What's the difference between giving up and giving in? w/ Leslie Smith

I’m really excited to introduce you to my best friend Leslie Smith. Not only is she my best friend, but is also my former partner in my first business. Together, we learned a lot together and we could do a whole video on how it was working with your best friend. In this interview, we keep it real and I hope you enjoy her story.

Meet Leslie

There was a point in both of our lives where we were seeking something. We found this excitement around fitness that just seemed like the inspiration for an adventure. Leslie had been home with her daughter for two years, and she knew that she wanted something different. Something exciting. Something challenging. Leslie feels she fell into entrepreneurship not expecting to own a business. Things fell into place and suddenly we were business owners together.

For three to four years, our business was our life. We poured so much effort into it, that just throwing away all the knowledge that she gained seemed uncomfortable. In a way, she felt she had lost a piece of her identity by no longer being an entrepreneur. Leslie gave herself a summer to do all the things. Go on adventures. Spend time with her family. Then get right back to work. What she found is that she was happy. She was fulfilled having fun, but it felt wrong for her to admit that she was happy.  She was resisting her own happiness and felt lazy not having something going on.

Leslie knows what it takes to be an entrepreneur and she realized she didn’t want to do it that way anymore. She just wanted to be a mom. She had to let go of that part of her identity and own what made her really happy. In her case, it was her family and spending time for them. The struggle and the “dream” of entrepreneurship isn’t her calling. She’s a wonderful mother and an incredible woman. She offers another perspective on the journey of entrepreneurship that I don’t think we always talk about but is important to share.

Being Uninformed

We recognize that when we started our journey we were resistance to taking on the advice of others. Even though other people had messed up, we were going to do it right! To be honest, we would have saved so much time if we had heeded the advice of others and gained knowledge from that wisdom. We wanted to do something different, but just because you’re doing something different doesn’t mean that advice doesn’t apply.

This is just an opportunity to cite an example of how much educating yourself on business can really benefit you in the end. Letting go in the way of growth doesn’t end up biting you in the ass. People aren’t giving you the advice to see you fail, but to help you learn more from their experience.

Social Self vs. True Self

Leslie felt a lot of pressure to be an entrepreneur when what really made her happy was her family. There was a lot of struggle with the word “just”. She was just going to be a mom. She was just going to stay home. There was a lot of work that she had to do in order to get over that guilt and look at herself for what made her truly fulfilled in life.

It wasn’t until she attended a workshop with me that she admitted to herself (and to me) that she didn’t want to be an entrepreneur. She knew that if these women were part of her tribe that they would accept her. And they did! Now she’s happy working the Biggest Job on Earth. Being a mom. Admitting this to the world felt like a huge relief off of her shoulders. She didn’t have to hold it in anymore. She could surrender to her truth.

Leslie offers another perspective on finding your happiness in life. Sometimes we aren’t meant to be entrepreneurs. That doesn’t make someone lazy or unmotivated or unsuccessful. It’s just a different definition of success that leads us to a fulfilled life. I hope you can listen to her words and it helps you reflect on what really brings you joy in life.

In my online coaching group, the creative, busy women there are getting to ease, happiness, and success much more quickly than they ever anticipated!

Last week, one of them told me that she’d crossed off something off her list that had been there for 6 months!

That feels SO DAMN GOOD!

Are you ready for that?  Get some ease & success for yourself: join us in The Idea Space.

You’ll bring your idea to reality - and have a coach & community to keep you accountable & moving forward!

Those who join during the month of March will benefit from a private 30-minute 1:1 coaching session that will pull out your 90-day goals AND create a plan of micro-steps so you can GO GET IT!

We are more than 60 days into this year.

Are you finally ready to go get it?