This affirmation means a lot to me, especially lately! I am the first to admit that I have had a very blessed life and still do. I have been surrounded by people that love and support me and that means the world to me.
Lately, however, I find myself saying this affirmation more and more. I have done many crazy, “against-the-grain” things in my lifetime. In college I remember telling my parents that I was going to spend 6 months abroad in Australia. They didn’t like the idea of their little girl living so far away, but in my mind it was a done deal. It was a dream of mine and I BELIEVED that I could do it, and I did!
Once I realized that I could do anything I set my mind to, I tested my ability with many other challenges (against the will of many people, especially my worried parents!). I worked abroad in Germany, I moved to San Francisco after college, I even saved my pennies so that I could backpack around the world for a year. These were all dreams of mine that required a lot of personal belief, and in time, I was thankfully able to live them.
My current goal and personal challenge, as most of you know, is building Reflect with my big brother, Drew. Being an entrepreneur has been an incredible journey and one that I am very grateful for, but I must say, I find myself using this affirmation a lot!
Leaving a stable job as a corporate engineer to launch Reflect has made a lot of people gasp, big “what the he$%” kind of gasps! A week does not go by without encountering someone telling me to go back to my corporate job.
“You left your job!? In a recession? Are you crazy?”
You get the picture…lol! I hear these things from the same people over and over and over, and did I mention, AND over. It’s hard to hear. I would be lying if I told you that at times I didn’t doubt myself. Sometimes the thoughts of these people creep into my mind and I wonder: “AM I crazy??”
AND THEN I remember…I absolutely love Reflect and what it stands for. I believe (here I go believing) that it has the ability to change people’s lives all over the world, I truly do! I recognize that I am not the most savvy business owner and that I have to learn things for the first time (like how to enter invoices into QuickBooks or how to analyze an income statement), but the truth is: I believe in myself!!! And I cannot even tell you how many times I repeat this a day. I believe in myself and I believe in Reflect!
When someone questions why Reflect is my full-time job or why I left my degree in Chemical Engineering, I have to listen to my inner voice that tells me to keep going. I have proven to myself in the past that believing can help me accomplish my dreams and I am determined to do the same with this. I believe that I can become a successful entrepreneur, but more importantly, one that positively impacts people all over the world!
So, for those of you trying to accomplish a big goal in your life and have those doubts that creep in every now and then, please know that you are not alone! For the moments when you don’t believe, I will be here to believe in you, pinky swear!!
Imagine what this world would be like if people truly believed in themselves and listened to their heart song! Together we can take a stand, make a difference and all we have to do is believe. I believe in you and I believe in me. Please share your stories so that we can encourage one another to be our very very best!
Love & Belief,
Caroline
