When my business partners, Donnie and Jamie, asked me to run Stay Positive News three weeks ago over lunch at Dos Bros in Gallatin, my first thought was, “Why me?” That was my initial thought, too, when Donnie asked me to also write this column.

The go-getter side of me was immediately thrilled to start this new venture. However, my perfectionist side was incredibly nervous that I would make mistakes and screw it all up. Well, guess what? I’ve already made plenty of mistakes, but the positive news is I don’t think I’ve screwed it all up yet.

That being said, I guess I’ll take a stab at this whole ‘Notes From the Editor’ thing.

Back to our origin story. Stay Positive News went from an idea in the comments on a Facebook post to a legitimate news business with an EIN (federal tax ID), customers, writers, and a website full of stories within four weeks. That’s pretty dang impressive.

Of course, it wasn’t a walk in the park getting here, but it was clear from the beginning that people around us not only wanted positive news in their lives, but they needed it. We wanted to be the ones to bring it to them.

So, one week in. I’m feeling great, or POSITIVE might be a better word choice. Stay Positive News has reached more than 12,000 readers, which means 12,000 people have had their day made a little bit brighter because they read something positive on the internet.

Personally, I’ve become a more positive person throughout this experience, too. I hate to admit this, but I see myself as a realist. I feared my way of thinking would affect my ability to write and edit for a positive news website, which leads back to the whole “why me” thing I said in the beginning. 

However, I’ve actually discovered this job is changing me for the better. Let me give you an example:

This weekend, my husband and I went to Steeplechase in Nashville. Let me preface this by saying that this event is really cool, but we just were not prepared correctly for it. So anyway, it was our first time there, and we had no idea where to park or how to find our friends who were already tailgating at a tent inside the park. I had made the dumbest shoe choice possible by wearing three-inch block heels. Upon arrival, we realized it was going to be quite a hike, literally, from the parking lot (a massive grass field) to the entrance of the event. What we didn’t realize is there was terrible cell phone service, and we needed to cross the horse track to get to the tailgating area. By the time we reached our friends after about 10 failed phone calls and a few blisters on my feet, it had been over two hours!

Realist Rachel would have absolutely lost her mind, stressed out about every minute being wasted, complained about how unorganized everything was, and cried about her feet hurting. Instead, Positive Rachel shined through. I said, “Hey, at least we're having a date away from the kids and making an effort to see your friend on his birthday, which will mean the world to him.” 

I might have still complained a tiny little bit about my feet hurting. Remember, I’m not claiming complete reformation here, just an attitude improvement.

I’m so thankful for this opportunity. It was one of those things that fell into my lap at the perfect time. Many people have encouraged me along the way and said this job is the perfect fit for me, and I am incredibly motivated by their kind words to make Stay Positive News successful.

I look forward to continuing this journey of spreading intentional positivity to middle Tennessee. Thanks for reading!

‍