Today we’d like to introduce you to Charity Smith.
Charity, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Well… when I was contacted about this interview my initial response was “Why are they interested in me?” I’m just a small town girl, focused on raising my two boys and making sure my family is well nourished and loved. I also run a Beautycounter business and I have my health and lifestyle blog, but honestly, my main focus is my family. I try very hard to make sure that is top priority outside of my faith. I’ve always had a side gig while being a stay at home mom, but I’m not sure my “story” is worth being featured in this magazine. However, I am definitely flattered and I’ll try my best to share my story, so here goes…
I’m Charity and a lover of all things health and wellness related. I’m a Texas girl through and through. I was raised in a tiny Texas town (Archer City) and finally got to spread my wings when I went off to college at Texas State University. I graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Exercise and Sports Science with a focus in Health and Fitness Management. Once I had my degree in hand, I ventured out into the world to become a personal trainer.
I spent ten plus years working with a variety of clients at Dallas Country Club, Equinox-Highland Park, and Cooper Fitness Center. In 2009, I was honored to be in the Top Ten Most Beautiful Women in Dallas by D Magazine for my impact on the community, success in business and beauty from the inside out. Also, in 2009, I met and fell in love with a California hunk and former UCLA football player. Shortly after, he asked me to be his wife and changed my life forever. We fell hard and fast. We moved to Frisco in 2010 as newlyweds.
In 2012 I had my first son and also partnered with the city of Frisco and opened my first business, PureFitMom. As I had recently become a new mom and I felt the calling to create a balanced health and fitness programs for other moms. PureFitMom was a stroller fitness program that specialized in strength, yoga, barre, nutrition and community.
In 2015, my second son was born. Juggling my business, a free-spirited toddler, and nursing a newborn all became a bit too much for me. I had not learned the skill of delegation at that point. I could feel my family unit failing and I knew something had to give. Shutting down that business was one of the hardest but most important decisions I’ve made in my life. In late 2015, we moved to Prosper because we wanted more of a small-town feel for our boys to grow up in.
In 2016, my 35-year-old husband had a widow-maker heart attack, which you can read more about that here. Long story short, while it was one of the most scary and traumatic events of our lives, that experience was also a gift and a blessing. My husband reevaluated his life and decided to walk away from his corporate job. Later that year, he started his own company, Helix, a medical laboratory in Dallas, with two other guys. The year 2016 was A LOT! The next couple of years taught us a thing or two about relying on the Lord.
When my husband made that jump from corporate to entrepreneur, we knew our income was going to be more than cut in half for a while as they started the business with no investors. (I just have to add that I’m so proud of where they are today! They have played a huge role in serving the Dallas community during COVID as many have turned to smaller independent laboratories for testing).
Since our pay was going to be cut significantly while we took this leap of faith, I started googling work at home opportunities to help our family financially. While searching, I came across a company called Beautycounter. I learned it was a company that was mission-focused, changing the beauty industry for the better and creating clean and high-performing beauty products (which I knew was a major need in the marketplace). After I got my hands on the products, I signed up as a consultant and hit the ground running. After four years with the company, I am now an Executive Director with Beautycounter and lead our team, The Rosebuds, which consists of 150+ amazing, insightful, empowered women. I could never have dreamed the blessing it would be for our family.
I started my Health and Lifestyle blog in 2018. “A Poised Perspective” which originated from my initial dreams of helping others achieve a healthy, balanced lifestyle. (Poised – means balanced) It has since grown into so much more. While my primary focus is on simplified health and wellness, there’s a lot more that makes this southern girl tick. You’ll often find me sharing clean beauty tips, simple and neutral home decor, capsule wardrobe must-haves, and whatever topics that the Lord puts on my heart regarding faith and family.
I’m extremely grateful for each and every obstacle put before my family as I count them all joy, teaching moments and opportunities. Each day with my husband is a gift (even the days we want to kick each other in the rear), and although my boys often test my patience, I am truly blessed to have the opportunity to raise the next generation of men.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
No, it has definitely not been a smooth road but I count it all joy, teaching moments and opportunities. Some of my most challenging struggles were…
1) Motherhood– bottom line, that’s just hard and any mom will agree.
2) Finding balance with my family and my career– I believe as moms, it’s important we prioritize our family above our career but also, as women, we keep our brains active and challenged. It’s a tough challenge and oftentimes proves difficult to balance.
3) Our family started a new company with no investors– feeling the financial struggle of that and learning to rely on the Lord each step of the way.
4) Nearly losing my husband to a heart attack– learning to lay my anxiety and fear at the foot of the cross and choosing to enjoy the present day and count each day as a gift.
5) Running a Beautycounter business– It comes with its challenges as I’m sure anyone can imagine, but I have learned so much about myself, serving others and leadership along the way. I’m so proud of the sisterhood and community that has been created within our team, The Rosebuds.
6) Every person has challenges and struggles in their life– It’s your perspective that changes everything.
Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I could say I’m most proud of overcoming the fear of starting a blog and the status I’ve reached with my Beautycounter business, but honestly, I am most proud of learning to prioritize the important things in my life. I used to be so career-focused that I had a hard time prioritizing the important things, but my highest calling is being a wife and a mother. I’ve learned to outsource the things in my life that do not allow me to put my faith and family first. So honestly, I’m most proud of laying down my pride because that’s what that is however it was no easy feat!
I’m not sure what sets me apart from others… maybe that I don’t fall into the categories of “super crunchy” health blogger or “mainstream” health blogger. I’m somewhere in the middle. It’s okay to prioritize your health but also realize sometimes it’s important to get that Coke or fast food item because it just tastes dang good! No shame there! So maybe it’s my balanced approach to health, or just life in general.
Currently, my focus is my Beautycounter business, my health and lifestyle blog and I’ve recently become the marketing manager of my husband’s company, Helix Health.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
In my twenties, I used to define success as how much money I was making, or how many clients I had, or how much I could juggle all at once. Due to a number of trials and obstacles in my thirties, I’ve learned success for me is…. I just don’t really care about success anymore, or maybe my definition of success has just evolved as I’ve gotten older. I want my family to feel loved and seen. I want to nourish them well. I want to teach my boys that every single obstacle you encounter is a teaching moment and an opportunity. I want to walk alongside my boys as they encounter struggles and point them to Christ and God’s word. It’s really just the opportunity to be a wife and a mom and also being able to practice my passions… gosh, I am immensely blessed. I don’t care much about success these days.
I hope you’ve enjoyed getting to know me. If you’re interested in learning more you can follow along with my day to day life through my blog or Instagram below.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.apoisedperspective.com
- Email: apoisedperspective@gmail.com
- Instagram: apoisedperspective
- Facebook: facebook.com/apoisedperspective
Image Credit:
Kim Haun Photography
Landon Schneider Photography
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