In relationships and business…

This is probably one of the hardest things to do in life, give up “good” for “great” – we feel like we may as well be “looking a gift horse in the mouth”, so to speak.

Like a lot of us we have been taught to appreciate everything we have and to work hard for it, as we should. To appreciate stability and security; in your relationships, in career, in your personal life and all other areas is a part of the American dream. Also to find something secure, get a good job, settle down, and be responsible, especially when times are uncertain and chaos is all around us.  However, this concept taken too far can be the seeds that are planted for complacency.

When you have something “good” going on, when do you give it all up in the name of finding something “Great”?

I was watching Bravo’s new show Silicon Valley last night (where one of the new starlet’s Sarah Austin, is a former cast mate of mine from the online reality show we filmed called “The Lights”) and one of the girls named Kim was about to leave her well paid and well situated job to embark on a new journey into starting her own business.

I remember the feeling exactly – the moment I decided to take the leap and start my first business.  I was working at a fashion brand that was part of Gucci Group (the cream of the crop in my opinion) and our department was downsized in 2009 when the recession hit. I was faced with two options: find another job – a job at which I would still be working for someone else’s dream regardless of how much, or how little money I was paid, and regardless of how much, or how little creative freedom I was given.  Or, I could start my own business.

I was 24 and I was so naive. 

But I had a dream, and I had just the right amount of naivety and ambition to get started.  Knowing what I know now about the business and being an entrepreneur – I know it had to happen the way it did because sometimes you have to be at a turning point to make a move like that. It was a craving I always had since I was little, although I didn’t understand what the ‘labels’ of it entailed, I knew I always wanted to be a fashion designer and work for myself.

Knowing that at that moment I gave up “good” for “great” is one of the best feelings of my life. To know that I choose the path less taken and the path that will allow my soul to soar and be free.

They say that “Entrepreneurship is living like most people won’t for a few years, so that you can live like most people can’t for the rest of your life.”

This is completely true. It means being broke, being tired, sacrificing your social life, your complexion and sometimes even your health to create something beautiful that you love and that can help others in some way.

The same goes for relationships.  Sometimes you have to give up the “good” – the security, the routine, the safety, the partner and the companionship – for something that is “great”, and for that matter “amazing”.

It takes risking everything, being vulnerable, letting your emotions and your deepest darkest feelings be heard.  It takes feeling naked, raw, and breaking down the walls and boundaries to open up to your genuine truth. It’s about proclaiming the little and the big things you need in life to be fulfilled and really hearing the other person’s feelings and needs as well.

It’s about opening up to all of that – and even when you have finally gone down to exposing your most raw and private wound, it’s about having the strength to walk away if your needs can honestly not be met.

It’s in that experience that you give up “good” for “great” and it can happen in one of two ways.  It can be that perhaps you are not with the right partner, job, career, home etc. and you give up a good relationship for the opportunity to let a great one find its way into your life.

The other way, is that you bust open the doors to something deeper and more beautiful of a relationship than you had before; one with profound mutual understanding and respect, a deeper love and trust and the feeling that all of your needs will be met.

It is in taking that leap of faith that something better will come out of it and trusting the universe and your own judgment that you do not have to settle.

It’s in taking the job interview that is 1,000 miles away and taking the offer to relocate your whole entire life, to move to a new city, to have a go at it on your own, to risk it all and just trust that your big beautiful life is out there waiting for you to take the chance.  To take the great, the gorgeous, the chaotic and the charmed life that is meant to be yours, and that your soul KNOWS is out there.

And it’s out there.  Believe me, it’s out there!

It’s up to you to allow it in.  Speak your truth and watch the amazing things unfold.

Hope that inspires you.

This blog is dedicated to one of my best friends Stephanie who is opening up a brand new chapter in her life and relocating to Florida in two weeks for an amazing job and beautiful brand new life.  May it be happy, full of love, abundance and peace! So proud of you Steph, it’s just the beginning.

xoxo

Emily