Life.
What an amazing journey.
Today I’d love to tell you about part of my journey, a journey of reconnecting with my true passion.
Would you believe it actually took working a job I absolutely loathed to reconnect with it?
And now I’m learning new skills to ensure I never lose it again.
Let’s start at the beginning…
Part 1: The Passion Develops
I can remember as far back as to the age of about 7 years old when my aunty would take me to the stables and I’d ride her horse, Jayke. Unfortunately, I can not remember the specifics, but, I know it was around this age that I also decided I wanted to live in the country and have horses of my own.
My aunt is 10 years older than me so when I was 7 she still lived with her parents, my grandparents. I often stayed overnight at my grandparent’s house and every time I did I always hoped to see my aunty there in the hope she would invite me to go to the stables with her.
Once I hit the age of about 12 I was able to ride more often thanks to the fact I was allowed to ride my bike to the stables. They would have been around 4 kilometres from where I lived so I’d get there as many weekends as I was allowed.
Throughout my high school years, my aunty and her partner lived outside of the city on a property about 45 mins out of Adelaide. By then she had two horses. She’d pick me up on a Friday afternoon and I’d spend the daylight hours of the weekend with her horses mucking out their stables, grooming them, feeding them, and of course riding them. I remember having to get up extremely early on a Monday morning, about 5 am, so that my aunty could drop me off home on her way into work in time for me to go to school. Waking up that early wasn’t something I looked forward to but it was definitely worth it after having had such a wonderful weekend doing what I loved.
I remember spending more time grooming horses, mucking out stables, and just hanging out with the horses, than I did actually riding. To be honest with you, I wasn’t even that skilled a rider. I had no formal riding education and the horses I rode were what was known as “hack abouts” which simply means they were of no particular breed and as a rider, you just got on and went. Looking back, I don’t know how those horses put up with the style of riding we did back then. All I know is that somehow I managed to walk, trot, canter, and steer the horses where I needed them to go and I loved it.
By this stage, I had my own riding gear and grooming equipment so when I wasn’t staying at my aunt’s I’d be cleaning my gear. I loved oiling my saddle and bridle and to this day I still love the smell of freshly oiled leather (even though dare I say it, I have a strict vegetarian diet).
When my aunt moved back into the city she sold her other horse but kept Jayke who she stabled closer by. I was able to go horseriding after work a few times a week. I do remember coming to a point where I wanted to learn more about using leg aids to direct my horse. Something I had read in a book. Unfortunately, before I really had a chance to learn more about it, the day came when my aunt sold her horse Jayke to some lovely people with a property where he could live out his final days.
Part 2 – Life Without My Passion
I no longer had any access to any horses and, with no chance of affording my own, my riding days ended at the age of 21. Thanks to some of the poor agistment Jayke was stabled in at times, I promised myself I would never own a horse until I achieved my childhood dream of living in the country so I could have my own quality stables.
21 years went by (Mmmm, how coincidental is that i.e. I stopped riding at age 21 to start up again after 21 years).
Seventeen of those years saw much of my time taken up within the fitness industry and, let’s just say at the time, fitness instructing was not the kind of job you did for the money. By the time I worked my way up to middle management and had the money, I no longer had the time.
It was during my time in the fitness industry that I also met my wonderful partner. He worked at the same fitness centre as me, so of course, much of my free time outside of work was spent with him. Our relationship developed and we eventually moved in together to live in a home we both love so much.
And yep, it has some elements of a country look about it – Thankfully my man loves the idea of living in the country too 🙂
It was at the age of 39 that the fitness centre I worked at was shut down. I decided it was time to end my fitness career, a decision I feel was made with the help of the Universe. I took what I like to call an “in-between job”, something to get me by until I figured out what I really wanted to do.
I spent the next two years having to get accustomed to having no set working hours. My hours changed on a daily basis and I did not know what they were until 6 pm the night before – and even then they would often change around on the day. How could I possible schedule anything around a job like that, let alone start any sort of scheduled hobby?
And then there was the insecure pay.
I’ve had to do a lot of mindset work to overcome my anxieties of having a lack of money as there were weeks I’d earn less than $250 AUD. Living this reality with the bills coming in led me to make sure I was available for all the work I could possibly be offered by my bosses, even if it meant sacrificing all of my living hours – which I usually did.
The mindset work helped and I reached a point where rather than stress about having a lack of money when I was not given work, I’d fully enjoy my time off – which kind of became easier and easier to do the longer I remained in a job I hated so much. I became comfortable in the knowledge that the Universe had my back and I would always be provided for when it came to my financial commitments. I then reached a point where I realised that sacrificing all my waking hours for a job I didn’t even like was just not worth it.
That’s when I decided to start making my happiness more of a priority than the need for money.
Part 3: Prioritising My Happiness
I decided to focus my mindset work on being happy. From what I understood of the law of attraction if I chose to feel happy more often I would create more happiness in my life and therefore attract more of what I desire.
Don’t get me wrong here, I am generally a happy person. I just noticed how unhappy I would allow myself to become when my job presented certain scenarios to me (which it often did).
