Ep. 33 Empowerment Unleashed: Breaking Free! Quitting a Job Isn't Giving Up – It's Embracing Your Path to Happiness and Purpose!

You're sat at your desk, watching the minutes tick by, and you're wondering, 'Is this really it? Is this all there is to my working life?' You're certainly not alone. This episode is a journey through the fears, uncertainties, and thrilling possibilities of quitting your job and embarking on a new career. We're not just talking about it, but we're breaking down the stigma surrounding quitting. No, it's not giving up - it's a bold step towards personal happiness and fulfillment. 

We'll share the lessons learned from personal experiences of career transitions. From the importance of self-awareness, to the empowerment of making bold career moves, we're examining all facets of this life-altering decision. We'll discuss the importance of a supportive network, the benefits of entrepreneurship, and the practicality of considering the financial implications. We'll even touch on the topic of making sacrifices. It's not just about the job that you're leaving, but also about the opportunities to which you're opening the door.

The journey doesn't end there. We'll discuss finding your community, networking with like-minded individuals, and the importance of being in control of your own destiny. Tune in for an inspiring conversation on stepping out of the comfort zone, navigating uncertainties, and seeking support during the shaky times. This episode ends with a call to self-care and empowerment, urging you to prioritize your well-being and encourage others on their path. Remember, your happiness and fulfillment are in your own hands. So, are you ready to take the leap?

Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes only and should not substitute for therapy. We recommend you seek help from a trained professional for your specific situation.

Q&A: What are Your Thoughts on This Episode? Please message us at contact@smilieempowerment.com

Are you a leader dedicated to achieving success or a professional driven to boost your leadership skills, establish effective teams, and improve your personal and professional development? Look no further! Smile Empowerment coaching offers comprehensive and personalized guidance that caters to your needs, whether individual or executive coaching or team-building sessions.

To book a free 30-minute consultation, please contact us at contact@smilieempowerment.com. During this meeting, we'll discuss your goals and create a tailored plan to ensure your success. Together, we can make a difference and embrace a journey towards your ultimate potential!

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

Welcome back, welcome.

Speaker 1: 0:04

Welcome, mibos Chica and fellow listeners. Are you thinking of quitting your job? Quitting your job isn't giving up. I want to f Welcome. Welcome back, mibos Chica, and my fellow listeners. So glad to have you here.

Speaker 1: 0:26

This episode is very special because I want to talk about Welcome back. Welcome back, mibos Chica and fellow listeners. This episode is very special. It's so special because I am going to share with you what has been going on with me.

Speaker 1: 0:53

I have mentioned before that there's been some changes going about, but I wanted to ask you this have you been thinking of quitting your job? Have you been thinking of changing jobs or changing careers? Now, often, when we are contemplating of quitting our job or we're thinking of changing careers, we may have individuals or even ourselves that say oh, you're quitting your job, you're giving up, you couldn't handle it, you're a quitter and there could be some negative connotations on this and I want you to know that if you've been thinking of quitting your job, that does not mean that you are giving up. I want you to understand that when you're changing careers or deciding to leave a job, you're really embracing your path of happiness and you're trying or doing what's best for you. Now disclaimer I am not saying that you should quit your job. If you haven't been thinking about it, or if you have that I am telling you to quit your job. This episode is more for you to discover where you are at in your journey. Right, think about are you happy where you're at? And if you've been already contemplating of quitting your job, I want you to know that you're not alone.

Speaker 1: 2:28

Many people are in jobs that are no longer fulfilling. They're not happy for different reasons. It could be the industry they're in. Actually, there's been some studies and they've shown that about 65% of people, when they leave their jobs, they're really leaving their manager as opposed to leaving the actual role that they do in the job. So sometimes you may be unhappy with your manager, with management and how the leadership has been, or how they're treating you. Other times, it can simply be that you have outgrown the job that you're in and that is okay, right? So if you are contemplating this, I want you to take this time and reflect where are you in your journey? Right? And if you really want to transform your experiences, that is okay as well, because when you leave a job, then you are open to new possibilities, right, and many describe a feeling of breaking free. But I don't want you to think that quitting a job means that you're giving up, because that is not true. That is not true. Okay, many people leave traditional jobs and they decide to launch their own business, right, or altogether leave their job and maybe go back to school, and they're able to do that. You have to see what is possible for you. Now.

