Meet Meagan, a 28 year old who lives in Vancouver! Her positive outlook on life and desire to empower women inspires us. Not only does Meagan work in retail buying/management, she has also put her passion into action by founding a woman empowerment group called Project YOU. You rock Meagan! 

WHAT ARE YOU UP TO RIGHT NOW? TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF!

What Boss Lady doesn’t want to answer this with 1 Million things? How can I describe myself in only a few words? If you didn’t know me and someone had to share how I am, they are most likely to say “Go-getter, Energetic, Adorable and Positive”.

I have always had a positive outlook on life to create as much as possible and be, do and have anything you want! As a child, I was referred to as a “social butterfly” and it seems not much has changed. You can always find me party planning, attending local events, or finding out what is the next trend to focus on.

I am a lover of anything creative, aesthetically pleasing (you can throw sparkly in there too) and has to do with Women Empowerment!

Right now, I work full-time for Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel as a Retail Buyer/Manager for their beautiful gift and spa boutique. It’s a perfect job for me! I love to pick out the best products with a unique brand story that will put a smile on someone’s face when they receive it... or your own….you have it have it because it is SO CUTE!

Outside of my 9-5 I have a side hustle, a year ago I founded Project YOU - a women's empowerment group that helps women to honor themselves.

TELL US ABOUT I AM PROJECT YOU! HOW DID THAT START?

Project YOU started when I felt empowered to make an impact on women in my Community.

Myself, like many other women have dealt with Body Image Issues, Heartbreak, Loss, Lack of Confidence, Infidelity….the list goes on. I felt there wasn’t an outlet to come together as women and have a look for ourselves on how we could learn to show up differently, find our power and excel in all areas of our lives.I knew I wanted Project YOU to be focused on exploration in the areas of Mental, Physical and Spiritual well-being.

I decided to create this amazing movement to help women honor themselves - to be honest with what they need and to wake up every day knowing their truth - what is really true for them and not for anyone else. This to me is so important for living a fulfilled life.

We currently host monthly workshops where we invite Inspirational/Influential Women to be speakers at the event and share their tips and tools with the audience.

One key thing about our events is the interaction and implementation of the work through the Breakout Exercises. The ladies at the event leave knowing they have something to wake up to the next day that will fuel their fire for self transformation.

What I love about Project YOU most is that the space is so welcoming and inviting and the women are there to uplift you and help you achieve your goals and dreams - not put you down. That is truly beautiful and this is how we can create a better future.

WHAT ARE YOUR FOUR TRAITS AND WHY?

1. HONEST: Honesty to me is so important, to be honest with others but also honest with yourself. If I am not living ethically or responsibly I don’t feel good about myself or anything that surrounds me whether that is business, relationships etc. In the end, it all comes out in the long run - being honest will allow you to move forward so much faster in anything you want to do!

2. CREATIVE: I love this one because I love to create. When I am not creating its an instant sign that I am out of alignment somewhere. For me being creative has always been an outlet and an area where I feel most myself.

3. CONFIDENT: I love this word - it took me a while and a lot of self exploration to feel this way about myself. Sometimes feeling confident can be hard when there is so much going on in society to make you feel otherwise, or people who have hurt you in the past. What I realized lately was that when I connected back to my own truth or who I am and what I love to do within that I found confidence. I never want to forget this word. Each day I need to remember to wake up and choose to put on my confidence hat for the day, it is really ever changing as I take on more responsibility!

 HARD-WORKING: This one for me describes me to a tee. I have always been hard working and I am proud of my dedication to it. I know that it will make a difference for myself and others so to me this trait is a personal tribute to a part of me that I never want to lose.

YOU ARE CONFIDENT, WHERE DO YOU THINK YOUR INNER CONFIDENCE COMES FROM? 

I feel confidence is something that we all have and it lives within us, I have chosen to work to connect back and discover it! For me, I feel it comes from my inner knowingness of who I AM and what my personal beliefs are. When I am living from this place, making decisions from this place and I am fully present I am able to show up confidently. When I am fully aligned there is no room for judgement, anger, jealousy or pain there is only freedom and complete confidence in myself.

SO YOU ARE CREATIVE, WHAT IS ONE WAY YOU FEEL LIKE YOU EXPRESS THIS?QUALITY?

For me I express creativity through our Project YOU events. Each event is an opportunity to create a different experience for the event topic. One of my favorite was that I do this is by working with my team to come up with an amazing décor that suits our theme or through our activations. You may be wondering what is an activation exactly? At each event we welcome our guests with a beautiful activity that guests them warmed up to the event topic. For example in the past we have designed flower walls where we have women write on a leaf what they are grateful for and then pin it to the backdrop. This made a stunning wall of leaves of gratitude – what an intentional way to start off Project Gratitude.

WHAT’S ONE PIECE OF ADVICE THAT YOU LIVE BY, OR THAT YOU HAVE GIVEN TO OTHERS? 

Trust your intuition, you know yourself best. I know this saying is often overused but it is 100% true. Others will tell you different, or you may go searching for who you ought to be but the best advice I can give is to take a moment, be still and connect to your truth. Sometimes this even means slowing down or pausing to reflect on the things that make you feel good or not good and how does this show up in your body. For me, if I have goosebumps it usually means I am on the right track!