Welcome to my latest blog post.
In this motivational blog post:
* I expose my flaws * I expose my highs * I expose my lows * I expose my fears * My Successes and my failures
If I can do it, you can too!
You can follow your dreams, pursue them and aim for the top, but always have a plan B, C and so on
If something isn’t working, change what or the way your are doing it.
If there is a hurdle, steam roller over it or go round it, it may take longer but you will get there in the end.
Put your big girl pants on (or boys) and show up!
Everyone has flaws. Here are a few of mine:
* I have Self-confidence issues
* I suffer from anxiety – massive pockets where I put my hubster through his paces
* I comfort eat
* I have rubbish sleep patterns
* I don’t look after myself properly
* I’m too generous for my own good
* I'm Stubborn
* I'm Argumentative (Don’t tell the hubster)
* I'm ridiculously short and people still make snide comments about it, yawn yawn heard it all before
* I'm too sensitive
* I'm allergic to dust
* I have arthritis at a age too young to be having to deal with hip replacements
Can you identify your flaws?
"The acknowledgment of our weakness is the first step in repairing our loss"
I left school with rubbish grades, now my boys have left school I can actually confess to them that I didn’t get where I am today through any of my school grades.
I went to college and dropped out cos I found the subject boring (business studies) Ok Connor, my son, you do take after me haha.
I bought a house at the age tender of 18 and moved in with my partner on my 19th birthday, & I remember I cried on my first day in my new home. I was then later made redundant!
It took several weeks to find another job but I did and fell into another accounts job, and worked my way up.
I later handed in my notice, sold my house (lost a lot of money due to recession) and then moved away from all my family and friends to Swindon where I set up a drainage company with my partner.
Being away from my family and friends was tough, I got depressed, my partner was out on site working 7 days a week and I was stuck at home doing all the admin and accounts. We had no life
I became so unhappy, and my partner and I broke up and he bought me out of the business.
I used the money to buy myself a decent car and to spend a year travelling the states, amazing experience and I visited 48 states in 11 months!
When I came back home I took another 6 - 12 months out to study my level 2, 3 & 4 accounting
Then found a job as an office and accounts manager, which I loved.
But I wanted my own business, my bosses were amazing and for someone who wanted to be their own boss they pretty much left me to it.
This is where I set up my essential oil business and trained as an aromatherapist, my training was not that great so I later continued my training elsewhere and built up my skills over the years. I set up my holistic therapies business and later Holistic Therapies Training, as I qualified as a further education teacher.
All of this on a shoe string, because then, all my business pay out had gone!
I married in 1999 & in 2001 my first child was born. In 2007 my husband and I broke up and I raised my two boys as a single mum for 9 years, before I eventually let someone in to our lives. In 2016, I met my now husband, Jason, and we later married.
During this 9 years me and my boys relocated from Swindon to Devon, and I relocated my training business too, and pretty much started from scratch again while also keeping the business going in Swindon to give me an income. I took out a mortgage on my own this time, very scary.
I've had great earnings where it enabled me and the boys to go on a spur of the moment holiday to Cape Verde, and i've also had times where i've had no money to pay the bills, and then my marketing would kick in to raise income. I kept going and even when I wanted to quit, I didn’t.
Who’s heard of the song, “I get knocked down” I think that became my theme song for a while.
I’ve played the victim for sympathy, and soaked up the drama.
Now I hate drama, and refuse to put myself in victim mode.
I also get peopled out easily.
Its not been easy and i've nearly given up so many times.
My workload has been so great at times that i've had melt downs, burnt out and wanted to quit.
I’ve collaborated with some really unethical people, who have tried to break me and I lost my way, and most importantly my mojo.
But what stopped me from quitting was remembering I had put my heart and soul into my business and wasn’t going to let anyone grind me down.
I've had people copy, but my answer would always be aspire to others for sure but be your own authentic self not a copy of others.
I’ve modelled my business on others for sure, but ive taken bits and tweaked them to my own, tried stuff failed, tried stuff and succeeded!
Its never going to be easy but if you don’t try you will never know and will always have that 'what if'?
I've got arthritis and had a hip replacement now waiting on a 2nd one, but during my recovery I wrote and published a book, so managed to turn what could be deemed as a negative situation, into a positive opportunity.
I've written countless course manuals, and blogs. Can you tell I love writing?
Now I am pushing myself out of my comfort zone to do podcasts and vlogs.
I've studied since 2003 and still studying now, and if I can do it so can you.
If I had a pound for every time I said to myself ‘I don’t have time to do this, to do that’
But the secret is ‘you always make time for the things you really want to do’
So, as you can see its not been plain sailing, even when I’ve been close to quitting, I’ve picked myself up, dusted myself off and got going again.
My parting message to you is to follow your dreams, if it stops being your passion, then go find another passion.
Its never too late
Feel the fear and do it anyway.
I hope this helps people to see that what you want is possible, even if the end point is slightly different to what you imagined. If you have set backs, pick yourself up and keep going, if you find excuses then maybe you just might not want it bad enough.
Before my op in 2018 I had days where I could hardly walk without being in so much pain, I hid this from many, only my hubster really knows what I was like. I would teach for a day then have to rest in bed that evening (with my laptop of course) but to walk around was so hard.
It was my optimism of life after my op that kept me going, and knowing my limits and my body’s limits.
Now i am waiting on my 2nd op, and all I say is 'lets do this!'
Final words, today, I know I said it earlier, but keep going, go for it, whatever it is you want to do, stay strong and keep it real.
Karen xx
