SUSIE AUGUSTIN: She’s A Sexy, Fit & Fab Siren {Giveaway}

Susie headshot

It’s hard to believe that only 18 months ago I became a Bestselling Author! This was unexpected and truly a gift from God. In Sexy, Fit & Fab at Any Age! I share my stories and challenges to inspire women to develop their essences, exude confidence, embrace their true selves and feel extraordinary. But during the creation of the book, I started experienced obstacles. I went from losing 30 pounds, being in what I thought was fabulous shape, and looking and feeling confident and sexy, to feeling “off”.

I was suffering from female health issues, fatigue, weight gain, and ended up having a hysterectomy. During my recovery, my 83-year-old mom was hospitalized, had three surgeries, her heart gave out and she passed. Also, I found that I might be a victim of identity theft. It would have been easy to let what was going on in my personal life define me and focus on recovery. Instead, I chose to put aside the way I felt and continued to move forward with my goals to make my dreams come true. I’d lost my book savings due to being on Disability, I had no credit and no budget. But what I did have was perseverance and passion. I started my publishing company Get Branded Press. I surrounded myself with uplifting people and lived with an attitude of gratitude.

Within four months I had a book launch, became a Bestselling Author and a Publisher (I published my friend Kim Somers Egelsee’s book Getting Your Life to a 10 Plus, too). Another blessing that week – my finances were recovered. Amazing opportunities came along; speaking engagements, radio and TV shows: the Beverly Hills Book Awards and the International Book Awards.

I had faith and chose to see my challenges as life experiences, the same kind everyone goes through. I also experienced my highest highs during this time. While I didn’t always feel up to doing speaking engagements or let myself be vulnerable in front of an audience, I sucked it up and put aside my pain (physical, emotional, financial) and did it anyway. You see, I had a responsibility to share my message of Sexy, Fit & Fab at Any Age! even if I didn’t always look “perfect”.

This year, I invited 24 Sexy, Fit & Fab women, age 20s through 70s, to contribute stories to my new book Sexy, Fit & Fab Sirens. These women live confident, healthy and empowered lives, they’ve overcome the odds and have gained amazing achievements.

Sexy Sirens group shot

Contributing authors: Kim Somers Egelsee, Jeanette Ortega, Monica Blanco, Sheri Fink, Karla Keene, Danielle Augustin, Shaeny Hagey, Monick Halm, Amy Stahovich, Yin Chang, Jenée Dana, Kristina Mitchell, Kristina Johnson, Casey Krebs, Stephanie Dreyer, Sherri Boyer, Jaime Kalman, Katy Bray, Sylvia Armas-Abad, Jacqueline Kettle, Vivian Pulliam, Fran Boytos, Claudia Cooley, and Nancy Somers.

Additional contributors: Erin Cottrell/Foreword (actress, The Identical); Alexis Carra/Special Introduction (actress, Mixology); and Tiffany Hendra/Endorsement (TV Host, Sanctuary of Style).

Sexy Sirens Full Cover

The theme of Sexy, Fit & Fab Sirens is Sexy Collaboration. It’s powerful when women come together – so many women, so many blessings! The book was created in 6 months and hit #1 on Amazon in 16 categories (Health/Fitness, Beauty & Style, Aging, Movers & Shakers, and more!) I’m absolutely amazed and had such an exciting time celebrating with all the authors at our Sexy Sirens red carpet book launch! Look for upcoming books Sexy, Fit & Fab Beauty Secrets and Sexy, Fit & Fab Studs in 2015.

I challenge YOU to dare to go for it, and live the life of YOUR dreams!

Susie Augustin

Connect with Susie: 

www.SexyFitFab.com

@SusieAugustin

#SexyFitFab

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GIVEAWAY

To celebrate Susie and her success, she is giving away 3 signed copies of her latest book – Sexy, Fit & Fab Sirens.

To enter, simply make a comment on this blog post sharing that you accept the “challenge to dare to go for it and live the life of YOUR dreams”.

Winners announced Sunday, September 14th.

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Are you ready to say “YES” to being Sexy Fit & Fab at ANY age? By Guest Blogger: Author + Beauty Expert Susie Augustin {Plus Book Giveaway}

Susie headshot

Meet the beautiful Susie Augustin!  

Susie is a beauty expert, speaker and author of Sexy, Fit & Fab at Any Age!  In this book she shares eight keys that help women of all ages explore their inner and outer beauty, inspiring them to develop their essences, exude confidence, embrace their true selves and feel extraordinary. With a marketing degree and aesthetician license, she has over fifteen years experience in the health and beauty industry. Susie is an author, speaker, educator, publisher, columnist, marketing copywriter and branding specialist. She studied theatre, acting and improv for ten years and loves connecting with an audience. Susie has been a featured speaker at numerous workshops, with topics such as skincare, health, beauty, sex appeal, confidence building, writing and publishing. Having worked at some of the world’s most well-known and top rated beauty companies, she’s motivated thousands of women to look and feel their best, to embrace their sex appeal and to live a healthy lifestyle. Susie is excited about her new publishing company Get Branded Press. She offers workshops on how to write and publish a book, with several different services provided, such as book development, editing, proofreading, ghostwriting, book layout and many more. Susie’s motto is Dream it. Brand it.

 

SOS asked Susie to share her thoughts on a few topics we see many women dealing with today:

SOS: Many women seem to lose confidence in themselves when they become a new mother. What is your #1 piece of advice for women who feel they’ve lost their spunk, sizzle, moxie and sex appeal after they have a baby?  

