Letter #2 | Finally living a life I LOVE...

I stopped just building the life I wanted—and finally started living it.

💛Hello Friend :)

Welcome back to The Rise Letters. Before I begin, I just want to say THANK YOU!! The love and support from TheRise community has been incredible! This feels like the start of a new era, one rooted in us all rising to our fullest potential, I’m so excited to be on this journey with you.

📩 If You’re New Here…

I’m Ruby — entrepreneur, angel investor, strategic advisor, mentor, daughter, friend, big sister and now… writer!!

I started TheRise as a personal newsletter—a space to document my journey, share my lessons, and connect with you beyond the highlight reels of social media. This is my unfiltered space to journal, reflect, teach, and grow—with you, in real-time.

As many of you know, I was on YouTube for years, sharing insights on business, wealth, and personal growth and loved doing It. TheRise letters takes that a step further— deeper reflections, raw-er lessons, and actionable strategies packaged and delivered straight to you!

I’m on a journey to become the best version of myself, and do all God has called me to do, my goal is to share as much as I can as I Rise to the next level.

What I’ve been up to?

Let me catch you up to speed, It’s been a few weeks since the first rise letter, and I am so grateful for the love and support received. If you missed the first Rise Letter, catch up [here]—for the background, intentions, and goals for TheRise.

Todays letter will be a reflection of 2024, I promised this and wanted to make sure I delivered… even if its in February.

2024: The Year I Lived a Life I love.

At the end of every year, I do a deep personal reflection—an audit of my wins, lessons, and the overall state of my life. It’s something I’ve done for years — I even did it publicly via YouTube from 2016-2021. (Any OG’s remember?) After reflecting, If I had to summarize 2024 in one phrase, it would be this: I stopped just building the life I wanted—and finally started living it.

I fully experienced the life I worked so hard to build—peace, tranquility, freedom, flexibility, and fun. My version of a lavish life.

For years, I was in builder mode—working, strategizing, laying the foundation, chasing the next milestone. In 2024, something shifted. I finally paused long enough to experience the life I had spent so much time creating.

Of all the books I read last year, one completely shifted my perspective—Build the Life You Want by Arthur C. Brooks & Oprah Winfrey. I read it at the very top of the year and it helped lay the foundation for all of 2024. For the first time, I wasn’t just working toward success—I was truly living the life I built.

The concept of building the life you want hit differently in 2024 because, for the first time, I wasn’t just working toward something—I was actually, actively living the life I had spent years building.

If you follow me on IG, you already know how much I’ve recommended this book. I recommended it so much, I might as well have been their unofficial brand ambassador if you don’t know, I am a hugeeee Oprah Stan.

If you get the book (which I highly recommend), be sure to tag me on your IG Story! 💛 and use the hashtags #TheRiseLetters #TheRiseReads )

(And spoiler: I may or may not be launching a virtual book club soon…)

Comment: I’m currently building my 2025 reading list! — Have you read a book that changed your mindset? Drop a comment here!

My Main Focuses in 2024:

1. Doing Less: After years of hustling, I could finally rest—and be okay with resting. I created more time for myself, to just be. And by doing less, I actually lived more.

2. Living More: 2024 wasn’t just about doing—it was about being. I traveled not just for work, but for joy—spending months out of the country, taking multiple trips to the Middle East, Europe, and Africa. I fully embraced romanticizing life—coffee shop mornings, museum afternoons, long walks, beautiful dinners, slow living, getting back into pilates, and cooking meals that actually made me feel good. I celebrated milestones instead of just moving on to the next goal.

3. Deepened Faith: But most of all, I deepened my faith. Back in 2023 I began my bible study journey with the mission of completing the bible. 2024 was the year I brought it a level deeper, deeper revelation and deeper intimacy with God. I became an active member of my church (Victory Midtown), and now apart of the leadership team.

The Role of Relationships & Gratitude in My 2024

If I had to choose one unexpected theme that defined my 2024, it would be relationships. 2024 reminded me that real success is multifaceted—it’s not just about what you achieve, but more importantly —- who you get to experience life with.

This past year, my relationships—with family, friends, and even myself— evolved and deepened in ways I never expected. And in honor of love month.. I’ll break it down!

Instagram

Hosting, Community, & Creating Memories

For years, I envisioned having a home that felt warm, inviting, and full of life—and in 2024, I finally had the time to fully embrace it.

I hosted a lotttt in 2024—holidays with family, game nights with friends, dinner parties, girl’s nights, movie nights… everything.

The long-running joke now is: “Who’s staying at Hotel Ruby this weekend?”

