Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Laura Lemonade . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Laura, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
If I am speaking frankly, I have not always felt resilient. Resilience comes through lots of failure. But resilience to me is a smallwhisper of hope inside of you that this is not the end for you. You might have failed and felt like you fell flat on your face when trying something new, but I always try and remember, ” This too shall pass.” Our situations are temporary, but our spirits are permanent.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
Not long ago, I found myself sitting on the couch remembering my childhood and the amazing trips I took with my mother every year. A sense of sadness came over me as I realized that when I got married over 13 years ago, those special annual trips stopped. I really did not know why I stopped, but it was in that moment, I realized that life was precious and short. I did not know how many more years I had left for those special trips with my mother. I was now a mother of ten year old twins and I had felt guilty leaving them to go off with my mother. I remember looking at my husband and telling him, ” Babe, I love you, but I also have this desire to travel with my mom. I miss my girl trips. I need something more than just our family vacations. I need to connect with my mom and my friends too. ” This is where the magic happened. I started thinking, ” I can’t be the only one who feels like I have lost connection with my girlfriends and my mom ( who is my best friend). What if others feel this way too? Maybe I can organize a girl trip with them.
You see, when you travel with your friends, for those few days you are simply just you. Don’t get me wrong. I love my time with my family, but traveling alone or with girlfriends gives you time to reconnect to yourself. You get to be silly. You aren’t thinking about what you will make your family for dinner or when that deadline is due. You get to simply just be the you that you don’t always make time for.
I guess, in a way, this is a form of self-care because as moms and wives who have the demands of family life and our careers, we forget sometimes to take a step back and take time to care for ourself. A bubble bath does not cut it for me. I love to spend time with others in meaningful community. This is self-care for me.
So when I looked at my husband and told him I wanted to create a girl trip and even a community where women can connect together and discuss travel and actually travel together, we tossed around ideas of what that would look like.
Together, we came up with the vision for “Jet Set Girls,” a community filled with kind and compassionate women who wanted to connect and share experiences and their love for travel together.
This community would be made available to women all across the globe who wanted to connect with other women who love to travel. We have meetings both online and in-person.
We have a local group that meets monthly and shares experinces and we will soon be having international meetups available to ladies from all across the globe who want to form friendships and share fun experiences together too.
Interest in the group has grown so much since I started it in April 2022. I had one woman write to me and tell me she HAS to join the group because she was drowning in work and felt the need for connection with friends. It was then I realized that this group really fills a need in our community for connection with other women. These women desire to connect on a deeper level. They want true friendship. Work and family life can strangely lead to isolation in a weird way sometimes. There have been times I have been in a crowd of people and felt so alone. I don’t want anyone to have to feel this way.
Last April, a group of 19 of us went down to Costa Rica. Not only did we have fun, but the most rewarding thing for me was when one lady came up to me with another lady and said, ” You see this incredible lady right here? I did not know her when I came to Costa Rica. I can now tell you her kids names, that she is an amazing singer, and that we are leaving Costa Rica as good friends. This experience was magical. My life is changed. I have new friends and memories. Thank you for starting Jet Set Girls.”
My heart swelled with joy as I thought to myself, ” Yes! Mission accomplished! Deeper friendships have been formed. Joy is the result!”
These ladies love the joy they have shared with eachother. We decided to take sharing our joy one step further and give back! We just did our first charity event last week. Together, our Jet Set Girls Community held a charity event in a collaborative effort with many local business owners who also care about the community to raise funds for Dragons Care, a local charity that supports teacher and staff in Southlake, TX.
It was truly a collaborative effort put on by many of the Jet Set Girls who gave so selflessly of their time and resources to make it happen. For the first time in my life, I am feeling the power of kindness and how the joy of many can help change lives. It has been truly incredible to witness and something tells me we are just getting started.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Looking back this all goes back to my childhood. My mom worked for American Airlines for 30 years. I grew up spending lots of time on airplanes with her. She taught me that love knows no borders. She taught me that when you really spend time with people from other cultures who might not look like you or live like you, we find that though we are different, we are more alike than we might think. Travel can break down barriers and stereotypes we have in our heads. It was through travel that I have had some of the most incredible experiences of my life. My knowledge that I gained traveling as a child helped form me and my compassion that I have for others. I also love to share my knowledge of places and culture and my passion for travel.
