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- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Fachliteratur
- Sprache: Englisch
Rewrite your narrative and create a legacy by building a business, your way From Olivia Carr, founder of Shhh Silk, Self-Made: Build a Big Life from a Small Business is an inspirational and practical guide that will empower you to grow a profitable, successful business, no matter your stage of life. A mother at a young age, and without formal qualifications, in her twenties Olivia found herself struggling with climbing debt. Self-Made is the story of how she turned her life around in her thirties and founded Shhh Silk: a multi-million-dollar brand loved by women globally. But more than that, Self-Made is a blueprint that will show you how you can do it too. In Self-Made, Olivia candidly shares her years of hard-won business know-how. You'll benefit from strategies she developed to stay positive and achieve success, even when the odds are stacked against you. Whatever your industry -- ecommerce, bricks and mortar, or side hustle -- this is a handbook for taking control of your business and your life. Through practical exercises and step-by-step action plans, you'll learn how to: * Embrace the 6 key traits of a successful entrepreneur * Develop a money-making mindset and get to grips with the realities of cash flow and profitability * Grow your business, grow your team, and scale up sustainably -- even in uncertain times * Create an engaging brand story, with PR strategies for building your clients, using influencer marketing, and going viral * Balance the challenges of leadership with your own personal growth and wellbeing Self-Made reveals what it takes to build a sustainable, profit-generating business -- and the steps you can take to face uncertainty, thrive despite adversity, and realise your dreams. This book will inspire and empower you to overcome setbacks, build your resilience, and use what you have to create the life you really want. "Olivia Carr throws herself into business and life with incredible tenacity, vulnerability, and generosity of spirit. Her courage and passion are inspiring." -- Kate Morris, Co-Founder of Adore Beauty
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Seitenzahl: 319
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023
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Table of Contents
Cover
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Introduction: A self-made journey
Who am I?
Finding strength from within
Self-made doesn't happen overnight
What you'll find in this book
Being self-made
1 Seizing sliding door moments
Taking your first steps
Feeling the discomfort of a big decision
If not now, when?
2 Rewriting your money story
A word of caution
Five steps to financial independence
Saving for a rainy day
3 Roadmap to success
The six essential traits of self-made entrepreneurs
4 How to get started
It's okay to start slow
Before you launch your new business and website
Next steps: bringing it all together
Beyond the brand: logistics
5 Product market fit
6 How to manage your business cash flow
Sole trader vs company
Determine your funding sources
Track your expenses
Revise your budget
Seek advice
7 Business success and fulfilment
8 Discovering your truth
Managing your stress and anxiety
Consistency is key
So what is inner work?
Your journey will look different
Being comfortable on your journey
9 Mastering your mindset
So what is a growth mindset?
The role of positive thinking
Why is having a growth mindset so important for success?
Time to go inwards
Win the morning, win the day
Tips to remember when it comes to self-development
10 Unlocking the secret to success
Self-limiting beliefs
The transformative power of self-belief
What is imposter syndrome?
What I learnt from this
Moving forward with your business
11 Sustainable growth
Do the work
Follow your own path
Consider your impact
12 From solo to team
Leading your team
Right sizing your business
Do you have to hire someone?
13 Measuring success
The power of purpose
Values guide your journey
S.M.A.R.T. goals
14 Selling your product
Building lasting connections through relationship selling
15 Harnessing influence
Media relations
Social media
Influencer marketing
Celebrity gifting
Content marketing
Sponsorship
Shhh Silk x Kim Kardashian app giveaway
Creative gifting ideas and Kylie Jenner
It's the experience, not the gesture
16 Adapting to change
Being adaptable to change
Practicing self-care to manage stress and anxiety
Developing a growth mindset
How Shhh Silk used the sprint board task to generate a profit
17 Reclaiming your freedom
The freedom to choose
You define your own success
In conclusion
Join me at Self-Made Academy
Mental Health Resources
For small business owners
References
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 5
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 13
End User License Agreement
List of Illustrations
Chapter 1
Figure 1.1 what is a small business?
