I always admired the people that didn’t need a 9-5 job, that were happy and thriving as freelancers. Personally, I liked knowing that every two weeks I’d see a direct deposit in my bank account (even if that money would quickly be devoted to pay for the mortgage).
It wasn’t for me though, because- well responsibilities yo! Aside from mortgage, utilities and after school- my husband had made the plunge to entrepreneurship a few years ago and so I was responsible for my family’s health insurance. As you can see, lots of responsibility.
When my second baby was born, I started thinking about it again- I started wishing that my schedule would be flexible enough that I could attend my son’s school functions, chaperone his class trips, take my daughter to music class. I started resenting the commute, and I knew I wanted more.
MOTIVATING MYSELF TO PURSUE MY OWN DREAMS
I started asking myself could I do it? How could I do it? My mind would often look at why it wasn’t possible, and finally it got to the point where I start d looking for solutions- how can I make this happen?
So, I literally started listening to motivational videos. The first one I listened to was Lorraine Ladish’s video “the best moment to launch a new project.”! Then, I started listening to other motivational videos in the background at work- the first one was Oprah. And then I found Mel Robbins and Lewis Howell, and then I found Evan Carmichael who makes compilations of motivational videos with thought leaders.
There was another video I want to give a shout out to: Dora Stone’s Storyteller video from the WeAllGrowLatina Summit in 2017. (Interestingly, I couldn’t attend that year since I had just given birth! But I caught the videos!)
There are two things that Dora said in her video that REALLY resonated with me. Watch it here and see what she says that inspired me!
And finally, after months of listening to and writing down motivational quotes that spoke to me, I made the decision. Now, I had already been planting the seeds for new projects. I network, I write for other publications. So, I’m not starting from scratch. These connections and my prior “side hustle” will help me get to my next projects, so I haven’t quit with no backup plans, but quitting is a huge step. It’s being able to let go of the certain (that paycheck every two weeks) and being OK with not controlling everything – which hard is really for me.
Sometimes I can’t even believe I got to a place where I could make that decision. Two people told me I was very courageous today. I have never thought of myself as a courageous person but I guess it does take courage to let go and surrender, to trust that I will find the right path for me, that work will come and that I will be able to come up with a job that is a passion.
What the future holds, I’m not sure but I KNOW it will be FABULOUS and AMAZING and ABUNDANT. Because, to paraphrase Oprah, What you believe is what you become.
