You'd be surprised how often I hear: "You're always so happy! Your life is perfect. You don't seem like you worry about anything." However that couldn't be further from the truth. I'm not a robot... I'm a human just like everyone else. With emotions, hardships, break downs.

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Growing up and in general I had a very happy childhood but I certainly didn't have a very easy life. I don't know if I actually ever shared this, but I had a very rare blood disorder called ITP. In fact, the reason we are in the US is because they couldn't cure me back in USSR and my parents brought me here, essentially to save my life.

During my childhood I was always in hospitals and was on very high doses of steroids and had to have blood transfusions every few weeks. Needless to say I didn't have a ton of friends and resorted to creativity and art as my escape. I won't bore you with my health scare details but after living with ITP for seven years I eventually went into remission at age 12. Thanks to my angel, my mama I didn't have to have my spleen taken out and currently have all my organs in tact!

In my late twenties and early thirties I went through a pretty brutal divorce and was left a single mom with a four week old N. My divorce took longer than my marriage and I already had K when it was finalized.

I've had a lot of money, flown on private jets, and I've also had $.37 in the bank account, dumpster dived, declared bankruptcy and slept on peoples couches with a newborn. I moved back home with my parents at the age 30. I didn't find my real, true love until I was already a mother and was going through a divorce.

In the last four years it seems like everyone in my family has been affected by cancer. Pancreatic, skin, breast, cervical and Acute Leukemia to be exact. It hasn't been an easy ride, and we're still living in it!

So here are my five "KEEP YOURSELF SANE + HAPPY" tricks!

• WORK OUT - It may seem simple enough but so many people don't do it. Working out releases endorphins and it's the only time you and your thoughts can be together in a "healthy" way! With YouTube at your fingertips there should't be a reason why you can't do a workout. You don't have to pay to have a great work out! Waking up just an hour early, or not taking a lunch and getting a work out in, or going to bed just a little bit later, will help you stay sane + happy! No excuses!!!

• THERAPY - I've done a lot of therapy in my years and I'm a true believer that therapy is not just for depressed people. It is for all people. Mental health is so important and sometimes going to talk to a non-biased person is all you need to help you deal. I'm also a big advocate for therapy even when everything is going great and you're happy. It's a good check-in system!

• NATURE - A lot of my followers live in the city and I remember living in the concrete jungle and I myself was feeling down. Have you ever heard the term "GROUNDING"? Grounding refers to contact with the Earth's surface electrons by walking barefoot outside or sitting, working, or sleeping indoors connected to conductive systems, that transfer the energy from the ground into the body. Deepak Chopra is a huge advocate of this and I remember him speaking about grounding at the last conference I attended. My mom and grandma were always telling me to ground myself and walk around barefoot, or lay in the grass. It really does help you get your mood back in order. It's your way to re-connect with the Earth, a process us humans were created to do.

• INSTAGRAM - Delete people form your feed that simply don't make you feel good. If that's me, delete me! I mean it. Instagram should inspired you, uplift you and excite you. If you have feelings of comparison, need a certain validation, "LIKES" or get angry and get FOMO, delete those accounts. They don't serve you and they don't bring you happiness. You shouldn't have to keep up with the Joneses you should be the Joneses!

• READ A BOOK OR WATCH A FILM - It's crazy that two of my "HAPPY" tricks are non social media related and I in fact make a living working in social media. However, stop scrolling. Escape not in other peoples life but in a good film or a good book. Believe me... it's a much easier and better escape! Put perimeters on your phone just like you do with kids and have all social media shut off. When was the last time you read a magazine, a book or watched an amazing film?

That's it folks! These are my five keys to happiness! I also leave you with this beautiful and old fact...