This post is a little outside the norm, but I was asked to post in this group. Note, that this information is referencing NC; however, maybe other states have similar programs at 2-year/community/technical colleges and at 4-year colleges and universities. Just ask... Top 10 reasons EVERY high school student in NC should graduate high school with a diploma AND a certification and/or degree from one of the 58 community colleges 1. It's FREE! All 58 community colleges offer free tuition (and some offer no fees) through the Career and College Promise program (#CCP). 2. Students can attend as early as 9th grade. 3. It's equitable. Students don't have to be at the top of their class or have a high GPA. Minimum GPA is 2.5 and sometimes lower with special permission. 4. Students can stay at their base school or attend through Early (9 - 12) or Middle (11 - 12) College. 5. Students get college credit as long as they pass the class with a C or higher. No additional test score required. 6. Many of the courses automatically transfer to all 16 state colleges. 7. It increases the chances of economic mobility. Students can attend college debt-free. Students who graduate with certain certifications can enter the workforce with hourly wages that begin at $20/hr or higher (welding, electrical, plumbing, carpentry, HVAC, machining, etc) 8. Community college students outperform students who go directly to 4-year colleges. 9. There are grants and scholarships to continue at a community college and/or attend a 4-year college 10. They can still attend Ivy League and top tier 4-year colleges Bonus 11. They can still participate in sports and other extra curricular activities at their base school and at the community college #58Strong #CCSmart #CommunityCollege #CCP #CareerandCollegePromise #FreeCollege #FreeTuition #FreeCollegeTuition

Glad to be here . I’ve been in search of a good active community. I’m a kingdom minded child care owner who helps parents train up kingdom children. I also consult Christian child care owners on how to have a profitable program with kingdom impact. I’ve owned my business for over 17yrs and shifting to online and consulting has been …a process 😆 It’s something I NEVER had the desire to do but God said move and after many years of disobedience, he disrupted my life and then I moved 🤦🏾‍♀️ (Can anyone relate?) Finding Ashley’s content was so timely for me. I’m ridiculously excited for the tour (DC)

I applied to speak at someone’s summit. She asked for an outline of my workshop, so I shared it, thinking it was a standard part of the process. I didn't give the exact details, but she’s promoting a workshop that mirrors mine almost exactly. Same theme. Same structure. Same language in spots. We didn’t know each other. There was no real relationship. But it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Not because I think I “own” a topic, but because I know the difference between being inspired and being unoriginal. If you’re building something with heart, protect it. People will take the surface and miss the soul. Just putting this out there in case anyone else has felt it too.

So it’s been just over a week since the Chicago tour stop, I’ve been getting my offer together and have been sharing about it some on IG. Well today I posted a IG that explains more about the challenge I’m doing and got my first real engagement client! Pitched her via voice note for a 15min discovery call and will get her onboarded for the challenge! This is something I’ve started and stopped for a long while and I’m just excited cause my goal is 5 but even just 1 will help me confirm I can do this and force me to make it happen! Yay!!! ☺️ P.S. I’m @drjnorde on IG if anyone wants to connect!

We Went Back… This is our first apartment as a couple…we lived on the third floor. When we lived here over a decade ago, about 12 years ago, we were on food stamps. We’re in Chicago for a few days, and Chris had the idea to visit our old apartment. The moment he suggested it, I felt a wave of emotion. That apartment held so many memories—good, hard, real. It’s where we lived when we were just starting out. I was studying for the LSAT. I took two trains and a bus to get to work. Chris was driving a 1998 Mitsubishi Galant to his job at Chicago Public Schools. All of our furniture—aside from maybe a couple of pieces—was free. Craigslist finds. We paid $550 a month in rent, $575 with parking. That was our world. Today, we drove down the same streets we used to travel every day, and I couldn’t stop thinking about the girl who used to live there… about the couple we were back then. We had no idea. We had no idea that the day-to-day decisions we were making in that tiny apartment would one day lead us to a life we never imagined. We didn’t know we’d go from a $575-a-month apartment to a 6,500-square-foot home. We didn’t know that working multiple jobs and putting our honeymoon on hold would one day turn into being able to travel together freely, to celebrate our love in whatever way we chose. We didn’t know we’d be parents to a beautiful little girl. We didn’t know that one day, we’d start a business together—one that would grow into a multimillion-dollar company, one that wouldn’t pull us apart but would actually bring us closer. We didn’t know that a single idea we believed in would change everything. And yet, I don’t look back at that time with pain. Not even a little. I remember the joy. I remember the laughter. We would sit on the couch for hours watching Heroes. We used to make fresh smoothies from the mangoes sold by the man on the street. We didn’t even have a headboard—we slept on a bedframe with a mattress—but we were happy. Really happy. I was so in love with my husband. We had just gotten married when we moved into that apartment, less than a year in. And it didn’t matter where we lived. I was just so grateful to be his wife.