Chapter 2
Figure 2.1 five steps to financial independence
Chapter 3
Figure 3.1 six essential traits of self-made entrepreneurs
Figure 3.2 Olivia pushing a boulder up the canyon in Joshua Tree, December 2...
Chapter 5
Figure 5.1 worldwide silk pillowcase trend from 2004
Chapter 8
Figure 8.1 the box breathing method
Chapter 10
Figure 10.1 the circle of influence
Chapter 13
Figure 13.1 the S.M.A.R.T. way to set goals
Chapter 15
Figure 15.1 Kylie's Shhh Silk birthday gift
Guide
Cover
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Introduction: A self-made journey
Begin Reading
Join me at Self-Made Academy
Mental Health Resources
References
End User License Agreement
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First published in 2024 by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd
Level 4, 600 Bourke St, Melbourne Victoria 3000, Australia
© John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd 2024
The moral rights of the author have been asserted
ISBN: 978-1-394-19454-4
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (for example, a fair dealing for the purposes of study, research, criticism or review), no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, communicated or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission. All inquiries should be made to the publisher at the address above.
Cover design by Wiley
Disclaimer
The material in this publication is of the nature of general comment only, and does not represent professional advice. It is not intended to provide specific guidance for particular circumstances and it should not be relied on as the basis for any decision to take action or not take action on any matter which it covers. Readers should obtain professional advice where appropriate, before making any such decision. To the maximum extent permitted by law, the author and publisher disclaim all responsibility and liability directly or indirectly sustained by taking or not taking action based on the information in this publication. The information provided in this book is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you are experiencing mental health issues or concerns, it is strongly recommended that you seek the advice of a qualified mental health professional. It is also recommended that you do not delay in seeking professional help or support if you are suffering from mental health issues. If you are experiencing a mental health emergency, it is recommended that you call emergency services or go to your nearest hospital emergency department immediately.
For my two children, Georgia and Hudson.
Thank you for being my biggest cheerleaders and my greatest teachers. For allowing me to experience unconditional love. As you travel through life, remember, just like your childhood, the path ahead won't always be clear or without obstacles. But you have everything within you already to navigate every challenge or hardship you face. You also have all of the love inside you that you will ever need. So whenever you feel lost, return within.
Love always and forever, Mum xo
INTRODUCTION: A SELF-MADE JOURNEY
If you've picked up this book, you may be curious what the title means? Perhaps you, yourself, are looking to become self-made, or maybe you were intrigued by what makes me, the author of this book, self-made.
Let me start by sharing the Oxford English Dictionary definition of self-made:
made by oneself
having become successful or rich by one's own efforts
Throughout this book you will discover what it is to be self-made, and how you, too, can become your own version of self-made. But before you read on, I want to say straight up that being self-made isn't just about a measure of financial success, and becoming self-made doesn't mean you have to aspire to having more than seven digits in your bank account. Heck, it doesn't even mean you have to have six! (Spoiler: it is possible though, irrespective of your current financial situation.)
Who am I?
First, let me introduce myself. I am Olivia Carr — mother, founder, philanthropist, mentor, keynote speaker, community builder, author and a self-made woman.
In this book, I share with you all of the tips, the lessons, the secrets, the stories and the tools that I have used to help me overcome hardship, adversity, financial struggle, relationship breakdowns, mental health challenges, and personal and professional setbacks and then go on to achieve my version of success and to become self-made.
Most traditional business books often start by showcasing the author's impressive credentials — their prestigious university degrees and their list of accomplishments. But not all successful people have followed this path, and I certainly have not had a typical path to success.
