Attraction Practitioner and an advocate for the power of positive thinking! Dr. April is available for speaking engagements on Entrepreneurship and Life Leadership for College Students and Young Professionals.

Grateful for Dinner With My Husband

Posted in Gratitude, Inspiration, Motivation, Success, Theme For 2016, Uncategorized by

Grateful for Dinner With My Husband

Gratitude

          Growing up, my parents were pretty strict about time spent together as a family and having dinner at the table together every evening. We ate, laughed and talked about our day. We fully engaged with each other the entire time and that’s what made the evening dinners so special and our family bond so close. I guess growing up with this type of experience on a regular basis is also why I find it so sad when I go out to restaurants now and see kids at the table on their phones and tablets, the parents doing the same things and none of them truly interacting with each other!! What. Is. The. Point. Of. That?

          Now that I’m married, I appreciate the evening dinners my husband and I have just as much as I did with my family growing up because it’s an opportunity to for us to connect and bond. We talk about our day along with a million other things! We chill out afterwards, watch Family Feud (I usually get more of the #1 answers than he does, but don’t tell him I said that lol!) or some other TV show that I drag him into watching with me!

          I’m GRATEFUL for the opportunity and time spent in the evenings connecting in this way!

Dr Carmen April SpeakerDr. Carmen April is an entrepreneur and community leader recognized as a 2014 Nashville Emerging Leader (NELA) Award Winner, a 2013 Nashville Business Journal Top 40 Under Forty Award Recipient and is a 2014 Graduate of the New Leaders Council Institute – Nashville Chapter. She is a Law of Attraction Practitioner and an advocate for the power of positive thinking! Dr. April is available for speaking engagements on Leadership and Life Leadership for College Students and Young Professionals.

Grateful for Lazy Saturday Mornings

Posted in Gratitude, Inspiration, Mindfulness, Motivation, Success, Theme For 2016, Uncategorized by

Grateful For Lazy Saturday Mornings

Coffee ad love pillows

          I’ve talked here on the blog in the past about how I used to be a “busy bee” until I made a conscious decision to STOP THE GLORIFICATION OF BUSY! Someone could come up to me and say, “Hey Carmen, how’s your day going?” and my response would always be, “It’s great, but super busy!” My response was the absolute truth 99% of the time! I always had something on the calendar, something to do, and somewhere to go in addition to work and personal obligations.

          I will admit, the “busy” stage served it’s purpose during a point in my life and career where I was trying to network and meet as many people as possible after I first moved to Nashville and was growing my business. Howwwwwwww-ever, over committing and overworking myself became exhausting.

          Fast forward a couple of years later to the current time and I am so very GRATEFUL for lazy Saturday mornings when I can get out of bed when I decide to, grab some coffee or tea, head out for a leisurely walk in the park and just relax. I have a better understanding, since slowing things down a bit, that life is meant to be enjoyed, not rushed through.

Dr Carmen April SpeakerDr. Carmen April is an entrepreneur and community leader recognized as a 2014 Nashville Emerging Leader (NELA) Award Winner, a 2013 Nashville Business Journal Top 40 Under Forty Award Recipient and is a 2014 Graduate of the New Leaders Council Institute – Nashville Chapter. She is a Law of Attraction Practitioner and an advocate for the power of positive thinking! Dr. April is available for speaking engagements on Leadership and Life Leadership for College Students and Young Professionals.

Grateful for 5.5+ Years of Entrepreneurship

Posted in Branding, Gratitude, Inspiration, Leadership, Manifesting, Motivation, Success, Theme For 2016 by

Grateful for 5.5+ Years of Entrepreneurship

Dr Carmen April Professional Photo

          As those of you who regularly read my blog know, in addition to being a blogger I have a career…..the one that actually pays the bills and for which I studied and toiled and stayed in school and residency for what seemed like FOREVER to achieve lol! As “Dr. Carmen April” I am an entrepreneur and owner of my medical practice, The Foot And Ankle Healthcare Center, PC for the past 5 years. When I was first getting started in my medical practice, I heard over and over and OVER again that most small businesses fail within their first couple of years of operation. In fact, that statistic is more specifically around 90% of small businesses FAILING in their first couple of years. Making it to 5 years is definitely something to be celebrated and I certainly have! I thank God every SINGLE day for the success of my business!

