Hello there! Welcome to my first ever blog post. My name is Lauren and thank you for joining me. This post is not only the beginning of my blogging journey, it’s intended to track my new online business journey. I’m both excited and anxious to start this new career, this Second Act in my life. I was in school until I was 28, and afterwards, I just knew the days of my schooling were over. The joke’s on me! I’m setting out to venture into a whole new world…and there’s a great deal of learning and training involved. How much learning, I don’t yet know (you don’t know what you don’t know). But, nonetheless, here goes nothin’!
I have this theory...
Let me share with you just what’s fueling this newfound journey. I have this theory about money and I’ve set out to prove it true. My theory is that the quest for financial freedom has been made way harder than it needs to be. Living the lives we desire is within our grasp and we are conditioned to think it is not. Conversely, I believe we are sold a bill of goods that if we do all the right things (school, training, etc) we are guaranteed that life we want. I think both of these are very false, and I fell trap to it. I believe we all have the ability to live the lives we want, and yes, earn a handsome income… perhaps not in the way we have been conventionally sold.
Let me be clear here: I’m not so much after money, I’m after the freedom that comes from the life that I want to live. It just so happens that finances play a major role in allowing for that freedom. Money, to me, is just a means to an end. That’s it. If gathering balloons were what it took to live the life that I’m seeking, then balloons would be my quest. (Poor analogy, I know.. but hopefully you get my point).
<Inserting cliffhanger here:> There is a very specific reason that’s driving this desire for change… stay tuned for another post specifically about that.
I plan to share with you all the juicy details what got me to this point, what led me to this stage in my life, but more importantly, what I plan to do about it. My plan isn’t to simply wish upon a star and hope for the better, but rather do something about it. My goal is to document and share with you what it takes for me to become a successful online entrepreneur. My goal is that my journey will help you in yours. (Or, at the very least, provide you some enjoyment).
At the end of the day, when I accomplish my goal, I will help others do the same. You will see me reference a lot that our health is our most valuable asset and finances should never get in the way of your health decisions, choices, and preferences. Once a healer, always a healer… my plan now is to cast a much wider net in helping people. Helping people live the life they want is a part of health and healing that many don’t talk about and I’ve set out to pave the path.
Why the Line in the Sand?
When I decided to embark on this online journey, and this accompanying blog, I knew I would be making a public declaration. I also knew I would be getting very vulnerable and sharing the reasons that got me to this point in life. So many people reach a point in their lives where they find themselves at a fork in the road and ultimately forced to decide whether their current trajectory is one they are happy with. Like so many, I found myself in this very spot and unsure what to do about it. This ultimately led to that Line in the Sand moment. For me, it was a matter of, “Okay, Lauren… you’re not happy where you are, so whatcha gonna do about it?! How much does this mean to you?” That was the question I asked when I found myself at that proverbial fork in the road, and ultimately when I drew my line in the sand.
"After 15+ years, enough was enough."
What got me to that Line in the Sand moment? If you’ve already joined my email list, you likely would have read that I am a retired chiropractor. After 15+ years in the industry, 10 of which were spent owning and operating my private chiropractic practice, I burnt out. My husband describes it as, “the wheels just came off.” I had devoted my life to my craft and my profession, 15+ years of school, internships, and ultimately private practice. Looking back in reflection, I really didn’t know how bad things had become until they were past the point of no return. I was physically and emotionally drained from the responsibilities required to run a successful wellness practice (can we say contradictory?) and no matter how much I grew (or how much money I earned) there didn’t seem to be an end in sight. I came to the realization that I no longer loved what I was doing. Still to this day, I am unsure which came first: did my passion die, resulting in burn out, or did the burn out result in my passion dying? Ultimately it doesn’t matter, but it’s something I have always wondered.
After retiring from practice, I spent the next 18 months healing, at the same time contemplating what I wanted next for my life. I knew a few things to be for certain:
1) I no longer wanted to trade my time for money, or rather dollar for service
2) I craved the freedom to work as much or as little as I felt like doing on a particular day
3) I wanted to use my knowledge and passions to reach people exponentially.
Hi Lauren, A great heartfelt first post that I really enjoyed reading and felt touched by 😊
I love that you shared your background, what your expertise is, how the way life was and what you were doing led you to burn out and how you have now taken stock and re-evaluated your life going forward, are clear on what you do and do not want – so so important for us to know and what you intend to do about it.
For anyone who reads your post and is in the same quandary within their own life will, I have no doubt, find this an inspiring read because it reality is that if we are not happy with our life, we do not need to continue on doing what we were doing hoping and that something will change, the truth is nothing changes if nothing changes. We can decide different!. You did, you have changed direction and made a new choice for yourself and your family. I commend you for it, I wish you every success as you begin your journey into Affiliate Marketing, a fantastic business model that I have chosen for myself. I look forward to revisiting to see how wonderfully you are progressing!
https://karenelissabeth.com/making-good-progress/
Karen Elissabeth recently posted…Making Good Progress
Karen, thank you. It’s my goal that those who find themselves down an undesired path, to have the courage to change. I’m so glad you took that away from this story.
