Can you change careers in the middle of your life?
For almost 15 years I’ve worked in spas and salons, grateful for the money but knowing I have much more to offer than a good bikini wax.
I have a degree in Communications and Journalism but I never did anything “serious” with it. I love writing, I always have, but after college I was burned out and the thought of spending another night in a newsroom was something I could not fathom. Instead, I took the “easy” way out and went to Esthetician school immediately after college. Over the years I still wrote; I had blogs, started writing a memoir, contributed to several other blogs and websites, wrote SEO content and published my first fiction novel. But I never took the huge leap to take writing to a career level. Until now.
The discomfort of ignoring my True Purpose finally became greater than the fear of being seen. I love that sentence so much, I want you to read it again. The discomfort of ignoring my True Purpose finally became greater than the fear of being seen.
A friend gave me a book called The Dream Giver and I carried that book all over the United States for almost 10 years – and never opened it. When I did, I realized God had given me a job and I had been ignoring that gift. For several years I’ve known I had something to say, and a way I could help people, but I was afraid to live out loud, afraid of criticism, afraid to be known and afraid that I couldn’t make money from it. That’s a lot fear y’all, and as some of you may know, living in fear is HARD. It’s uncomfortable, more uncomfortable than me telling you I can help you get out of debt, I overcame a traumatic childhood, and that I am not a Christian but I deeply believe in God.
I lived in that fear for15 years. I just kept chugging along in this job, racking up more than a decade of experience in a field I did not want to be in. Sure, I can look at those 15 years as a “waste” of time, or I can choose to look at the life experiences I’ve had over those 15 years and know that this is the perfect path. For a long time I wanted to take that “easy” road and I thought I could live small forever, get married, have some kids, go on vacations and just be happy. With my other blogs before, I was sporadic because I didn’t have the confidence to say what I meant, and I’m still not completely confident but now I don’t care, I’m going to say it anyways! I can’t explain how uncomfortable it is to ignore my True Purpose and how exciting it is to talk about what I was born to do: help and heal people.
Changing careers in the middle of your life can be scary; what if it fails? What if no one likes what I’m offering? WHAT IF IT’S SO INCREDIBLY SUCCESSFUL ALL MY DREAMS COME TRUE AND I AM ABLE TO REACH SO MANY PEOPLE AND FINALLY HAVE FREEDOM IN MY LIFE?? Whenever my insecurity creeps in, that loud voice always comes up behind it and shouts it away, and then it speaks to me.
Just do the thing.
Take one step and then another.
This is what you were made for.
Listen to that voice that is whispering in your ear to follow your dream – even if it’s a side hustle, do it. I’ve always been able to write, I’ve always been able to communicate and I’ve always been able to accomplish my goals. Those are some of the talents that God gave me so I could become a tool in helping myself and helping you. I’d love to know what your dream is, I’d love to hear what the Universe has whispered to you. This is me, changing my game, changing my life, and hopefully changing yours.
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