Don't Knock It Till You Try

Have you ever wondered what else you could do instead of your current chosen career? As the clothing industry grew more challenging with slower sales at retail and the supplier pool diluting, I spent several of the last few years wondering why I chose to remain in the fashion industry. Often a thankless sector where you need to be like a fire marshall combined with a savant to navigate the challenges you are presented with just to survive a day.

I would ponder, "If not this then what?" And come up empty-handed every time. I have always been a Jack of all trades. Sometimes frustratingly to people closest to me, my lack of focus regularly invited criticism. I am seldom deterred though and the opinions and guidance of others, while they are considered, do not become gospel to me. If they had, I probably would not have tried to do 90% of the things I have.

Even though it seems like it, I appear to take risks without much consideration of the fallout. However, this couldn't be further from the truth. Beneath my sunny disposition, lies a mass of rolling thoughts and strategies that tumble around in my mind until I feel I have weighed up what I feel is needed. I am not dissimilar to my father who was a strategist at heart but his love for the creative was at the forefront. I have taken risks with the most astute advisors on some of my projects only to have them fail. To be informed and well-advised does not equal success. You cannot account for every possibility or factor no matter how hard you try.

These failures often led to lengthy sabbaticals from any further "risky business" until my wounds had recovered enough not to hurt as much. And by wounds, I mean my ego. Nothing knocks your confidence quite like a failed business that you dreamed of having your entire life. Cue a hobby that I didn't realize I was good enough to do as a career path.

Writing.

I have always enjoyed telling stories, often long-winded and with the disclosure of too many truths but it became a pastime for me to write my own thoughts when I started my own blog more than a decade ago. But being a hobby, it was seldom prioritized and the clothing industry was always my firstborn child and remained my main focus.

Late last year, while looking for some options for my mom to make a living from, (she's possibly one of the best writers I know and deserves to get validation for it) it was suggested that we look at Urban Writers. I thought that it would be a fun thing for me to do and ended up applying, assuming I would not get in or not be the best at it. (Again, another lesson for us to learn - Stop. Being. So. Critical. Of. Yourself.) Now six months later, I am churning out projects and having the best of time doing so.

Nothing like getting the validation you deserve to realize that the chosen industry for your original career path is highly abusive. I began to ask myself, if it doesn't pay you what you are worth nor give you the validation, then why are you still doing it?

I would never have believed I could write an entire book. I have three of my half-written books but completing them has taken me several years now. Another thing creatives are famous for is not prioritizing their projects. We are conditioned to focus on money over passion when often it should be the other way around. If you know anything about the flow of abundant energy, you'd understand that "chasing money" brings you more of that frequency where you never stop chasing money. Six months down the line, I have written four books as a ghostwriter and would have more than this had I made writing my main focus.

The moral of the story is, that you never know what you are capable of doing. In the hardest times of your life when you thought you could never make it through, you can find a way to the light again with a little bit of self-encouragement and survival spirit. The same goes for, if you learn to take a chance once in a while, then you never know where it may lead you.

So if you have something you have been too afraid to try (personal or professional) then this is your sign from the universe that you shouldn't knock it till you try it! And if you see someone giving it a go, don't allow your own fear of failure to get in their way. Be encouraging and be inspired by their courage to try something new.

You are never too old to learn new tricks no matter what type of dog you are, and you can change your spots. You just have to believe in yourself a little more and release any fear of loss. Anxiety over something is just excitement in disguise. Learn to reframe these feelings and get excited about what opportunities you could embrace!