Living the Dream

One of my best friends gave me the opportunity of a lifetime. I was on facebook one day mindlesslesly probing through people's lives when I landed on her page. Almost everyday there was a new status update on her business. One day it would be new construction, the next it would be a sales event, the following day would be a fabulous on location shoot at some amazing wedding. It was so exciting to watch her business grow. I could remember when we were just young girls in high school dreaming about being rich and established. Suddenly this dream had met reality. And that's when a light bulb went off in my head as I saw the perfect opportunity to live the dream as well.

It began with simple idea for a business logo which  evolved into ideas for a business cards, and then my entire creative juices started flowing as I began to work feverishly on the images that invaded my head. What she doesn't know is that it took me months to create the best proposal (I told her it had only taken a week or so). I was riddled with so much fear I couldn't gather up the nerves to simply send the thing. What if she didn't like it? What if thought it was stupid or unprofessional? What if I had done this all for nothing?

When I finally sent it I had lost all feelings of apprehension. Instead what replaced it was feelings of achievement. I had told myself that if I did nothing in my life, this proposal would be the best thing I'd ever created. I believe it was two whole days before I heard anything back. But when I did, it was good! Shortly after I began working on a number of projects for her.

I tell this story because I had learned a powerful lesson. My dear friend had given me the opportunity to truly apply my abilities in the exact way that I wanted to. Before I developed this proposal we had had a conversation about business where she specifically told me that if we were to ever do business she would expect me to be 100% professional and blow her out of the water. So when I came up with branding ideas for her company I worked my butt off to make something amazing. Ever since then my work has strengthened and brought me countless opportunities.

Living the dream is 20% miracle and 80% work. There were a number of nights were I would lie awake in my bed simply dreaming of a better future. I prayed on it. I wished on stars. I would read books, watch motivational movies and talk to so many people. But all of that was a small fraction of what I needed to do in order to achieve what I wanted. Dreams come true when one is willing to take initiative and progressively move towards a goal. Living our dreams is about placing ourselves within arm's reach of opportunity. When you are a point in life where you are that close to being where you want, the only thing that stands in your way is the ability to grab it. Action is the secret recipe to living your dreams. Once we relinquish our fears and stop dreaming, we start living a reality far better than any dream.

Enjoy
xxx

Just a Life Story

Writing almost feels foreign to me  having spent so much time apart from it. As many of you know I have spent the latter part of my year working a part time and designing. I made the decision a few months ago to go back to school The irony of the situation is that if you have read my blog thus far you will know that I have very strong reservations about college and it's ability to add value to my life. Strangely enough it provided me with an opportunity to get out of retail and double my pay check.

In August I went through the worse stage of depression I have ever encountered in my life. I was irrational. Crying all the time. Fighting all the time. Doubtful about my decisions and had extreme low self esteem. It was such a new experience for me that I thought I had truly gone mad. There were days my parents crept around me with apprehension. Afraid to set me off. Each day a sense of guilt permeated through me. The feelings of insufficiency suffocated me.

I started looking into medical reasons for my behavior. Depression and bipolar disease would frequently pop up. At that point I had thought maybe it was time I checked myself into a clinic and get some professional help. Maybe I was just one of those people. So I went to sleep that night with little to no hope. The next day I woke to a bright sunny summer day. Birds chirping outside my window singing sweet melodies of happiness. Inside I felt nothing. Like an emotionless zombie my body moved out of bed and into the bathroom.

It was then I looked into the mirror and saw myself. I mean really saw myself. My eyes were a bright brown lit with a fire that refused to go out.The image that reflected in front of me was not how I felt. I saw someone beautiful, someone with potential, someone who embodied everything I wanted to be emotionally.  I got dressed and headed out that morning with only one thing in mind: I am Shirley T.

Several months later I have accomplished much. With a small salary I was able to get out of credit debt, acquire my dream job, perpetuate the success of my business, and still maintain balance of every element of my life. Though this story in itself is a cliche, it's hard not to tell a happy story that doesn't end with a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

The story of our lives is this: you are not your situation. You are you. Depression is not a part of you it is only a situation that you will cross paths with. Financial burden is only a situation you will cross paths with. Heartache is only a situation you will cross paths with. These negative situations do not define you...you give it definition. Our lives are all tales written to our specifications. To acknowledge that our past has no power over our future is essentially what empowers us individually.

Enjoy
xxx