Hey, thanks so much for sharing your story, Lauren! That’s, like, inspirational and instructional and irritational (Hey, I just created a new word!) all rolled into one! It’s inspirational to hear of you healing up and starting all anew again, it’s instructional that sometimes, we just need a break (after all, rest is healing), and irritational that you would have gone through all that in the first place! I look forward to seeing how your journey progresses and so glad you can walk this together with your husband through the ups and downs that may be on the road ahead.
Michael recently posted…No Need To Rush
Thank you Michael; it warms my heart to read your very kind words.
Love the idea of ‘The Second Act’. In the First Act, you learned many things that have helped to inform the Second. The 3 points you’ve identified resonate with me as well. I believe that the freedom to control how much or how little you want to work, and sharing your knowledge and passion sounds like an amazing life, and from your previous work experience recognized that exchanging time for money can be debilitating. Now you are clear on what is most important to you. I look forward to learning more from you.
Eleanor Hope recently posted…Clarity of Purpose
My heart smiles at your response. Thank you, thank you 🙏. It’s comforting when you receive responses like this, when people share that they can relate to your struggles.
Hi Lauren,
That was truly heartwarming and really authentic which is what I loved about it. I appreciated your balloon analogy about doing whatever it takes to gain that freedom. I recall when I got my Masters degree, people would say to me that I must love to be a student and in school. I was like “no!”, I am not one of those people. I just knew that if I wanted to do what I wanted to do that was the path to do it. I needed a Masters degree to apply for licensure as a therapist. It was simple, this was the path to what I really wanted to do. I feel the same way about money and earning money online. I want to make money to have the freedom to live the life I want to live. I truly relate to everything you wrote. Good luck on your journey, I look forward to your next post.
Best regards,
Stephanie
Thank you Stephanie. You’re the exact person I was excited to have read this, because I know there are many others out there like us. Thank you for the motivational words… so very humbly appreciated.
I resonate with what you said and I find this reading really comforting. Comforting because I always believed that one reason why we are not progressing toward a better life, with more freedom, is because we are in a sense accepting our condition. We accept our conditions because we believe that the goal we want is not reachable. Unconsciously or not, we build our own barrier to our success. Like you said, financial freedom is much easier to grasp than what we think. This is why our “WHY” is so much important. We need something stronger than the internal forces that stop us from progressing forward.
Yes, I want this freedom too. I want to regain the control of my life, and this starts now.
Good post!
Martin
Yes, yes, YES! I couldn’t have said it better myself! Well said, Martin, thank you!
Lauren, I can definitely relate to your post. Being an owner/operator of several business’ as well as a Foreman at one I do not own… The stress on your mind and body is beyond what any of the employees would be able to understand. With that said, being owners of a business, we are already rich, right? 🤣🤣🤣 If they only knew… I’m glad to see that you are focusing on yourself and your health first. Your willingness to help others has already been proven throughout your whole career and will carry over into your Journey as an Affiliate Marketer. Focus on your “WHY” and SUCCESS will be yours for the taking! Here’s to the Journey Ahead!
David Roper recently posted…Got Value? 👀
David, thank you for the insight. I completely agree that not too many can relate to the insanity of entrepreneurship unless you’ve been there.. lol. Hopefully you will enjoy the future posts!
I like your balloon analogy. Although if I have the choice, I will choose to gather sand in the beach instead.
Jokes aside, I would like to congratulate you for embarking on this second act of your life.
I believe it will be a lot of fun and I hope it will be an extremely fruitful journey for you. All the best!
Alan Lim recently posted…How to Get 10% to 50% Sales Conversion From Your Email Subscribers
Thank you Alan, greatly appreciate the support!
Lauren, great first blog. It’s nice to be part of the second act of your life. Everything you said resonates completely with me and you may have read in my first blog very similar reasons. This whole thing about school and work and how it promises you a great life, and don’t get me wrong, it does, but why is everything still so hard, why is everything so expensive why don’t we have enough left for holidays and things we want to do? I have started this journey and I’d welcome any comments you have on my blog also . I tried to press the subscribe button on your blog but nothing happened. I assume you’re still building your page well done for starting and I’m sure you’re gonna do really really well. He will then lead a position to put the wheels back on and drive into the future . Thanks, Atif.
Atif Perwiz recently posted…The Iceberg effect – what we see is often only a fraction of what it really is
Thank you Atif! You are so right about “doing all the right things,” yet life still being so hard. Just never made a lot of sense to me. Wanting change is certainly a process.. starting first with the acknowledgment that we NEED to change. Thanks for the kind words and for joining me on my journey! BTW I will look into the subscription button issue, thanks for bringing that to my attention.
