As you are reading this, the hands of the clock are ticking away. Regardless of what you are doing with your time, it is still time that is passing by you. Time that you will never get back. Often people have to trade their time for money at a J.O.B. Trading your 40 hours a week and sometimes even more then that, helping someone else build their dreams. 40 hours away from your family, 40 hours taken from your life, 40 hours that could be spent working on your own desires and dreams...yet here we are, day in and day out, on the hamster wheel of life working at our J.O.B. (Just Over Broke)!

I worked a J.O.B. too, in my early 20s. I had a boss who was a nightmare. She treated me like a slave. Told me when I could go to the bathroom, have lunch, go home and even who I was permitted to be friends with in the office. Yes, I was a young accommodating women back then, far from who I am today, but it made me realize that I don't ever want to be treated like that again. I also knew that the best boss I could ever have that would be ok with the lifestyle that I really wanted was ME! And so my entrepreneurship journey began. 

I have spent the last 20 years of my life, going to the bathroom when I need to, having lunch when I feel hungry,  meeting friends for coffee or getting an afternoon massage with my husband, when ever I feel like it. I have had vacation days, sick days, school trip days. I have been present for every day of my children's lives and I have never had to get a sick note from my doctor to do it. I have managed every second of every day myself over the last 20 years and for this is what I am truly grateful for. You will never get this time back. How are you spending these seconds, minutes, hours, days? Do you feel something inside of you telling you that you are not living the life you deserve?  Listen to that little voice! Because at the end of our lives when we look back, we don't see our bank account. We see the events we have missed, the people we didn't spend time with, the goals we didn't achieve, the opportunities we didn't take and the potential we never reached!  Don't waste one more second of this life, wishing and praying for another one. You have the same amount of time in a day we all do. What are you doing with yours?

I believe that as women we are constantly questioning our abilities and our worth. Often we think we aren't good enough to accomplish a goal or that we are not worthy of the success it may bring us. Women are so self critical not only about the way we look on the outside but the abilities we carry on the inside.

As a child, I didn't have the solid home foundation of an adult telling me I could do and accomplish anything and Im so grateful that my stubbornness and need for a purpose is what pushed me to "try" even though I may have not received the encouragement from someone on the outside.  At the end of the day...this power is in your hands anyways. Even if you did have a parent telling you how amazing you are and that you could take on the world....YOU still have to be the one to do what it takes to get there. So why not believe in yourself, push yourself and encourage yourself!  You should be your greatest cheerleader. True success will come from that burning desire within. You don't need to know everything you just have to be willing to learn along the way. Learning never comes to an end so if you are waiting to be an expert before you attempt anything, you will be waiting a long time. And even more so, being an expert comes from experience. If you don't ever experience, how can you ever be an expert!

Passion, commitment, courage, grit...these are the things you need to succeed. Everything else will come while you are working at achieving your goals. You will change and grow throughout your journey which adds even more value to what you are offering but if you never take that first step, you will never get anywhere! Believe you have what it takes to achieve. Like the witch in the Wizard of Oz says "you have always had the power my dear, you just had to learn it for yourself!".

Perfection is an illusion. It can be the very thing that stops you in your tracks. It can be what prevents you from starting anything because you are trying to achieve the impossible. 

Instead, try to strive for progress! Understanding that life is about progress is the first step to taking action. Humans have flaws and we have failures. These flaws and failures is what makes us unique and what helps us to learn and grow. People who think that something needs to be perfect before you can move forward usually never do move forward because there is always that small tweak or change that we will find. How many authors have put out the same book but in different editions with various modifications in each. How many products were sold in various models as they tweak the bugs in older ones. How many restaurants prepare a trial dish on their menu to see if its a favourite. These are all about progress. We learn, we grow and most important we take action which is what propels us closer towards success. 

So strive for progress!  

I read a book when I was younger and I don't have a clue what the name of that book was but there was a phrase that really stuck with me all these years and I always remember it when I am feeling like I've hit a road block. 

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"Often the struggles we try to avoid are the very struggles that build the foundation of who we become!"

Who you are now is because of all the challenges and adversity you had in the past. And who you will become in the future is due to all of the challenges and adversities you will encounter in the future. I used to spend my days trying to avoid challenges and complaining about all the bad things that happen to me. But Ive learned that these things make me who I am. 

As a child I had so many troubles with home life. I didn't have a solid family foundation being raised by a single mother and I was a victim of  physical, verbal and sexual abuse...something I have hidden for years. But I've learned that these things have made me who I am today.  I am a  mother of 3 daughters committed to ensuring they have all the things in life that I didn't. I am a loving wife devoted to my husband and the continued nurturing of our relationship. I am a successful business woman who has grit, empathy and passion. I could not have been any of these things without all of the adversities in my past life. So now, I embrace challenge. Of course it can be uncomfortable but that is how I know I am growing. The little butterflies in my stomach that make me feel like I want to throw up are what tell me I am on the right path and to keep going when most others would turn back and hide. 

I am not the same woman I was 5 years ago and I know I will be completely different in 5 years from now...that is what life is about. That is the beauty of morphing into who you can become and stepping into greatness. 

Stepping stones, challenges and adversity are not put in front of you to scare you away from your dreams and goals. They are placed there to separate the average from the exceptional. Nothing worth achieving was ever easy, and those who grasp and embrace this concept the fastest are the ones who will soar to the top!

It's hard to think about what life could be like if you actually took the leap of faith and believed in yourself. Just take moment to imagine it!  Are you travelling more, are you spending more time with your loved ones, do you get to decide what you do with your valuable time? I hear so many people complaining about their life but rarely is anyone willing to just jump in with both feet and do it. We were only given one life and YOU get to decide how you live it. Are you giving that power to someone else? Telling you when you need to show up, eat lunch, go to the bathroom and go home. How long will you keep trading your time for money before you DECIDE enough is enough?  There is another way, and there are so many of us proving it! If you have an idea, then make the decision to put it into practise. If you don't have an idea there are so many opportunities out there that are turn key and you just need to be the best copy cat to succeed. You don't need to quit your jobs off the bat and you can certainly build a multi million dollar company with a little grit and heart! You just have to tell your fears to step aside and take some small steps to get your closer to your dream life! Some of us were put on this earth for greatness and some of us were put here to support them.  The best part is....YOU GET TO CHOOSE!!  Don't waste it!