When you sign on to be a Lularoe Consultant, they ask you to create your “Why”. Your reasoning for signing up with the company. It’s not just about selling clothes, or their amazing leggings. It could be, they are that good. It’s about so much more. They are a company who motivate and inspire people to work hard and achieve their goals. They built their brand with ethical business practices at the forefront, a unique plan for customer engagement, and a beautiful product. So, this is my “why”.
The Backstory
A few months ago, I started to get bogged down a little. I felt like I was starting to drown. One morning I was reading the news and came across a story about recurring dreams. The most common one is where you feel like you’re falling. I had recently started having this dream almost nightly. The article said that usually means that you feel like you’ve lost control. And it was right, I had. There was so much going on at home, with my brother, professionally, financially. It was overwhelming. I didn’t feel like any one person or thing or task was getting 100% of what they deserved or needed. I was keeping a running tally in my head of who I had disappointed. J.J. wanted to go to the store one night, but the dog was sick so I couldn’t take him. I told him we’d go the next night. The next night, something came up with Kruno, and he needed something. But I had already disappointed J.J. the day before so I couldn’t do that two days in a row to him, so that night I had to disappoint Kruno. My work suffered, my relationships, my health. One of the biggest reasons we moved home was because of my health. I was stressed to the max in Colorado. I was having migraines almost every day. I had lost feeling in my left arm and leg, and I had a 1.3 cm cyst in the middle of my brain. Stress does very strange things to the body. And some of the same symptoms had started happening again. I had to regain control, prioritize, and just get my shit together in general.
What I realized
As things started to fall into place, and the stress was subsiding, I started to wonder about these episodes. They seem to come on during times when I was in, what I consider to be, a mild state of depression. I was down and out, unhappy, a real negative nancy. In going along with my New Year post, that simply wasn’t going to do anymore. I desperately wanted to change. My outlook. My situation. In order to do that, I had to do some serious soul-searching. This is my theory:
I decided to take on a second job… I know, it sounds crazy. I’m sure most people would think that taking on additional projects or business ventures would be counterproductive. Hear me out. While I enjoy my lovely little life. I am truly blessed in all aspects of it. There does seem to be something missing. It’s hard to put into words exactly what it is. It’s lacking a little creativity, a bit of a social aspect, a desire to be in control (to a certain degree) of my future and success. I don’t feel completely fulfilled. And I really really want to be, or at least know I’m working towards it. Think of your life as a set of gears. Lots of them, but all different sizes. Some big some small, remove one and everything after that one, will stop. And the end result will never be realized the way it was meant to be if all the gears were there. And maybe that missing gear is an aspect that you unknowingly long for, and just didn’t realize until now. For me, I think that gear is something that brings a sense of accomplishment and confidence. And it only took me 33 years to realize how important these things are both professionally and personally.
The Plan
Kruno and I want to be business owners. We both have an entrepreneurial spirit. We want something of our own. Where we get out exactly what we put in. We don’t expect to quit our jobs and start a business, have it be a success and make six figures tomorrow. But we wanted something to work towards. We’ve tossed around business ideas for months. There was always something that held us up. Not enough time, or space, but mostly money. It takes a lot to start a business. But, what we’ve come to realize recently, is there will, most likely, never be the “right” time or specific conditions, for anything. And if, by chance there is, you only realize it was perfect after its passed. I think this is true for most everything. I probably shouldn’t be giving advice so early in the game, but at this point, I say if there’s something you want, or feel like you’re missing in life, get after it! (responsibly, of course) You want to go on a trip? Book it. Want to start a new career? Make the leap. Want to adopt a child? Do it. I am a firm believer of the “everything happens for a reason” theory. I think this opportunity came along at exactly the “right” wrong time for us. It’s a wonderful company with a product I believe in. I think this will give me the exact gear that I’ve been missing my whole life. And Kruno and I couldn’t be more excited.
When a flower doesn’t bloom you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower. – Alexander den Heijer
East Coast Approach 