There is a coach whom I hire when I need an outside perspective, and she tells a story about the moment her coach had to tell her “No one is coming to save you. It is up to you.” I remember every time she brought that story up, the gut disgust. The incredulity that someone I respected could think that (even way in their past).
OF COURSE no one is coming to save you.
OF COURSE it is all up to you.
I would NEVER think something like this (even subconsciously). It is so foreign to me.
Or so I thought.
This post is really an apology to her for raising my eyebrows, scoffing, judging her for needing someone to tell her that. Because, come to find out, I did it to. Those first years in business, when I created this business because I had bills to pay and couldn’t find a job that would meet my requirements, I let myself entertain a backup plan. I let myself try this whole business thing out while I waited for the dream job to appear. I entertained working for a big fancy museum, I built relationships with environmentally revolutionary startups, I let other opportunities distract me from the work in front of me, from the mission I am carrying out, from the vision of all I will build with this business. I scoffed at her because I couldn’t see myself (or her, frankly) as a damsel in distress, but I was blind to the fact that the idea of some impactful, shiny, dream job coming in to save me was the white knight I was still indulging.
When I sat myself down to think about what that “job” would have to look like, the flexibility, the hours, the maternity leave, the pay, the future, the impact, the fulfillment….all of it, it becomes crystal clear that this is the only job for me. To be honest, I’m feral at this point, working for someone else would be painful. This is the place for me. This is the job for me. There is no job that can ride up on a white horse anymore, because there isn’t a better job for me. There is no opportunity out there that would allow me to be the mother, the partner, the leader, the employer, the visionary, that this business not only allows me to be, but requires me to be. Building this business helps me become the person I want to be. It allows me to build the life that I want. Have and do the things that I want.
This is the work that I want to be doing. Empowering others to create lives that are tailored to them, businesses that are better than any job they could dream up. Guiding people to become the person they would have to be in order to live their visions. Integrating life and business into a seamless whole that is lifegiving, joyful, profitable, and impactful.
This is the work that will allow me to employ great people and create meaningful jobs with great flexibility, benefits, and culture.
This is the work that will pay our bills, finance our dreams, create generational wealth, and a lasting philanthropic legacy.
This is the work that allows me to be here and present every step of my daughter's life without guilt or distraction.
This is the work that gives me the time and energy to be there for the people I care about without concern that it will impact my career.
Now when things are hard, the mantra “this is the work” grounds me in my certainty that I am exactly where I need to be. No more distractions in the form of “what ifs” or backup plans. There is no shiny job coming to save me. I don’t need to be saved.
There is no need for motivation; there is simply the work in front of me.
This is the work that I have to do today.
This is the work that will build my empire.
This is the work I wholeheartedly choose.
This business is the work for me.
This is the work.
My life’s work