Maintain Your Integrity

I love sharing my client’s stories through portraits and interviews. Each one has a unique perspective on where they are in life not to mention tokens of wisdom that I feel everyone could benefit from. I could chat with all my clients for hours and Lesley was no different. This beautiful lady has had some serious ups and downs and still maintains a very positive outlook. Thank you Lesley for sharing part of your story.

Here are a few snippets from her interview.

What made you get pictures done?

My friend Becky. She’s both inspirational and can be amazingly… annoying about things. She just thought that she was going to do it and she felt like I needed to and I have enjoyed it.

How do you think the definition of beauty has changed over the years?

It is more flexible, it is not just someone who is 5’8, blond headed, weighs 90 pounds dripping wet and has a great figure, that there is a lot of different variance to beauty which is wonderful.

What would you tell your 20-year-old self?

Slow down a little bit, be aware more, and take the high road whenever you can.

When do you feel you were the most confident in life?

Maybe right now. I feel pretty confident sitting here, I feel gorgeous and just filled with confidence and enthusiasm for it which is awesome.

What motivates you to get up in the morning?

I’m motivated by the fact, to me, I feel like I do a really good job at what I do, it’s not something that works for everybody. What I do is actually the way that my brain functions best so I’m someone who is reading a lot of legalistic things and interpreting it based on how my company does business. It feels like I offer a lot to my customers, who are the other employees in the institution, and helping interpret these things to their benefit so they can get their jobs done and also so the bank remains in compliance.

How do you think your generation is perceived by the younger generation?

I used to think that my generation was perceived as being really stodgy and inflexible and not wanting to learn. But I will say I have been super fortunate in this latest position that I’ve been in since early 2018 that I work with a lot of 25–40-year-olds. They question everything, they listen, so I feel at this stage I actually feel more accepted at this stage then I have in previous years in terms of what I can do to help them. For me at this stage in my career I’m all about the passing the knowledge on, because one of the things that motivating me is retirement too and so to get there, I want to feel like I leave my department in the best possible position and that everyone knows everything I know and then some.

What advice would you give a young lady today?

Keep pushing, you have to learn to do it in a way so that it’s accepting of course. Above all maintain her integrity and honesty in whatever she does.

What is your favorite quote or scripture?

“Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own.” Matthew 6:34

Be sure to click on the video and hear Lesley in her own words. Hair and makeup by @bettybylizyturria. For more information on the 40 over 40 portraits, please visit www.brandiblake.com.