Hey, I’m Sheryl Barnes! I’m the writer and creator of Motivatedprogress.com. It’s about boosting your confidence, improving your mindset, and becoming your best self.
I love helping people, and it comes naturally to me because I’m an INFJ personality type. INFJs or “empaths” have a strong sense of intuition, understanding, and a desire to help others.
I’ve researched personal development, psychology, and humans for years. I also studied business, psychology, and philosophy in college.
Although all that helps, my life experiences gave me the wisdom that no college or books can teach. I’ve been through rough times, and I’ve become more resilient and wise because of them.
All about the phoenix
The phoenix is the logo for Motivated Progress because it represents rebirth, becoming better, and stronger. It feels like I’ve lived many lives because I’ve changed my life many times. This is why I write about how to change your life.
Now, on to the good stuff!
This adventure is about why I created Motivated Progress.
(I took all the pictures below with an old cell phone, but I’m glad I took them anyway.)
In 2018, my husband and I were sick of city life in Houston, TX. There was too much traffic, pollution, and crime. Hurricane Harvey wasn’t cool, either.
So, we decided to move to the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. I’ve lived in Fort Collins and Denver, Colorado before, so I knew it’d be awesome. (Random fact: I’ve also lived in Rock Springs, Wyoming; Springfield, Missouri; Clifton, Arizona; Richmond, Virginia; and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.)
Denver is way too crowded now, and we didn’t want to live in a city. We wanted to be in a small town surrounded by nature instead of random people, traffic, and buildings.
The journey begins!
When we got to Colorado, we unloaded our things into a storage facility and bought a little Shasta camper to stay in while we house hunted. We lived in this tiny camper (with no running water) in the high desert with our Great Dane and Doberman/Labrador mix.
It was only temporary, and we could deal with that.
Little did we know we’d be basically homeless for nine months.
After we got a home loan for our mortgage and calculated the home insurance, we searched all over the mountains. We’d get excited about a home, then find out it was an hour away from the nearest grocery store. Or that we’d have to haul our water. Our hopes were crushed repeatedly.
Camping 24/7 in the mountains was rough. It was windy, snowy, and cold. Moreover, there are bears, mountain lions, cougars, and snakes. Not to mention, the roads and mountain passes kill people every year.
But we fought the desperation to give up by getting an apartment because then we’d end up settling there. Then we’d never fulfill our dream.
Buying a house is a big deal, so we refused to settle (even though we were in such dire conditions). We wanted to find our “forever home” in a town that we’d love also.
The San Luis Wildlife Area
Overall, we mostly stayed in the San Luis Valley (the high desert by the Great Sand Dunes). They have a “wildlife area” where you can camp for free. Also, they have free electricity and bathrooms. No showers, though. We had to pay for showers elsewhere. At least it was cool and dry outside.
I thought about how I want to help others make the most out of their lives.
So, I decided to start a blog (if we survived this adventure.) I wanted to let people know that they can change their life no matter how unhappy they might be.
We stayed there for several more months while we searched for homes. Then we paid to camp at a place that had showers and wifi. That was a move-up for sure. Still, it was a seemingly endless struggle.
It’s a good thing we didn’t immediately buy a house in the mountains; it’s too harsh, dangerous, and unpredictable up there.
It was rough, especially in the winter when the temps dropped below 0 degrees. The lowest was -24 degrees. Plus, winds nearly tipped over the RV. No thanks! I can’t live like that all the time.
Finally! We found our house!
Finally, in May 2019, we left the mountains. We discovered a cute little town called Rocky Ford and a great house. Finally, we moved in, and we love it here! No traffic, low crime, and it has a much more laid-back atmosphere than the city.
Once we moved in, I immediately got to work preparing motivatedprogress.com then launched in September 2019.
I’m dedicated to helping anyone learn how to change their life. I’ve changed mine, that’s for sure! Although I don’t recommend you take the route I took.
Don’t forget to subscribe so you can get my newest articles every week!
Thank for these motivating write up, it really help!
I’m glad! You’re welcome!
Very inspiring, Sheryl. Thanks for all you do.
Thank you, Sara!
Cool adventure! Thanks for sharing it. Like you, I’ve lived an uncommon life. I am an American, but I decided to leave the US and ended up living abroad for nearly two decades. I spent time in Poland, the UAE, Turkey, and Egypt. I met and married an Egyptian woman, so I have a life-long tie to the continent of Africa. We are currently in the US, but in the not-so-distant future, we’ll leave the US to see and travel the world again.
That’s cool! My brother lived in Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, and Egypt