Happiness is a journey, not a destination.
A friend of mine recently shared this video, "What if money were no object?" on Facebook and I want to share it with you along with a piece of my story. As I watched the video I couldn't help but feel blessed, motivated and inspired. What would you do if money were no object?
If money were no object I would be photographing beautiful souls and dancing. I would marry the man of my dreams and have a family. I am doing all of these things. It is the source of my happiness. I am doing what I am passionate about and somewhere along the way I've created a life that I am madly in love with. Meeting new people and getting to know them is one of my greatest joys and I get to do it on a daily basis. I'm grateful for each and everyone of my clients and those clients who become friends. If money were no object I would still be here. I would be recording memories, documenting personal histories, telling stories and sharing with the world how beautiful love is. This is the language my heart speaks and I'm incredibly fortunate to have created a life out of doing what I love.
Growing up I never imagined being where I am. I thought I had to find that job I could make a good living at rather than a design a life for living. My dad always told me to do what made me happy. It was a small but momentous thing to tell me. Listening to society I didn't think this was possible but then I would come home and have my dad remind me to do what I love. So somewhere along the lines I decided that my life would be in the arts. I went to school for Art History. I studied the greats and looked at the world through the lens of art. I remember my dad sitting me down one day to tell me how proud he was of me. He told me that my path was not a popular one but that someone had to record history, someone had to remember the past for future generations and that someone had to advocate for the arts. He told me about a Korean pottery technique that was lost because future generations didn't see the value in continuing this art form. He explained that being a keeper of history is the most honorable thing one can do, especially to dedicate ones life to the world's history through art. As I type this I'm tearing up because not many children get to hear that. Not many children have their parents encourage them to live a life they love, to seek out their true destinies and to let their hearts soar. This is the greatest gift we can give future generations. As a mother I think about this often. I sometimes worry that I wont have the tools to help my son find his way or find his passion, but the truth is that I have everything I need. I have an amazing gift to pass on to my son, a gift that has given me great freedom and responsibility.
7 years ago my husband and I decided to take a leap. We decided to go back to school. We left a comfortable and lovely life in California to chase our dreams. It was a big risk. We sold our condo and moved to Colorado. We enrolled at the University of Colorado at Boulder in fields we're passionate about. This was a true "if money were no object, what would you do" moment. We decided that if we did what we loved the rest would follow. My husband is finishing his PhD this year and I couldn't be prouder. While he's been going to school full time, I've built my business. It hasn't always been easy. We exhausted our savings to make this happen. We don't go out to eat much, I shop at thrift stores and paying bills is sometimes stressful. We've been living within our means and while doing so, money became something different to us. While we were living in the Bay Area, driving fancy cars and going on big vacations... we just weren't that happy. We went on a quest to find our true happiness and for us that was moving away from what we knew, budgeting more than ever and following our hearts. Along the way we had a beautiful baby boy who threw the whole journey of happiness into hyperdrive. Now, not only am I doing what I love but I'm making a living for the people I love.
I know it isn't always feasible to take a risk like my husband and I did. It's scary. It's just that a risk. We went all in on our dreams and the pay out has been exponentially more amazing than anything we ever imagined. I'm not saying any of this to brag by any means but rather I'm sharing my story because I want people to know that following your dreams is possible. I'm blessed to have been raised to believe in my dreams but I know that isn't always the case. So this is me, giving you a hug from my little corner of the internet and telling you that anything is possible. I wish this blessing for everyone. Find your passion and run with it. Pass it on.
Love and Light,
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