I've officially been an entrepreneur for over 5 years now. 🙂 At this point I can honestly say I've made it; I've reached many of the goals I had from the beginning and I am now literally living my dream life!
I can work from home (or from anywhere in the world), I have a flexible schedule, about 90% of what I make is from passive income, I make enough money to live a very comfortable lifestyle, and I get to do what I love to do the most every day (learn new things, stay active and be creative). I also live in my dream city of San Diego so I never have to shovel snow anymore! I am the happiest I have ever been in my life and am so proud of everything I've been able to accomplish. In fact, I'd just like to take a brief moment to recognize that!
*Good job, self!*
Now, the past 5 years have definitely not been easy; had I known about all the crazy the things I was going to have to go through before I made the leap, I probably would have chosen to stay at my job and continued to live a more comfortable, reliable and structured life.
But, as a girl who's always loved a good challenge, pushing the limits, and working on personal growth, this was one challenge I just had to do for myself.
Looking back, I am so glad I made the decision to just go for it because I have grown so much over the past 5+ years, not only in business but in myself as well! Entrepreneurship is seriously the best way to work on your personal development; you become much more self-aware of who you are, have a better understanding of how you operate and you learn what you're actually good at and truly passionate about.
That being said, I feel like a completely different person compared to who I was before I started. I'm living much more authentically, doing the things I want to do and caring a lot less what people think (that was definitely a major roadblock I had to work through.)
There are still some things, however, that I'm still trying to work through. One major thing that still kind of bothers me is the fact that some friends still don't seem to understand what I'm doing with my life. I've reached many of my goals, have a lot of time freedom and yet I still continue to work and stay busy. I know they wonder why and I feel like they are constantly judging me, thinking all I care about is making money and getting stuff done.
Isn't it funny how we feel the most judged by the ones we are closest to?
What I should be doing, according to them, is getting out there more and "really living life" or doing more of the things they personally love to do.
But that's all relative because not everyone has the same interests, passions, and goals. Maybe their version of "really living life" is different from my version of "really living life." Their way isn't necessarily the right way (my way isn't either) but we should each have the freedom to choose how we want to spend our time without judgments.
There are a lot of things I used to do with certain friends that I no longer care to do (at least not as much.) For example; drinking, partying, spending tons of money shopping, consistently going on get-aways, and eating out excessively.
As I've grown over the past few years, I've come to realize that I was engaging in many of these things because I was unhappy with my situation at the time and needed some sort of temporary escape or instant gratification, to help me feel some sense of happiness in the moment. I also did many of these things simply because my friends were doing them and it was just something to do to pass the time.
After spending a lot of time alone with just myself, and without the influence of others, I've discovered my flow and what I naturally love to do. I no longer feel like I need to use some of these things as an escape from my own reality because I am genuinely happy doing what I do every day.
All that being said, at this point I'm beginning to realize that people only understand from their own level of perception and the experiences that have shaped their lives up to this point. Not everyone is going to understand where I'm coming from because they don't share the same experiences as me or have the same personality type as me (INFP).
I don't want to have to spend a lot of energy constantly explaining myself... I'd rather use that energy for greater things, like continuing to do what I personally love to do while also building my dream life!
I understand that some people will probably continue to share their opinions, try to give me advice and judge me for what I choose to do with my time but I want them to know that I am completely happy living my life the way I'm currently living it. Maybe some things will change down the line, but for right now I'm doing everything I want to be doing and feel like I'm meant to be doing! We all have choices and I choose to do the things I'm passionate about more often!
I'm sick of thinking about this topic (and constantly feeling like I need to explain myself) so I felt like writing a blog post about it would help me get all my thoughts out and work through them so I can put it all behind me and keep moving forward. After all, writing has proven to be a great outlet for me!
That being said, if you're curious about how I choose to spend my time, keep reading! I'll explain a little more about what you can usually find me doing with my time freedom so you can get a better understanding of where I'm coming from and what I'm trying to achieve.
As a person who gets bored easily, I've found that I have a deep need for constant brain stimulation. I enjoy spending most of my time learning and gaining new knowledge, especially when it comes to personal development and business topics.
There's always something new I can educate myself on and improve on, plus the possibilities of what I can create and the kind of person I can become really lights my fire! I literally jump out of bed every morning, excited to see where the day takes me!
I've spent most of my time this past year intensely focusing on my own personal development; figuring out who I am, what I'm best at and what I truly want to be doing with my time. In fact, I pretty much stopped doing all client work for the entire year, just so I could focus on learning more about myself and helping myself grow internally.
Once I was able to figure some things out, I started making changes wherever I could. Not too long after that, I noticed more and more awesome people were coming into my life, and all the negative people were starting to slowly fade away.
I've realized that once I know more about myself, I am better able to make choices that are more in line with my goals. Anything that isn't in line with my goals simply gets cut out so that I can make space in my life for more good things to enter. By doing this more often, I naturally become a better, happier and more successful version of myself. 🙂
Personal development helps me make the changes I need to make in order to grow, both internally and externally.
In addition, staying on top of trends and acquiring new skills in business make me more valuable. When I become more valuable, I become more in demand, which means I won’t have to work as hard to find new clients or attract new readers to my blogs. Plus, I'll get paid more in less time, which means more time freedom and less financial worry.
Being smart = security. And don’t we all want to feel secure?
I love to analyze, document and help others learn from me. What’s worked, what hasn’t worked? I try to make time to document all of this because I genuinely want to help others. Plus, it doesn't hurt to have something I can refer back to as well!
One huge thing I've learned is that your successes can come in waves. There are time periods when you make a lot of money and then there are time periods when you hardly make any money.
You need to make sure you are mentally and financially prepared for this. Nothing is guaranteed.
I've had my own luck with huge passive income amounts in the past, but, as I predicted might happen, the amounts of money I used to make off of those passive income sources (Uber, Lyft, Herbalife, etc.) has dwindled down A LOT over time. This is probably because I have more competition now (from people copying my ideas... damn those monthly income reports!) but also because a lot of things have changed with those companies that are out of my control.
So I had to get back to the drawing board to figure out new ways to make money and in the most optimized way so I don't have to feel like I have to work all the time.
Ahh, the highs and lows of entrepreneurship.
Regardless, all the posts I write on this blog help me work through things and help me learn from some of my own mistakes... and hopefully, they help some of you out there, too!
Well that, in a nutshell, is what you can usually find me doing with all my time freedom.
Yes, I still "work" a lot (if that's what you perceive it as) and stay busy, but it's all for a good cause; I'm helping others create their dream life while continuously helping myself create my own! Plus I'm continuously keeping my brain stimulated.
In addition, being an introvert in an extrovert's world (50-74% of the population) means I naturally behave a bit different from "the norm." It's important to understand as a friend or family member that I am happy doing what I do every day, even if it's different from what you enjoy doing or the way you choose to live your life. There's no need to worry about me, try to change me or keep giving me advice... if I want it, I will come to you and ask for it. 😉
If I don't like something (whether that's something I do or something I think about) I try to let go of it and focus more on the things I do love and feel passionate about. I try not to judge other people for what they choose to do with their lives and hope others can learn to do the same. I understand that some people are just trying to help, but not everyone has the same interests or wants the same things so it's important to just let them be free to make their own choices, judgment-free. 🙂
Friday Favorites #6