Keep it Simple- Even When it's Really Hard

My Company's name is Cre8tive Vibes. I offer support and assistance to entrepreneurs that I wish I had when I was starting my business. It's funny now. But it definitely wasn't much to laugh about when I was 1st starting my business. I laugh now because I can look back and see how I turned the most difficult time in my life into a way to help others.

I know you may be thinking, why is there an 8 in Cre8tive? I'm glad you asked!

It stands for everything I was looking for during my 9-year life lesson towards entrepreneurship.

✳️ HARMONY

☮️ PEACE

🙏 BALANCE

The meaning of Number 8 is harmony, peace, and balance. It is also a symbol that helps you make decisions that are beneficial to you in your life.

I remember when I was 26/27 years old, living in St. Louis and I first started writing about my dream of having my own business. I originally just created logos and business cards. I even had a few clients back then too. But deep down I knew that I was Cre8ted to be and do more. So I kept BELIEVING!

Adding the #8 in my company name gives me the confidence to be different and reminds me to stand out of the crowd. Funny thing, the number 8 if turned sideways also reminds me of the infinity symbol.♾️ The fact that the font is called "Birth Of a Hero" is simply a bonus #clever

So ask yourself… How often do you commit to making just one simple change? What if I told you that even ONE simple change can cre8te all difference?

This week we are talking about ways to make life simple, even when it is really hard. I've got a few questions to get your cre8tive vibes flowing.

What helps you find harmony in your life/business?

How good are you at making choices that release peace around you/business?

What will you sacrifice to maintain balance in all that you do?

One of the most important things that you need to remember when you shift jobs and start working for yourself is that it's up to you to do the work.

So when I started my business and I hastily quit my job close to 9 years ago. I never thought that one simple decision would unleash a whirlwind of change in my life. I honestly thought it would be super easy to quit my job and find something part-time that would allow me to work on my business That was not the case. After a few short weeks and several rejections from jobs that I thought would be to land. I had to go back into the wonderful world of retail. As you know was the very world I recently escaped from. But you have to do what you have to do to pay bills.

Right?

During this time I realized how important it is to be in charge of every aspect of your life and your business. One of the first things I started working on was my mindset. Correction, my mindset started working on ME. It was the oddest thing. As soon as I turned 40 all hell broke loose... in my brain. I started to realized that I knew a whole lot about everything and nothing at all. Learning how to change my thought process forced me to start thinking differently, about just about everything. I was forced to change my everyday habits and routines. Most of the things that I used to do I wasn't able to do anymore mainly because I didn't have money to afford it. So things like eating out and buying groceries once a week and having cable we're just luxuries that I no longer could afford.

I was defeated. I remember thinking, why didn’t anyone prepare me for all of this? After weeks of being angry and feeling stuck. I decided to get to work. Busy working on myself!

Immediately, I took advantage of my unpaid free time to start exercising and eating healthy. I had no choice but to become thrifty and start saving money because I wasn’t making any! The biggest transformation during this time was regaining faith ad learning to think and pray in a new way.

As I started these new transitions in my life I realized that everything that used to be so cool, fast-paced, and exciting slowed down tremendously. I often felt like time was invisible and stuck answerless standing still, I felt lost. Have you ever felt like the changes that you are making in your life, that are supposed to be catapulting you forward are starting to feel more like a straight jacket than freedom? I know I felt that. A lot!

Your mindset is something that you have to work on every single day. As children, we are taught from our parents or caregivers, how to walk, talk love, and be kind. After a few years, we go off to Kindergarten then high school where we're taught by our teachers and educators. Then we graduate and go into the world. Unless you go right into a career or workplace, you have to learn from your bosses. Some of us even go straight from Senior Prom to living on your own. Forced to learn directly from life or the experiences and situations we see every day.

But there is something that people don't tell you.

