Scented Purpose was born out of a desire for me, Amanda to show my daughter the power of keeping her big kind heart open. However what started as us simply deciding to get creative and have some fun together has taken us on a path we could not have forseen.

Essentially we create candles, but from the beginning we knew we needed to embody a purpose far greater. Our scented beauties are our product, spreading kindness is our purpose.

Never really content with 9 to 5 I have always had a creative side hustle over the years and admired those that took it that step further and believed in themselves enough to make their dreams a full time reality. I have been a long time sponge of all things mindful and living as your best self.

I made a decision early on with SP that it would be the ultimate ‘experiment’ in letting our kind hearts lead the way. For me attempting to push through the fear of failure and comparison – ultimately believing in myself and trusting the process. For Emerson, to be able to grow with the knowledge she didn’t have to fit a particular mould, but could feel confident enough to grow through the challenges of life as herself, with that big kind heart that inspired it all.

My hope was it would be a rewarding experience that would potentially grow into something to be damn proud of. It would be that simple …

Of course growing a dream and making it reality is full of joy, excitement and so many wonderful new experiences, but biggest of all it can very often be filled with incredible overwhelm and self-doubt. The everyday juggle is an enormous challenge. Another day job, full weekends and late nights devoted to being all the things in a small business. However the biggest hurdle of all seems to be the expectations we place on ourselves. It can be so easy to lose sight of why it was all started and celebrations of the small wins and growth we so longed for along the way easily forgotten. I learnt very early on I would need to draw on all the ‘kind to myself’ we preach to have this business of ours truly be something to be proud of.

As a professional overthinker I am always at my best when I am consistently making time to include a couple of ‘non-negotiable’ kind to myself moments most days. It seems these are always the things we let slide when life gets in the way yet it’s when we need it most. For me exercise has always been one of my most effective ways to clear my mind. I attempt to include a run as many times in the week as I can. Generally this is the time of year where we need to be pouring many hundreds of candles a week to not get behind in our wholesale orders, so by making it ‘non-negtioable’ in my mind I attempt to make the necessary time available. I can honestly say it is easier said than done so that’s when I remind myself that even the smallest effort will make an enormous difference.

Over the past 12 months as things have rapidly grown and I have often let the overwhelm take over, I have also tried to consistently practice meditation. It is something I have sporadically included over the years, but never really made it a regular thing. Connecting with Alexis has certainly changed that! Taking the pressure away from it looking or feeling a certain way and being mindful of just pausing has made all the difference. It’s something I try to include most days and once again the enormous difference it makes to my day is always reminder enough of how important it is to take some time out for yourself.

After three years of putting our authentic selves out there, by far the most rewarding part of all of this is getting to do it with my favourite girl. The people we have met, the places we have been to have proven our little bit of kindness can really make a difference. That kind little heart that inspired all of this has provided so many moments of happy not just for us, but for those that so kindly support what we do. My hope is always that Emerson continues to believe in her own personal purpose. To remember that often the way we initially set out to spread our message may seem ordinary, but the magic is in our unique delivery and definitely in staying true to ourselves.

This little ‘experiment’ of ours has certainly proven that like most things worthwhile it’s not always easy but easy wouldn’t teach us a great deal or provide the rewarding experiences that stepping out of our comfort zone does. Emmy and I think living as your best self and creating a life to be proud of is nothing you need to prove to anyone else except yourself and we are proud of us.

As very proud supporters $1 from the sale of every candle is donated to The Kids With Cancer Foundation.

Learn more about Amanda and Scented Purpose via scentedpurpose.com.au