It was a Friday. I woke up to the perfect Fall day and my whole life was different. I had nowhere to be. No one expecting me. I had taken a giant leap with no idea where I would land…and for the first time in my life I was my own boss.
One year later…I woke up to that same chilly day and that same feeling of pure bliss. I poured myself some pumpkin coffee and went to work. In an office that is full of all the things that make me smile from the inside out. Doing work that even on the toughest days reminds me how lucky I am to call this my job. And a life that can get so hard I want to throw in the towel…but never do because this is the life I dreamed of. It has been one year since I have officially been a full time photographer. It’s a crazy feeling to know it’s been a year. Sometimes it feels like it has been 10 years and sometimes it seems like only yesterday I was sitting at my old job dreaming up this perfect life that seemed so out of reach.
This past year has taught me so much. About myself…about running a business…about life. I’ve learned how to budget and manage my time. What things work for me and what things don’t. I’ve had bad days and good days and really good days. I’ve failed and failed again but I sit here today still willing to try one more time. But I think most of all this last year has taught me what it means to be successful. And not how much money is in your bank account successful…but the kind of success that let’s you wake up happy and know whole-heartedly you’re right where you need to be. I feel like this year has taught me what is truly important…not only in life but in business and in myself. It’s taught me that I am not everyone around me and that is OK. That my goals are mine alone…and there is no blueprint for the perfect life. You make your life perfect by making it your own. One year ago today I was a completely different person. On a completely different path. But today I sit here maybe a little unsure of where I’m headed…but I know without a doubt in my mind that it’s towards everything I’ve ever wanted. Whatever that may look like…
And one final time…here’s a look back at month 11 goals:
Book 3 weddings – in the process. 🙂
Launch mentoring program – Yep! Super excited about this one!!!! You can read more about it here.
Come up with a killer name and start a wedding planning series on my blog – So the name wasn’t so killer..but I have definitely started it. I was going to name it “The Truelock’s take Antigua”…Gary told me it sounded like a bad reality TV show. Which was exactly the point…duh.
Figure out my three words (more on this coming soon) – still working on this. It’s a lot harder than I thought.
Shoot my weddings with those words constantly in mind – I definitely did this with 2 words. And I can’t believe how differently I feel about my work.
Start a new book – This is bad. I have been so busy with weddings that reading has been pushed way on the back burner. But I am in the home stretch and plan to read my socks off in the next few months!
by laurenwakefield
So proud of you dear one!