I don’t often share my “other side” on this blog but my work is very much a part of whom I am. I often get questions about what I do or how I do what I do so I think it’s time I share the whole story of how I got here.
Once upon a time, there was a girl who was very, very lost! The year was 2002 and it was my senior year of college. My very last semester I had only three hours left to graduate, was already accepted in to grad school at UT and on my path to being a Speech-Language Pathologist. In my heart, I just wasn’t passionate about it and I felt so stuck and quite frankly very scared. I talked with advisers to see what it would take to get my architectural degree because I love home design but in my mind, it was too late and I knew that if I didn’t finish what I had started, I would be disappointing a LOT of people including my parents and the many people who gave me scholarships. I battled with this through my entire first year of grad school. I was really confused because my grades were always really great and I was really good at speech pathology but I don’t know why my heart just wasn’t in it. I spent my entire first year of grad school researching alternatives of what I could do. By the second year of grad school, I decided to fast track my way to graduation because quitting wasn’t an option and I decided to start a small business importing high-end pearl jewelry. With a little luck, a lot of sleepless nights and dedication, I was able to get myself through graduation, work several part-time jobs, complete all my clinical hours, and launch my new business in the spring of 2004. Looking back, there is no way I could do that again! My internet-based pearl company took off and after less than a year, I no longer could juggle both my speech pathology career and my pearl company so I let my speech pathology career go. That was the point I was able to really build my business into something great (with my proudest moment being featured in TIME magazine) and I was really passionate about this path I had taken! After several years, I started another business in the online financial sector that I became really passionate about and my pearl business was acquired. Now that it is 2012, 8 years after I first started my original business, I find myself in an interesting place. What’s next for me? Of course I will continue my financial businesses because I’ve worked so hard to build them, but I really have been sucked into the idea of new possibilities. I truly believe that if you find something you really want to do, do it! You might be surprised where you end up. Doors open in places you may never have imagined. I just have to figure out a way to balance it all. I think the best way to start is to make it a hobby business and see where it takes you! I read the book “Dream Big, Little Pig” to Avery and I think sometimes, we as adults forget to dream big because we get bombarded with real life. Don’t give up on your dreams…
I hope soon I will be unveiling my new hobby project. My hope that this new journey will be fun, inspirational, and a place where I can be more creative and share with others! Between two kids, a traveling husband, my existing businesses and building a home, I hope to be able to follow through. It’s going to take committing myself to it. I think I perform better under pressure. That’s why I’m posting this here. Commitment. That’s the first step, right?
