Happy Monday, gals!
Today is my first real business day back from my 10-day honeymoon in Barcelona.
The trip was absolutely perfect – not a day went by where I didn’t have a glass of wine in my hand. We met a ton of fun people and we genuinely kicked back and relaxed. Some days I even took a nap!! I mean, it’s been a while since I was so unplugged.
But I’m not going to lie, I woke up at 4:30 this morning — partly from jet lag – and partly because my brain was BUZZING.
- Orders to pack
- Emails to write
- OMG Christmas is in HOW MANY DAYS?
- Blog post needs to get out, like now.
- Do I even have clients anymore?
I opened my eyes and I was just itching to get to work so that my brain would settle down a bit.
Sometimes, I have immense guilt about vacation. Especially, the coming back part, where my to-do list is long and I feel as though I’ve neglected my businesses.
It was a scary moment, honestly. The thought slipped into my head that I’ve just worked for months on project that can be unraveled by a 10-day trip.
Right then, when my honeymoon high was about to take a huge hit: I realized I found my Why.
I realized, I would not trade my honeymoon for my business. And guilt immediately left me.
Because Flexibility is my Why.
Owning a business for business’s sake is not what this is all about.
I own businesses for a living so I can own my life. I don’t want my businesses to run me (and turns out, they also run WITHOUT me, as proven during this trip!!).
What’s the Why?
I know that you know that this isn’t for money. You don’t open a business for money. Example: For a LONG TIME in my retail business, I would have made more money if I just managed a store instead of owned one. Actually, I probably could have made more money as a sales associate (TRUTH BOMB.)
Money was not my why. And I’m sure it’s not yours, either.
My Why is to have a flexible, location-independent career focused around my lifestyle. A year or so back when I was working in my brick-and-mortar boutique, I wrote some of these things down:
- I want my apartment in the city
- I want to work from my couch or a coffee shop or an airport
- I want to run errands in the middle of the day so I can spend time with Lee when he gets home after work
- I want to be a stay-at-home mom (eventually…)
- I want the ability to meet with people over coffee or lunch
Those things seem simple but they were also impossible for me when I was working in my storefront just a year ago. That simple list, to me, makes me feel liberated. That list is the reason for everything I do.
I don’t want a new car or a pool full of cash or even some sort of fame; I literally just want to be able to have a coffee date at 10am on a Monday or go to a yoga class at 2pm on a Thursday.
Or go on my honeymoon in Spain for 10 days in the middle of October!
What is the WHY of the dream you’re chasing??
Let’s chat about it in the comments!