Hey loves. I hope you’re enjoying your day. In my previous post I mentioned that music is where I draw most of my inspiration from when blogging. Of course this post is no different from the others, being that a song also inspired it. I was listening to ‘Daydream’ by Tori Kelly, and it got me thinking about dreams and goals so I wanted to share some encouragement with you.
My entire life I’ve always been into beauty and fashion. When I was a little girl I would spend my entire allowance (my whole $10 a week) at Walmart purchasing nail polish, lip gloss, and any other beauty item that I was allowed to buy at the time. Beauty was everything to me. I remember being in high school and I would always make sure to match my nail polish with every outfit that I wore. I was constantly purchasing the latest beauty and fashion magazines in hopes to find inspiration. Yes! It was that deep to me. When the wonderful invention of YouTube came along (in college), I was hooked. I saw so many women like myself on the Internet sharing tips and tricks about beauty, and I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my life. I wanted to be a huge YouTuber, share my passions of beauty and fashion while inspiring other people to remain true to who they are.
I had this dream of creating a YouTube channel and even a blog since 2013, but didn’t actually produce any content until last year. That’s a four-year gap. You’re probably wondering what took me so long, and the answer is FEAR. I let the fear of failure and the fear of not having an audience get in the way of me achieving my dreams earlier in life. I also let the fear of being unsuccessful and possibly not having a steady income stop me from dreaming. I had convinced myself that success only meant working a 9-5 job and moving up the latter in Corporate America. So, I focused my energy on my career and quit my daydream.
I saw so many people growing as Youtubers and Bloggers; sharing their passions, while I was working my 9-5 job and traveling the world. Although I loved and still love my career, I sometimes felt envious of those people. Something was missing in my life. I had this huge desire to influence young adults, and I felt like I quit dreaming. I quit my daydream, and watched as others lived theirs. I had reached a level of success in my career, and realized that I wanted more. I wanted to have it all (a corporate job and be an influencer) and knew that if I started dreaming and working towards my passions again, I could have all the things that I most desired.
In 2016 I decided that I no longer wanted to quit my daydream. I wanted to expand that dream. Not only did I want to be an influencer; I also wanted to continue growing in my corporate career. I no longer wanted to stand on the sidelines and watch as others reached their full potential. I decided that who I wanted to be, and where I wanted my life to go would solely depend on me. That’s when I started putting some action to my dreams. I started working on ‘Grace and Glitz’ and my YouTube channel. I also started other endeavors (I’ll share those soon).
I’ve had my blog for a year now (I’ll share my one year reflection in a later post), and my YouTube channel for a few months and couldn’t be happier. I’m doing what truly makes me happy. I say all of this to tell you not to quit your daydream. Don’t give up on the thing that brings you the most joy, because of fear. Also, don’t limit your success. Continue to dream big, but most importantly WORK. I believe that we can have it all, every single thing that we want in this life if we are dedicated and willing to put the work in. If I hadn’t quit my daydream of being an influencer back in 2013; who knows where I would be right now? When you know your purpose and what you’re put on this earth to do, don’t ever give up on reaching your full potential. Even if you don’t know your purpose, still don’t ever give up on searching for it. It won’t be easy, and of course you’ll have to make sacrifices, but the end result will be so rewarding.
If you’ve allowed life to get in the way of pursing your passions, I want to encourage you to start dreaming again. Continue each day to reach whatever goals you desire. Just remember to put in that work, so those dreams can become reality. Don’t let your fears stop you from stepping confidently into your future. God wants us to live a beautiful and fruitful life. I plan on doing just that, and so should you. I’ll leave you with these wise words from Tori Kelly “Don’t quit your daydream. Don’t forget to breathe. Who you want to be is only up to you. Sometimes you may crawl. Let them think that you’re small. It’s so worth the fall when you land where you want to.” Continue to be awesome, loves.
