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Let Go And LIVE

May 11, 2022

Nilaja Montgomery, 2021 Woman of Influence by Colorado Springs Business Journal, is a relationship manager, connecter, and an all-round get-stuff-done kind of gal who says her biggest professional accomplishment is negotiating a 6-figure salary. But her greatest overall accomplishment in life was giving birth to her son, Justice.

"Being a mother has been my greatest lesson, my greatest gift and my greatest challenge," says Nilaja. "But I'm so happy I chose this path."

As a self-made woman with an MBA, Nilaja says her guiding star as an adolescent was rising above where she grew up. "I grew up in Gary, Indiana," she says. "My high school's graduation rate at the time was about 75 percent, so every one in four students dropped out. So I aimed to be in the top 20 percent of my class."

Nilaja went on to serve as a medical officer in the Army, serving two deployments to the middle east, and is now writing her memoir to share her experiences with others. She feels called to give a voice to women in the military community, especially those struggling with PTSD. Her goal is to normalize these conversations to raise awareness of service member and veteran mental health needs.

Today, she continues to give herself permission to embrace her boldness and lives life according to her own rules. After losing close friends overseas, Nilaja knows the value of living in the moment and be grateful for it. These values are ones she hopes to pass down as her legacy to her son.

"Start," she says. "Try it. Try it on. Press the button. Do it. With your knees shaking, your breath short and your heart pounding, do it anyway. The world's most inspiring people are those living out their passions and going in the direction that feels good to their souls. They are those who encourage others and live in a constant state of courage. They are those who are relentless and never give up, no matter how hard life hits."

"LIVE speaks to me most," Nilaja says of Maja Arnold's necklaces. "As a veteran, living the life I want and envision are the most important ideas to me. Watching my son figure life out and figuring out life along with my son and my life partner are amazing journeys that I get to navigate. This life is grande and beautiful!"

May is a month that we continue to honor all mothers. Their beautiful and unparalleled bond of love truly makes the world go round.

If you would like to be featured in Maja Arnold's "WOMEN UPLIFTING WOMEN" blog, please contact us at kristin@elisely.com for an editorial inquiry. This blog was created to inspire, uplift and empower women globally to step through adversity to LIVE a KIND & HAPPY life full of HOPE, FAITH & GOD.

Lean Into GOD and Community to Carry You Through

August 12, 2021

After losing her Army Green Beret husband in combat, 2018 Military Spouse of the Year Krista Simpson Anderson found strength and courage to continue raising her two boys by leaning into her faith in GOD and her community.

The weekend she was notified that he had been badly injured from an IED attack, she still showed up to the small spouse group that had hosted by the spouse of her husband's commander. She knew if ever there had been a time she needed to be there, it was then. And those women continued to show up for her.

Today, her mission is to “find a need and fill it.” And so her nonprofit, The Unquiet Professional (TUP), was born out of both gratitude and grief after the death of SSG Michael H. Simpson. Krista says that the support she received from her community inspired her to do more. She now serves surviving families, veterans, and their families by providing healthy and empowering opportunities to heal from the wounds of war.

She shares that her biggest highlight and success over the last eight years has been impacting thousands of lives through TUP’s focus on mental health, empowerment, and strengthening families.

“We have had our ups and downs, but we have always been able to make a difference in the lives of others, while trusting ‘we are where we are meant to be,’” she says. “I am so proud of the incredible individuals who work so hard to help me carry on Mike’s legacy. I could never do it alone, and I have never had to.”

Krista has since remarried another Green Beret, and believes it is important to offer support to other spouses who have remarried because their journey is one that is unique.

“I am proud of these individuals who have lost their loved ones and had the courage to move forward,” she says. “I know the ray of emotions and challenges that come along with that decision can be difficult. But I also know what a gift it is.”

Through her most challenging days, Krista has found that her desire to use the life GOD has chosen for her to make a difference for others is what continues to drive her. Every day she seeks to be the person for someone else that she needed at the beginning of her journey.

“I want to be there for them through their darkness and continue to be there, encouraging them along the way, when the light does finally begin to peek back in,” says Krista.