SA: Due to the celebrities we see in the media, we have a false perception of women regarding beauty, fitness, and bouncing back to pre-baby weight and body immediately after having a baby. The average woman doesn’t have the access to a personal chef, trainer, nannies, housekeepers, or the funds for liposuction, photo shoots and airbrushing. To all the new moms out there, give yourself huge credit for going through childbirth and putting the health and happiness of your new baby and family first. Don’t compare yourself to celebrity moms. It’s not realistic to bounce back right away in a bikini. It’s all about what works in your lifestyle.

You have to take a moment for yourself every day. Take a shower and put on some makeup to start your day off right. Planning a date night at least once a month is essential, as parenthood puts stress on a relationship. Remind your partner on date night how sexy you are by throwing on some heels, hoop earrings, lipstick, and strut your sass -confidence is sexy to men!

 

SOS: What was the best beauty tip you ever received and who was it from?

SA: Smile!  A smiling, happy face is a beautiful face. I’ve heard this throughout my life and I’ve been telling this to girls and women for years. As far as beauty products, my mom started selling Avon when I was eleven. I was introduced to washing my face and wearing sun protection daily at an early age. Years later studies showed that aging skin (lines, wrinkles, skin discoloration) is due to sun damage, so I’m grateful that I took preventative measures.

 

SOS: You are on a mission to motivate other women to look and feel their best, but how have YOU personally stayed motivated through the years? Many women seem to hit a certain age and just give up or throw in the towel…

SA: Staying positive, following my dreams and living a healthy lifestyle keep me centered, confident and enthusiastic about life. I enjoy being around like-minded people, so most of my friends are the same way. We constantly motivate and inspire each other. As we go through changes and challenges in life – stress, divorce, childbirth, health issues, weight gain, entering a new decade – we are able to lean on each other to get tips on how to look and feel better. I’ll set health, fitness, and weight loss goals with some of my friends. Many times we’ll do it together and keep each other on track. When you realize that we all go through ups and downs and experience insecurities, you feel less alone and the size of your challenges feel more manageable. I also regularly attend personal development seminars and networking events and am meeting fabulous new friends with similar interests.

 

SOS: Women are spread so thin and wear so many hats these days.  In your book, you teach the importance of living a balanced life.  We always need to reset and readjust things in order to stay on track. How do you reset when you find yourself getting unbalanced? 

SA: The eight keys to living a balanced life in my book Sexy, Fit & Fab at Any Age are Spirit, Nutrition, Exercise, Education, Passion, Personality, Grooming and Sex Appeal. I do my best to stay balanced but it can be a challenge, even when you are pursuing your passions and everything in life is great. Setting goals and priorities are a great way to stay on track. Start with small goals and take baby steps. It’s not always practical trying to do everything every day. Be flexible. I like to start off my day with the first three keys, by taking a quick walk, having a green drink, writing in my journal and listening to an inspirational CD. Some days I have two hours for this, and other days only 45 minutes. I’ve learned not to be so hard on myself if I can’t get it all done, and remember that small cumulative steps can slowly build up to beautiful results.

 

SOS: What would you tell your 16 year old self? 

SA: Take care of yourself and follow your dreams. Be patient, flexible, and open to things happening in unexpected ways. Be okay that life doesn’t always go according to your schedule; sometimes it takes longer or the outcome may be even greater than you’d dreamed. Know that your inner and natural beauty is one of your biggest assets.

 

SOS: Many people aspire to become an author and share their message with the world, but it seems like a daunting task.  How did you get started? What’s the first step to writing a book?

SA: I’ve always been passionate about reading and writing since I was young, and even my friends had me proofread and correct their book reports for them. Years later I went into the beauty industry and did everything from skincare, makeup, sales, training, marketing and copywriting. So it was through natural progression that my friend Kim Somers Egelsee asked me to speak at Willow Tree Circle about beauty and sex appeal. Women of all ages were interested in knowing more and asked when my book was coming out. During this time, Kim asked me to edit her book Getting Your Life to a 10 Plus. I started Get Branded Press and published both of our books and we had an amazing red carpet book launch, as well as hitting the Amazon Bestseller list. This is an amazing testament to what can happen when women practice being supportive of each other rather than competitive.

Since we both get requests daily for tips on how to write a book, what the process is, how to overcome writer’s block, and how to self-publish, we created Writing to WOW, a book writing workshop that is coming this September. The workshop includes visualizations to open up creativity, choosing a topic to write on, learning how to outline your book, and more. Complete information will be posted on my website soon at http://www.SexyFitFab.com. In the meantime, grab a notebook and pen (yes, I’m asking you to write, not type, as this opens up creativity) and make a list of your interests and passions. Pick one and write a paragraph about it. Challenge yourself to write even more. I also suggest writing in a journal daily. Get your feelings out, vent, write a gratitude list or to-do list for the day. You don’t need to be eloquent or articulate, just start writing!

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It was an honor for Susie to ask me to share my testimonial and be featured on the back cover of her book!

Susie and I are thrilled to share her book with all of you SOS Sistas and will be giving away (3) copies!

To Enter:

  1. Share this blog post once via Twitter or Facebook. See the buttons below.
  2. Click LIKE on the SOS Facebook page.
  3. Make the comment “I am ready to say yes to being sexy fit & fab” anywhere on the SOS Facebook wall.

 

(3) Winners will be announced on Friday, June 28th on the FB Page.  

Get ready to be your most fab! 

Love, Tiff