AUTOPILOT
Look ladies, it took a tragedy to get me to start writing my story and I do not want you to make the same mistake. I was successful, married, kids, money, a nice house, great friends and family, but I was on autopilot. I didn't appreciate the life I had built, because I just wanted more, more, more. Sound familiar, have you ever asked yourself when it would be enough?
Autopilot may be a funny way to describe it. You know when you are driving, and all of a sudden you’re home but you do not recall getting off the freeway, or driving through your neighborhood? Does this apply to your life? My calendar was filled of business meetings, happy hours, parties, dance classes, school events, baseball practices, date nights... life was good. Looking back, that calendar rarely held appointments that brought joy. Life gets like that easily, or at least it did for me. I was so successful at going through the motions looking great at any task thrown at me, of course my life was great, right? That question hovered many times... but back on autopilot I would go.
Well, that tragedy I mentioned, was the death of my best friend to cancer. I was given the heavy duty task of putting together a photo slideshow for her funeral. This got me thinking, life is so short and our pictures tell our story. What was my story?
I had two choices at this point, the easy route was to go back on auto pilot. Do what I saw most of her other friends doing, just go back to where I was before her diagnosis. But when I tried to do this, I failed. I was no longer the person I was before she passed, I was different. I had to slow down. I had to reevaluate my life, my goals, and my career. In that down time I created Deliberately Classy. At first it was just a passion project, to make an awesome mascara that would ship to you every three months. Through that first year, I worked hard learning about mascara, the cosmetic industry and how to start my own company.
About a year into the process, my goal of making a ton of money selling mascara changed to the desire to help a ton of women. Because I know the best of us are on autopilot, and maybe that is what works for you. But maybe, you don't even know you are cruising through life, and the Deliberately Classy brand wants to WAKE YOU UP. Are you writing your own story? Are you creating your own happiness? If you had to look back at all your photos to create your funeral picture slideshow, would you like what you are working with?