what are you longing to do?
can you pinpoint the moment that everything changed for you?
i often look back on my business journey and say that the moment that someone asked “how much do you charge?” was the moment that i considered that i could actually build my own business.
but really, my journey started much earlier.
almost exactly 10 years ago, there was one moment that changed everything.
i was still living in canada. i was on maternity leave from my position as a school teacher, staying at home with my 7 month old baby, and my hubby and i (in a moment of madness) thought it would be a good idea to live in a caravan for the summer. it was a bit miserable.
all of my old friends and family would probably chuckle reading this, because they would picture us there on the outskirts of town, in the middle of a miserable alberta winter… err i mean summer, but it is basically the same thing for this part of canada.
i always tell the story that my hubby came home from work one day – and i was hiding from the rain and chill, trapped inside a caravan with a baby learning to crawl, feeling isolated and freaking bored out of my mind.
he said “what do you think about moving to adelaide, australia? i want to go to medical school there – they have an awesome international program”
and the story goes that i googled adelaide – saw the average temperature and sunshine and said HELL YES. (he was prepared to have to convince me and never even got to try out his long list of thoughtful arguments.)
and that is true. but i also said yes because i knew it was my hubby’s dream to become a doctor and i never wanted him to regret not doing it… i never wanted to be the person who stood in the way of his dreams.
but there is one more reason i said yes. one that i haven’t admitted to many people.
saying yes to australia was my version of running away.
deep down i did not want to go back to work full time… which i would have had to do in just 4 short months! my teaching career no longer called to me, as it once had. but i also didn’t want to be a full time stay at home mum either. i knew i needed something of my own, something more to feel fulfilled.
so i felt a bit lost. i had identified as a “teacher” for so long, the thought of just walking away from that (and everything i had been working towards) scared me. and no one, in my circle anyways, didn’t go back to work after maternity leave. it was unheard of, so i felt like i was in uncharted waters.
i wanted something else out of life, but i had no idea what it was, or how to find it.
and so when hubs said “do you want to go?” i immediately saw my escape.
i didn’t have to decide. i didn’t have to figure it out. i didn’t have to be afraid of what would happen if i didn’t go back to my career. or worse, what would happen if i did.
that moment – that yes – was the true start of my biz journey. it was still another three years before i actually started a biz, i had no thought then of ever, ever starting a biz (if you would have asked i would have thought the idea was crazy!)
so in that moment i had no idea what door i just opened or where it would take me. all i knew was that it gave me an out, so i took it.
without realizing it, that “yes” allowed me some space. it gave me permission. it opened me up to possibility.
to explore who i was now… not just a teacher, not just a mum, not just a wife, not quite the same as the old karen that i once was.
to explore my passions besides teaching… which ironically brought me right back to teaching! (a soul journey is a truly fascinating thing!)
to explore what i came here to do.
i wonder what would have happened if i said NO to australia. i imagine my soul would have tapped me on the shoulder in some other way, and eventually i would have found my path.
eventually you have to give in to the call.
what is whispering inside of you right now? in what way is your soul calling out to you?
whether you are longing to make a change, longing to explore a part of you that is hiding inside, longing to find yourself again, longing to put something new into the world, longing to finally try that thing you’ve been wanting to try….
maybe this is your moment.
maybe you have had other moments too, other sign posts on your journey. it’s worth thinking about… they are all adding up to something.
what are you here to do? how will you choose to spend your life?
for me, now… whenever i am having one of *those* days (you know the ones: when you just want to hide in your bed for a month. when you feel like giving up. when you wonder what the hell you are doing.) …and yes i do have those days, a lot.
when they happen i ask myself this…
is there any other choice?
and the answer is no. the alternative is just not an option for me. going back to my “old” career (where would i even begin?) going back to work for someone else. going back to a 9-5 at a desk somewhere.
just. no.
and so what else is there to do but to keep marching on?
this journey isn’t easy. it’s doesn't always come up roses. but it is still the only one i’ve got.
and so i go on.
ps. i am doing a free live class next week to chat about finding your purpose, honing in on your why, being driven by a mission... and more! the class will be recorded, and you can pre-ask questions right away! click here to join the free class - i would love to help you ignite your spark and get fired up about your biz plans.