But beyond just hosting events, I was building moments. Moments of connection, laughter, and love.

Expanding My Circle & Deepening Friendships

I made so many new, incredible friendships in 2024—women of faith, women of value, women who inspired me, prayed with me, studied the Word with me, but also traveled with me and enjoyed life with me.

This was a year of expanding my core friend group, and I made six new, very, very close friends. But beyond that, I deepened existing friendships in ways that felt reciprocal, intentional, and fulfilling.

Family Prayer Meetings

As the oldest child and the self proclaimed family manager, I really really prioritize my family, and one of the best things we incorporated in 2024 was family prayer. Sundays quickly became one of my favorite days of the week, not just because of church, but because it was a time for my family to come together via FaceTime, share our testimonies and wins for the week, pray for one another, study the Bible, and just grow with God.

That consistent intimate time together strengthened our bond in an unexplainable way.

One of my favorite moments of 2024 was Taking my dad on his first-ever trip to Dubai. Watching him experience it for the first time was surreal—we laughed, explored, and made memories I’ll cherish forever. It was the start of multiple trips together in 2024… later in the year, we spent time together in Nigeria, these trips really felt like a full-circle moment. To travel with him, to see him enjoy life— was priceless.

All in all, I am grateful for the family dynamic I’ve intentionally worked on building, I recently posted on Instagram from our most recent family shoot! Coordinated by the best family manager of all time! I can’t believe how big my brothers Ron and Raz have gotten —- ughh I can cry right now!!

My Accountability Partner for the year

One friendship I’m especially grateful for is my accountability partner for the year—Mohamet. (Every year, I have a different friend as my year long accountability partner.)

Every Monday, we met up to talk about goals, vision for the future, and we were really intentional—reading books together, discussing business, branding, health and wellness, our different religions, and everything in between. It was iron sharpening iron in its purest form.

It was so beautiful seeing him shine, grow and RISE!! Within a little over a year he’s grown his following all the way up to 400k, which has been incredible to watch and just a testament of the power of consistency, courage and intentionality. And to close out the year? I ended 2024 with another trip to Dubai—but this time, I was his +1 on a brand trip he was invited to! We had an amazing time!

Truly, one of my favorite friendships. So grateful for Mo! ← follow him on IG for amazing content! (I’m sure you’ve probably seen a post here and there)

The Real Meaning of Gratitude

2024 taught me that gratitude isn’t just about saying "thank you"—it’s about pausing to truly recognize the abundance already present in your life. I learned what fills my cup, what makes me feel deeply fulfilled, and I started saying no to anything that didn’t align with that.

This past year, I started prioritizing what brings me joy and intentionally removing what doesn’t.

But even after all these wins, there was still a lingering question in my heart—

What’s next?

📌 Coming Up Next in Letter #3…

The next letter, I’m pulling back the curtain on my 2025 master plan—

• My Major Goals for 2025

• How I’m planning to rise to my fullest potential—the strategy, systems, and mindset shifts I’m implementing.

• The Master Plan—a behind-the-scenes look at the blueprint I’m using to execute, elevate, and expand in 2025.

This next letter is BIG. If you’ve ever wanted to see exactly how I map out my success, set my priorities, and align my life with my purpose—this one is for you.

Ways to Engage with TheRise letters This Month

• Comment — As you reflect on your own 2024, what’s the biggest shift you experienced? DM me, Hit reply or comment and let me know—I love reading your reflections! Remember to use the yellow heart 💛 to show you are in TheRise community.

🌱#TheRiseRewards

• Giveaway entry: Shhh! Most people don’t make it all the way to the end, so your chances of winning are pretty high! If you’ve made it to this point and would like to enter into the giveaway:

  1. Leave a comment on this post! Button right above!

  2. Tag me on your Instagram story showing that you’re reading the second rise letter! instagram @lavishruby #TheRiseLetters. I will be picking the first winner later this month!

🌱 #RubysRecommendations

📖 Build the Life You Want – My 2024 book of the year (if you haven’t read it, you need to!) Heres the amazon link. Don’t forget to tag me @lavishruby #RubysRecomendations
📱 App I’m loving right now: I’ve been telling everyone to start using Stash — It offers automated investing tools that make it really easy to get started and stick to an investing plan consistently and transparently. They’re making it really easy by giving you $30 for free to invest in anything you want for free — just by joining here.

I invite you to engage with me as we build this community together. Let me know what you think! — Did you listen or read or both, did I talk too fast? Would love some feedback!

Until next time!!

- Your friend Ruby :)

Letter #1 | Welcome to TheRise!

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