Today, I opened my eyes to two sleeping cats and thought “wow….today is the first day I am working exclusively for myself.” The sheer joy that pulled me out of bed could not be contained as I raced the cats to the living room curtains to thrust them open and greet the day.
Much to my dismay, it was cold, cloudy, and raining outside. “PERFECT,” I thought to myself. With a deep breath, a T-shirt quilt, and a comfy spot on the couch, I took a few minutes to just breathe this in.
I felt excited more than anything. I couldn’t wait to begin working for myself today. I had planned and planned for years to finally be here. There was a sense of purpose and JOY swirling around. I thought of my parents and grandparents during this time. For so long I had talked and dreamed of the day when I could “seize my moment” (Coco, 2017). We talked about how my art would take me places, my skills would develop into new areas, and I would be happy.
Of course, there are doubts
There have always been factors working against me. After all, being the black sheep of your inner circle almost guarantees that you will be moving uphill on most things. That continues to be the truth.
Switching to a Whole Food Plant-Based Diet
Moving to a new city
Rejecting modern medicine & big pharma approaches to health
Healing my IBD naturally
Embracing a regular mindfulness practice
Breaking generational trauma cycles
Changing careers completely
Starting my own business
Being an international traveler
Dreaming big and going after it
LOVING MYSELF
I had no shortage of adversity getting to this point today and I am proud to be the black sheep. There have always been doubts both intrinsic and from external forces. It came down to which I chose to listen to.
The part that KNEW I could do this or r the numerous reasons to turn back, play it safe, don’t rock the boat, and stay where you are because “It’s not that bad.”
So as I finished my mindful mornings with le kittens, I ventured out into the cold, wet January day to commit myself to everything I said I was going to do.
I took a nice long walk just listening to some of my favorite music. Naturally, a LOTR playlist came on which always gives me a sense of belonging, adventure, and fuel for daydreaming. However, as I stomped through the dirty puddles of the sidewalk, a song came on that I had not heard before. When I heard the lyrics I couldn’t help but feel that I was on the right path and that this was the Universe’s way of giving me a little nudge forward. It was an old song from the 1977 cartoon movie, The Hobbit. Here were the perfectly-timed lyrics:
The greatest adventure is what lies ahead. Today and tomorrow are yet to be said. The chances, the changes are all yours to make. The mold of your life is in your hands to break.
The greatest adventure is there if you’re bold. Let go of the moment that life makes you hold. To measure the meaning can make you delay; It’s time you stop thinkin’ and wasting the day.
The man who’s a dreamer and never takes leave Who thinks of a world that is just make-believe Will never know passion, will never know pain. Who sits by the window will one day see rain.
The greatest adventure is what lies ahead. Today and tomorrow are yet to be said. The chances, the changes are all yours to make. The mold of your life is in your hands to break. The greatest adventure is what lies ahead.
The greatest adventure
By Clamavi De Profundis
one day to day one
Growing up, I had always loved movies. The adventure, the triumphant victories, the battle scenes, and the heroes. As I grew older, I started to pay more attention to the villains, the struggles, the music, and – above all – THE STORY.
In my early twenties, the story I was telling was one of dreams, ambition, and a hilarious amount of naivety. I KNEW I was going to be a successful entrepreneur working for myself eventually. To get there I needed experience, practice, and jobs to get me through until I could make it happen. The following are just a few jobs that all taught me what I needed and propelled me to the next stepping stone in my story:
Dog walker
Babysitter
Lawn Mower
Mural Artist
IT Technician
Security Guard (At Summerfest for MKE folks!)
Nonprofit Intern
School District Communications
Videographer & Consultant
Digital Agency Professional
Freelance Artist
University Marketing Professional
Real Estate Agent
Health Coach
For each level of employment, I kept both eyes on the prize that ONE DAY I would make it today. One day I would be a collection of experiences, skills, people, and endless daydreaming of what it would look like, feel like, smell like, sound like, and…erm…taste like? Yes. It tastes good too 🙂
Today tastes SO GOOD because I am stepping into a completely new phase of my life with nothing but the unknown in front of me. I am elated to be in charge of my day, get creating, and do everything that lights my soul on fire.
Today is DAY ONE of the rest of my professional life and I can’t be more excited to get started.
On this fine celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day,
I [had] a dream,
Jake
*BONUS*
If you have ever been into LOTR, you know how vast the amount of content is to consume. You can love it for years, you can speak elvish, you can take the hobbits to Isengard and you’ll still have more to explore. If you’ve yet to hear it, please enjoy this motivating tale:
