Let’s have a chat,
Running a business can get messy (like reallllly messy.) You might have left a corporate job or never found one in the first place, you might be balancing a family or juggling with a 9-5 in the hopes of chasing your dreams someday. Maybe you’re paralyzed and too afraid to start, maybe you’re wishing you could quit, or maybe just maybe you don’t even have time to dream (or eat lunch) because you’re like a hamster on a wheel. It’s easy to forget why we started when we’re in the thick of the busy, but you, my friend, are a soul driven to deliver something special to the world. You are passionate and hungry and ready to do any amount of work for any amount of money because it’s your calling, but a few months down the line you realize how much time, money, and energy are necessary to run this dream business and you now see how bad you are at saying “no.”
Y’all, it hit me and it hit me hard two years ago. I was stressed, exhausted, and so burnt out after a season of 30 weddings. I knew in my gut that if I wanted any sort of longevity in this industry, I had to work less and live more. I loved my clients, loved my job, loved taking pictures – but it was everything else that I did know came with the package deal of pursuing photography. Drew and I had some serious talks about where my business was headed and we knew the answer lied in the word, “less.” Less late nights editing, less weddings, less weekends away, heck, even less income. My worth was so wrapped up in numbers: how many clients chose me, how much money I was making, what people thought of me in the industry. Those numbers tied me up and held me captive. It’s those numbers that make us feel “legit” but the same numbers that burn us out and leave us exhausted.
We begin to believe the lie that if “no” is negative, that if we take a weekend or week off our business will crumble, that we need to be available at every hour of every day, that we must under promise and over deliver in every aspect to be a “great” and that the number of followers tells us our worth.
If this sounds like you or if you’re still in that “fired up, I’ll never get sick of this, it doesn’t feel like work for me” stage, listen up: you must live your life beyond the hustle. You are called to do more than edit images or answer emails, you are worthy of spending a day on the couch watching “Stranger Things” or an evening out drinking wine with the girls. Don’t let life pass you by while you build your empire. When you look back on the days/weeks/years you won’t see the endless hours spend behind screens or holed up in your office, I promise you that. No empire is worth the exchange of a fully lived life. The hustle focus is too much, we should be talking about living hard, not hustling hard. Grace will take you places hustling never could.
If you’re there or you don’t want to be there, remember that your life isn’t your work and your work isn’t your life!
Take some time this weekend to get back to what you love, take some time to rest, and my sweet friend, please disconnect a little, too!
