Growing up, I was known as the “worrier” in my family...
...which was probably just one facet of being a natural mother-hen. I have clear memories of teaching math facts to neighborhood kids using sidewalk chalk. School came relatively easily to me - I was consumed by orchestra, choir, math competitions, debate and speech, and friends. In 7th grade I decided I was going to be a math teacher. Spoiler alert: other than student teaching, I never ended up there. I took a detour in college to focus on violin performance, which led me to 19 years as a part-time professional musician, and 5 years married to my violin professor. Another spoiler alert: that last part didn’t end well.
I didn’t have an intense enough drive to want music to be a full-time career, so living in one of the largest insurance hubs in the world, I found a job setting up 401(k) plans. My predisposition toward mentoring others quickly led to me becoming a trainer. I went to graduate school to get back to the math teacher thing, but ended up back in the corporate world (don’t get me started on how little we pay teachers). Humans are the largest budget item in any corporation, and I was fascinated by the science of human performance.
My first marriage ended painfully. But that sent me into the therapy and introspection that opened my eyes to my worth. The confidence to be fully ourselves is a life-long journey, isn’t it? A year later I reconnected with a friend and former colleague who loved me just the way I was. (Yes, he still does.) Our marriage came with the added benefit of instant motherhood as I became stepmom to a 17-year-old. So I started parenting with college visits, senior prom, and graduation. Then a few years later we went back and started over with the pregnancy part.
Being a mom is my most natural role. I spent my first maternity leave eating, sleeping, and nursing, allowing myself not to think about too much else. As the time neared for me to go back to work part-time, my employer started getting cold feet about the job-share I had arranged, and I was actually relieved, because I didn’t want to leave my little one even a few days a week. The budget math didn’t really add up for me to stay home, but we decided we’d figure it out as we went.
As much as I loved putting my heart and soul into my baby, I quickly figured out that I needed to use the adult-centered part of my brain, too. I took over an online store specializing in natural baby products and spent the next six years learning all facets of owning a business while helping moms troubleshoot washing cloth diapers in different types of machines and with different water quality. There were days I felt I was failing at everything. While working on my business I felt guilty that I wasn’t giving the kids my full attention. And while focusing on my kids I felt stressed that I was getting behind in my business. (For the record, “maternity leave” the second time around amounted to 36 hours I gave myself off from packing and shipping orders.) But I was incredibly grateful to be home full time, and to bring in income without having a boss! And then it got even better.
I never imagined I would find a career in direct sales. I didn’t trust the industry. (And rightly so, a lot of cult-like tactics are taught and encouraged.) But when I found a product that changed my life, I knew it would be selfish not to share it with other moms. You can read that story here. And as I built that business I realized it was similar to what I had been doing with my online store, but it came with the added opportunity to mentor others in reaching for their dreams. And that’s my sweet spot.
Now I make a living teaching people how to believe in themselves, which is my dream job! I’m delighted to have you along for the ride.