While I don't hold any university qualifications, I have certainly earned a master's degree in life experience, and that is something that cannot be taught inside a university lecture hall. Both my diverse life experience and strong mindset are what have allowed me to go from being in over $100 000 in debt in my 20s to building and growing a multi-million-dollar global brand. I started my business Shhh Silk in my spare room in 2015, and our products have become loved and adored by customers, retail outlets, hotels and A-list celebrities worldwide.
I wrote this book to not only serve as your very own personal guide to business success, but to help you achieve greater mental strength and, in turn, greater overall success in your life.
This book is full of practical, honest and actionable steps you can take right now to become self-made, no matter your current life or financial situation. How do I know this? Because I've been there. I have experienced my own version of rock bottom. And in this book, I share with you what those moments have taught me about mental strength, resilience, determination and tenacity. Learning to master these traits has helped me climb my way back up, and achieve more success and personal growth than I ever dreamt possible. This was my driving force for writing this book: to help you achieve more success and personal growth than you have ever dreamt was possible.
Finding strength from within
My biggest rock-bottom moment in life was when I was facing serious financial trouble. The lowest point was when I found myself standing in the Melbourne Magistrates' Court facing potential prison time for six years of unpaid CityLink fines, over 200 enforcement warrants, as well as multiple maxed-out credit cards, putting me at just over $100 000 in debt in my 20s.
How was this possible at such a young age? The cost of raising a child as a young, single mother, and falling into the trap of living beyond my means had caught up with me. I didn't know how to work my way out of it, and I felt like I would never get ahead. My financial problems felt too big and too hard to handle. I didn't know where to start to begin to turn my life around, or how I would ever be able to get ahead. The thought of one day owning my own home or building a successful business seemed like impossible dreams.
I eventually did turn my life around, and I share all of these lessons with you in this book so that you have the insights and strategies that I wish I had sooner when I was going through the very real struggles of financial pressure. We'll go through personal finance and professional cashflow lessons to help you turn your personal financial position or your business cash flow position around a lot sooner than I did.
Among all of the lessons and tips in this book, I also share moments of my personal story, which is one of perseverance, resilience, mental strength and determination. It's a story of rising from the depths of despair to build a successful business from scratch as a single mother, not once, but twice. It's through sharing my story with you that I hope to empower you with the tools that you may need to turn your life around, develop your self-belief to start your own business, grow your current business, or simply experience more personal growth and learn how to become self-made.
Self-made doesn't happen overnight
Becoming self-made was not an overnight process for me. It took me 14 years of hard work, sacrifice and commitment to finally clear all of my debt, and a further five years to teach myself how to reshape my mental relationship with money, how to manage money and how to respect money.
For all the mummas (or mummas-to-be) reading this, balancing the demands of parenthood with the constant needs of entrepreneurship is a continual challenge. There are many days, still, when I feel so overwhelmed and on the brink of giving up. I have learnt through my experiences what it takes to keep going and growing in the face of adversity.
Your purpose needs to be bigger than your problems. You need to understand what drives you, and we'll go through this process together. For me, it's my desire to create personal wealth and stability for myself; to be able to have the time and money to focus on my overall mental, physical and personal development; to be able to contribute to the community and pay it forward regularly; and to continue to make myself proud.
What you'll find in this book
Self-Made is your step-by-step guide to overcoming adversity and achieving success.
Throughout the pages of Self-Made, I share insights, strategies and advice that I believe are crucial for success: from your initial decision to start your own business, to the challenges of growing and scaling it. We'll also work on cultivating a self-made mindset, and tap into your inner strength and resilience to create the life you desire, regardless of your current obstacles. Throughout the chapters of this book, you will tap into a wealth of knowledge about building and growing your business — knowledge that I wish I had access to when I began my entrepreneurial journey. This book is like having a mentor in your corner every step of the way sharing tips, advice, honest feedback of the highs and lows of running your own business, and giving you access to the exciting world of ecommerce.
One of the biggest realisations I've had about growing my own ecommerce business, is that it is a constantly evolving journey. I encourage you to use this book as a living, breathing resource that you can turn to at any point in your journey.