Speaker 1: 4:18

There's definitely some fears right that come up once you leave your job or even before making that decision. You may have to overcome some fears. Even the imposter syndrome, right, may kick in. But it's important to empower yourself and the way you do that is by facing your fears right. Looking at, okay, what are my concerns about leaving this job?

Speaker 1: 4:45

For everyone is different, right, so everybody, as individuals, have different needs that they need to meet. So I am really asking you that, if you are contemplating of quitting your job, changing jobs, right, that you look at what is your family's need, right. If you're in a household where people depend on your income, possibly right On your stability in a workplace that there's a secure income coming in, then you have to look at for you and your household if it makes sense to change careers, if it makes sense to quit that job and maybe launch your own business or go into entrepreneurship, right, there's so many different decisions that you may want to take as you're making a change, a significant change, while you're in the path of seeking your happiness and your purpose. That is so important. And many of us may be in jobs for many years and you may be unhappy. You may not be aligned with the job and your purpose. For some of you, you may discover that through the years now you don't know what is your purpose. Right, because you've changed. Some of you have been in your jobs for 10 years. Some of you have been in a job for two or three years. But it's important for you to recognize what do you need at this present moment and what you're able to do again. If it's possible for you to quit your job and transfer, quit your job and seek another employment right, another job, it might be doing something completely different, right. So it is a courageous move to make. Right To change jobs right.

Speaker 1: 6:39

Transitioning from one job to another could be very scary. Many feelings may come up for you and that may hold you back from even making the decision right. Many of you as you're contemplating this. Right, you have fear, failure. Right, you may be feeling that you are going to fail if you go to another job or going on a entrepreneurship venture. You're thinking, can I do it? Right? You may have also fear of your financial well-being. It might be not at the perfect place for you and your family where you decide to leave your job and start your own business. For other individuals, it may be. You know what. No matter what, we're going to make the sacrifices and I'm going to make this happen and I'm going to do it. So every person is different. There is a sense of freedom right Once you are out of the traditional job setting and you explore or launch your entrepreneurship right In your entrepreneurship journey.

Speaker 1: 7:47

There could be many benefits to that making your own hours, your own decisions, taking more control. You may feel more empowered right Making independent decisions that will really shape your destiny right, your future for you and your family, and that's very empowering right. However, I want you to really take notice if this makes sense for you at this time, but for those that are thinking of quitting their job or have made that decision recently, I know that it's scary, it can be very overwhelming, but also it could be very gratifying because you could be at a place, now that you reinventing yourself, that you're now examining again your personal values, your interests, what are your passions right, and that may be seeking another type of job, in a different type of career, or in the same but in a different agency, or even making a decision to pursue entrepreneurship, and that is so important and significant for you. And I know you may be feeling overwhelmed with all the tasks and the responsibilities that come along with possibly starting a business and quitting your traditional job. That comes with a lot of responsibility, right, and you need to recognize that all of these different responsibilities especially if you're starting your own business, you are the one person at the beginning, right, and you're going to be wearing multiple hats and managing many different aspects of the business venture. If that's the route that you're taking, there's also overwhelming tasks and concerns. If you are changing jobs and you're back in the job market right, there could be a possibility that you haven't interviewed in a long time, or you're nervous about now going to another agency, another company right, all of that change can bring a level of anxiety, but I want you to also know that that's okay. You're not alone when you're feeling that. It's good to recognize those feelings as well. There are feelings of optimism and excitement, right, because you're starting something new and there could be so much of a positive impact on you and your family as you make this big change, whether the change, as I said, is a change of changing careers right, changing agencies, going to another job or starting your business right. So it's so important to know that the moment that you do leave your job, it's difficult, right.

