We already know that Ashley Graham is beautiful, powerful, and insanely successful; these things have been made clear in the recent years. A humanitarian and body image and acceptance speaker, she has made a massive impact on how girls see each other and themselves in light of society’s impossible body standards.The wonder-woman went on LIVE with Kelly and Ryan and briefly shared her story.
After being discovered in a shopping mall in 2000 by a modeling agency and working her way through high school, Graham continued to work toward her dream of becoming a model. She moved to New York as soon as she graduated at 17, and like any woman in this industry, she worked hard. She also faced her fair share of road bumps: others telling her that she wasn’t good enough, that she was too fat, and that she would never make the cover of any magazine. These attacks caused her to become extremely discouraged and put her on the verge of quitting and moving back home.
However, she persevered. After what she calls her ‘rock bottom’ and a slew of bad choices, a phone call with her mom put things in perspective. Her mother told her, “Your body is going to change someone’s life”. Even though she wasn’t sure what that meant for her at the time, she listened to her mother. Today, she thanks God she did. Her mother also told her that her words have power, and she found a new love for words of affirmation.
“I am bold.”
“I am brilliant.”
“I am beautiful.”
“I am worthy of all.”
“I love you.”
These daily sayings became her normal routine and things shifted. She carried herself differently, she felt different, and in turn her career started to change.
She also is a fan of vision boards, a powerful mind exercise where you physically display and write down things you want to see happen in your life. Her last one took three years to complete, but it happened!
So here it is ladies, believe in yourself and watch where it takes you. Nothing is impossible when you set your mind to it, and we’ve got this bombshell’s stamp of approval to take our lives to the next level.
Ashley has written a book, “A New Model, What Beauty, Confidence, and Power Really Look Like.” It contains more information on her daily routine of words of affirmation and the use of vision boards in her career.