What to Do When You Want to Give Up

In 2005 after the sudden loss of my boss and mentor, I quit my job and went to work for another employer.

It would have been a happy ending except my former employer thought I violated my non-compete clause and wrongfully slapped me with a lawsuit (something I had to battle for three years but ultimately won).

That year was full of disasters. Not only was I fragile because of the death of my boss but I lived in constant fear that I would lose my home over something I never did.

Just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse I suffered a serious accident while running to the car to get my daughter her soccer cleats and punctured my leg. Several weeks later I was in the hospital with a staph infection and remained on high dose antibiotics for six months.

In a matter of six months, my seemingly ideal life went up in flames and I felt that the dark days would never end.

I went from being confident in business, healthy and financially secure to fearful, sick and stressed beyond belief.

There were days I couldn’t get out of bed and didn’t think life would ever get better.

But as time went on I began to recover and I started to see a light at the end of the tunnel.

I realized that I hated my work, I wasn’t fulfilled by it and that it was ridiculous to get sued for something I never wanted to be doing to begin with.

Slowly as my health began to improve I started exploring what I should do for the rest of my life. After all, why waste a life not enjoying most of your days?

So I started with courses, certifications, reading and researching. I dove head first into how to do what I loved all day long.

It wasn’t easy in the beginning and most people thought, why throw away a 20 year career for something new. But I thought, why do something you care less about and do it unhappily for the rest of your life?

My business was put together with long hours, late nights, extra dollars from my commission checks and a lot of passion.

In the early days I worked off of a dream but as my business grew I began to work off of my passion.

What I realized was that it was far easier to grow a business that combined my passion, skills and purpose than piecing together a puzzle of skills that I’d never possess.

The first year in business I spent far more time and money than I’d ever expected and when I told my husband exactly how much he questioned why I wanted to keep going. It was then that I wondered for the first time since starting whether or not I should.

So I considered giving up. After all, why should a 40 + year old, corporate woman living in the suburbs with 2 kids, a hubby and 2 pets think she could cross the internet and world helping other women live their dream? What right did I have to jeopardize my family’s security for my dream?

That’s when I knew that I needed to go on, because my purpose was now bigger than me.

There are going to be days you want to give up. There are going to be people who tell you it’s not a good idea to continue investing in your business but if you know this is your journey then you owe it to yourself to create the business you truly want.

So love yourself for doing this, I believe in you!

Comments? I’d love to hear them. What motivates you to create the business and life you truly want?

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Discover your dream and don’t be afraid to live it!

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