Speaker 1: 10:44

You can, you can have, you may. Most likely you're going to have moments where you're going to feel lonely and a bit of feeling a sense of isolation, right, and that is because you're not with the coworkers that you used to be with. That you can have had, right, co-workers that are amazing, that even turn into friendships, longtime friendships. So being in a traditional office space brings a lot of comorality, right, team, team spirit. And when you don't have that, whether it's for a short time while you make the transition to a new job, or if you're altogether just going the route of entrepreneurship, you can really find yourself feeling a bit lonely. But understand that you're with yourself, right, and it can be a time of solidarity. It can be a time of solitary. It can be a time for you to be with yourself, and this time is good to explore your feelings and how are you doing with the decision and the next steps. So the time that you may be feeling isolated away from your ex-co-workers in a traditional office environment, it's a good time to really go within and explore right, what are the next steps that you want Realizing? Is it an entrepreneurship that you want? Right that you're going to go out to do your own business, and what does that take? Or is it that you are going to go back to school?

Speaker 1: 12:23

Some of you may be thinking of that and maybe not working full-time, working part-time. Some of you may say I can't afford that Financially. I'm not in that place and I do need to seek another full-time job. But I wasn't happy anymore in the agency or the company I was in, and that is fair. What's sad is when we stay for a long time in an agency, company, business, whatever space you're spending most of your time and you come to realize that you're not happy, you're not feeling fulfilled. Time is of the essence. Time awaits no one, as time is going by.

Speaker 1: 13:06

In your early years, maybe that you were younger, and if you are in your late 20s, coming out of college, you have time. We would think that you have more time to play around or trial and error or explore different options as you're getting older. If you're in your midlife, as you're getting older, you start feeling okay, wait a minute, did that, done that, paid my dues here. Now, what do I want to do? Some folks that are mid in their life they're in the 40s, 50s, upper 50s. They're really thinking about what do I want to do? Then other folks in the age range of in their early 20s into the early 30s.

Speaker 1: 13:51

It doesn't mean that you can just take whatever people dish out to you in the workplace. I still want to encourage you, regardless of your age group, regardless of the age group that you're in, for you to really examine how do you feel. Some people say forget about feelings, it's about the pay. You can be in a moment in your life where you really need that pay track and you're like you know what. It's not the best feeling at work, but it pays the bills. I get that and I understand that, and by no means I'm telling you what to do, but I am encouraging you to take a step back and examine how are you feeling with the company, the agency, the business, whatever it may be, the entity where you are spending most of your time and you're putting your energy, your effort, you have your values tied in. You have all of your work ethic You're giving of yourself for so long, in whatever capacity you've been in, even if it was a short time, it's still time spent.

Speaker 1: 15:06

You want to make sure that this company is aligned with your values, it's aligned with your passion, it's aligned with your interests. What makes you feel joyful while you do work, what makes you feel encouraged? And that's something you have to look at, because our traditional office environment, each agency, has its culture right. Each department in itself has a culture within that department of how they interact with each other, how they deliver the service, how they work together, the team spirit. So you really got to look at that, and I'm not saying that you just quit your job without really putting effort and looking a little more into putting time in. You make that decision for you.

Speaker 1: 15:58

I've known folks that have started work and within the 90 days they realize you know what. This is not a good fit for me anymore. Just as well as the employer, in those first 90 days on average, they're examining to see if you fit what they require of you and if it's a good fit, you also have the capacity and the time within the three months to really examine is this a good fit for me? And sometimes we settle and we're content with a place of work where you may not feel any more that you're growing and that's okay. That's not something to feel ashamed, that's not something for you to hide, right, because if you are not growing at the place of work or in your business growing as a person really it being growing as a person then and feeling fulfilled then I encourage you that, if you're exploring quitting your job, to really take a further look at this right and see if you are feeling fulfilled.