You will find this book has more impact on your life when you use it regularly as a guide as you navigate the road ahead. Have a notebook and pen handy, and I encourage you to highlight all the words that resonate with you. Most importantly, take action on the exercises I've created for you — after all, without action, your goals are simply wishes.
I've poured my heart and soul into crafting this book to ensure you get value and practical action steps you can apply in your life or business right away. I draw from my own experiences and share with you the invaluable lessons I've learnt along the way, as well as some I am still learning today.
Before we get into it, I want to let you know there are moments in this book where I'm also very open about my recent struggles with anxiety and burnout. It can be easy to feel like you need to have everything together all of the time; however, the truth is that building a business and raising a family is tough, and it's okay to struggle sometimes. In this book, I open up about my own battles with anxiety and burnout, and share the strategies that have helped me to manage these challenges and maintain my mental health while growing my business and being a single parent.
TIP
I encourage you to use this book as a working document that you can use to make notes to follow up on concepts, work through the activities and further develop your own ideas. One of my mentors taught me this simple formula to use when you are reading something, attending a workshop or in a meeting. Use an ‘A’ for any notes that require you to take action, use ‘I’ for any ideas you think of, and ‘R’ to research something later. Try using the AIR notetaking method throughout this book.
Being self-made
Running a business can be challenging and isolating — it's also one of the most rewarding experiences you can have. I'm honoured to be able to share my insights and stories with you in the hopes that they help you achieve the success and fulfilment you deserve, while feeling less alone along the way.
I called this book Self-Made because the term has always held meaning for me. To some, ‘self-made’ may suggest a measure of financial success or achievement, but to me, it's so much more than that.
For me, being self-made is about having the resilience, self-belief and determination to create the life you desire, regardless of your obstacles or current circumstances. It's about not losing hope in yourself or your vision, even when others (or you yourself!) have doubts. It's when the path ahead seems uncertain, but you decide to be brave, vulnerable and courageous anyway.
It's when you start to experience a level of financial success and financial independence, but don't lose sight of your deepest values, and you stay aligned to your truest self and your purpose. It's not feeling as though you need to be more, have more or do more in order to be successful or appear successful to strangers on the internet. Ultimately, being self-made is having the freedom to choose to live life on your terms, to be able to make a meaningful impact and to feel a sense of immense gratitude for the life you have built for yourself.
Throughout my life, I have faced a number of personal and professional setbacks and challenges that could have easily derailed my dreams. But through hard work, a strong mindset, perseverance, lots of self-healing work and a stubborn refusal to give up, I have been able to create a successful business that has brought joy and beauty to countless people worldwide, and continues to pay it forward and spread kindness.
I believe that being self-made is a mindset that anyone can learn and adopt, regardless of your background or circumstance. It's about getting honest with where you are right now, taking ownership and accountability of your life and your future, and working tirelessly and doing whatever it takes to make your dreams a reality.
This book is your very own guide to success. A guide that will empower you to achieve your goals and live your own version of a fulfilling, self-made life.
So, whether you're just starting out with your own business, desire to start your own business, have been running your own business for years or are currently facing hardship of some sort, I invite you now to dive into the pages of this book and get started on creating the success you desire.
Olivia
1Seizing sliding door momentsHow making hard decisionscan transform your path
Whether you are reading this book because you want to start your own business or you already have a business, I am going to share as much of my experiences of building small businesses with you in this book — both the good and the bad. Nothing in life worth having comes easy; however, when it comes to business and social media, there is so much comparison and misinformation around how challenging it is to run a small business. If you are struggling with self-doubt, a lack of belief in your ability to build a big life from your small business, concerns about managing your cash flow or any of the thousands of other worries you have as a small business owner, I want to start by acknowledging you are not alone in feeling like this.
