Realizing A Dream

I can’t wait to see how the future unfolds for me because I am not done dreaming.  I still have more dreams to make come true.  – Colleen Eakins

The year is quickly coming to a close and I have been taking a little time to do some self-reflection.  I am doing it to remind myself of how much I have to be grateful for, and as kind of a way to slow down, live and relish the moment.  To enjoy the now.  As much as I try to live in the moment, I often find myself giddy with anticipation of the future and what’s next for me.  You see, I am a huge dreamer and a big proponent of positive thinking.  I believe that I can make my dreams come true and my big noggin (I can’t find hats that fit) is full of dreams.

Almost 2 ½ years ago, I decided to take a risk and take my part-time (side hustle) freelance business full-time.  The economy was down and the freelance graphic design landscape was not very promising, but I decided that working from home and for myself, was something I wanted to do.  I had been working as a contract graphic designer for 3M in Atlanta for 4 years and my contract was finally coming to a close.  The last 9 months of that contract, they had allowed me to work remotely from home.  I loved it!  I loved how I had control over my work environment and my 5 minute commute from my bed to my office.  The only thing that would make the situation better was to have total control over when I worked and what I worked on.  That is when I decided that when the contract ended, I would not look for a job and freelance full-time instead.

A lot of people thought I was crazy to not even look for a job.  Not only did I not look for a job, but I turned down interview offers from recruiters.  When friends that knew my contract with 3M had ended sent me job postings, I politely thanked them for thinking of me and trashed the email.  I knew I could make it work and I believed that I could realize my dream.  I felt that I had a few advantages working for me; one of which, is that I grew up in an entrepreneur household.  My father was self-employed for almost my entire life.  My first job was at the age of 8.  I filed files for $3 a week.  When I was in high school, I worked as his administrative assistant, when a family emergency took her out of the country for an extended amount of time.  I worked for him every summer through my freshman year of college and even received a raise!  I learned to type, write reports, operate common office equipment, customer service, client relations and what it takes to run a successful business.

Another advantage I had, was that my business already existed; it was just on a much smaller scale than it is now.  My last advantage was that what I do now, is the same exact thing I did in corporate America.  That does not mean that I had the amount of work and clients needed to make my full-time status a success, but I knew that if I put in the work, was diligent and believed that I could, I would.  Reflecting on all of this tells me that I did.

I am not done yet.  I have more dreams and goals for this business and a lot more dreams and goals for my life in general.  I will realize those dreams.  I know I will, because I believe I can.

Do you have dreams that you have realized or plan to make come true?  What are they?