Speaker 1: 17:14

And many of you have dreams and visions that sometimes don't align with the place of work. Many of us it's like that, right, you feel okay going to work and you do it for years and you're committed. But some of you have dreams and visions that you've put to the side and I know that the imposter syndrome, especially in the early stages of you building a business, right, comes in. Or even when you first started job or even contemplating moving from one agency to another and exploring, the imposter syndrome possibly comes in and in your mind you're thinking who do you know that voice tells you? Who do you think you are Thinking that you're going to go to another company, who do you think you are that you are going to launch that business? Who do you think you are that you think that you can work a full time while you also have a side hustle or building something, a project on the side for yourself? And I want to tell you that who you are is an amazing, wonderfully made individual who deserves happiness, who deserves to feel happy, who deserves the best of life, who deserves good things.

Speaker 1: 18:36

And sometimes we don't think we're worthy. There's so much more deeper things that I could say on this, but in the interest of time, I just want you to know that you may feel that you don't have enough self-worth, you may feel that you cannot go for a different type of job, right, and if you're not being promoted or if you've reached the ceiling at your current job and you want more, there's nothing wrong with that. And I think sometimes, when we are having these discussions, we shy away from speaking to our managers and directors about hey, I want more and let's explore this. And sometimes it's not even the lack of having the talk. Sometimes you might be at a place where you've outgrown and there's no room for growth and there's no possibility from upper management creating something for you to grow right, because sometimes agencies may get to a place where they're not growing at the speed that you would like or having the opportunities made for you to grow right, so then you have to look elsewhere and that's your responsibility. I want to share that. That is really your responsibility.

Speaker 1: 19:56

And it's good to stay curious, right? Because when we keep curiosity right, especially about learning opportunities and curiosity about personal development, whether that's in you developing new skills to be more marketable, to go to another job, to change jobs, to change careers or to even start your entrepreneurship journey right, it's important to really stay open to exploring new skills, possibly new industries and different working methods for you to change and I know for the most part us as humans, we are not good with change right, we could talk about it, we could be like, yes, I want this and I want that, but then when we have to take the actions and that includes changing right, changing careers, going back out to the marketplace, maybe to do interviews. That all requires us to change right and we have to be resilient and we also have to be self-aware. A lot of us sometimes lack this self-awareness and it's important for us to develop that and stay connected with supportive network. Stay connected with other like-minded individuals that are also embarking on new projects and new vision, whether that's within your department, in an agency or in a business, or in someone's personal lifestyle. I know that I've known individuals that have retired and decided to really launch their own business at home, selling, like in Spanish, los pasteles. Right, just making themselves useful, but now in a different way.

Speaker 1: 21:46

Don't be shy, don't be fearful, to the point where you don't make bold steps and, of course, with caution. And I am saying you have to know what's good for you and your household, for you and your family. And if you live alone, you still may say you know what. I really have to examine this, because you have to pay for the apartment you're in or the home you're in. You have to sustain yourself. You may have a parent that you're taking care of financially, even if they're in another country, or here. You know where, the place where you're, the same city or country you live in.

Speaker 1: 22:28

So I want you to understand that you have to examine for yourself if this is the time, if this is the moment to quit, and what is the impact of you quitting your job and what is the next step. But I really want you to understand that if you quit your job, or if you're even contemplating it, it doesn't mean that you're a failure. It doesn't mean that you are a quitter with a negative connotation to that phrase. It means that you are empowering yourself to self-care at its highest. That means that you're saying wait a minute, I need to look at what do I need? Because when we go to an employer or when we're servicing our clients right, we're figuring out what we have to deliver to help someone else right. But in the interim, sometimes we lose way of what we need as the person being invested in that job or in that career and in that business, right. So it's exciting for us to really explore these challenges.