If you are getting ready to start a business, I also want to prepare you as much as possible for what may be ahead, and how you can better prepare yourself for what it takes to run a small business (see figure 1.1 for what constitutes a small business). This book will focus primarily on ecommerce founders. Ecommerce is a broad category that covers a range of industries, such as beauty, wellness, fashion, accessories, electronics and other industries that trade online.
Figure 1.1 what is a small business?
Taking your first steps
In this chapter, I cover the very first step to starting a business: making the decision. Choosing to start your own business is one of the most exciting, yet terrifying, decisions you will ever make in your life, especially if this is going to be your full-time career and not a side business. It means you have to fully back yourself and be prepared to be solely responsible for securing your own income.
That is not an easy decision to make, and so often it's the very reason why many people don't take the leap to start their own business or move from having a side business to it being their full-time career. The sheer thought of having to solely rely on yourself and your own efforts to generate enough income to survive is daunting. Some of you will have a bigger appetite for risk than others, and everyone's personal situations are different, which also plays a big factor in whether or not you choose to start a business. I have always had a very large appetite for risk, and a strong ability to back myself (even without a plan), but I recognise through my journey of mentoring women, that this is not a common attitude. It is possible to start your own business without this level of confidence.
It's also important to know that there is no shame or guilt should you choose to close or sell your business. Just like with relationships, people come into our lives for a reason, season or a lifetime, and the same should be said about business. Sometimes the first business you run may not succeed (this is more common than not), but it will teach you so much about yourself and about business. Every failure in life is a lesson, and we learn more from our failures than we do our successes.
I wish I had access to a book like this when I made the tough decision to close my first business in 2009, and I wish I had read a book like this before leaving my full-time role as a general manager in 2015 to launch Shhh Silk. Hindsight is a beautiful thing; however, so is life experience and the lessons you learn along the way.
There are some important sliding door moments in my life that I want to share with you because I haven't always been self-made. In fact, up until my early 30s, I was still stuck in my old money psychology mindset that money is scarce and hard to earn, and I'm not good with money. I didn't grow up around money and neither of my parents were entrepreneurs. My parents were both working-class people with multiple low-income jobs. I grew up watching them work extremely hard, and yet never seem to have any money. So what changed? I started making different choices; I decided to choose a different story for my life.
Life and business are about choices: some you make consciously and others, unconsciously. And some choices or decisions are much harder to make than others. Some choices will change the course of your journey, and in my case, can absolutely allow you to go from drowning in debt to becoming self-made. For me, whenever it comes to making a decision or choosing between multiple outcomes, whether in business or in my personal life, it really comes down to being prepared to deal with the consequences of the decision.
Let me share a story with you about the toughest decision I have faced in my life so far. That decision went on to reshape my life, my mindset and my mental toughness for every future decision I've made, and taught me how to go from having nothing to becoming self-made.
LIFE LESSON 1Don't always choose the easy door
My sliding door moment came in the early summer of 2000. I was 19 and had recently been crowned Miss Tropicana Gold Coast 2000. I was studying acting at The Australian Film and Television Academy on the Gold Coast.
After being crowned Miss Tropicana Gold Coast, one of your duties is to attend different nightclubs and promotional events. One Thursday night, I was at an iconic Surfers Paradise pub where they used to serve $1 spirits. I was at the bar when a stranger asked me if I was taken. Before I could answer, I felt someone put their arms around me from behind and respond, ‘Yes, she is. She's with me.’
Those six innocent words used as a pick-up line would change my life forever. When I turned around, I discovered the man who had said them was a friend of my cousin who lived on the Gold Coast.
He had long dark hair and was a few years older than me. He looked like trouble and the rebellious 19-year-old teenager in me was instantly hooked. After far too many $1 spirits, I went home with the man from the bar with the long dark hair and we spent a drunken night together.
Not long after, I graduated from The Australian Film and Television Academy and was busy preparing my application for the National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA) summer-school program, the most prestigious acting school in the country.
