It’s Friday. Put on your party hat. We’re long overdue for a celebration. Garrett surprised me with a trip to Portland, ME this weekend to celebrate all of my success in my last year of business. High-end hotel, one of my favorite restaurants in the world, spa day -- the whole bit. He said, “You know, I think it was your most successful year yet, and we have to celebrate.” And I paused for a moment. I compared it to the year before. I made a lot less money. I didn’t get flown out to a movie premiere or philanthropic benefit. I didn’t work on healthcare reform or cutting-edge technologies. I didn’t hob-nob with editors and reporters. In fact, most of my year was spent hanging out with clients, drinking tea, and writing. But I had my own voice. I had the courage to throw away all of it in favor of my voice. The thing that makes me, me. The thing that expresses my soul. Who I am deep inside. And I realized how much I must love myself to do all of that. To throw it all away and create success on my own terms. To continue finding and strengthening my own voice—and claiming my spot in this world. So I looked at Garrett, buzzing with excitement, and I smiled, “Yes, I think you’re right. It was my most successful year yet, and I deserve it.” Let’s face facts here, folks. This path isn’t an easy one. Every day, making the unpopular decision to create the life that you really want. To have the courage to stand up for yourself. To tell societal pressures to shove it you-know-where. To find your voice, your place in this world, and let that be your guiding force. There are days when you may want to quit. There are days when you may want to give up. When it seems easier to go the conventional route. When it seems too painful to open up your wounds again and keep moving forward. When the self-work is just too hard. But the truth—the truth we already know—is that this isn’t just about business success or money. Not anymore anyway. This is about self-acceptance. This is about knowing who you are and sharing that with the world. This is about expressing the deepest parts of yourself and making a business, relationship, life off of that. You don’t walk this path because it’s easy. You don’t walk this path because it will make you look cool. You walk it because you love yourself too much not to. Because you know that you deserve happiness—real, honest happiness. The kind that can only come when you define what it is you want out of life and then go after that. It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks. It doesn’t matter what anyone else does. Your path to success is yours. It’s uniquely yours. And that’s what makes it so personal. That’s what makes it so courageous. That’s what makes it so unmistakable. You’re living a life that no one else can live. A life that you were born to live. A life that’s all yours. You’re creating success on your own terms. And I’m honored to be walking this path with you. Guiding each other. Inspiring each other. Learning and changing and growing with one another. That’s what we do. People who create success for themselves. So, this weekend, as I celebrate my amazing success over the past year, I’ll be celebrating each and every one of you. The ones who ended painful relationships. The ones who quit their jobs. The ones who kept moving forward, even when it felt too hard. The ones who overcame depression, anxiety, stress. You’re the ones who inspire me. You’re the ones who keep me going. And you do it all. Against all odds. Because you love yourself that much. That’s what I’m most in awe of. Were doing it. Were changing the world. We have the courage to stand up and be ourselves. Congratulations for all of your success this past year. I think it was your most successful year yet. And we have to celebrate.
Posted on: Fri, 23 Jan 2015 13:49:36 +0000
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