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So you want to work. Are you asking yourself the right question?

A few years ago, I found myself at a crossroads. I was working full time, going to school at night for a certificate program, and my kids were 5, 8 and 10. I felt busy and frazzled. I had loved what I was doing, and then my boss, the most incredible boss in the entire world who I adored and had taught me so much, had a stroke. We were all devastated. And my professional world changed drastically. So I started looking, looking for not sure exactly what but for something that would not come at the expense of my family.

My search for what I wanted to do left me completely frustrated and unhappy. I knew I had a lot to offer but could not find anything that I wanted to do. Either the job was flexible but not worth the pay or was not flexible and would require long hours away from my family or was beyond meh. So that got me to thinking - was I asking myself the wrong question? Because ultimately, I was going to do what I wanted to do. Maybe the better question was, how did I want to live? When I looked forward in five years, how did I want my life to look? And asking myself that question, brought me to three non-negotiables that I wanted for my future self.

The day the kids scammed me into getting our
Princess Terra. Never walk into the SPCA
thinking you will not come out without a pet!
Of course I have fallen in love!
1. Time flexibility - I realized that working behind a desk full time just wasn't for me. And it wasn't because my kids were little. I knew that I wanted time flexibility as they got older and even as they moved away. At the time, I foresaw teens that may not want to chat all of the time but that when they did, I wanted to be there - and I was spot on. I foresaw wanting to have more time with my retired parents - and that has happened. In the future, I see kids in college who may need me at the drop of a hat, and I hope for kids with families who want to spend time with me. Time flexibility for me is about living life on my own terms in order to live life not work life.

2. Passive and residual income opportunities - I knew I wanted to get away from the billable hour and stop building someone else's dream. I've seen too many scary instances of relying on something that can be snatched away in a moment due to downsizing, government shutdowns, etc., and it happened to me. After my boss had has stroke, our company went through major restructuring, and I was laid off. That was super scary as I was carrying our family's health care benefits. Even though I recognized the need for multiple revenue streams, I was frustrated because I didn't know where to look. Professional sports were obviously out. Acting - never gonna happen. Singing - worse than acting. Nonetheless, I knew there were opportunities out there, and I kept true to what I wanted for me and our family.

3. Intellectual stimulation - you know that feeling you get when you're treading water for hours and hours and hours? Me neither, but I bet it feels super tedious. I felt like my professional life had become that, and I was way too young to feel that way. I knew I wanted to feel alive, to continue to learn and push myself out of my comfort zone and find new experiences. I also knew I wanted to be among a great group of women empowering one another and lifting one another up. We've all been around people who make us feel less than. I wanted to have a group of uplifting, inspiring people in my professional life who believed in me more than I did - I knew I needed it.

These answers led me to the direct sales business that I started over six years ago. Had I not embarked on that path of self-realization, I honestly don't know if I would have given network marketing a second glance. But when I was introduced to it via LinkedIn, I quickly realized that it covered all three check boxes for me - so why not?** And that why not has brought me time to be with my kids before and after school, time to take my eldest on college tours whenever we want, time to visit my parents in Florida, time to walk my daughter and my dog, Princess Terra, to school every day (which I will hang onto as long as she will let me because she's 12, and I cherish these moments!), time to live this amazing, wonderful life - all while being able to build the financial future I want for me and my family.

So here's my challenge to you - instead of asking yourself what you want to do, start asking yourself how you want to live. Here's a great link with guidelines on how to do this from Tim Rettig at byrslf.co. You may be very surprised at how you respond. Does your vision of how you want to live and how you want your life to look like in five years align with what you are doing today? If so, fantastic! Go help others live their dream lives as well. If not, start figuring out today how to get where you want to be. You're worth it!

** If you're curious about network marketing, Robert Kiyosaki lays out a great explanation of why direct sales is a fantastic business model in his book The Business of the 21st Century. The link leads you directly to a fee pdf copy, so happy reading!

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