3 Practical Tips for Owning Your Path
Make It Stand Out.
I recently did a Facebook post asking my group what they thought life would be like if network marketing was treated like a “traditional” job. Would the stripped away stigma make it easier to dive head first into the industry?
3 Practical Tips for Owning Your Path
Owning your path comes up a lot in direct sales. I know the fear in choking out, “Well, I joined…” is powerful because I felt it. In fact, it took me almost two years to tell my parents that I was making the move from college professor to doTERRA leader
Going from wearing my job title on my sleeve to dodging the dreaded, “What do you do?” question at parties was a major shift. It can be really challenging to find the confidence to dive in head first — yet that’s what makes all the difference.
I was reminded of this struggle while reading You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero for our book club (head over here if you want to join us). She took me right back to that first moment when I realized everything I wanted for my life was on the other side of an often unjustified stigma.
“Once you step away from the heard and let your true self shine you’ll probably find yourself in front of the opinion firing squad. Especially if what you want to do is extraordinary and outside of everyone’s comfort zones. Which is why so many people run screaming from the lives they would so love to live.” (Page 66)
The truth is, this industry is most people’s sweet spot if they actually allow themselves to get into it. It provides…
Time freedom
Schedule freedom
Financial freedom
Who doesn’t want that?! When we start owning our path and stop bearing the weight of what other people think, we’re able to achieve our vision for our ideal life. I’m so grateful that I was able to break free from that cycle, but it took me awhile to get there.
If that’s where you are right now, I want to offer some encouragement. Here are some ways to start owning your path and living the life you want to live.
1. View it as a non-negotiable
You may have heard me say this before — my lifestyle is non-negotiable. When I was diagnosed with breast cancer, I found out they couldn’t hold my position at the college while I underwent treatment.
So I either had to find another job (that would be okay with my extended absences) or make a major career shift. I was already head over heels for doTERRA, I had just been struggling with the stigma around shifting from professor to direct sales. But it came down to me understanding it wasn’t a negotiable. I needed to work, I couldn’t continue at the college, and doTERRA offered the flexibility I needed.
Those practical reasons pushed me over the edge and allowed me to view the opportunity in a new light. So I went for it and took the plunge, and that’s something I’m grateful for every day.
2. Dream with your family
My husband and I periodically have goal planning meetings where we talk about everything under the sun.
We talk about where we want to travel, what we want our final home to be like, how we want to spend retirement, and what we want our lifestyle to look like. We also have those conversations with our kids to get a sense of their feelings and goals.
Not only do these chats give us something to work toward, they allow us to push through busy times with those defined goals in mind.
3. Understand that YOU (and only you) know what’s best for YOU!
At the end of the day, even well meaning friends or family members can’t make decisions for you. You live and breathe in your family’s unique ecosystem all day long. What might not be feasible to someone else works perfectly fine for your family, and vise versa
Owning your path means not allowing yourself to get distracted or side tracked by how other people are doing things. It’s the equivalent of horse blinders.
You and your family have determined a vision, created goals, and put together what it’s going to take to get there. If it’s working for you, please understand that that’s enough.
I understand how scary it can feel when you’re about to take a leap of faith. Really, I do! But I can tell you that there’s not one day I’m not eternally grateful that I did it.
Regardless of what people around us choose to do, we are in control of our own destinies. Now I have all the support in the world, and have built a strong network of others just like me. I surround myself with people who took a risk when it was uncomfortable and never looked back.
Will you join us?
I know what it’s like to want to start over and do something different with your life, so I have made it my mission to help others rise above their adversities and discover how to live a lifestyle full of passion and purpose. I created a 45-minute Spotlight Strategy call that will help you clear barriers and create an action plan aimed right at your lifestyle goals. Learn more here.
XO,
Kacie