Brilliant blog post. I really enjoyed reading this, thank you so much for sharing. I see a lot of my story in yours. It doesn’t matter the currency, money, balloons, sweets…..I don’t even want more than I need, just enough to have the freedom. Time is more precious than anything. We can earn more balloons, we just cant earn more time.
I really love your logo too, That’d what I saw first when getting onto your blog.
My heart is smiling, Sarah. I love to hear that this resonates with others. Sometimes we can feel like we are all on our own individual islands but in reality we all are probably more alike and connected than we realize. Thank you for the feedback! Excited to share future posts with you as I publish more!
Hi Lauren, this is an amazing start to your blog! Well done! This really resonated with my own journey. The post is very well written with an open honest share of who you are, where you’ve been and where you hope to go and why. I almost feel like we are friends already! You off to a strong start to a rewarding new career! Hopefully this one fills your cup up instead of poking holes all over it! Best wishes in your endeavor, I will look forward to hearing how it goes for you.
Sharel Siarkiewicz recently posted…#4 Chaos unraveled!
Sharel, it’s comments like that these that just make you warm and fuzzy on the inside, despite how cold it is outside! I’m so grateful you found the blog and my words connected with you. I’m definitely on a mission to fill my cup up once again instead of poking holes all through it (LOVE that, btw). Looking forward to being new friends!
Congratulation on this decision and your first post! I love your statement, “Let me be clear here: I’m not so much after money, I’m after the freedom that comes from the life that I want to live.” WOW! Best wishes on your new journey and for the freedom it will provide.
Ernie recently posted…Clean, Clear and Fresh Ice
Thank you Ernie. I am so glad to read the message resonated with you! I look forward to continuing to share this journey with my new friends, like yourself.
Thank you for sharing your story Lauren.
When you have a passion for what you do it doesn’t seem like a job. It resonates with me as I am also starting affiliate marketing to gain more freedom.
I am glad you pointed out that you rather spend money to get more time. This shows you through entrepreneurship.
I am a big fan of leverage. It is like “cheating the time”. This comes from the understanding that time is an asset. Hence you would only do high-income generating tasks and hire someone to do less important ones while delaying or even deleting everything else.
Looking forward to your future posts. Tom
Tom Bledzki recently posted…Number one tool for success
Thank you, Tom. I never thought of using the term leverage to describe my newfound change… but that makes perfect sense! That’s ultimately exactly what I’m doing. I like looking at it like that. I’m also glad to read that you’re right there with me in beginning your affiliate marketing journey as well — I know we will have a lot in common and hopefully can lean on each other through our journeys.
Lauren,
I enjoyed your story very much. Very moving! I agree with you that we tend to do what we are “conditioned” to. We are taught to go to school, get good grades, and get a good job. Then we find ourselves unhappy in what we are doing, and do not know what to do about it. I am so thankful to have found Dean Holland and his incredible opportunity. The sky is the limit, and I am very excited to continue on this journey and see where it takes me. You have definitely started this journey with a wonderful mindset, and I have no doubt you will find the life you are looking for! I look forward to reading more of your posts!
Kelli
Kelli, Yes and YES! Although it’s hard not to be bitter at times, I am fully accepting that my journey is all for a very big and powerful purpose. I’m so glad that you can relate and you are enjoying the sharing of my journey. Thank you again for joining me!
Hi Lauren,
What an inspirational first post! Combining health in the building of business is important and being a health practitioner gives you an authority so many will listen to. I also am living and encouraging the goal of building a business in a healthy manner. I was ruined over the years, first in body through hard labour, then in mind through toxic work environments. I appreciate your goal to lead in business with a foundation of good health! Looking forward to your next post and wish you great success!
Denny
Denny Medeiros recently posted…Building Relationship Through Email 👋
Thank you Denny! I’m glad you found my post beneficial! I look forward to sharing more with you as my journey unfolds.
Lauren,
Thanks for being so open in sharing. It is difficult to bare your life for all to see online. I’ve have been there along with my wife SJ. Thanks again for doing so.
Next, I am looking forward to your posts on health. I have had to discover the hard way that health matters and has a profound impact on ones business and it’s success. In fact I’m writing a post on it shortly. After spending a good portion of my last year in hospitals and doctors office, I’m finally on my journey to a better me.
I am going to subscribe so I can follow you.
CJ
Thank you CJ for your openness as well. It’s not until you personally (or witness someone you care about) go through health challenges do you really understand just how important your health is to everything you do in this life. Sadly it’s not until we lose it that we understand that (I speak as not only a practitioner but a patient as well). I’m looking forward to reading about your journey, too. I wish you the best of luck as you and your wife find your way to a better you!