Meet Gabriella and Vernon

Gabriella and Vernon met in their hometown of Chicago in an undergraduate African American studies class. For Vernon, it was love at first sight!

After five years of dating, both in-person and long-distance, Vernon proposed to Gabriella, one week shy of her graduation with her M.Ed. in Early Childhood Education.

They were married 6-months later in beautiful, sunny Mazatlán, México on New Years Eve 2009.

In May 2013, Vernon graduated with his Ph.D. in Policy Studies in Urban Education. He promptly became a Post-doctoral Fellow in Teaching and Mentoring with the University of Illinois at Chicago.

In February 2015, Gabriella left her position as an Assistant Principal to pursue work-from-home income opportunities as a means to be closer to their three small children.

In February 2016, they received the devastating news that Gabriella’s mother passed unexpectedly. It was in that moment that Vernon and Gabriella decided they needed to begin living the life they dreamed of now!

In July 2016 the family took a reconnaissance trip to Mazatlán to find their rental home. Upon their return, they put their suburban home on the market and sold their cars and their things.

By October 2016 they had pared their 3600 sqft home down to 10 suitcases and some carry-on bags and were on a plane to live their very own life by design.

They are now remote business owners with multiple streams of income.

Vernon is a personal development coach, consultant, writer, and speaker. He also runs a successful online martial arts training business.

He has been featured in several publications including The Good Men Project, and Thrive Global.

To learn more and to work with Dr. Vernon C. Lindsay, visit his website.

Gabriella runs the day-to-day operations of La Vida Lindsay and is the founder of, The Start Smart Method, a multidimensional approach to revamping existing limiting mindsets and streamlining daily processes for maximum goal achievement.

She is also a featured writer for International Living and author of the devotional, Living F.I.T.: A 40-Day Guide to Living Faithfully, Intentionally, and Tenaciously.

To learn more and to work with Gabriella M. Lindsay, visit her website.