          There have been times, especially in the beginning where I grew weary because the money coming into the business seemed to be at a snail’s pace compared to the money going out! There have been many times where I have been frustrated with dealing with health insurance companies lowering reimbursements year after year when the cost of doing business continues to increase. There are many things that I, along with any other entrepreneur COULD complain about and have complained about as it pertains to our businesses, BUT the day I started to express more GRATITUDE than I did complain about everything that was wrong in the medical industry, a SHIFT happened! It was as if expressing Gratitude un-clogged a pipe and allowed an abundance of good things to flow into my medical practice! Opportunities for financial increase came my way and I was in position to take full advantage of it.

           Some entrepreneurs are afraid to openly talk about “money” especially in fields that service people and the community, such as in medicine. My main job as a doctor is to diagnose and treat my patients with the best medical care possible and I’m confident I do that. However, if the money is not available to run the business properly, that does not happen. Entrepreneurs have to get comfortable talking about money! When it comes to the finances of my business, My small business is no different from the big hospitals and health centers, no different from your every day restaurant or clothing store. They all require positive cash flow, great report with patients/clients and the community, marketing, advertising, good money management, etc to make them successful.

           It’s been 6+ years since I first nurtured the idea of starting my own practice and it’s still amazing to think back on every storm I weathered to get to this very point. A couple THOUSAND patients later from the first day I hung my shingle and opened the doors to my practice, I have a renewed strength and tenacity to see it grow even more! God is great and I give Him all the glory and honor for the success of The Foot And Ankle Healthcare Center, PC!

          My prayer for my business: “Lord, I thank you for giving me the idea and the courage to pursue my dream of starting my own medical practice. The opportunity came before I thought I was ready to take the leap, but you had already equipped me with everything I needed to get it done! Every bit of any amount of success I have experienced in this business is because of you and for that I say Thank You. During the trials, and doubts, and hard times, you were also there and didn’t let me fall. You didn’t let me quit. I continue to pray for every single patient who walks through the doors of this practice. Bless them Lord and bless me to use my knowledge, skills and intuition to medically treat them to the best of my ability. Bless my employees that they continue to find satisfaction in their work with me and this business and allow them to be a blessing to the patients as well. I know that these accomplishments you’ve allowed me to have at such a young age, inspire others and for that I am Grateful! There have been many people along the way who I have looked to for inspiration and I’m glad that I’m now able to pay it forward. Lord, continue to allow me to uplift, encourage and inspire other people through the work of my mind and my hands. I pray that all my endeavors are prosperous and are used to serve you and uplift your kingdom! In your son Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.” –Carmen

Gratitude

Dr Carmen April Speaker        Dr. Carmen April is an entrepreneur and community leader recognized as a 2014 Nashville Emerging Leader (NELA) Award Winner, a 2013 Nashville Business Journal Top 40 Under Forty Award Recipient and is a 2014 Graduate of the New Leaders Council Institute – Nashville Chapter. She is a Law of Attraction Practitioner and an advocate for the power of positive thinking! Dr. April is available for speaking engagements on Leadership and Life Leadership for College Students and Young Professionals.

Grateful For Balance

Posted in Gratitude, Inspiration, Leadership, Mindfulness, Motivation, Success, Theme For 2016, Uncategorized by

Grateful For Balance

Gratitude

          At this very moment I can say I’m Grateful for Balance. This has not always been the case (ie.- those years during med school, residency, first couple of years starting my medical practice) and will not always be the case, but…………….. for right now, it’s how I feel and I am grateful for it.

          We hear a lot about “work-life balance” and what that’s supposed to look like. I’m asked that question often when I’m out on various speaking engagements, especially by young professional women and college students. My best answer is for everyone, on a individual bases, figuring out what your activity limits are as it relates to pouring out too much of yourself into others without investing back into yourself.

          Instead of “Work-life balance”, I prefer to use the term “Life Integration” because to me that is more of a long time approach to this concept. Life occurs in stages so there will be times when we feel totally balanced like I do at this point in my life, but there are also times when things don’t feel balanced, and that’s OK too. As long as you are working to integrate work priorities with family obligations, community service, etc in a manner that works for you, no matter what it looks like for someone else, do THAT!

