Meet Christine Jahan

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Christine Jahan. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Christine, thank you so much for joining us. You are such a positive person and it’s something we really admire and so we wanted to start by asking you where you think your optimism comes from?

When I was a kid, my brother and I heard that how you talk to people has affects performance. We decided to put it to the test by playing my brother’s favorite computer game at the time. First, my job was to be as mean as possible – “You’re dumb. You suck. How could you make such a dumb mistake? what are you, blind?” He did not perform well. Thankfully we were both laughing at that point because even though he was good at the game, he performed terribly. My words had affected his performance!
My next job was to be the most encouraging I could possibly be – “You’re a genius! Oh my gosh, you are a PRO! That was the coolest move! AHH you’re so good!” Again, we laughed because he performed so well!
In that moment, I realized that what we say to ourselves can make or break how we do things. Being negative means setting myself up to do the worst I could do. If I am positive, it might seem fake, but I’ve seen that it helps the outcome with my own eyes.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I own the award winning luxury interior design firm, Christine Jahan Designs. We work on a wide range of projects including residential and commercial, large or small. My smallest project right now is working an a long-time client’s master bathroom and powder room. My largest project is a 5-story mixed use building that has caused quite a stir in local communities – 600 Foothill. I think what really matters most to us when taking on new projects is the clients we choose to work with. We have been fortunate that our clients are highly accomplished, full of integrity, and incredibly respectful and appreciative of our team and trade colleagues. What most excites me is when clients ask me to be as creative as possible.
We are based in Glendora, CA and the majority of our work is within Los Angeles county, but we love traveling for the right clients.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

The three things that I would say were most impactful in my journey so far are:
1. My ability to embrace change.
2. Identifying people who are smarter than me and asking them questions.
3. Learning when to deactivate my stubbornness.

For those who are early on in their journey I would say to learn to listen to your heart and trust yourself. I know it sounds so cheesy, but I feel like the point of life is to live comfortably surrounded by people you care about and who care about you. It seems so overwhelming when first starting out. Eventually you realize that that’s just life – it’s always overwhelming if you think about it. So make sure your journey has people you like in it. Also, no one is perfect; give yourself a chance to grow with some introspection and give others the benefit of the doubt.

As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?

My all time favorite book is The Giver by Lois Lowry. It is a very intense book, but I remember being so inspired by the main character’s journey, as a young girl, and how brave he had to be. He learned to be true to himself, which meant leaving everything he knew behind. He suffered, but he kept going because he knew the alternative was a different kind of death. I think the book gave me permission at an early age to embrace change in all areas of life, which can be scary.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.christinejahandesigns.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christinejahandesigns
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/christinejahandesigns
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/christinejahandesigns

Image Credits

Nolasco Studios