"Not everything is as it seems." I met an interesting man from India at a party when we were living in Bali. He was super friendly and funny.
Him: So where were you just before moving to Bali?
Me: We flew from Europe, Slovenia.
Him (looking serious): Oh, I love Slovenia. It's one of my favorite countries. I personally know the President. Oh, and I stayed with (insert super famous people). I am doing business with them. I can't wait to go back there.
Me rolling my eyes and slowly moving away: aha, yeah, sure...
The thing is (and I found out later about it), he really knew those people personally. He happened to be a successful entrepreneur and an angel investor with many connections.
What sometimes appears to be a big fat lie, a story to impress, happens to be a beautiful TRUTH.
I feel sorry for having judged him in the first few seconds and for not having given him a chance to speak - even though "it seemed surreal that someone I had just met happened to love one of the least known countries in the world, where I used to spend time in, and know its president personally".
Every day since then, I am being reminded of that. Like this man, I am not conventional. And I often meet people who roll their eyes when we meet for the first time:
You're 34? You look so young like you would be 16.
You and Jay have been together for 12 years? Bullshit. You guys look like you would just meet each other last month.
What do you mean you run an "online" business? Don't you drive to an office like everyone else?
You don't wear high-heels and expensive jewelry? "Successful women" do that.
You mean that you are French? How come you don't have any accent when you speak Slovenian? That's weird.
You eat that much? How can this be?! You're so skinny!
You're earning that much money? Man, that's more in a week than I make in a year. You must be kidding.
For years, I've tried to mask who I was and what I had achieved. I didn't want to reply to any of these questions.
It felt uncomfortable. And I hated that feeling. I didn't want to own who I was, my talents, what I had worked for. I avoided introducing myself to new groups of people (many of you surely remember that!).
I created stories to keep myself small in front of others, not to confront their belief systems. I didn't want to be SEEN. It hurt not to be like others and having to prove things all the time.
And that's because I believed I had to "prove" those things. In order to be accepted, acknowledged, recognized. Approved of. LOVED.
From the magnificent being that I was, I was choosing to give my power away, to make myself small. And invisible.
I was hiding behind others' light.
I was "the daughter", "the partner", "the wife", "that girl".
I wasn't me.
Today, I remember the man from India. His relaxedness about BEING him and his story. The silly things he did. And the great ones he achieved. And I'm realizing how much I've grown...
What has changed isn't others. It's ME. My mindset. And approving of myself.
I smile when I hear those who can't grasp that I look 15 years younger than I am. This will be fun when I turn 80 ;)
When we hear that Jay and I are "so lucky" to have found each other, without knowing a glimpse of how much we've actually invested in our relationship, I receive it as a compliment.
When someone comments on my strange ability to be fluent in multiple languages which is so unusual for a "French" lady, I think it's pretty fascinating!
If I eat "that" much and I am skinny, I am grateful for having created an awesome relationship with food, exercising, and my body. If you feel guilty each time you have launch, guess how your body will react?
And yes, Jay and I run an online academy and would never have it another way! It's amazing. Maybe you should try. It enables us to have incredible freedom of purpose, time, location, and finances. And changing hundreds of clients' lives and their families is priceless- This wouldn't be possible if we were playing locally or in a job.
And if we make more money in a week than many may make in a year, it hasn't always been that way. A lot of people only see the top of the iceberg. But yes, I'm super appreciative and proud of the whole journey and what we have created.
Mostly we have created choices. We've worked on our mindset. We took decisions. And building BeMore Academy has been one of the best ones.
I own what success means to me. And it has never been about showing off in branded high-heels (although you might see me in them from time to time ;) I LOVE simplicity. And being barefoot. I feel successful when I am connected and those around me are too. I feel successful when my bank account says I don't have to work for another year if I don't want to, but choose to. I like simple things. And I certainly enjoy other "fancy" things that may or may not be "registered" as success-proof, such as high vibe foods, gorgeous resorts, traveling in prime spots, getting the chance to continuously expand, invest in, and learn from incredible mentors, and having deep and true experiences.
This is me. I dance, I cry and laugh in real life and I am the SAME with our clients. Keeping real is one of the reasons they trust us. And what a better invitation for others to BE themselves too?
Thanks God for that gift.
I love Me.
I love You.
And I celebrate your path, no matter how freaking unconventional it is!
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