          Just up until about a year ago, I was THAT person who was on the go ALL the time! If I wasn’t in my office seeing patients and running the business side of my practice, I was at some meeting for one of the 3 Board of Directors I was on at the time, at a sorority meeting, doing community service with my sorority chapter or out blogging about something, somewhere! It was all cool and exciting until I just got tired. Point blank and THE period —-> I. Was. Tired.

          All that I was involved in looked really good on paper, but it wore me down and I felt that I had no time to myself. Even my Dinner With Nerds Food Blog, that I designed to be a creative outlet, began to get stressful. When I was doing full features on particular restaurants by interviewing the owners & chefs and coming in with my camera to photograph all the food, the owners and managers always wanted to know when I would be publishing the feature which then put me on a deadline, which then made it start to feel more like work and less like fun 😦

          My balance was off because I wasn’t integrating the various aspects of my life in a way that satisfied me. At the end of the day, if I’m not taking care of me……extensions of me begin to suffer (ie., my business, my health, my attitude toward things).

          When I began to say NO to some things, NO to people requesting my attention, rolled off a couple of the Board of Directors I was on and realized that my contributions to my community , to my work and to the people I love were already more than sufficient without having to add anything more, slowly but surely I began to feel more like myself again – less stressed and happier! I always feel honored when I’m approached to serve the community in some capacity or to offer my expertise in certain areas, but I have learned that I only have so much so give before I start feeling off-balanced. With time and age comes wisdom and with wisdom comes knowing your limits. I’ll choose this feeling over being over-committed and over-worked any day of the week!

Dr Carmen April Speaker              Dr. Carmen April is an entrepreneur and community leader recognized as a 2014 Nashville Emerging Leader (NELA) Award Winner, a 2013 Nashville Business Journal Top 40 Under Forty Award Recipient and is a 2014 Graduate of the New Leaders Council Institute – Nashville Chapter. She is a Law of Attraction Practitioner and an advocate for the power of positive thinking! Dr. April is available for speaking engagements on Leadership and Life Leadership for College Students and Young Professionals.

Grateful For Time Spent in My “Me” Place

Posted in Gratitude, Inspiration, Manifesting, Mindfulness, Motivation, Success, Uncategorized by

Grateful For Time Spent in My “Me” Space

Gratitude

          I looooooove my “me” time, but I’ll be honest and say that it’s taken some practice for me to establish specific, set-aside time just for me to meditate and be with my happy thoughts! When I began carving out time to sit with my thoughts and mediate on the things in life that I’m grateful for, I began to notice a SHIFT in my way of thinking. My dominating thoughts have become those of GRATITUDE, love, faith, peace and of moving myself in the direction of “greater”!

          Spending alone time with God and my thoughts has allowed me to change the narrative of my life. I have a strong belief that, no matter what, life is on my side and is always pushing me to be a greater version of myself each and every day. I know that my dominating thoughts become my reality so I’m very intentional about concentrating on GRATITUDE, love, faith and expecting the best out of life! When I take the time daily to elevate my vibrations to a higher level of happiness, peace, love and GRATITUDE, all of those things return to me in immeasurable ways!

Here are a couple of things I do to get into my happy place during my “me” time:

  • Listen to calming spa-type music while laying awake in bed or on my couch and meditating
  • Tapping into one of my favorite iPhone apps, Calm,  that allows me to listen to sounds of the ocean and the beach while daydreaming about all that I appreciate, love and desire in life
  • Heading out to one of my favorite parks to walk/jog, listen to nature, and perform one of my walking meditation exercises where I thank God/Universe for all I see that is beautiful and makes me happy 🙂
  • Logging onto Instagram and following hashtags that lead me to awesome feeds of food, landscapes, beautiful homes, luxury hotels, luxury spas and inspirational quotes! I loooooove photography so seeing beautiful photos that raise my vibration into a happy place always do the trick and leave me feeling happy, at peace and serene 🙂

          Sometimes folks find it difficult to carve out “me” time, especially since we are in an age when the glorification of “busy” seems to be an “it” thing. However, I’ve learned that it’s detrimental not to do it. The “me” time does NOT have to be during the same time every day. Schedules vary, work and family demands vary and it’s ok to cut yourself some slack and be flexible with your personal time as well. Some days it may be better to spend time in the morning with this exercise and on other days the evenings may be better. Either way, we all owe it to ourselves to steal away and take some time to relax. Not only is it good for your psyche and mental health, but periods of relaxation and meditation have other health benefits such as lowering blood pressure & resting heart rate and lowering levels of the stress hormone, cortisol, in our bodies.

