Taking a bath at 10:30 am on a weekday is not something I normally do, unless I'm on holiday. And, whilst this is really uncomfortable to talk about (because I don't like to brag), I really want you to know that this is totally possible.
When I look back over my working life, I really can't remember when I decided that I wanted to work part-time for a full-time salary, but it was early on. The idea of being able to work less and earn the same amount really appealed to me, as it does to so many people. Having the freedom to use my time for the things I wanted to do, rather than what I felt I had to do was the attraction.
Of course, I thought I'd never be able to achieve this dream. Ever. It was purely that; a dream, a fantasy. But this year, that has changed, and my pipe dream has become a reality.
What has happened though has really surprised me. I'm actually really struggling to embrace my dream and new found freedom. Even though I have worked extremely hard for this over the last 5½ years since I started my business Upcycled & Co., it's not as easy as I thought it would be.
Last year I got to the stage where I wanted to sell the business, but I had a very, very strong gut feeling all along that I needed to keep it a little longer. So, I outsourced parts of it so I wasn't working so much. Almost immediately I found the perfect person to take over some of the tasks in my business. Seemingly by chance (I'm not a believer in such things, I'm sure the Universe heard me and gave me what I desperately wanted) I was chatting with Steph, my nail technician about this, and she said, "Ooh, I'd love to do that. What's involved?" I was excited to say the least.
It was a biggie for me though. I had to learn to let go and trust someone else with my 'baby' so to speak, but oh my goodness I am so glad I did. Steph is the perfect contractor, we have loads of fun and I'm so incredibly grateful to have her working for me.
Now we are eleven months down the track, and Steph has been dispatching all of the paint orders, receiving the stock, labelling it and keeping that side of the business ticking over beautifully. And this week we're meeting to talk about the next stage as I prepare to handover even more tasks to her.
All of this means I now have more time for me. I have the time for the things I want to do in my life, which, as I said earlier, is not as easy as it sounds. I've been struggling with it big time. But that's okay. This is a very new experience for me and I'm still learning how to embrace it without feeling guilty.
The main message I want to get across here is this. If you want to create a certain lifestyle, you can do it. Get in touch and we can chat. I'm open to providing coaching if that's something you'd like to do.
With love,
