“You must believe deep inside of you that you were born to do more than survive, make a living and die. You were created with a gift trapped inside of you; your job is to find that gift and serve it to the world” This is something I feel to my core, it is…
There Is More To Life Than Just Survive
“You must believe deep inside of you that you were born to do more than survive, make a living and die. You were created with a gift trapped inside of you; your job is to find that gift and serve it to the world”
This is something I feel to my core, it is stronger now more than ever. Sometimes I wished I had grown up in a more conscious open-minded community, where entrepreneurship was encouraged and taught. Even though, the business of my grandfather, (Goldsmith) was still very much alive in the family through his nephew, his son and now my brother and cousin. And my mom’s hobby was her business, she has been a seamstress all my life. I don’t recall much emphasis being placed on nurturing the skill set of managing a business.
What was common back then was to go to school, get a good education, aim for the best school from Primary to University, and then, get a “good” job. In hindsight, I will always be grateful for the support of my parents, they only passed along what they knew. Exploring anything outside of the norm was more or less frowned upon. From a very young age I fantasized about my travels and what career path I would like to pursue. I dreamt of modeling, being in magazines. But instead I struggled to fit into the 9-5 routine which did not work out for me, between the rigidity of the environment and the routine I don’t know which one would have suffocated me first had I not find my niche. I discovered my love for all things beauty, I really enjoy taking care of women’s beauty needs, specifically doing hair. As a young girl, I fantasized about being a platform stylist traveling around the world sharing my skill and educating other young girls/women/men with a dream to become and all the delicious stuff that fit in with the lifestyle. I am grateful I had the courage to explore what my heart was showing me. The last time I had a formal office job was back in the 90’s I worked for about a year and change as a life insurance agent lol. Oh I have so many tales from that experience, but that is for a whole other conversation.
In spite of the negative chatter, I got out and explored as much of the world as I would allow myself. It brought me to Trinidad to pursue a Diploma in Cosmetology. And somewhere in there makeup artistry stole me. I have been a Hair and Makeup Artist for over 20 years, I’ve since enjoyed the blessing of traveling to about 17 countries and I am still exploring. The one thing I realized and learnt that it was perfectly okay too; not everyone has the courage to break the mold. I think I broke every bloody rule in spite of what I heard lol. When you are on a path to serving your gift to the world, there will be a lot of opinions and negative chatter. This one was their favorite, “She like to hang she hat where she hand can’t reach”. (I am Caribbean so that’s exactly how they said it lol) Boy-oh-boy, am I elated that I did not listen to any of those third voices. One thing to always bare in mind is, you have to believe with all your heart and soul in your vision and dreams, your greatness is only on the inside of you, only you can feel it. The Creator did not give it to anyone else but you. So don’t expect everyone you speak with to embrace your vision. In fact, there would be those who have their own formula as to how you should do you. Know thyself.
This quote by Les Brown sums up my experience thus far. “If you develop what you do well and become a master of yourself; if you set goals and go after them with all the determination you can muster, your gifts will take you places that would amaze you” This has been my motivation in the beginning of my journey. To date, my only focus is to be a better version of who I was the day before in all I do and hopefully inspire a few as I discover my way.
I am so full of gratitude as I reflect on my wins….. sometimes it’s good to do a healthy check in from whence you came. I have come a far way and I know there is more to explore and I am excited. This journey is not always a walk in the park, it has it’s highs and it’s lows and sometimes the lows are very low. It takes a lot of courage to push through all the obstacles and challenges all of which is only meant for one thing, GROWTH. I am ready for that day or that moment when opportunity and destiny will collide. I look forward to beyond this season because I know that I know that God/Creator/Divine/The Universe, whichever name resonates with you, will never just bring any of us this far to just bring us this far.
There is more to life than just, “go to school”, “get a good education get a good job”, Lawyer, Doctor, Bank Clerk, Nurse, Teacher, etc. No where in there was, pursue your skills. Then the next level when you are done with education was, “get married to the first man you loose your virginity to”; (ooops did I say that) “have some kids”, “purchase a house and a car” and live happily ever after in debt. Omg! Oh, did I disappoint a lot of folks. I smile really hard at the irony of it all.
Please don’t get me wrong, I am not frowning on this philosophy, there is absolutely nothing wrong with any of the aforementioned. If that is what would work for you, by all means do what you are told, or do you, once you are happy. As I looked around I have been making this interesting observation, and the conclusion is very comforting; “ALL OF US DON’T WANT THE SAME THING”. For example, growing up being a home owner was the furthest thing from my mind, my desire was and still is to travel and see the world while earning. I did not want to commit to anything that would have restricted my movement. If and when you get this, you will experience there is no room for jealousy, competition or hating on someone else who is just busy doing them and is figuring shit out, just like you, as we go along our merry way.
My personal formula. Pray and ask for guidance. Trust and seek Divine Guidance every step of the way. When going through my thought process, my questions are 1) What is the worse that can happen? 2) Can I live with it? and 3) What’s the best that can happen? Guess which thought I focus my energy on??? If you guessed 3, you guess correctly. Yup! I zone in on that ish and face it like it has already happened, and I suck it up when I have to. I never entertain the what ifs. I stay focus on the results. And most importantly, mastered the art of patience. Patience Is Power. Once I stay connected to my inner GPS I am usually good, it does’t always go the way I see it in my head, but it always turn out better than I expect. Blows my mind every time.
Refresh, Rejuvenate, Exhale, Reprogram 