( ENSPIRE Community Spotlight ) The Science-Backed Journals Helping People Achieve Their Dreams
ENSPIRE Contributor: Adriana Georgiades
As the name suggests, Best Self Co. was founded with one mission in mind: to help you become the best version of yourself. Leveraging the art and science of success, founders Cathryn Lavery and Allen Brouwer developed a set of tools designed to facilitate planning, productivity, and positivity to help you set and achieve your goals. Whether you want to write a book, run a marathon, or start a business, Best Self Co.’s range of self journals, self planners, discovery decks, and action pads will help you think bigger to achieve better.
Like many good ideas, Best Self Co. Started as a solution to a problem. While trying to launch a side-business, she noticed that her main problem was time management. Focusing on personal development, she began reading and training in self-mastery, high-performance techniques, and the science of success. “I began to see a pattern of how A-players and successful people managed their time and tasks to maximize their output,” she says. “I distilled these principles into a daily structure, which morphed into the Self Journal – our first product.”
Best Self Co. has since expanded to offer a variety of products, from conversation decks that help you deepen relationships, planning tools that allow you to reclaim your time, and journals that promote good habits, gratitude, and self-awareness. Each product focuses on fostering self-care and mental health, which Lavery believes are crucial ingredients for success. “Humans have an innate ability to dream and imagine a ‘better’ life,” she says. “Although the journey to your best self is incredibly rewarding and fulfilling, it’s also not smooth. If you’re not intentional, chasing your dreams can lead to burnout, and that doesn’t serve anyone.”
By breaking down large goals into smaller steps, making plans actionable by writing them down, and journaling to reflect and connect with yourself, Best Self Co. products carve out a map to success that seems less daunting and more possible.
As a company centered around changing lives, Best Self Co. does not stop with its customers. For every purchase made, one meal is donated to Feeding America. Lavery baked this decision on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, which places self-actualization at the top of the pyramid. “It’s a lot harder to be your best self if your basic needs aren’t met. If you don’t know where your next meal is coming from and your focus is on survival, it’s harder to achieve your full potential,” she explains. “I was shocked to discover that 1 in 8 people in the U.S. struggle with hunger. That’s 12% of the population in a wealthy, developed country. We see our partnership with Feeding America as an opportunity to do something to help right this wrong.” Since its inception, Best Self Co. has donated over 300,000 meals to those in need.
According to Lavery, the brand is constantly working to improve and evolve products based on customer feedback. One glance at the testimonials page demonstrates the powerful, concrete impact it has had on the lives of customers. In a time when morale, mental health, and hope are ravaged by the current pandemic, Best Self Co. offers a welcome life jacket to those who are struggling. “One of my core values is impact, so it does feel incredible to know that we’re helping people improve their lives,” she says.
