Let me jump to the point. I'd like to own my own business someday. Like a real, legitimate, brick and mortar business. A fitness studio to be exact. This is my happy place. I've said that a million times. I love seeing my patients as an SLP and the amazing colleagues I have made in the process. Many aspects of the field challenge me and hold my interest for personal fulfillment, for sure. BUT, big picture...long term...I want to call my own shots, create something for myself, make my own schedule, empower people who might also want to come along on that ride. I want to help people achieve wellness in another way.
The problem is...it's HARD. I'm not fearful of the WORK...the hard part is getting started. Setting concrete goals and slowly chipping away. It's the proverbial "long game" and I have no patience. Also, you need CASH. Gobs and gobs of cash. I'd love to think my acre plus of property has some money trees out back but...no. I'd also love to be independently wealthy or have a trust fund to tap for a loan but...no. I'm going to be on the hook for the investment in a venture like this and honestly, there is no timeline. Andrew (god love him) and I talk about this frequently. Last week, we were chatting about when will we know that we have the money to invest. Again, in his ever present wisdom he encouraged me to begin setting some real tangible goals. He suggested we open an account (hopefully something interest bearing to help my money grow) and slowly begin making deposits here and there as we are able with some extra income. Hmm extra income... I just went part-time. Not exactly a whole-lotta extra income floating around right now. In my intense desire to "have it all" I've tried my hand at some other businesses that required a lot less start up investment...and they've been great! I'd never represent products I don't use or believe in...but honestly, the payout hasn't been worth the time and the amount of time I generally need to put into developing those businesses into being fruitful enough to offer me a flexible way to invest that income in my ultimate goal...ultimately detracts from the time I need to be spending on working on my actual goal! Does that make sense? I'll be completely honest...my desire to "get rich quick" so I can realize my dream is enticing. But it's time to refocus. Because I use this blog as a platform for accountability (if you put it out there maybe it tempers the tendency to be flaky!) here's what I would ultimately like to achieve:
Continue to expand my involvement with the Les Mills brand. I'm going to begin attending advanced trainings this year, called AIM modules, in an effort to achieve a pie in the sky dream to become a national trainer/presenter.
Continue blogging. I love this as an outlet and because my goals are relevant to the purpose of this blog, this might be a good platform for me to stay organized, accountable, and continue the conversations I love to have about health, wellness, and a more fulfilling life.
Open a fitness studio. For about a year I've been in some talks with some franchise brands including barre workouts and group fitness studios, vs. going out on my own with my own concept. I've even done some showings with a real estate agent for studio space. And then the reality of the enormity of the investment set in...and that I didn't have the cash to pony up right now...so we put things on hold. I need to spend some time honing in on the type of studio I'd ultimately like to open.
Finally, I can't lose sight of my most important priority right now...and that's my family. The whole point of dialing back on my full time work was to spend more time with the boys while they are young. I'm just addicted to working and being busy! Again, I just deeply desire to do it my way, in something I'm truly passionate about, calling my own shots, making my own schedule, and creating something I can be proud of. The goal has never been NOT to work. I just want to do something I can be 110% invested in and show them that not only can you be successful by getting an education and a successful career...but you can crush a dream by building something for yourself, working hard for it, sustaining it, and still be present and fulfilled in life on your own terms.
So, what's standing in my way? Me. I recently heard a quote that says "if you chase two rabbits...you'll lose them both". This hit me like a ton of bricks. This is exactly my problem. Awhile back, my father looked at me and said, "Catie, you have too many minds". He LOVES this reference from the movie from The Last Samurai. This was advice offered by a tutor when Tom Cruise's character is not succeeding at learning the art of sword fighting. The reference here is that the character is too distracted and lacking focus therefore putting him at risk of not truly achieving excellence. Hmmm....guilty.
How am I going to fix this? This morning, it dawned on me that I really need to focus on being more present. Last night, Connor was trying to get my attention and I had my nose in my phone trying to message some customers from one of my business ventures back. Andrew and I often speak about how we are a little too caught up in tech at the inappropriate times sometimes. I've actually decided to scale back like 95% of my social media use for a few weeks. I need to get off of Facebook and rejoin my life! There are too many distractions on Facebook, too much noise for me about business opportunities I want to pursue that aren't bearing fruit, too much sharing, too much comparing...I'm tired. I won't be gone COMPLETELY only because I do follow a few things on FB that I use as reference...it is a good forum for a few things! Also, for some people in my life, it is a primary means of staying in touch via messaging so I will be accessing it from time to time for those reasons. I will also keep blogging as I mentioned above and I do like to share those posts so I'll post to my wall when I publish something new...otherwise, adios for a few weeks. I'm really excited to take this challenge.
When I'm not spending this newfound time focusing on the kiddos and my husband, family, and friends...I'm going to work on a vision board and develop some goal setting tools for myself to achieve what I outlined. I'm working on creating a little office space in my guest room so I have a little nook to "work". I'll also be focusing more on keeping up around the house, our families fitness and nutrition, and spending some time connecting more personally with friends near and far. I'm EXCEEDINGLY bad at that...like miserable how-do-I-even-have-friends-left bad. I just don't do long distance :( It's interesting, those relationships are either easy breezy to maintain or incredible amounts of work...but that's another topic for another time, maybe.
So, here's to clarity, focus, and fulfillment...and crushing your goals and dreams! Chase one rabbit...have one mind.
What are your big scary goals? Have you achieved them yet? What is your plan? How have you refocused your life and other priorities to balance your goals with other important responsibilities? Do you identify with falling victim to being all over the place when it comes to what you pursue? Tell me I'm not alone and share some motivation!
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