I googled, living your best life and wouldn’t you know that the very first thing to pop up on the list was… do what you want.

Living your best life isn’t always about doing what you want.

Sounds so easy right?! We just do it like Nike says and bam… it all works in our favor. We see signs that say Dream Big or Design a Life that You’ve Always Wanted and we even hang these quotes in our homes. They often inspire us to keep going, to keep pressing and to keep hustling for the life we want.

But I do wonder how many of these die-hards, do it all, at all cost, notions are actually leaving us more and more discouraged with the gifts and wonder that God has placed in our “right now.”

Hustling and working hard for our dreams is exactly the mindset that got me where I am today. I am a successful owner of two brick and mortar stores in Tampa, Florida. What the four walls and pretty chandeliers forget to tell you is that I had to learn to be content long before the dream ever came.

Those nights spent in my hot garage (I live in FLORIDA) painting furniture when I should have been sleeping became my normal. As newlyweds, Adam and I had extra stress as we learned to navigate marriage and new business from the ground up. And then, as I just started to find my painting groove, we found out I was pregnant. Now I am painting in a 100-degree garage with a baby in my belly inhaling all the paint fumes! But I learned in this season the true art of being content with where I am. And how hustling takes us places.

Having the humility to ask for help often takes us further.

When it became nearly impossible for me to build my business on my own, I decided to reach out and find like-minded individuals to help assist me in my dreams. No longer were they a threat to what my dreams could become, but now they were an intricate part of the building process.

I think too often we surrender to the lie that we can live our best life on our own.

Or even worse, that we have to obtain our best life before we can allow people in. God created us for a purpose much greater than our career title, our position at home or even our talents. He created us to share His light. He will use our desires and our passions to get us to the people He wants us to reach. Life is all about living to the fullest so that we can help others feel fulfilled.

So yes, hustle and work hard. Give it your all and go after those dreams that you have in your heart. But do me a favor… pray, seek and find. Find others who are in your corner, ready to cheer you on when life feels like too much to handle. Surround yourself with like-minded individuals who can take you further and higher than you can do on your own.

If you’re the smartest in the room, get a new room! It’s time to expand and challenge yourself. In order to live our best life, we must be willing to learn and grow from one another. Right now, God has given you people to help pull you along in your dreams as a Creative Business Owner. This may be people in your church, your family or even your full-time workplace. He has also given you someone in this corner of the world wide web.

I am here for you.

To share my story, my failures, my successes and my strategies that I have learned along the way. They have all helped me build a successful and healthy business. A business that supports my family and my dreams of living my best life.