Dian Griesel Is a Model, Businesswoman, Author… and Still Figuring It All Out

"It really coincided with me starting work as a model. You have to have an Instagram page. So I thought, Oh my gosh, my clients are going to think I'm having a midlife crisis. And I could understand why they would think [that] because I used to joke when I would see people doing exactly what I do now. But that's kind of how things evolved.

"I had a Facebook account from work, and I had never posted anything on it—not ever. But then one day, I created a post and asked: "Is age a number or an attitude?" And over 2,500 people responded to that first post with really heartfelt, detailed, essay-like comments. That kind of got things going. So I just kept writing every day—I kept exploring that idea of life, how we feel about ourselves, what changes [we notice] as we get older. Your reaction when you look at yourself in a selfie and you notice your neck looks a lot older than it was the day before. You dry your hair and your head's upside down and you notice your face has totally shifted. These were the kinds of realizations I started to write about."

"You know, I have to say the only prejudices I think I've ever felt as a woman—and maybe because it's I'm self-employed and have always been self employed—are the ones I put up against myself. I believe I've been my own worst enemy at times. This is why I think my blog resonates, because I talk about that a lot: It's our own insecurities, our own worries about who we are and where we're going, or are we enough that sabotage us more than anyone or anything else. Because if we're feeling good about ourselves, [no matter what] anybody says, we can take it with a lot of humor or a totally different attitude.

"Part of learning and life and experiencing every day is that you're constantly learning—and that constant learning means you're constantly slightly insecure. You're slightly uncomfortable, you're always trying to figure out. Do I get it yet?

"I do think there's a lot of power in the unknown and embracing it and saying, what the heck? What's the worst that can happen here?"

"I have a lot of habits that I try to stick to. I wake up and I have four glasses of water before I allow myself that first cappuccino, no matter how much I want it! [*laughs]* If I ever drink alcohol, oh, I drink water for every sip.

"I am also a big fruit and vegetable eater. I like to keep everything natural as much as possible. I can't say I never have sugar, but I keep it as natural as possible whenever I can. Other rituals for me are meditating. I've been meditating for close to 30 years now. So whether it's a form of self-hypnosis, which I do a lot of and teach, or just sitting and meditating or rocking in a chair till I get myself into that state of meditation, I do that regularly."

"My biggest plan for the future is to continue working on myself. I'm a big believer in the idea that the more you focus on yourself, the better the world is. And I don't mean that in a selfish way, although being a little selfish is an important thing."

"I do have a lot of girlfriends that are really confident. Women that have worked on that— really worked every day to become who they are, whether it's in their relationships or in work relationships or just in their lives. I do have a lot of friends that I think are powerful in their very own different ways, because none of them are the same.

"But if there was a reason we're less comfortable sharing who we are, I think it could be because we just haven't tried it. And if we take the risk to try sharing who we are, I think it's remarkable how the world responds."