When Jake was in 1st grade, she had to take a ferry to school. Most days of the week, she would come home at the same time but on Fridays, they got out early.
I was a busy single, working mom but I had her schedule as a priority in my life and always made sure I had a backup whenever I couldn’t pick her up or be at an event for her.
One Friday, I had picked up an extra class in downtown Seattle…completely forgetting early release!
Back then, mobile phones were not common and I was not even aware of the extreme situation I had created!
I taught my class and then dutifully drove to the ferry landing to pick up my precious 1st grader…only to find…no one there! I parked and frantically jumped out of the car desperately searching every corner of the ferry terminal and surroundings.
It didn’t dawn on me for several minutes, that I had missed the early release day!! OMG!!!
There were several kids who took the ferry together and one by one, I phoned them from the pay phone.
On my 2nd or 3rd call, I found her!!! You cannot imagine the gratitude, relief and guilt that flooded my brain.
My friend, Peach, had been a little concerned that I was not there right on time but being a busy working mom, herself, had places to go and figured I was just running a little late and Jake, in her infinite 1st grader wisdom, assured her that all would be well.
As time stretched on, she realized that something was up and figured out how to make a collect phone call to Peach who came and scooped her up. (pretty cool ingenuity for a 7 year old!)
I was absolutely mortified! I would never in a million years believe that I could do something like this…let my daughter, the love of my life, down.
I was reminded of this story as I was waiting for someone who had made a Zoom appointment with me to talk about building a home-based business and turning their life around.
You guessed it…she didn’t show up. Yes, she wasted my time that I could have spent sleeping (it was really early!) or doing something else…but more dramatically, she had let herself down…her family down…her dreams down.
And it truly hit me! This is why people say, “those things never work” or “it’s a pyramid scheme” or “don’t believe it”.
Most people, unless they have someone “making” them do something…i.e., have a job, punch a time clock and will lose it if they don’t show up, won’t follow through on the very thing that could change their lives forever.
26 years ago, after punching time clocks for most of my life and trying my hand at a very expensive brick and mortar business and losing my shirt, I said YES to an opportunity that forever changed the trajectory of my life and made all the difference in the world to my daughter.
But…I had to show up every, single, damn day…for me, for my daughter, for my dreams. And you know what? It was worth every sacrifice, every inconvenience, every “I don’t want to”, every “I’ll do it tomorrow”. Today, my family lives a life of freedom and choice. No, it didn’t happen overnight but we are living proof that “these things do work” …but you gotta show up!
For every person that has stood me up, over the years (or someone else) not returned my calls or even worse, never really given this opportunity a chance even if you did sign up…this piece is for you.
Take a close look at where you are letting yourself down, without even knowing it. Where you are letting your family down, where you are letting your dreams down.
Building a business like this isn’t easy but it is worth it. It’s worth being able to truly do what you love, helping people be healthier AND being well rewarded for your efforts. It’s worth being able to decide when, where and how much you’re going to work. It’s worth being able to have choices about how you live your life.
Back when I left Jake at the ferry terminal, I was in a state of overwhelm trying to make a living as a single mom. I can’t say that things don’t slip my mind now but it’s never because I’m overwhelmed by work or the obligation of making a paycheck.
We all have a choice. What’s yours?