          Lastly, as a Law of Attraction Practitioner, I encourage relaxation and meditation during “me” time as essential to elevating yourself to a higher vibration and attracting those things, experiences and opportunities into your life that you desire. Your dominating thoughts mixed with the positive emotions they create within you, bring them into your reality! It’s all about faith!

Dr Carmen April SpeakerDr. Carmen April is an entrepreneur and community leader recognized as a 2014 Nashville Emerging Leader (NELA) Award Winner, a 2013 Nashville Business Journal Top 40 Under Forty Award Recipient and is a 2014 Graduate of the New Leaders Council Institute – Nashville Chapter. She is a Law of Attraction Practitioner and an advocate for the power of positive thinking! Dr. April is available for speaking engagements on Leadership and Life Leadership for College Students and Young Professionals.

Grateful For The Little Things

Posted in Gratitude, Inspiration, Mindfulness, Motivation, Success, Theme For 2016, Uncategorized by

Grateful For The Little Things

Gratitude

          I’m Grateful for the little things because the little things are actually the Big things! From the individual encouraging words I’ve always heard from my parents my entire life, to the way my sister and brother still look up to me as their big sister even though we’re all adults now, the sweet hugs and kisses from my nieces and them affectionately calling me “TT Carmen” a hundred times a day, to the countless times my wonderful husband tells me, “I love you baby and I thank God for you every day”

          I get so tickled when our Malti-poo fur-baby, Bella, literally spins around in circles of happiness because she’s so excited to see us come home from work every day

          I don’t take for granted the many luxuries I am blessed to enjoy every day and all the moving parts involved in making those things happen. I don’t have to go out and pick all of my fruits and vegetables from a garden or orchard because there are people who have done that for me and I’m GRATEFUL. I don’t have to go out and kill a chicken in order to have meat to eat.

          I’m so super serious about that chicken example. One of the amazing matriarchs of my family, at 93 years old, recently walked me through the steps she would take to slaughter a chicken and have it sitting on the dinner table a couple of hours later. Back in her younger days, if she or her husband didn’t kill a chicken themselves, there was no chicken to be had for dinner that night! I thank God I don’t have to grab a chicken, wring its neck, let it run around in a large barrel until it died, then put it in a pot of boiling water, pluck the feathers……you get the point! THAT is a true story and one I’m glad to have had passed down to me by oral history vs. actual experience lol!

          I don’t have to go out and draw water from a well to bathe, clean or drink because there are many other moving parts at play that allow me to have clean, running water coming straight into my home and for that I’m GRATEFUL. I don’t have to “foot-it” to work because I have a beautiful, safe vehicle to get me to work and back every day and for that I’m GRATEFUL! I don’t have to read by candlelight at home because I have lights and electricity that provide that luxury instead and I’m GRATEFUL. These are things that may seem like “basic necessities” and “expected” for us to have, but if you’ve ever known people who live without these basic necessities you will realize that they are in fact “luxuries”.

          The little moments matter and make up the spice of life. Don’t overlook them for the traditionally dramatic, shocking and spectacular. The little moments can be those things too…..just packaged a bit differently 🙂

Dr Carmen April SpeakerDr. Carmen April is an entrepreneur and community leader recognized as a 2014 Nashville Emerging Leader (NELA) Award Winner, a 2013 Nashville Business Journal Top 40 Under Forty Award Recipient and is a 2014 Graduate of the New Leaders Council Institute – Nashville Chapter. She is a Law of Attraction Practitioner and an advocate for the power of positive thinking! Dr. April is available for speaking engagements on Leadership and Life Leadership for College Students and Young Professionals.