09/30/2020
Covid has been so hard for many. If you are thinking about starting that new job and wondering if it’s the right choice, make the leap.
When you feel overwhelmed by the fear, Spokane EMDR Counseling is here to help support you through the ups and downs
A Story of Hope
Three years ago I took a chance. I started a company with no money, no clients, and no idea how to run a business. I was still in school, raising a 5-year-old, and holding down a part time job to help make ends meet at home.
It was the worst possible time to jump, but I knew in my heart that I had to jump.
I didn't have the things I needed. I remember training dogs with gear I found for cheap or free at thrift stores and garage sales, and sometimes feeling embarrassed when using chewed-up or tied-together leashes in front of potential clients. Despite it all, I was naive enough to hope that things would magically get better and smart enough to know that HOPE wouldn't build my company.
Two months into the dream, I felt like a failure. A terrible mom for spinning so many unproductive plates. A terrible wife for leaving the entire financial burden of family life on my husband. A terrible daughter, sister, and friend because I had fallen off the face of the earth.
By month three, I hadn't made much money. A local woman walking her barking lunging beagle passed our house, commented on my well-behaved dogs, and I was desperate. I chased her for four blocks just to hand her a piece of notebook paper with my phone number on it.
She called an hour later.
That was the catalyst. I knew if I ran as hard and as fast as I my body would allow, I could achieve anything. I went to every vet, every shelter, every rescue, every struggling dog owner in the park and offered my services for free. I chased that beagle over and over again, and things paid off. Clients signed up, dogs were trained, and word spread.
My six-hour days turned to twelve. My twelve-hour days turned to sixteen. Some days I was training dogs into the night, and it didn't matter because I was on fire, burning from the inside out with ambition.
After a year of sixteen hour days with no days off, I was no longer pushing the train uphill. It was starting to push itself, bringing with it fulfillment and financial security. I took another leap and suggested to my husband that he quit his job (a steady income) and join me in my dream.
He did.
I hired my first employee. I was absolutely scared to death, knowing that if I failed in this, she and her children would suffer, but nonetheless, I made her a promise that I would work tirelessly for her.
Three months later I hired my second employee, one of those "meant to be" type connections. She had the drive, passion, and pride to move our train higher up the mountain. She too is part of our family, and I carry her well-being on my shoulders.
Six months later I hired my 3rd employee. Young, bright, with an entire future ahead of her, and she chose us to help fulfill her dreams. We couldn't ask for anyone better.
Fast forward three years. I still work 100 hours a week. I still have 2 cell phones on me at all times. I still answer emails at dawn, post videos daily, correspond with clients, and train dogs into the night, but it's no longer because I'm desperate. It's because the dream is growing faster than I can keep up.
My simple message to you during these difficult times is this:
If you have a dream, don't wait for things to be perfect, don't feel like a failure if it doesn't work immediately, don't stop running as fast as your body will allow.
Your career takes up one third of your time. Don't spend it living someone else's life.
Jump.
