We recently connected with Victoria Brown and have shared our conversation below.
Victoria, we are so deeply grateful to you for opening up about your journey with mental health in the hops that it can help someone who might be going through something similar. Can you talk to us about your mental health journey and how you overcame or persisted despite any issues? For readers, please note this is not medical advice, we are not doctors, you should always consult professionals for advice and that this is merely one person sharing their story and experience.
A lot of people tend to ask me how I’m able to do so much and I jokingly answer “it’s because of my Bipolar Disorder!”. Bipolar Disorder I requires lifelong treatment and does not go away so I figure I might as well use it to my advantage.
The National Center for Biotechnology Information released a study back in 2017 saying that, “positive psychological traits of spirituality, empathy, creativity, realism, and resilience are frequently observed in bipolar individuals”. My Bipolar has been a fuel for confidence, trusting my gut, creativity, resiliency and really helped me run on minimal sleep haha! If anything, my diagnosis was a blessing. I now had a label for all of these issues I was facing and could now figure out how to control it. Before I was on a loop of manic episodes and not knowing what to do or what was happening.
Although I have a very positive outlook on my diagnosis, this alone isn’t something that helps fend away the “bad” part of my disorder (or fighting the black dog as Winston Churchill use to describe it). I’m extremely diligent on how the rest of my life operates. I’m careful who I surround myself with, I watch my diet, get daily exercise. I also journal daily so that I can track my moods and am able to tell patterns of when I need to be extra diligent with myself. I’m convinced my psychiatrist is the best in the game – many people with Bipolar Disorder begin treatment but then stop their medication due to being overloaded on becoming zombies. My psychiatrist was adamant that I could live a full life even with this diagnosis and has remained diligent in always improving my treatment plan. Many psychiatrists talk to you just every 3 months, make sure your meds are working, and then log off 15 minutes into a session. However, I’ve been extremely lucky to work with a doctor that takes time to make sure I’m my best self and using tools along with my medication plan to keep my dosage at as low of a level as possible.
It takes work to overcome or persist when it comes to mental health challenges, but it’s so worth it. I don’t think I would be where I’m at today without my Bipolar Disorder.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
To say I have a few different facets when it comes to my life would be an understatement. First and foremost I’m a mom- which is what ignited my business, The Space City Party, in the first place. I’ve always loved being able to create magical moments for my kids. Now I get to help other parents and event planners create a magical moment for their loved ones and clients.
I’m also a senior procurement analyst at one of the world’s biggest facility management companies. I feel like working for large corporations can get a bad rap sometimes but honestly it’s helped me immensely with my small business. It helped me love speaking with clients from all different walks of life. It also helped me me be strategic with sourcing vendors, dealing with overseas vendors and negotiating and drawing up contracts.
Lastly, at the Space City Party we’re big fans of Houston and love to give back. I’m a member of the Junior League of Houston which has been great to explore the different organizations that work with the Houston community. That led me to Child Advocates which is an amazing organization. They mobilizes court appointed volunteers to break the vicious cycle of child abuse, speak up for abused children who are lost in the system and guide them into safe environments where they can thrive. This year I’m getting sworn in to be a court appointed advocate for them and I’m so excited. We are also huge animal lovers – two dog rescues we love are Caitie’s Foster Fam and Blue River Animal Rescue.
I highly recommend checking out these organizations:
https://www.childadvocates.
https://blueriveranimalrescue.
https://www.caitiesfosterfam.
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?
1. Solid Communication Skills – you need this in literally every facet in life so it’s very important to work on this. In The Space City Party alone I’m communicating with clients, vendors, planners, manufactures and employees all from different walks of life. You need to be able to communicate your wants, needs, set expectations for what you plan to deliver on or expect from others. If you don’t know how to communicate efficiently, you will get nothing accomplished. One of the main things about being a leader is to eliminate any sort of confusion. Having people around that have different styles from you is also very beneficial. I grew up in a British home where my style was very straightforward and reserved. I cannot do small talk for the life of me. The Space City Party’s other owner, John Paul, thankfully is the biggest people person and can smooth any situation over.
How can people improve on this? Monday Morning Leadership by David Cottrell is a GREAT book and is less than 100 pages long. Honestly, I found it more helpful than the famous Atomic Habits book.
2. Integrity – I joke that for a big city Houston is a small town. Word travels fast, especially if it’s something negative. Integrity creates character and defines who you are. Nobody wants to be whispered about that they did someone wrong on a deal, took poor advantage on a situation or anything of the like. It can be hard sometimes trying to beat out the competition that you may want to fudge on some details, make more money by bending the rules a bit. Just don’t do it – karma always pays out.
3. Drive – Nobody aims for mediocrity. You have to give yourself purpose, a destination in your “GPS”. Otherwise it’s just like driving aimlessly. Once you have that “destination” you can align with best practices and excellence. You have to have determination. Just remember to work smarter, not harder than most. How can you develop this? It sounds cheesy, but figure out a vison board. What do YOU want out of this particular venture your doing or life? Once you’re able to figure this out you can create tangible steps to achieve it. Then you start getting pumped about checking things off the list. Figure out ways to work smarter, not harder. Staying up till 4AM working and hustle burnout is so pre-2020- figure out what you can outsource. Do you need to eliminate something in this project to concentrate on the bigger goal? Get rid of things that are causing you negative distractions. Surround yourself with people that have the desire to continue to grow.
Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?
Monday Morning Leadership by David Cottrell.
The Space City Party’s other owner, John Paul, purchased this book. I’m a big reader and picked it up on a whim because I needed to read something during lunch one day. I’ve read popular books with similar themes – Atomic Habits, The Practice of Groundedness, etc. but I love Cottrell’s because it’s really just straight to the point. It’s 100 pages long and stocked with 8 different mentoring sessions. While I would hate to condense his work into a few quotes, some great reminders are:
“Never lower your standards just to fill a position. You will pay for it later.” This can be used regarding employees, employers and relationships – platonic or romantic.
“If you want to make better use of your time, you need to be looking for the small increments of time…a minute here, five minutes there, etc.” Time is your most valuable asset. I loved this section because, like most people, I complain that I just don’t have enough time to get everything done. Since we can’t save time, we have to make better decisions on how we spend our time.
Lastly:
“For you to be the very best, you cannot allow yourself to become complacent in your comfort zone. You need to be reaching for improvement.”
Contact Info:
- Website: www.thespacecityparty.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/thespacecityparty
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@thespacecityparty
[email protected]
Image Credits
Ashlynn Mari Photography
