Hi Confident Lady!
A few weeks back I was a part of something called The Imperfect Boss Movement. This was spearheaded by my dear friend Ashley Beaudin to help shine a light on the beautifully imperfect lives we ALL live, particularly entrepreneurs. This was my third time participating and each time feels a little more vulnerable than before. Something about it is so liberating to just bear it all and tell you guys what’s really up. Each time I’ve participated, the outpour of love and support has been moving. This movement not only allows other women to see they are NOT ALONE, but it also confirms to me that I’M NOT ALONE.
When you make the choice in life to lead others, you can do it two ways: 1. Lead alone by holding onto all of your junk and the messiness we call life OR 2. Share your journey along the way (always scars though!) and be an example of someone who imperfectly leads. I don’t know about you, but the first one is EXHAUSTING and why I am no longer a practicing psychotherapist. I realized through my own journey that if I wanted to truly lead in a way that felt congruent, I would need to chose the latter.
Below I am going to share with you my true confession. I will say it felt a little scary sharing it, but like I always say, when you wait til your wound becomes a scar, you are ready to share. Although it’s still pretty recent, I’ve healed and processed this enough for it to be a beautiful scar today. Here we go:
July 4th I almost quit my business. Like legit almost quit.
It was one of the HARDEST days yet in my business. Babygirl was 3.5 months. Still not sleeping, not taking a bottle, still screaming ALL. DAY. LONG. I truly believed going into motherhood it would be simple to have people in and out of my home helping me while I worked. I would essentially lock myself in a room to do my calls for a few hours at a time while they played with my happy baby, fed her a bottle, and got her to nap.
Well it looked nothing like that. Poor thing was hungry all the time + needing mama's comfort pretty much on the hour. I could hear her screaming in the background as I ran my coaching calls. It was heartbreaking. But as everyone said...I was "so lucky I got to stay home with her right????" A lot of moms going back to work say the struggle is leaving their baby and losing the passion for their work.
My struggle was different. The passion burned even more than ever before. With the birth of my babygirl, a new sort of passion was also birthed into my business. I had so many new ideas and missions I wanted to accomplish, but I needed to be there for my babygirl. When you feel at rock bottom, the only way to go is quitting or getting back up.
That day I was the closest I'd ever been to quitting. Crying on the way home from a family BBQ. But something (I think the rebel within me) fought myself and said fight it, don't do it. So I decided that day to #1 be a mama to my babygirl and then whatever time was leftover, give to my business. I won't say things have been perfect since that day, but they have been MUCH better !
And guess what?! Me surrendering my business has brought so many incredible gifts into my life including babygirl taking the bottle, eating solid foods, beginning to sleep through the night, have more solid stretches of time where I can get work done. It's ALL WORKED OUT. It always does, right? I hope this story inspires you to NOT quit when it feels like your only option. To find that rebel in you to go against the pain and get back up.
Have you ever had a close call like this one in your business? I am going to tell you today that these feelings of wanting to quit can sneak up at any level you get to. Often clients tell me, “once I get to ____ in my business, the struggles will be gone”. Not true. This is why it’s CRUCIAL to have accountability and support from biz besties and mentors who get it.
Did this hit home? Comment below and share with me. And then make sure to head on over to my YouTube channel to check out the video I did on this topic as well!
Blessings + Abundance,
XO Kate
P.S. If you want to go even deeper and learn how to create a mindset for massive success & become a confident, recognized leader in your industry, download my FREE Confident Ladies Success Kit!