So when work peeved me off I made the effort to, (as Byron Katies would say), “turn it around” and think better thoughts. When I struggled with this I went to my happy place (which was usually getting up on my horse, sinking my butt into the saddle and just cantering off into some grassy paddock feeling free).
And I did,
And I did,
And I did.
But for some reason, a reason that would leave me questioning my personal mental well-being, when it came to my job, I just couldn’t move past some of the things that really annoyed me about it.
Perhaps my emotions were telling me I needed to get out???
I decided I needed to bring joy into my life not just by using my thoughts but by taking some action. I needed to go out there and start doing something I enjoyed.
The sad thing about it was that I really didn’t know what it was I enjoyed that wasn’t goal orientated other than letting loose with a few Saturday night bevies.
One thing I did know was my lifelong dream – to end up in the country so I could ride horses again someday.
And that was it. I figured out what I could do to enjoy myself. Not only was it something I thought I’d enjoy again but I also understood that by actually doing it, it would help to create my dream, a dream which I now talked about with my partner a heck of a lot. I can’t buy the property with the dream house and the stables yet, but what I can do is book myself into riding lessons. I figure what’s the point of finally achieving the dream and not being capable of riding properly when the time comes.
Part 4: Taking Action Didn’t Start Without Some Fear
I actually had a fear of losing my job. I thought that by not making myself available throughout Saturday’s my bosses might decide to give me the boot. I decided the best way to test the waters was to start out with 30-minute riding lessons once a fortnight. At least I’d be available for work every Saturday morning and every second Saturday afternoon.
I also feared that maybe I wouldn’t enjoy riding. Maybe the only reason I thought I liked riding was that I did it when I was young so it was familiar to me. Perhaps my dream was just a childhood fantasy??? Only time could tell.
Part 5: Reconnection Begins
My First Time Back
Have you ever had that feeling that when you go somewhere or do something that you’ve “come home”? That’s exactly how it felt for me to not only start riding again, but just to be at the riding centre, around the stables, and around others who loved to ride.
And the feeling of stepping one foot up into the stirrup, hoisting myself up, swinging my leg over the saddle, allowing my butt to sit deep into the saddle for the first time to finally taking up the reins. I had visualised it many times as my “happy thought” for the day – but nothing compares to the actual feel of it.
Yep, I had come home.
But was this really something I wanted to do more of in the future.
Part 6: Questioning My Dream
I questioned my dream often. I mean what’s wrong with where I am now? What about appreciating the ease of attending riding lessons once a fortnight and coming home to suburbia where everything is convenient and life goes on without the responsibilities of actually owning a horse.
I needed to test my dream which also meant testing my faith in manifesting the money I needed. Not only would I need to spend more money on lessons, but I would need to do it whilst foregoing possible income and at risk of losing my job.
But I had to go there. I went from 30-minute lessons once a fortnight to 30-minute lessons every week. Soon many of the 30 minutes lessons became an hour. I even took 10 days off work and had lessons every second day. This was the big tester for me and the results?
I know I love riding and I now know more than ever that my dream is not just some childhood fantasy, it’s very much a dream that’s worth striving for.
Part 7: Striving To Make My Dream A Reality With An Online Business.
It just so happens I decided to start my own online business the same year I started riding again (go figure).
Right up until about a month before starting an online business I had no real idea of how to escape my current job. There were no other jobs advertised that interested me in the slightest and the thought of having to go backwards, to the types of jobs I had before becoming a fitness instructor, scared the bejeebers outta me.
But I knew I had to escape the job I disliked so much because a) I would end up miserable, possibly ill, and even without a partner and b) It would allow me the opportunity to really pursue my passion and even achieve my dream.
But how?
It was about 7 months after starting horseriding again that I believe the Universe answered my question of how I was to earn money. I was shown an ad on Facebook that was completely out of the blue as it certainly had nothing to do with any of my interests at the time. The ad captured my attention which is very unusual for me too, so I clicked the link and it provided me with some information about affiliate marketing. At the time all I wanted was to be shown a way to escape my current job – but what I was given was also a way I could earn income from my country property and in a way that would provide me with the time I would need to actually enjoy my dream – I mean after all, what’s the point of finally achieving the dream if there’s no time to enjoy it.
Final Words
I loved my time in the fitness industry and it served me well with regards to ensuring I live a functional life but I forgot about my passion. If not for leaving fitness industry to work a job that was insecure and one that I came to loathe I would not have had to overcome my lack issues around money and I would not have had to search for more happiness and found that happiness by reconnecting with my passion.
The desire to continue my passion and the knowledge that my childhood dream is still my dream in adulthood drives me to take back control of how I earn income. I need the way I earn income to provide me with the income and the time to enjoy the passion I have reconnected with. Running the right type of online business can do this. If you’d like to find out more I can send you an On-Demand Workshop series in exchange for your first name and email address where my mentors can explain more about the types of online businesses you could start so you too can take back control of how you earn income and work towards living your dream life.
