The "Lone and only" series featuring: Brenna Bostwick Carlile

What does it mean to be human?

It means being an imperfect work-in-progress. We are constantly evolving, and that’s pretty cool.

Albert Einstein said it best, “A human being is part of a whole, called by us ‘universe’, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest…a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. The delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affections for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.”

What quality do you value most in others?

Fearlessness.

Fear holds us back from chasing our wildest dreams, or even from just trying something new. We get comfortable and stagnant in life sometime. No thank you to being stagnant!

“Once you become fearless, life becomes limitless.”

To be fearless in life, or having fears but not being paralyzed by them, that’s inspiring.

You have 2 little boys, what is one of the most important things to teach them, starting at a young age?

There are just so many things we as parents want to teach our children. For me, teaching my children empathy and setting them up to have a strong confidence about who they are is so essential to me. I want my boys to have their own aspirations, whatever they may be! I don’t want them growing up thinking they have to graduate high school, go to college, get married, have kids and work a 9-5 job if that’s not what their desire for life is. I want them to be able to understand we are all different and broken but there is so much beauty in that.

It is also important to teach my boys that people don’t need to fall into traditional gender roles… we are different, yes, but one is never less than the other.

At the end of the day I want them to love themselves and those around them, have their own ideas and dreams and the courage to chase them without fear of failure. I want the world for them…

See, I could go on forever about everything I want to instill in my boys. #fingerscrossed

You’re already signed up for 5 races this year! Do you have advice for someone wanting to run their first race?

Just GO! To begin running takes nothing but simply putting one foot in front of the other. Find a friend, a dog or some great music to run with. The internet is full of training programs if you’re like me and like your goals broken down into an organized schedule. Make it fun!

What is your top 5 beauty secrets?

1. LOVE. Extending love makes your heart happy and happiness is radiant. Who doesn’t want to be radiant!?

2. Do what is best for YOUR body. Don’t follow the magazines or internets advice, take the time to really get to know what feels good for you! Know what foods effect you in certain ways and how many hours of sleep really set you up to thrive. It takes time, years even, but once you’re dialed into yourself… it’s so worth it!

3. Drink your H2O… And not out of plastic! Water is life.

4. LESS IS MORE.

5. Love yourself at every life stage. It’s cliché but it so true!