Another driving force for Krista is to maintain the legacy of her late husband that she is passing down to her boys. They were so young when he passed, that she and her husband make a daily vigilant effort to keep his presence in their home. Her oldest son expressed to her at age 4 how much he loves that TUP reminds him of his daddy, because he never wants to forget him.

“I get this amazing opportunity to impact the lives of others while sharing Mike’s life with the world, praying that I can also show my kids what a gift it is to serve others,” she says.

Shining a Light Through Acts of KINDness

July 23, 2021

Since launching Women Who Do Wonders International (WWDWI) last December, Pamela Bolado has been on a mission to increase global participation through lifelong learning of philanthropy and humanitarian development.

WWDWI is an exclusive community membership platform built by women to unite, support, and amplify the power of female entrepreneurs, mission-driven community leaders and philanthropists working to improve the lives of women and children around the world. At its core, WWDWI is about KINDness.

"I have had a long road to where I am today," says Pamela. "Since launching, I have met the most extraordinary worldly women, connected with mission-driven organizations and continue to brainstorm how to utilize my platform for greater good."

Her highlights have been pitching for the first time on the "2-Minute Drill," which recently featured on Amazon Prime. Through her pitch, WWDWI was awarded the JA Worldwide Impact Award.

Pamela also had the opportunity to showcase her magazine, Wellness & Wisdom, and nonprofit, Mission Wonder Women, at the 2020 DPA Oscars Gifting Suite in LA.

"I have a big vision for WWDWI," Pamela says. "This next year, my goal is to increase visibility globally, grow our community, and build a strong Ambassador program."

The Android and ios app, launching this fall, will provide an alert system for women-founded nonprofits to gain worldwide access, visibility, and assistance from mission-driven entrepreneurs, philanthropists, and corporations. Also launching this fall is Pamela's Fired Up For Fearless Challenge in support of mental health and wellness.

"In five years, I see WWDWI gaining the exposure I worked hard to achieve and spreading its wings with chapters all over the globe," she says.

By trade, Pamela is an award-winning esthetician who has spent 23 years supporting women in many different ways. After becoming a military spouse, she created her first event for women of the military in 2018. It was then that she found deep purpose in supporting women who deserve recognition.

In launching her magazine during the pandemic, she was able to build a global platform to spotlight inspiring women when it was needed most. And shortly after, she launched WWDWI.

"I knew it was time to spread my mission even further and try to make even just a small impact in the lives of women and children through my community, connections and hard work," says Pamela.

On her hardest days, she has found it most helpful to stay focused on weekly and monthly goals that fuel her fire, whether they be big or small. "Every little achievement motivates me to keep going," she says. "Knowing that I can make even the smallest impact is more than enough motivation."

"I purchased Maya's gorgeous KIND necklace last year," Pamela says. "I receive so many compliments on it. KINDness is what we all need. Speaking of KINDness, let's all do one random act today and everyday. Spread the word!"

Healing Trauma Through KINDness

June 23, 2021

Being brave creates a ripple effect that can change the course of many lives. And, it begins by being KIND enough to meet ourselves where we are in our life journey, says Canadian police officer and Brave Inspires Brave founder Heather McWilliam.

Being KIND also elevates us to a higher consciousness of compassion to meet others where they are, says Heather. Even when we don’t have all the pieces to understand what obstacles they may be currently facing.

For Heather, her drive to promote activism and KINDness came from a place within herself to ignite the light to serve her highest purpose of inspiring others to brave their best life. She says this is about fully stepping into our voices, especially through adversity and fear.

In her case, this meant standing up to a police system that had failed to respect her rights of safety from sexual harassment and assault. As she was told it would be impossible to win her court case, she chose to bravely walk into the darkness to shed light on this grave injustice.

Her court case went on to become a Landmark Human Rights case that brought forward awareness in police culture, women’s rights, disability rights and police corruption throughout Canada.

Heather says that for her the ripple effect of being brave had an impact far greater than she ever could have imagined. She has witnessed how her bravery has inspired so many others to bravely serve their own truths as they choose KINDness to themselves by honoring them.

