it’s time to get out of your comfort zone
I absolutely love breaking down trainings and workshops into tangible how-to steps that you can implement immediately in your business, especially as you’re building and looking to scale, but I also have a passion for so much more than that – so today, instead of talking behind-the-scenes business processes, we’re diving into how-to build a business around your life.
Year after year we set these goals for ourselves – we have a vision of what we want our lives to look like. But often times – even when we accomplish a goal or get close to accomplishing a goal – we lack an overall feeling of fulfillment.
During a recent session with one of my mentors, we began talking about me – who is Olivia?
After our call I went straight to my bathroom, looked in the mirror and directly into my own eyes – and I thought to myself, who am I? A question I hadn’t truly dove into since starting my business 7 years ago – since becoming a wife, since becoming a mom in 2023… who am I? Who is Olivia outside of those titles, and outside of my business?
This exercise is one that I cannot encourage enough. It’s too easy for us to hide behind the business. It’s a societal norm for us to reply to this question with an answer like – “I’m a creative”, “I’m a graphic designer”, “I’m an entrepreneur”, “I’m a mom” – but that’s not who we are – that’s not what defines us.
Many of us are multi-passionate, multifaceted entrepreneurs, and we’re too often focused on the next milestone – the next goal – the next achievement – we forget that we’re currently, in this very moment, supposed to be living the life we were given – in the day-to-day – not just going through the motions, and definitely not solely focused on what’s next.
Here’s where I’m going to share a quick story:
Since having our daughter, we’ve struggled with maintaining daycare – failed nanny’s, closed daycare centers, waiting lists – you name it, it’s happened. We’re a working family trying to find a routine, and we’ve yet to get there. However, recently I had an amazing Monday – the kind that started slow. I was able to take my daughter to gymnastics and log in to work around 10:30am – I didn’t feel rushed, or overwhelmed – instead, as I sat down at my computer to get some tasks done, I felt grateful. These are the types of days I’d dreamed of – the ones I’d worked so hard for, for all the years leading up to this point.
I share that story with you to remind you that putting in the work now, and determining who you are outside of entrepreneur or business owner, is how you’re going to show up as a leader – it’s how you’re going to be an inspiration to your family, your friends, your children (or future children), your community.
Your goals – your achievements – your milestones — those are all important, but what matters most is how you feel about yourself, and how you’re doing in the present moment – because we’re not just building a business, we’re building a business around our dreams, we’re building a business to be in alignment with the life we desire.
If this resonates with you, I challenge you to start with inner healing through meditation or journaling, and ask yourself – who am I?
To go a little deeper into this topic be sure to tune in to Episode 95 of the Behind the Design Podcast, and if you’re not already, be sure to follow @byoliviaaustin on Instagram – let’s link arms and support each other through this journey!