They forget to tell you that once you are not forced into a learning capacity, you have to become the teacher and teach yourself. There's continued education for college in doctors and nurses and lawyers and all of these specialty industries. But how do you become a better person?

The funny thing about that is you only know what you know. So unless you are researching and pushing your self to do and be better, you will remain the same.

This got me thinking, life has to be easier than this. In my frustration of trying to repeat old habits in my new life, I often wondered if I was doing something wrong. Nothing was making sense anymore. So I started writing, reading, and coming up with ideas that would help me change my lifestyle. But the one thing that's stuck in my head was that life should be simple. It shouldn't be so hard. Even with all of the obstacles and setbacks that come into our lives every single day, there has to be a better way than struggling to get by. How hard to you try to make a change in your life? The real question is how long do you try?

It’s easy to grow accustomed to life and convince yourself that it is what it is, and you just keep dealing with it. I couldn’t shake it. I knew that since I no longer had a steady paycheck to rely on that it was going to be completely my responsibility to change my situation. So I became dedicated to changing my mindset which helped me create something that I like to call The Simple Life.

As you know life is far from simple but it can be manageable especially when you look at the top five areas that you need to be on your toes every single day. Well, not every single day because you can only do so much, and when you have five things happening that you're in control of you can't have your hands on all of them at the same time. It's kind of like the scenario I've talked about in the past where if you're juggling let's say you're juggling five balls. One ball represents health and wellness. One ball represents financial success. One ball represents spiritual guidance and faith. Then another ball represents humanity and the ability to help others. And the last ball represents love communication and relationships.

Now tell me this. If you are juggling with your two hands, five balls, how often are you going to touch all five balls at the same time? Not very often. And if you could you'd have to be an octopus or something from outer space, because we only have two hands and we can only do so much.

This is why I created The Simple Life which is a thought process and a way of really taking ownership of your life. Now I'm not going to go into too much detail about the simple life this week. It’s just funny that has kind of resurfaced after I've started season 4 of my podcast. The simple life has always been there in the back of my head because it is the lifestyle It is why I move and do and behave the way that I do today because I've been practicing living a simple life But to make money you can't talk about lifestyle changes without having a product or service right So I had to just become the results of my work so I could share this testimony with you.

How to evaluate your mindset and commit to making Life Simple In 5 steps -

FIT LIFE

Understand that you are control of your body your energy and your health. You can't run your business or be the CEO of your life if you are out of energy and you are not taking care of yourself.

THRIFTY LIFE

thrifty Life means changing your spending habits so that you can live your life and balance your business. There's a lot of sacrificing that needs to happen when you are starting your business to maintain your business.

DIVINE LIFE

having a centered peaceful spirit is something that you have to learn to control. If you lack emotional control you have to find a way to let that go. through prayer meditation and simply connecting with a higher power is what will help you live a divine life.

SUPERB LIFE

Life is only as good as you make it with others. Learning to be kind and helpful and generous is the best way to change your lifestyle. Because it's not going to be all about you when you're building your business You will need help from others and being able to genuinely offer your self is a perfect way to gain trust and build relationships.

LOVE LIFE

Love life is not just about finding the right partner and spending your life together. It is about how you love all of the relationships in your life. Learning to find balance in practice better communication is the only way that love will win the day.

These five steps create The Simple Life. I know we won't always be able to work and manage all of these items at the same time. But it's very important to try. daily effort to be better at taking care of yourself and saving money and praising God leads to the ability to give and help others and maintain healthy relationships.

Entrepreneurship is not a journey. It is about changing your mindset and working towards building structure that allows you to cre8te new habits and routines that will provide better results. Now it's time for you to take action and think about one thing and each of these areas that you can start working on today.

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Join me each week for a new episode and a new perspective. Learn how to SHIFT those old thought processes and prepare for the PIVOT to create a major change for your future.

Entrepreneurship is more than a journey, it's a lifestyle. It's time to stop making excuses and BE THE CEO of YOUR LIFE! www.bridgetterooks.com