With too many twists and turns, partnerships + clients gone rye, last year I was pretty beaten up as I got to know my own kind, 'women"; not just any kind of woman, the highly intelligent woman in business. It reminds me of high school and all the cattiness between the ladies, but I'm trying to see the bright side and how it will inspire my speech at the Digital Marketing Business conference I'll be giving in front of 1000 people (to say the least, this is way out of my comfort zone) this May. High school was full of catty bitches + their evil stares and I'm finding being in a circle of smart entrepreneurs is tainted with the occasional evil eye as well.
I remember just 18 months ago wishing my business would move faster, make more money quicker, and hurry-the-fuck-up. I was incredibly impatient. I worked day and night and cried all the time. I was a wreck, but I kept trotting along anyway. Today, I discovered why rapid growth is not really an ideal situation AT ALL. In fact, it's kinda the pits. However, I'm challenging myself to see the bright side.
The growing pains have now morphed into valuable life lessons in business etiquette (if that even exists) and the self-discovery expedition I am on as a woman entrepreneur; how at times it brings out the mean girl side in some, just like those catty little girls in high school. I wanted to RUN with the Misfits in high school, get away from the chaos of being a 'pretty girl' or the 'popular girl', for which I was always misjudged. After all, I wasn't the majority; I was the only brunette in the popular crowd and I stood out like a sore thumb. I also had a bitchy side, which I used regularly to protect my nerdy guy friends and to steer the catty bitches FAR, FAR away from me. I might have made a few enemies while I was at it, but at least I was clear-- don't mess with me or my friends.
What I failed to realize as my journey to success flourished, was I was being guided, even as far back as high school. Every wrong turn I made lead me to another open door, which I voluntarily walked inside. I cried along the way and I hid my hurt feelings well. I was determined to find what I was looking for.
The hardships were and still are there to prep me for what's to come. As I write this speech for the convention in Raleigh this May, I'm doing a lot of reflecting, soul searching, and internal dialoguing that is preparing me for that even bigger audience. Just as those mean girls in high school were prepping me for the catty women entrepreneurs who would pass my path last year (and I'm sure the many years to come); I have continued to embrace my inner misfit, stand up for myself, and delete those who are unkind to me. Success is about making 'room' for bigger and better things, just as clearing the clutter in your home might bring you a killer relationship; the Feng Shui of rapid growth is always constant.
The more tears I cried, the more times I was burned, the more followers/fans I gained, and the more money I made, new problems were presented. The only difference now is I know it is all part of a master plan. As tough as it's been, the new friends I have made and the clients that continue to teach ME while I coach them has been surreal. They SHOW me my worth. They SEE things in me I don't see. They are prime examples of the superpowers the Universe possesses.
In a few months I will attend my 20 year high school reunion and you know what? I hope the mean girls stay home. It's onward and upward from here. The more lives I touch, the more value I bring to the world, the more settled I feel in this flux that is Rapid Growth.
Love,
Angel
Photo Credit: Pinterest
