BECOMING AN ENTREPRENEUR – FALSE STARTS AND NAGGING HEART

Clients, friends or first-time acquaintances sometimes ask, “how did you become you?”      

Well, that’s a loaded question full of ups, downs, and circles of course, and I think what they are really wondering is how did I create my life, my business and my way of being in the world. I’ve been told I can be a breath of fresh air from some of the bull crap in the business world.

Well, to make a long story (37-year journey to date) a short one, I first noticed that I had leadership tendencies in elementary school, when one day I was able to convince my entire grade 6 class to go on strike and refuse to go into the classroom as a ‘take that teachers.” I was known as the kid with a smirk who liked to be disruptive, liked to challenge the status quo and always wanted to know “WHY?” It makes sense that I would have a career as an interviewer. I am just so curious, and that curiosity was never beaten out of me by society, by influencers or anyone who told me I was wrong. I just refused to conform to someone else’s ideas of who I would be when I knew damn well that only I would know the answer to that, (thank you, Mom, for that awesome gift) and so I set off on my soul finding journey!

That journey included 65+ jobs from radio, tv, promotions, retail, hospitality, bindery, bartender, marketing, sales, events, catering, house cleaning, deli counters, door to door sales, child care, producer, director, interviewer, personal assistant, entertainer, speaker, camera assistant, editor, and many more experiences that brought me closer to what really made me feel alive (plus I didn’t go to secondary school, so I built my own college) which all brought me closer to my first ever dream job which was the day I had my very own TV Show.

During this time of self-discovery, I did a lot of internal work. I went to dozens of retreats, gatherings, and workshops that allowed me to tap more clearly into my truth and purpose. I also had a wild transformational experience in Ireland – (working on the book). So needless to say, the culmination of all of this and more brought me to where I am today. I had years of experiences to draw on that helped me distinguish who I was at my core.

There were a few false starts as an Entrepreneur.

One, when I was 21 and I started a program called D.A.R.E.M for kids to (Dance, Act, Recreate, Energy, Movement) and what’s really funny about that, as I am writing it, I realize now that a) I love acronyms (L.I.G.H.T U.P. come on) and b) this is pretty much what I am doing now, except I am focusing on igniting the passion and purpose of entrepreneurs!

The second false start, I was 29 and I thought maybe I would start a business doing errand running, event coordinating etc. and called it The Go to Gal. Thank goodness I had some awesome friends at the time that could see that I would probably be unhappy doing that and thought it would be cooler as a TV Show idea. So that’s what we did. And the rest is now history. I am now putting my leadership and coaching skills to use helping people step out in a bigger way by feeling confident and clear in sharing their message and passion before putting lights and cameras in their face. I get to play here in addition to hosting retreats, speaking and well, doing all the things that make me feel ALIVE IN ME.

It’s a work in progress and I am still trying to define exactly how I help and the funny thing is that I can’t yet. My work here is intangible because it affects every person differently. It’s whatever that person needs to experience and feel the most to set them on their path for their highest good. I know that’s what I do. I love supporting good people on a mission to be all they were born to be and to share their message with clarity confidence and power. What I dream of now is building an army of change-makers who help to awaken our spirits. 

My tips on starting your own dream journey are this: If you have a nagging heart that won’t let up and is encouraging you to go after something more thrilling and exciting then you could possibly imagine, then the first thing you have to do right now is:

START: Start something. Start meeting people, start imagining, start playing because the more you do the more it will lead you to where you truly want to be. You are ready for whatever comes into your life.

TALK: Say to as many people as possible what you are wishing for, what you are dreaming about. The ones that poo poo you, you know not to talk to any more about it, and the ones that support you will become your people. Hang with those people.

LISTEN: Learn to listen in, listen to your hearts message and trust that it’s there for a reason. Do activities that make it louder, and be willing to go within as much as possible and start to act on the things you are hearing.

Wishing you a life of true fulfillment and heart smiles. The world needs more of those.

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