Past the Starting Line

Six months ago I poured out to all of my readers about the difficult decision I made to leave my cushy job. Well, it wasn't all that cushy, but it was a good and steady paycheck. I thought I was losing my mind the day I turned in my resignation. I was about to step out on my own, the road before me unpaved and full of uncertainty.

But I've learned since then that it is indeed true that when everything is uncertain, all things are possible.

I took a leap. I decided to let go of what I thought things had to look like, and let God, let the universe, let my destiny take control and guide me where I needed to be. Looking back I have found that there are things that have come across my path that I don't think ever would have met me on the road had I not walked away from where I was. They were meant to meet me on my new journey, on that unpaved road I decided to take.

Today was a pivotal day for me and it showed me how far I've truly come. Back in January, I met an incredible woman and she loved my vision and the work that I did. I was writing professionally at the time, but I hadn't replaced that former income. But she saw all kind of potential in me and we came together to create something new for both of us. So today, I very excitedly and nervously stood up in front of a room filled with amazing business professionals and entrepreneurs, and I got to teach about content marketing and the value of a professional writer. I was, honestly, so nervous (writers tend to be more introverted than extroverted so standing up there was a new experience) that there are entire moments of my presentation that I don't remember. I had this problem in college, too. Speech terror blackouts. It is really is a thing. At least for me, anyway!

The point of my story is this... I had to get out of my own way to make room for good things to come to me. Six months ago I would have laughed if you told me I would be co-hosting a workshop on the power of words. Me...??!! Yes, Nicole... You!

You are the dreamer of your dreams. The key is to take a deep breath and leap. It was scary as hell. But the thought of standing on that edge any longer was killing me, and I had no choice but to jump if I wanted things to be different, to be better, if I wanted to find happiness. I haven't looked back once. I'm certainly not where I want to be, but I'm no longer on the starting line. And there's a lot to be said for that. Do I miss things like my Audible account? A little bit. But it was better to sacrifice my audiobook account rather than to let myself be the sacrifice.

What are you sacrificing... is it yourself? What's holding you back?