Speaker 1: 23:42

I say the word excitement because I want you to turn and reframe your own mindset when it comes to making changes, and it could be as small, as you know what I'm going to talk to my boss and I'm going to talk about promotions. I think I'm ready, right, or I know I'm ready, but let's talk about, let's explore this Is it transferring from another department to another department because now this other department has another opportunity that helps you to grow professionally as well as financially? Or for you to really, after you have those conversations if you had them, or with HR, for you to say, ok, I think it's time for me to exit and explore something new, and that all can be scary, but I want you to keep that mind of excitement. I want you to shift your mindset to getting more of the steps in your own self-care, and that includes the place of work. There could be many reasons why the place of work is not contributing anymore to your self-care optimally, right. So that's so important and I want to share this with you.

Speaker 1: 25:04

Just at the time of me recording this, it's been four days since my last day at my former job. So I quit my job after 18 years and about five months, and I was a former program director as well. I'm a social worker and it's been scary. So I wanted to do this episode because, just as I know, I've had the thoughts right in certain conversations where there could have been this notion of wait a minute, why are you quitting? What was that about? Is it a negative thing? And for the most part, I've had a lot of positivity around me quitting my job, but at the same time, even myself I've had thoughts of like, wait a minute, did I make the right decision? Was there another way that I could have done? This played this out.

Speaker 1: 26:08

However, when I examined this for myself and I can only speak for me after 18 years and a half in a workplace, right in a position of a lot of leadership, a program director managing over the 18 years I managed so many programs, created so many programs. Right, fostered so many teams, different teams that worked along with me. In the 18 years and a half right, I've been at the table with so many leaders collaborating, really working for communities that were very fragile and in a lot of need. Right saw so much of the need food insecurity, right, financial insecurity, instability, mental health all of that. And I was reviewing my 18 years and a half and I learned so much. I'm so grateful to the nonprofit organization that I was committed to for 18 years and a half that when I went there.

Speaker 1: 27:07

Originally I went to apply for a case worker position and my former boss was like, in the middle of the interview, was like wait a minute, I see great potential in you to be a program director for a small program that I have within the agency, that I envision it being developed and grown, but it's very small right now. But I think that you're the person to lead and create and really take the leadership as a director of this program and expanding it. And the rest is history. 18 years and a half past, and this person believes in me and that's another example of you sometimes allowing yourself to be open to someone else perspective of you, especially someone in leadership who has experience. She believed in me, that I and she saw something that I did not see and it was scary, and I consulted with my mom and my husband at the time, 18 years and a half ago and right, and I took the opportunity, not having the experience of being a director, but knowing that I had skill sets, I had passion and I had experience that this former, this former that my former boss was like.

Speaker 1: 28:33

I believe you can do it. What you have and you bring to the table is exactly what I need, and I know that you can do this, because you need to lean in onto someone else's belief in you when you may not have it in that area. I knew I could do casework right, but I didn't know that the skills that I already had were ideal for being a program director. So I'm encouraging you to also don't limit yourself when you are exploring a job opportunity or even a business venture, because you already may have what you need to get started. Of course, along the way, in those 18 years and a half, I was able to expand on my skillsets, expand on my talents and gifts of leadership and of really being a person to serve with my heart, but also with structure, and I was able to learn so much as well as give so much of myself, along with my team.

Speaker 1: 29:42

So why do I say this? Because if you're thinking of quitting your job and you are in search of something more, of something different, but that it all boils down to it contributing to your self care, to your happiness, to you feeling fulfilled, right, it's so important for you to stay empowered, for you to know that you can quit your job when you feel that it's best for you, and no one can make that decision but you, of course. If you have a partner, someone that depends on you, you can have conversations to know okay, where are we as a family, where are we financially? Is this going to cost us a distress in our financial, in our finances, right, is this going to cause distress in our finances? Are we going to be in a bind, or is there a possibility that we can do this at this time and sometimes what's happening?

