Do you remember that naive younger version of youserlf that saw your dreams as shiny diamonds in a field and all you had to do was some simple mining to own them? However, somewhere along the way you realized that in order to get those diamonds in your hands, you had to endure all the dissapointments, the let downs, the failures, the mistakes, the stress, and come to terms that the world doesn’t care about your shiny diamonds as much as you do. But you still have to work and push with the enthusiasm that you had from the beginning. Why? Because it means the world to you, it belongs to you, it makes you happy, and that’s what truly matters.
I was reminded of who I was, about 2 weeks ago now, by my best friend Susie K. You see in 2011, our friendship was fairly new, and she didn’t quite know me outside of dance. We were becoming closer as friends so in order to not seem like I fell off the side of the earth, I shared with her that I was going to go into my “focus mode” to get ready to audition for ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ Season 12. I told her that it was something I always dreamed of doing as a dancer, and in order to achieve it, I had to shut everything/everyone out and go after it with full committment. That meant not being accessible at times and only engaging in little to no communication with anyone, even family, so I can get in dance shape, work on my craft, and mentally prepare for the grind of it all.
I thought that was normal course of action when anyone set out to accomplish anything they set their entire beings to. To me that was the level of discipline that was needed but to her it meant she was losing a friend. Regardless, I knew I needed to do what I needed to do.
This realization of what I was sharing with her made her instantaneously sad. She immediately responded with “But…but we are still friends right? And you will text or call me.” I said, “Not until I accomplished my goal Susie.” A part of me felt bad, but I knew I needed to do this for me. I didn’t really mean for my news to have that effect on her, so I had to explain that she wasn’t losing me as a friend, I was sharing that with her with because I wanted her to know why we may have a break in communication.
Reflecting on that moment two weeks ago, she shared she had never met anyone so invested in accomplishing a goal that they had to close the world out so it threw her off. However, she reassured me that she understood why now which brought some relief to how I made her feel back then.
So I proceeded to closing the world out, making a plan, and executing that plan. I auditioned and accomplished what I set out to do. I auditioned for SYTYCD in 2012, and it positively altered my perspective in a way that made me work even harder to achieve some of the goals you see today like Musicality Central.
So as I am entering a new year, I want to be the friend to remind you that it is OK to set boundaries, maybe not closing out the world boundaries, but if that is what it takes to get your dreams started or accomplished then figure out a way to do it and be direct about it with everyone around you.
I am entering new levels of business, there are new skills I need to master – Skills that I currently struggle with. Well, as of 2 Wednesdays ago, the person that was once hurt because I wanted to close out the world, including her, told me I need to get back to that version of myself in order to put my Plated Soul private chef business on the map, where she knows it belongs, and I agree with her.
It’s been a little under 2 decades running through life pretending to be a lost puppy searching for a rightful home that would accept how I work internally. You see, we all have these tools, mental tools that allow us to accomplish anything we set our being to. Tools that you have access to but only when you dig deep or push yourself through the discomfort of your comfort zone do you ever see them. They are not just given to you, they are earned through obsessive trial and error work. Hard lessons that reveal who you are without filters. The raw honest truth about yourself that you cannot disguise or cover up.
I call it the beautiful hard truth. That is were the real work begins, from ground zero. That’s the person I have somewhat strayed away from a bit and want to revisit in 2024.
So take this blog as a reminder from a friend of a friend of that naive version of yourself before the realities of the world made you shrink a little bit to get up and get some of that dirt out of your timberlands and put your work gloves back on. We have some more mining to do.
Get focused and wake up every day ready to work with enthusiasm and consistency. Now that you know a little bit more about the world, you are more equipped for what may be out of your control and more prepared to battle though those tougher days when you don’t want to. Why? Because every day gets you closer to your diamond than you were yesterday, and that is what keeps you mining. That shiny diamond that has a specific color, a specific cut, clarity, carat weight, and certification that no one can take from you.
Here’s to 2024 being the most bountiful year of our existence. It’s time for breakthroughs and achieving new levels of success in business, our personal relationships, our careers, our finances, and most of all the most valuable diamonds our overall the happiness within ourselves.