I have studied acting professionally since I was nine years old. At that time, acting was my life. It was all I thought about and all I dreamt about. It's why I chose to leave school at 16 to pursue studying acting.
My lifestyle on the Gold Coast during this time was young, wild and carefree!
I would surf during the day, go out with friends most nights and consume a lot of alcohol in the evenings. It was like schoolies, but seven nights a week, all year long — I had no responsibilities and not a care in the world.
In December 2000, I was on such a high as I had just been accepted into the summer-school program for NIDA. I was in, and now I was one step closer to living out my dream and moving to Hollywood.
The moment when everything changed
Enter my first sliding door moment. It was my sister's idea that I take a pregnancy test as I had missed my period. I was less concerned as I put it down to the heavy partying I had been doing and a lack of sleep. When I saw the result, I collapsed on the floor of the bathroom and cried for what felt like an eternity. There was no way I was pregnant! I had only just turned 19 and I was on the pill. The pregnancy test had to be wrong. I was in denial; I was also in shock. I booked an appointment with a GP who confirmed I was pregnant and sent me off for an ultrasound to work out the gestation of my unborn child. I couldn't process anything; it all felt like I was watching someone else's life and not my own.
So many thoughts and emotions were running through my body. In the midst of experiencing all of this shock and emotion, I knew deep within my soul that I was going to have this baby.
To this day, that deep knowing is hard for me to explain, but as soon as I accepted I was pregnant, as devastated and absolutely gutted as I was about not going to NIDA summer school, I knew I had to keep this baby. This was my sliding door moment. This decision was going to reshape my future.
Telling my parents was the hardest part. My dad was born and raised in Scotland in the 1940s and he was very strict. I had never even been allowed to have a boy over at my house, and now I had to tell him I was pregnant!
The thought of sharing this news with my parents terrified me. I waited a few weeks, and then I called home. My mum answered the phone and I said, ‘I have something to tell you. I'm pregnant’, and then I think I just hung up. I didn't take my parents' calls for a few days after that. When I finally did answer their call, it was my dad, and the first words he said were, ‘Come home; we will support you.’
I will never forget how supported I felt in that moment. With all of the fear I was feeling, having already decided I was keeping this baby, it was so nice to feel as though I wasn't going to be alone.
Making hard choices
I didn't move home, not straight away. I really wanted to try and make things work with my baby's father. I moved into his parents' garage with him in the middle of the Queensland summer. I had the worst morning sickness — I have never understood why they call it morning sickness, as I was sick day and night. And the garage was so hot. I remember thinking that I couldn't raise my baby in a garage. I was so grateful to his parents for accepting me into their home under the circumstances, but I felt we needed to get a place of our own and try and make this work.
I was 19 and he was 23 — we were both so young. I had no savings and no idea how expensive it was going to be to bring a child into the world. But I was certain at the time that I would make it work; I just had to.
We moved into an apartment in Miami on the Gold Coast. The good thing about living on the Gold Coast in 2001 was that renting an apartment was relatively inexpensive. It felt good to have our own place; now we just needed to see if this relationship could work.
I don't remember the small things from that time in my life, like what we ate for dinner or who cooked. I remember he would go out with his mates and I would stay home. I know I wasn't happy, and I knew the relationship wasn't working. The plan to leave and move back to my parents' home in Victoria felt like the right decision, but how? I started to feel very alone and trapped. I knew I needed to leave, but I was scared.
I spoke to my parents and we agreed I needed to come home, so when I was seven months' pregnant, I told him I was going home to visit my parents, and I never returned.
The following few months were traumatising to say the least. Naturally, he didn't take the news well over the phone that I was not returning to Queensland and I no longer wanted to be in a relationship with him. It wasn't until years later that I fully understood the impact the traumatic events that took place during the early years of my daughter's life, between her father and I, had on me, and the significant impact they had on my future relationships.
