3 years ago this month I was getting ready to launch Engaged & Inspired. I had been engaged for a month and I was over the moon about starting this venture of mine. At that time my concept of "made it" was to be running this blog full time, doing what I love.
Fast forward 3 years. I'm in a place where I do this full time, yet I feel so far from "making it". Hence this little gem of a quote resounding so much with me I feel the urge to write an entire post about it. Truth be told, so many parts of Engaged & Inspired aren't what I want them to be. They were great at one time but as I continue to move forward and grow as a person and a brand, the only word I feel properly describes my felling is "stodgy". Which, yes, is the worst feeling to have about something you worked so hard to create. No one gets that as much as I.
I feel there will always be different levels of "making it" and that is what makes companies so great. There is always a new challenge, a new level and if your work is great, you will always look back on the earlier stuff cringing. And that is growth.
I haven't had very much time in this new year to reflect & set goals just yet. (Thanks to The Lab & speaking at Alt Summit....so believe me, I'm not complaining!) Despite all the work and long hours I have been putting in this month, this quote and the future of Engaged & Inspired have taken up every free second I can possibly muster.
Since I am not one of those people that dwells in the woes of life, or writes posts to collect sympathy, I won't leave on such a note. The new site design is coming soon, and with that comes some major changes, additions, and of course work to be done. The fact that this place isn't exactly what I want it to be pushes me even harder and drives me even more every single day because it will become (very soon in fact) the most perfect place for me and the most perfect place to cultivate and grow this brand of mine.
Despite it all I have seen tremendous growth in the past year and I send out my sincerest thank you to each and every one of you. Thanks for finding something to love and finding something to come back for.
I'm extremely excited for the future, the possibilities and for the opportunity to call myself a full-time blogger. Not many people have the luxury to do so, and even more people can't even begin to understand everything that a title like that means. I will say it with pride and never again think that such a title isn't good enough. It is.