Karen Civil

“Anywhere I go, if I go out, I have to keep my phone out. I don't try to be rude. If I turn it around, I have to check it every 5 minutes.”

“When I started my career, I never looked at myself as one to be inspirational, but as I continued to grow, I've met so many different people who ask, 'How do you do it? You make it look easy.' But it's not easy. I have certain tricks and tips I use every day that have been working for me.”

“At the end of the day, I'm still an African-American woman in a male-dominated industry, so sometimes you have to deal with people not taking your ideas seriously. But I look at it as, I'd rather have adversities in something that I love than doing something that I hate or where I am not interested.”

“People go to their jobs and hate it every day, but they have great ideas. Put that same time and effort into something you love - it really starts with being honest with yourself.”

“Social media can help or hurt you. People are more into other people's lives than their own. Everyone sees everyone else's success online, and we allow it to magnify our own failure.”

“Be You, Live Civil was a tour that I started, and it's just always something that I've been to myself. 'Be you, live civil' is like 'live my life.' That was my short version of saying to live my life.”

“At first, social media was just about networking. But now that I have to network, I make sure that every platform makes money for me. You can do something on Facebook.”

“Words do cut, and they do hurt. It was one thing growing up where you were bullied, but you'd just come home. Now you can't really escape it. It's to a point where you turn off that phone, you live your life, and you try not to let the words of others offend or stop you from being you and living your life.”

“Now, I'm not 100% there, but every day I wake up, I'm happy being me, and I just feel fulfilled.”

“People will find any reason not to give you credit for your success because, in their mind, your success is their failure.”

“Everything is a learning lesson, good and bad, so I am happy with the way things are, and I learned from everything negative. I am in a great space now, so I wouldn't change a thing!”

“For me, for a very long time, I was in denial because when you say you're sad or you're overwhelmed, we consider it whining or complaining. People say, 'Count your blessings,' and it's like, 'Yeah, I am, but I'm still sad. Something is wrong with me.' I had to acknowledge it.”

“I love vegan tacos... soooo good! I invite friends over to have some, and they can't believe they aren't eating real meat.”

“Now, metaphorically, I sit at any table that I want. I can sit with the jocks, I can sit with the gang members, I can sit with the politicians, I can sit with the CEOs. My brand can fit anywhere.”

“Being in this business and surviving day-to-day can be a constant struggle. It's about learning how to be your own super hero, put on your own cape, and be a well-rounded individual.”

“I take yoga classes, do a mile run, and of course take part in some kind of water sport.”

“I clung to my vegan friends for more support than anyone because they helped guide me and made the transition much easier. My family was a bit skeptical, as they felt like I wasn't getting enough protein in my vegan diet.”

“For blogs today, it's really about content creation and partnering with a brand. You can get the news in so many forms and so many places. A tweet now is enough to tell you about a story. People don't have to click to go to your site.”

“This is random, but I thought I was going to have the biggest Backstreet Boys fansite. I'm not even gonna lie: I thought I was gonna marry one of the Backstreet Boys, and I was gonna be his Yoko Ono.”

“A lot of times, you see everyone's highlight reels because of social media. You don't know the work that went into getting to that point. This is something that's going to take time, hard work, and you have to be dedicated towards your craft.”