When I first found out I was pregnant, I was so focused on my decision to have this child, I never stopped to process what it would be like if I was going to do it alone.
Motherhood moments
I gave birth to my healthy daughter, Georgia Rose, ten days past her due date.
Life as a new mum was exhausting. Between trying to learn how to breastfeed properly and the constant interrupted sleep, the days soon felt like groundhog day. My mum and my sister were both amazing supports for me in the early stages of Georgia's life, and gave me the opportunity to get back to the gym and just have a moment to myself. Aside from the mental, emotional and physical exhaustion of being a new mum, I soon realised the financial strain having a child at such a young age would have on my life. (More about that later.)
It was only recently during a podcast interview when we were talking about my life as a young mum that I recalled a moment I was at my lowest. Georgia was a few months old, and she was in the back of the car crying nonstop, and I didn't think I could go on. I had a vision of my life ending, and until recently, I never understood what that moment was. I was most likely experiencing postnatal depression (PND) — not something that was well known or spoken about in 2001. According to the Black Dog Institute, postnatal depression:
describes the more severe or prolonged symptoms of depression (clinical depression) that last more than two weeks and interfere with the ability to function with normal routines on a daily basis including caring for a baby.1
The same article goes on to say that around 14 per cent of women in Australia experience PND and that of those women, the symptoms of PND begin in pregnancy in around 40 per cent of cases.
How did I cope without knowing what I was likely experiencing? Honestly, not very well. I would go out on weekends with friends and drink my realities away for the night.
Motherhood was a challenging first couple of years for me: balancing being a young single mother; working full time in real estate; and trying to stay connected to my youth, my friends and enjoy the life of a young person.
Sliding doors
My motherhood journey has been incredibly tough in some parts, which I am going to share in the following chapters; however, it has also forced me to be resilient, resourceful and determined from a very young age.
Over the past 22 years, I have had a couple of moments where I have wondered what my life would be like now if I chose differently that day back in December 2000. Would I have made it as an actress? Would I be a famous TV or movie star? Would I have suffered the same financial situation? These are answers I will never know. And, truthfully, my teenage dreams no longer feel aligned to my life's purpose. What I do know is, my daughter chose me. This was the path I believe I was supposed to take in life. After all, life doesn't happen to us, it happens for us!
So, when it comes to sliding door moments or making tough choices in your life or with your career or business, I don't believe that the easy door is always the right door. For me, it's often the unknown door or the toughest door that you choose to walk through that presents the most opportunity for growth. Choosing to always take the path of least resistance, or the easiest door, can be useful in some scenarios; however, when it comes to building character and learning to grow through facing challenges and overcoming obstacles, the path of least resistance is rarely the choice I go with. Nothing in life worth having should be easy; everything good in life requires some effort.
Yes, choosing to make the tough choice rather than the easy choice can mean you may face temporary hardship or challenges that you may not have imagined, but they don't have to be permanent. It's the growth that exists on the other side of the door that you need to consider. Choosing to become your own boss, choosing to be self-made, is absolutely going to come with some challenges and setbacks in your life, but unless you choose to take a risk and back yourself, you're also never going to know how big your life can really become.
I have learnt some techniques or strategies over the years that have helped me to make tough decisions. Grab your notebook and pen and let's begin our first activity together.
ACTIVITY
How to make a tough decision
Think of a situation that involves you needing to make a decision that you have been putting off. Maybe it's changing careers, leaving your job, starting a business or hiring your first team member. Write the scenario down in as much detail as you can.
Ask yourself why making a decision about this is important to you.
Now make a list of all of the possible outcomes that may arise based on your decision to do this or not to do this. Cover off both the good and challenging.
Ask yourself: Does the scenario you are attempting to make a decision about align with your goals or vision for your life?
Looking at all of the possible outcomes you have written down about your decision, are there things you can think of that would help to alleviate any potential risk?
Are you ready to make a decision?
If not, what is stopping
