A blog over 40!
Hey girl, hey!! Welcome to my little corner of the virtual world. Where I believed that stepping out at almost 43 to do a new thing was past my prime (I know, I know...crazy...and if you're older than me and doing a new thing, please don't be mad! You are my goals!) I asked myself, did I miss the mark? Did I miss the window of opportunity because I'm not in my 20's or 30's anymore?! Well, I say heck no! Even more of a reason to get out there and shine! I know I'm not alone when I say that many of us struggle with thinking we missed the window of opportunity. Either way, being more "seasoned" just means you have more life experience to offer anyway! And 40 is the new 20!
For years, I dabbled in many creative outlets trying to match my passion and giftings to a specific niche. When I would hone in on a certain niche, it was short-lived because other creative parts of my soul were not being fulfilled or expressed. I felt I had to pick one area of expertise and stick to it. I slowly learned that I was the only one who put these limitations on myself and for so many years this mentality only resulted in complacency and the dreadful place of "being stuck." I know subconsciously that fear and procrastination played their roles of resistance in moving forward.
In 2015, I built Altogether Lovely Shop which is my Calligraphy & Design business and that ran successfully until I hit burnout. If you are an entrepreneur, then you know firsthand the struggle of working solely alone and paving the way for your business and all the different obstacles you encounter in areas such as marketing, tech issues, social media, aesthetics, accounting, taxes, licensing, insurance, prioritizing customers, processing orders, and ultimately, BOUNDARIES! I was doing it well, until...I wasn't doing well and unfortunately, my health and self-care took the back burner and I found myself in complete burnout.
I took some time to regroup and go back to the drawing board to recalibrate. Realizing through my experience that there were components of my work that sparked joy and I loved doing, then there were aspects that made me want to pull my hair out.
I don't have any definite plans of the direction this will go and I don't have to. I am okay with figuring it out as I go! But I do know that my passion to serve my home and my family is at the foundation of cultivating an Altogether Lovely life. But I want to encourage you if you are over or under 40 and have a fire of something stirring up in your soul, don't wait. Just start. You don't have to have it all figured out. I'd love to lock arms with you, cheer you on, and be in your corner so we can encourage one another to take the risk and make a move. We can do hard things! <3
