RISE, A Modern Guide for the Purpose Driven Woman Spring 2014 | Page 24
TODAY, as I sat down to write
this, I had one of ‘those’ moments. One of those out of
body, incredibly grateful, “is
this my life?” moments. A moment inspired by a simple request…to tell my story! What
followed were several awkward and still moments filled
with paralyzing crazy excitement, then… anxiety! Yikes!
I thought, “Has my life really become what I designed?
Have the details of my lifetime
of desires and visions materialized to become my reality?”
Well, I do believe they have,
and I am thrilled to share my
journey with you here!
TURBULENCE AND THE
TURNING POINT
Growing up in Los Angeles for
me was very “normal” (Mom
was a gorgeous actress, model
and artist, and Dad was my
entrepreneur-restaurateurreal estate mogul-DIY enthusiast-hero). My sister and I were
best friends (still are) and our
lives were simple and honest.
Mom and Dad raised us to be
strong, determined, independent, creative and authentic
girls who love God. Life was
good.
“…PERSISTENCE AND
DETERMINATION ALONE ARE
OMNIPOTENT…”
Calvin Coolidge
Having a renaissance entrepreneur type Dad was super
exciting. I was encouraged to
pursue my dreams as long
as I worked hard, gave it my
all, and did everything with
class and integrity. Later in
my young adult years Dad
sparked my interest in real
estate. I flipped my first
house for profit at twenty-one
years old. I’ve been hooked on
fixer-uppers ever since. The
next years that followed were
creative and inspiring.
However, my life, like the lives
of many, has also been a very
bumpy ride at times, and occasionally the bumps turned
into turbulence, and eventually my plane fell out of the sky
and into a corn field. Suddenly, there I was, an abandoned, single Mom with three
amazing kids (all under the
age of five), and we were on
our own in every way. Without any warning, my husband
left us. No child support. No
alimony. Just gone. A long
and painful divorce and years
of guilt followed. There is no
greater motivation to seek security and success than your
own children.
“PERSEVERANCE,
TENACITY,
GRATITUDE,
KNOWLEDGE, AND
FAITH…
THESE ARE
THE KEY
ELEMENTS
YOU’LL
NEED TO
DESIGN THE
LIFE YOU
DESERVE!”
After several exhausting years
of working multiple jobs in
order to be home with the
kids and make ends meet
(event planner/caterer, interior designer, office manager,
illustrator, mommy-and-me
instructor, co-owner of a successful children’s home décor
line and an author/illustrator of my first published children’s book) it had become increasingly obvious that it was
time to pursue a different path
to security and happiness.
I felt that time was running
out, and if I was ever going to
listen to my heart it would be
right now! I knew the road
ahead was going to be challenging, but no more challenging then the life I was already
living, and what was so shocking was the realization that
the tougher road was the road
of “thought”, and as soon as I
put my foot on the road of my
“heart”, it was profoundly less
difficult.