This past year, I was approached by a woman who really believed in what I was doing. She introduced me to Rudi Steele Travel, a Luxury Travel Agency. They loved what I was doing with Jet Set Girls and asked if I would like to come on board with them to help elevate travel for others. I was thrilled to receive such an invitation. In this one year, I was able to watch my passion for travel take off in a beautiful way like I never could have imigined. It has been incredible to help so many families by designing amazing experiences for them. I guess you could say, I am all in when it comes to helping others travel! Helping others have incredible experiences has been so rewarding. I realize that in this way, I am able to help create memories for others on a whole different level. Not only is it fun, it is good for the soul. It is a passion of mine I never knew existed within me before.
What most people don’t know about me is that one of the biggest qualities that helps me today, is my ability to feel a deep sense of empathy after experiencing a tremendous tragedy. When I was a little girl, only three years old, my mom was taking my brother and I to drop him off at school. He was seven years old. We were hit by a drunk driver on the way to school that day. He suffered severe brain trauma and almost passed away. It was hard growing up seeing my parents so sad. I watched my parents cry a lot as a child and though they tried to make my childhood a happy one, often times they did not have the bandwidth to. My brother is a survivor. He lived, but sustained a traumatic brain injury. He is my “why” when it comes to everythihg I do. Growing up, I felt it was my job to protect him and be there for him. As I got older, I would find myself “seeing” those people with disabilities who might often feel invisible. I think this allowed me to be able to recognize what it is like to feel invisible. As I got older, I always prayed and hoped that I would be in a position to help as many people as possible who might feel invisible. Empathy and humanity connect us all, and my vision to create an emvironment where everyone feels seen can be attributed to the qualities of empathy that were formed in me at a young age.
It would be my spirit of empathy that would lead me to want to join the Air Force in my twenties. I wanted to help others and I knew it would be the right fit. The Air Force taught me to think ahead, always be prepared, and to never leave an Airman behind. We were taught to have excellence in all we do, because our name is on it. One careless mistake can actually kill someone. During my time in service, I was part of a Services Unit for a Fighter Wing. I worked in lodging, which to me is so befitting due to my growing up around the travel industry. I feel like aviation and travel are in my DNA.
My advice for anyone looking to start a brand, chairty, or communit would be to think about what subject you can talk for hours about. What are the types of articles you find yourself clickiing on to read? This will give you insight into what your key interests are. Also, do not be afraid to fail. A champion is created through many hours of failure. Don’t be concerned that people will talk about you. I promise you, they will. Do good and they will, Do poorly and they will. But remembe that no one doing better than you will ever hate on you. A skilled athlete had to start from scratch. Believe in yourself and the power that you have inside you. Lead with kindness. There is no excuse for rudeness. Above all else, take accountability for your actions. A great leader is one who can lead with empathy and is always hungry to learn. You might not see yourself as a leader all the time. Please know that this is normal. You are attempting to so something that you might not have ever done before, but that does not mean that you are not capable of it. Cheer for others. You won’t diminish yourself by doing so.
If you don’t know where to start or are lacking a skill, read about it or watch You Tube. I once started an etire profitable business by watching You Tube videos. It was the crazy coolest thing! Right before I had my twins, I wanted to learn how to design weddings with florals. Rather than take a class, I watched YouTube tutorial videos and landed my first floral job shortly after. Before I knew it, I was designing florals for many weddings! Had it not been for my desire to learn and those videos, I might not have learned that skill. People would laugh when I told them I went to school on YouTube. It paid off in spades! Once had my twins, my focus shifted away from weddings and into motherhood. It was then that I started dreaming of taking my little ones to discover the world like my mother had done for me.
You can do anything you set your mind to as long as you are willing to fail and willing to keep trying.
Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?
When I was a teenager, I competed in figure skating competitions. My coach always told me, ” Just do one element at a time.” If I thought about all of my program at once, I would feel overwhelmed. Gold medals are not won all at once. They are won by training, keeping calm, and remembering to attack one element at a time. Strategy: Learning to prioritize your tasks can really help with getting things done. Every day, I give myself a maximum of three tasks towards a goal to complete. This helps me feel accomplished as if I tried to get everything done on my list in one day, I would feel defeated.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.lauralemonade.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therealjetsetgirls/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igshid=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/jetsetgirls/?mibextid=oMANbw
Image Credits
Strawberry Bear Studios
