My dad began his career as a meat cutter and eventually with his brother as a business partner, purchased a store from their father. My dad and uncle grew up in the grocery business, both working for their father, who himself started out as a meat cutter and by the end of his career, (40 years later) had a successful chain of grocery stores. This grocery store business, well it’s been in the family a long time. Once I went off to college in 2012, that dream to take over my dad’s store was still in my mind and hadn’t diminished one bit. When deciding on a major, I chose the business field because I knew that it would benefit me once I took over my dad’s store. I declared my major to be in accounting one year into college. It wasn’t until the end of my sophomore year, and when I started getting into fitness, that my passion began to shift.
I graduated in May of 2016 with my Bachelors in Business Administration – Accounting and started working at Kohler Company as an Associate Accounting Analyst in June of that same year. Right around this time is when I also started documenting my fitness journey on Instagram and had around 4,000 followers. As the months went on my social media grew as well as my passion for working out and eating healthy. One thing that didn’t grow was my love for accounting and the drive to grow in my career. In fact, it was doing quite the opposite.
It wasn’t until fall of 2017 that I finally realized I couldn’t spend the rest of my life sitting in front of a computer screen counting down the minutes until the clock struck 5pm. I was too young to already be wishing away my weekdays, dreading going into the office, and feeling useless. I decided I was going to pour my heart into fitness/social media and do anything I could to make that my career.
January of 2018 is when I realized I really could make my dream a reality. I had just won the $50,000 1st Phorm Athlete Search, I was doing free training for 1st Phorm’s Transphormation Challenges, and also growing my presence on social media. I was waking up at 4am to work out before work and while I was lifting and doing cardio, I was responding to any messages from social media and interacting with my followers. During my lunch break at work I was doing the same, while listening to podcasts and catching up on any coaching calls I had missed. After getting home from work I would make dinner, pack my bag/food for the next day, and continue interacting and helping individuals on Instagram and in my challenge.
It was exhausting working these long hours, but I knew I had to do it if I wanted to make my dream a reality.
I remember the evening it hit me; it was spring of 2018, and Tommy and I were sitting in our living room one night after work and I was on the verge of tears and feeling overwhelmed. I felt like I wasn’t doing enough, wasn’t helping as many people as I could, and that there just weren’t enough hours in the day. I was tired, exhausted actually, and on top of that was planning our wedding. I was crying to him over being stressed at work, feeling like I was wasting my time and he said, “Why don’t you quit?” Those four words didn’t leave my thoughts for the next week. Every morning commute, each meeting I attended, and the moment my head hit the pillow at night… those four words were consuming me. It was after many evening conversations and writing many pros/cons lists that Tommy and I realized there was no better time than right now to pursue my dreams.
I didn’t necessarily know what I was going to do, how I was going to get there, or how long it would take. But one thing I did know was that God was going to be with me every step of the way and that was the only reassurance I needed to go after my dreams.
I quit my job June 1st, 2018 and I am certain that I will never forget that day for as long as I live. The feeling of freedom running through my veins, the passion I felt burning from my chest, and the excitement I saw in my eyes, this is something I will never forget. The picture below was taken in my car, in the parking lot of my office building just moments after I said my goodbyes.
Had that smile been any bigger, I may have broken my jaw (lol). I felt proud, scared, relieved, excited, nervous, ecstatic, and so many other emotions I cannot even explain.
We are all given one chance on this earth, one life to live, and one opportunity to make an impact. God has a plan for each and every one of us and he wanted me to do something more. He didn’t hand this opportunity to me, but he led me there and he gave me the tools and the drive I needed to make it happen.
There are many days I hear people complaining about their job and expressing how miserable they are. It kills me, my heart hurts for them because I know how horrible that feeling is – feeling stuck and unhappy, but not knowing what to do.
SPREAD YOUR WINGS. Heck yes it’s going to be scary. Heck yes you’re going to question yourself. Heck yes you’re going to want to give up, but God will give you the tools you need to survive and you will figure it out. If there’s one thing I can promise you, it is this: Waking up feeling scared of whether or not you’re doing the right thing is much better than waking up feeling miserable because you’re unhappy in your job.
Find what sets your soul on fire and chase after it.
Until next time.
Peace & Love,
