Hard Beginnings

October 22, 20152 Comments

This is something I need to remind myself about, continuously. As any entrepreneur can attest to, the very beginning, the start up of your company or brand, is the hardest. Deciding to pursue your dreams is a hurdle in itself but once you make that decision…now what? Your life doesn’t stop throwing punches now that you’ve decided to start a business. Nope, life gets harder. A friend of mine told me that when the devil knows you’re about to do something great he’ll do everything he can, he’ll throw every obstacle possible in your path, to try and stop you.

Within the last few months my ex decided to lower child support by almost half, my computer broke and needs a new motherboard, my car is having mechanical issues, I need 2 of my teeth fixed, I need to get a math tutor for my son, I need to find a way to pay for dog boarding for over a month, I need to come up with camp money and cadet money for my son plus save for his 16th birthday….the list goes on, and on, and on…

Now that might sound like I’m complaining and that I’m asking for sympathy but I’m not (ok, maybe I’m complaining…just a lil bit)…but what I’m trying to say is that life can be hard and stressful as it is, throw on trying to start and run a business while you’re dealing with everything else and you really see what you’re made of. When life gets stormy do you find a safe place to run away and hide and hope that the storm passes or do you throw on your rain boots, break out your umbrella and continue working hard whether the storm continues or not?

Your success depends on your attitude and how you choose to react to your troubles. And yes, you always have a choice. Do you quit or do you keep plugging away? The beginning of anything, a new business, relationship, schooling, is always the hardest…but just like the sun eventually appears again after the storm has passed, night always turns into morning and bare trees eventually get spring buds, troubles will pass, hard times will become easier times. Don’t give up before you get to the good stuff. If you work hard, if you persevere through the storm, success WILL come.

October 6, 2015October 6, 2015Leave a comment

Personally, I’m continuing down the path to success. Which direction do YOU choose? Make today count! Happy Tuesday!

Your Tribe, Your Support

October 5, 2015Leave a comment

There are people out there that believe you are 100% responsible for your own success, and to a degree that’s true. Ultimately, no matter how much support you get from others, if you don’t put in the time and hard work success will always be just beyond your reach. However , I truly believe that having a tribe of likeminded individuals, women who respect you, believe in you and are genuinely happy to see you accomplish your goals and be rewarded for your hard work…that kind of support system can sometimes be the difference between your failure and your success.

In a perfect world we’d never get tired, there would be enough hours in a day to accomplish everything that needs to be done, we’d reap the benefits of our hard work immediately, there would be nothing but positivity surrounding us and obstacles would be nonexistent.

We don’t live in a perfect world.

There are days when I sit at the computer 10 to 12 hours and feel like I didn’t accomplish anywhere close to the amount I wanted to. I’m tired, drained, frustrated. Some days I’m on Cloud 9 because everything I’m working hard to accomplish seems to be falling into place, other days I want to throw my laptop out the window and head to the employment agency to apply for a ‘regular job’ because running my own business is such hard work. It’s times like these that, without my support system, I might honestly consider giving up but I’ve been blessed with a great tribe of women and a few men, each of them successful in their own right and ALL of them supportive and encouraging to me and each other.

At times it’s just grabbing a cup of coffee, glass of wine or a bite to eat because I need a break, other times it’s an invite to come over so we can sit down and go over what’s frustrating me and help me find a solution. Sometimes it’s walking me through a process over and over and over again until it finally “clicks,” then there are times when I get a simple text that says “I’m thinking about you. I believe in you. You got this!” and other times it’s a phone call or a doorstep visit with one of my tribe saying…”Quit stressing out! Quit discouraging yourself. Snap the hell out if it and get your butt in gear!!” like a proverbial slap to the face of someone on the verge of hysterics.

I don’t care who you are or what kind of business you run, being an entrepreneur has never been, and will never be, easy every step of the way (this lesson can be applied to life in general, not just entrepreneurship, obviously☺) but by surrounding yourself with a tribe of successful people who have your back and help keep you in check when you start to falter you can definitely make the journey a little easier on yourself.

Find your tribe. Empower one another. Ask for encouragement and give encouragement. Revel in each others’ successes!

Stepping Stones

September 23, 2015September 23, 2015Leave a comment

This is one of my very favorite quotes; it’s a quote I always come back to when I’m feeling like I’m overwhelmed with all that life throws at me sometimes. A very dear friend of mine is going through a pretty rough patch in life and I needed to break this quote out for her to remind her that it’s not the circumstance that can make or break us…it’s what we decide to do with those circumstances. Do we use them as a platform for self pity or do we use them as a platforms for strength? There have been many days where I’ve felt like I just couldn’t handle anymore…like I just wanted to take a month or so, go where I couldn’t be found, and completely isolate myself. Life doesn’t usually allow that. Life goes on regardless of whether you actively participate. So, instead of letting life’s obstacles become road blocks…view them as stepping stones. Use them to build strength, character, wisdom…let them become stepping stones that help propel you forward to becoming a better you. If you change the way you view things you’ll be able to change your reaction and the outcome of your circumstance.