One month since my last day of work and being fully committed to making a go of being self-employed. Turning my focus to what I love which is twofold: planning and strategizing with and for clients to create exceptional, memorable experiences; and supporting my community through non-profit work, and helping lift up fellow professionals.
The month was spent digging in with new and long-time clients and concluded with a family vacation. All in all, a successful month jumping into doing what I am passionate about, as well as striking a better balance of work and play in my life! This first month my nerves and anxiety were quelled and calmed by the incredible support from my community - family, friends, industry collaborators, and clients. I am truly so grateful for those that have been so encouraging and supportive, and I look forward to repaying the favor!
This new adventure presents an opportunity to grow and learn, which is something I believe we all continue to do throughout life. If being real, my life journey has been quite a rollercoaster, likely easier than some have had, and tougher than others – nonetheless, full trial and tribulation, as well as joy and success that has helped me grow as a human and professional. (Stay tuned for more on lessons learned in a future blog post!) What I have found to be a constant over the years is - actions that are steeped in a great deal of thought, deep discussion, and detailed planning – those are the ones that yield the very best outcome. This decision, like all other major decisions, came with much discussion as a family, ensuring Rick, Austin, and I were on the same page and agreed on timing and what was best for our family.
I have always had an entrepreneurial spirit and desire; however, timing is everything. You see, Rick started working full time with his Dad before Austin was born and eventually took over the family business, so he has been self-employed for a long while. With that, it’s always made good sense for me to have some financial security, a regular schedule with flexibility, a job with medical benefits, etc. Now that Austin is 19, and working for the family business, we decided that while there is still much risk with both of us being self-employed, we have worked hard over the years to get to a place where we can take a chance on me making a “side hustle” my full-time gig.
In making the decision, I am all in - tackling this with everything I have! So are my boys, as they are my support system behind the scenes of every single event and they are often on the frontlines, working at my events in some capacity, whatever duty the event calls for. I am committed to serving my clients and my community with the best of me. To do so, I am also committing to creating healthy habits and prioritizing my health, both mental and physical, because that is what will allow me to be at my best when serving others.
Today, as I thought on the close of one month and the start of another, I was grateful for the gifts and the challenges that I received and overcame. I was also intentionally trying to set new habits, such as reflection and gratitude, and setting attainable health and wellness goals for my well-being. As I set out on a walk this morning, I gave both a lot of thought and must have been overthinking the irony of having thrown on my “strong, empowered, inspired” shirt without realizing it, because as I looked down and saw that was what I was wearing this morning I promptly tripped on the uneven sidewalk (or over my own two feet) spastically – certainly not gracefully – and down I went. I fell, rolled, and popped back up – laughing! Imagine my incredible relief…when I looked around and saw that there had been no car passing by at that moment…oh and that I was not hurt aside from road rash on my hands, arm, and knee LOL!
There will be more to come about my journey, and I will be expanding on the blog to share insights that hopefully help others, both with event and professional development topics. Today though, I am simply sharing that I not only survived but thrived in my first month of this new adventure and that I cannot wait to see what taking the leap to do what I love will bring!
I leave you with two of my long-standing mantras…
Live life to the fullest! If ever there has been a time, now is the time for me to invest in this belief.
I am fine, it’s fine, everything is fine. This one is one I am working to transition into a more confident, positive position over time - taking control of what is not fine and making it GREAT! Feel free to hold me accountable to that!
