I was a 27-year-old single mom with a master’s degree and a “good” research job at a hospital in Ottawa.
At the time, it didn’t seem much different from what everyone else was doing. It was pretty much normal to me.
Then one day, my boss looked at me, frustrated, and said, “Sarah, you are not normal.”
Growing up, I was taught to be a good girl, go to college, get good grades, meet a nice guy, get married, have some kids, get a well-paying job, and bring home half the income.
And I did exactly that!
Who wouldn’t be grateful for a predictable life where you and your partner have cushy jobs that pay the bills? Who wouldn’t want to go to work, play nice with your coworkers, and have a boss who loves you?
Thing was, in real life, it wasn’t all peaches and roses.
The “cushy” salary was just enough to pay the mortgage. Don’t even think about getting the much-needed house repairs (which only sent me into debt, little by little).
Co-workers would often engage in petty office politics that made me feel like I was back on the school grounds, and the boss was usually horrible.
I wondered for years why I didn’t feel like I fit in. Why couldn’t I just be grateful for what I had?
But instead of being grateful, I felt suffocated. I was being forced away from the things and people I truly wanted to spend time on.
While I had many things to be grateful for, I wasn’t in control of my life.
I was being controlled by life. And it was oh so restricting!
Before I knew it, I was longing for that freedom back in my life.
Even though that moment was in 2016, my business search had started years prior, one night in 2010 when I came across Marie Forleo’s YouTube channel in her early days.
Suddenly the light bulb went off for me. I thought, “A business is a golden key to the life I want”.
But the reality is—what could (and maybe even should) have been a straightforward path in business turned into an extremely long and windy road to success.
What I am saying is: why be normal? I have learned through trial and error that you can make way more money, doing something that affords you more freedom and control over your life whilst being your unique, awesome self.
Sarah, xo
