When I was young, I just assumed I was invincible. Or....maybe I didn't care. So I took stupid risks. Really stupid ones. For fun...maybe....or to grow a reputation. Who really knows.
And as I grew older, I just wanted change. I grew bored easily.....or maybe I wanted attention......or maybe I wanted to carve out a place for myself. So I took strange, out of the ordinary risks. 'Just do it' was my motto. But, who really knows why I did it. Not me.
I could easily look back on all that craziness and money wasted and be embarrassed or ashamed.....or a whole host of other things. But, if I've learned anything from the madness of my life, it's to actually be grateful for the mistakes and use them to grow. It sounds very cliche but for me....it's totally true. I can either be embarrassed and hide my mistakes or I can use them as a springboard.
I prefer the bouncier option.
I am about to hit our 5 year anniversary owning Sanctuary of Davidson. When I opened it, most people thought I was crazy. No one thought it would work. I was destined to fail. It was an insane undertaking that I had no expertise or experience in. Owning a business?? Where would I even begin? When I talked about it, my friends and family were polite and listened and nodded their heads. But, they always said 'safe' things like, 'wow, that's really something' or 'I bet that's going to be a lot of work'. No one said, 'Great idea! You can do it!'.
Well.....no one except my amazing husband. He's never said no to me about all my insane risk taking. I don't know if he's amused by it or just wants me to have something to keep me busy......but he's always been super supportive. Thanks, babe!!
The last 5 years have been crazy. Ups and downs. More downs than ups......but the ups are starting to really outweigh the downs (thank goodness). I almost closed the gallery last year but decided to reevaluate how I was doing things.....change a few things......rearrange and keep going. It worked. We've grown leaps and bounds and I'm happy with it again. Risk, risk, risk. Sometimes it actually pans out for me.
Now....am I a GREAT business woman? Nope. (I'm actually chuckling a little reading that). I'm not even close to a great business woman. I'm getting better but.....no. But....I have 3 things on my side that a lot of people don't.
1. I never quit when I believe in something. I will go down kicking and screaming before I quit something. I should have been a ship captain because I am definitely a 'go down with the ship' person.
2. I can see potential in things...... potential that could happen years and years down the road. I'm impatient with most things (almost everything) but when it comes to seeing future success, I've got all the patience in the world. Timing is everything and I've seen God hold good things back a million times from me because the timing was off. Thank goodness. Even good things at the wrong time can turn to badness. I've seen that, too.
3. I'm a risk taker. Big time. As we've already established.
Okay....all that being said, I am not telling anyone to throw caution to the wind and make stupid decisions. (That's my job).
But......I am saying it's not always smart to play it safe. Sometimes, yes.....but not always. Other times, it's good to jump in with both feet. Take a risk. Take a chance. Do something that scares you. It could very well change your future. Or....it will at least give you a great story to tell!
Sometimes, it's best to be brave and don't look back. If even one person believes in you......perhaps that's all you need.
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