The country genre is abounding with women aspiring to write, record, and tour in the genre, and they are moving mountains to make their voices, and songs, heard. Here are two up and coming female country artists I discovered in the last few weeks to listen to, share, and keep your eye on.

It's a sunny Sunday afternoon in Tujunga when I meet Sharon, known in the music realm by her stage name of $hareBear, for the first time. She comes in with a huge smile on her face, gives me a big hug, and I feel like I already know her. 

When I started The Broken Glass Blog and pitched the idea (to myself) of a companion podcast, I knew it was going to take discipline to keep it on track. I was 100% willing and committed to taking on the challenge of developing my side hustle so it could one day become my full time gig. I told myself that despite a full time job, classes, keeping myself physically and mentally fit, I could manage this and not let it fall through the cracks like other projects.

Then it happened.

I know I know, copyrighting your work is a long tedious process and, depending on how much you have, can be expensive. Plus, don't you need a lawyer for that? Shouldn't this be my music publisher's job?

What if you don't have a music publisher? What if you don't have, or can't afford a lawyer? Why spend money on copyright when I can spend it on recording, producing, or marketing my work?

It's early on an April Sunday morning when I receive an email from a close friend telling me to go on YouTube and listen to a young performer she knows. I'm still half-asleep with my coffee in hand when I search for Olivia's YouTube channel, but I'm suddenly wide-awake as her soulful voice comes through my speakers, singing a stunning rendition of Alicia Keys's If I Ain't Got You. 

I want to provide the tools and resources that you want to see, that you need to be successful in your career. So let me ask you this: what do you want to see on this blog? What types of toolkits, resources, videos, online courses, etc. would you be interested in?

I took a chance last week. A giant leap of faith to better myself, understand entrepreneurship, and create something of my own. I signed up for a two-day entrepreneurship summit, bought a plane ticket to Chicago, and booked a hotel room.

Jen Sincero's You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life came to me at a time when I needed a shove in a new direction. Despite packing up and moving everything to California two years earlier, I started to feel stuck. 

I have always been obsessed with New Music Friday (and New Music Tuesday before the switch) and Spotify and Apple Music have made discovering new releases that much easier for me. Each week I stumble across more new music than my brain (or iPhone storage) can handle thanks to Spotify's Discovery tab, and it does not disappoint. Here are just a few of the albums (both new and old) I stumbled across this past week