How long do you think you need to wait to really show up as your amazing self?
How many years did it take for you to show up as your amazing self? 1 year? 3 years? 10 years?
If you’ve read some of my recent content, you may already know that it took me many years to finally take the plunge and throw myself into my business full-time. In fact, I spent 10 YEARS running my photography business on nights and weekends while holding down a full-time job.
I cannot believe how 10 years passed so quickly like that!
During that time, I told myself I would quit my job so I could run my business full-time but only…
• After we finished the work on our house
• Once my daughter turned 5 years old
• When I had a certain number of clients
• When we had “enough” money saved up
But whenever I reached a certain milestone, there was always another milestone ready to take its place. It was just so EASY to come up with reasons why I should stay the course and why it just wasn’t the right time to quit my day job.
But, in all honesty, there was only one thing, BIG thing, that was really preventing me from following my calling.
FEAR!
I was simply afraid to quit because of so all the voices in my head eager to outline all the reasons why I just wasn’t ready. And those voices were sometimes really brutal! They would tell me things like:
“You aren’t cut out to be an entrepreneur.”
“What if you fail?”
“It’s not possible to make a good living as a photographer.”
“Don’t forget, you have a daughter to take care of now – shouldn’t you sacrifice your happiness for hers?”
That last one…WOW, that really hit me in the gut!
So, I put off my dreams for many years until it literally became impossible NOT to quit. I mean, it actually took working until all hours of the night and morning and being emotionally abused by a client to FINALLY push me to quit.
Do I wish I had left sooner? Hell yes! I would have been so much farther along in my business and would have had way less stress in my life BUT, I also know that I would have missed out on a lot of life lessons too.
Now I know better than to listen to my inner mean girl for too long. I mean I cannot silence her completely but at least now I know she does mean well. She’s just trying to protect me from facing my fears.
So, are you going to continue to listen to your mean girl?
About Melissa
Melissa Henry, CEO of Melissa Demple Photography, helps speakers, authors, and entrepreneurs become KNOWN. Walk away feeling like a rock star with powerful clarity on your personal brand, including unique images that wow your target audience and help you sell out your programs, books and win those coveted keynote spots!
Quoted in Forbes and Entrepreneur and featured in Thrive Global as well as on podcasts such as The Rita Made Me Do It Show, No Fat Cats, and Two Girls Talking, Melissa understands the challenges of standing out in the crowded marketplace and will make sure you & your business do too!
With extensive expertise in consulting and over a decade building her own brand, Melissa provides an extraordinary experience for purpose-driven entrepreneurs who want to become known as experts, thought leaders, and seven-figure business owners.
