This is the first time that I make this very public: I quit my job of 6 years. 

It was unexpected and definitely not planned. I'm not going to go into the details, but leaving a place you've been a part of for 6 years definitely felt like a break up. It has been a month now and I'm finally okay to talk about it. I had to go through some grieving time.

I had to let go and really detach myself from the job, the people and the idea of not having "a job."

Now that I have been working for myself for about a month now, I still struggle with the idea of being self-employed. A good friend of mine had to correct me when we were having a conversation and I said Well since I don't have a job now... She immediately stopped me and told me and told me to get into the idea that I am Self-Employed. As hard as it is to believe and understand right now. She made me understand that if I don't believe it, nobody else will.

It is true, I now find myself saying I'm Self-Employed when I meet new people and when I see familiar faces that I haven't seen in a while and they ask how my job is.  

Today, after a month of being out of the traditional job, I found myself having a hard day. It wasn't that I didn't do any un-productive activities, or that I didn't make any meaningful connections, in fact, it was the opposite. I attended a presentation that inspired me, had coffee with a friend, and I was able to walk home. 

The simple fact to be able to walk home made me realize how grateful I should be. 

Maybe I don't have any steady income coming in yet, maybe I have had to cut down on my spending, maybe I have to hold off on going on vacation. However, I am doing things I love, things that make my heart sing and things that I know will make a difference in the end. 

After I walked by the Give Love wall and began a gratitude walk, I heard someone say "You aren't worth anything, until you know how much you're worth." 

Hearing this made me truly think if I believe in myself.

Since I started this Self-Employed journey, I have had to explain who I am and what I do and I have had doubts, I no longer have that security blanket of a company I work for. I am now building my own personal brand  and I must start believing in my story.

Stay tuned to see how this story unfolds. 

Stay shining! 

XoXo
- Pam