Today, Heather’s organization, Brave Inspires Brave, advocates for women’s rights, disability rights, mental health, and human rights as it relates to the effects of police harm within police organizations and communities through its partnerships with experts in law and policing, oversight bodies, investigators, researchers, mental health experts in trauma and PTSD, gender specialists, empowerment coaches, military survivors and leaders, health and wellness coaches, and many others.

However, this journey was not an easy one for Heather. Even after fleeing from her home in Ontario, she continued to be threatened, stalked and hacked. A community sworn to protect and defend made her feel afraid, abused, and betrayed.

Today, she works to heal from C-PTSD and other mental health injuries.

Heather believes that survivors of trauma are especially resilient, their experiences are valuable, and together they are stronger.

“I didn’t want to live in fear and be ashamed of my mental health injury, so I treated it with the mindset of an athlete,” says Heather. “I realized I needed to train my mind and body to overcome the trauma.”

In doing so, she realized that she needed to be KIND to herself, as healing became her new full-time job during her temporary leave of absence. But Heather says she needed these lessons to continue to serve and protect others through her injury.

"I am not my injury,” she says. “I am not what happened to me. But I am the hero I need to be to survive and thrive, and with that I am able to love myself more than I ever could have imagined. I strive to always see the beauty in all of us. Our weaknesses can become our superpowers if we learn to master them.”

Choosing to be KIND to yourself, by rising above it all is worth the fight when it allows you to find yourself, says Heather. She now sees the world as a journey to learn necessary lessons for us all to become our highest selves.

“Through the darkness, we must continue to reach for the stars,” she says. “To brave our best, to choose love over fear, and to tune in to allow for all that our purpose is calling of us.”

Finding HOPE on Memorial Day

May 26, 2021

HOPE is what fills life with promise and light. It fills our souls on days that feel dark, knowing that brighter ones are just around the corner. Much of this HOPE we carry as women comes from being part of a community that is larger than us. Here, at Maja Arnold, we represent a community of inspiring women.

Women like Shellie Willis, a veteran and advocate to military communities across the country. Shellie's heart shines through in all she does, as she provides HOPE to our female veterans, as she shifts the needle in their lives by providing them with life-changing skills and resources.

After 24 years of service in the US Army, Shellie retired a Master Sergeant and shares that starting a new career as a civilian was absolutely daunting for her. She believes that very few veterans have HOPE during their transition out of the military and land their "dream career," start a business, or even decide to continue their education immediately afterwards.

Over the last six and half years of working in workforce development with a focus on veteran’s initiatives, she has found that most really don’t have a clue without being given a strong sense of direction and purpose as to what that next move should be. Shellie also discovered that service women didn’t realize they were a highly underrepresented demographic within a demographic.

As women, she says they identified with where they served, whether it be as a Soldier, Sailor, Airmen, Marine or Coast Guardsmen, and that their voices and identities were aborted by those roles. She realized immediately after retirement that women spend much of their time serving and suppressing at the same time.

So, Shellie decided to create a movement and community of HOPE that continues to educate and empower our service women to and through transition, for however long it takes by building a community of connectors in life coaching, lifestyle, branding, health and wellness, financial readiness and more. Service women need to be reminded they are women and that they are amazing, she says. Long after their military service they can define themselves and be empowered to shift into their next phase of life.

Redefining You Foundation is a community for transitioning service women, women veterans, and military spouses providing them HOPE through access to local, regional and national resources. Being redefined means shifting your thinking and lifestyle to the next phase in life by creating a blueprint that requires activation and accountability, says Shellie.

For the work Shellie has done to support our women veterans she received the Female Founder Alliance Champion Award in 2019 and currently serves as the Ms. Veteran America 2020 2nd Runner Up.

To learn more about Redefining You Foundation click HERE.

We at Maja Arnold would like to wish a very Happy Memorial Day to our service members, veterans, and their families. To those whose loved one gave the ultimate sacrifice, they will never be forgotten. And to Shellie, thank you for brightening the way by filling our female veterans with HOPE.

Photo credits: Abby Laguido, founder of Pixel Parlour

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