Speaker 1: 30:49

I think for many folks that have quit their job and they're in between jobs, if in their heart they have a vision, a passion, a project, a business that they've been thinking about or slowly developing, there is a feeling of exploration. Can I just dedicate myself to my business and I know that Smiley Empowerment LLC because it's incorporated for a few years now. However, I've been doing it very slowly because my commitment more 100% has been in my former job that I was 18 years and a half, but little by little I could say that it wasn't really starting as a hobby, but it was something very, very, something very important that I was developing Smiley Empowerment through many years, but very gradual, small steps, and now that I quit my job after 18 years and a half, I'm like, okay, I've been positioned to do X, y and Z and, as well as I love Smiley Empowerment, I love where my coaching is going, I love that I launched this podcast. However, I need to know what else am I going to do or how I am going to do my next steps. But that takes time. So I'm sharing this because you may not have it all figured out, just like I don't have it all figured out, so it's important to give yourself time. It's important to regulate your feelings. You may have a lot of feelings, you may have a lot of doubt, and it's important to pivot and pivot and continue to pivot.

Speaker 1: 32:31

One thing that the pandemic showed me and really taught me was to shift and pivot at a moment's time without any previous notice, and I had to, like many of you, figure it out for the first time. All of us, for actually hearing the United States and so many people also all over the world we had to figure it out. We were like, wait, what is this? A pandemic, what? So we had to figure out so many things and in my former job that I was in, I definitely had to pivot. As the leader of my team. I had to really work with them on okay, now we're gonna do virtual supervision and doing so many things through the virtual world as opposed to meeting in person and, at the same time, being scared and, for me, being very scared about my own health but allowing them to speak about what they were feeling and leading I was able to lead them with compassion and understand that I was scared, but they were scared too, and it was okay to say we're all scared and we're all trying to figure it out. And that was the environment that I was in with my team for 18 years and a half. It was a very friendly, very family-orientated as a team that delivered so much service and I'm very proud of that. But now that came to an end for me this week as the time I recorded this and now I'm in a place of like, okay, what am I gonna do next? And if you are in that same place that you don't have everything figured out, it's okay. But these are quickly a few things that I wanna say that has helped me and that is really finding community Networking with people that are like-minded, even if you're exploring another job opportunity is really putting yourself out there speaking to people in the industry that you would like to now enter, if it's the same industry but with a different agency.

Speaker 1: 34:31

Reach out to people that you know right. Speak to people. Let them know If you're also contemplating entrepreneurship, even if you're still gonna find another traditional job, and at the same time, you're gonna still develop your business or launch it for the first time or start incorporating it, and all of that. Get connected with people that know right what you're speaking about. So there might be other people that already are ahead of you by many steps, that they already incorporated their business. They already learned how to file their taxes for their business all of that right. In your communities there's probably classes that are for free or that you can go on the website. You can go on social media to also get a lot of information. Youtube, get information. Stay educated right, but check in with yourself. Have regular self-reflection. That's so important, besides seeking the support from other folks that are in the same journey as you or walk that path.

Speaker 1: 35:38

I just went to a networking event and there were other women there. It was so empowering. There were women of different ages, different cultural background and they were talking about. A few of them were like, oh, I just quit my job recently, or I remember years ago that I did, and this is what I went through. And regardless when the year was, if it was many years ago or presently, like me, within the week or a few months, we all shared this same sense of fear of the unknown and a feeling of, while we're in the interim, of figuring out what we're gonna do, but we are now not going to that job that we were so used to going to.

Speaker 1: 36:20

There's a feeling of isolation, right, and that is very important to really work with being on your own with yourself. But don't stay isolated to the point where you fall into a deep depression, where you find yourself lethargic, very distracted, very indulging, all the negative thoughts that come up. It's important to really elevate yourself from that and if you don't have your own strength, that's why it's important to have a supportive network, and that could be from one or two friends that are really solid, right, and what I mean by that it's because you may have a lot of friends or different friends that could be too critical, overly positive or just very critical. You just want to be around people that are pretty balanced and that are pretty much able to listen to you without already having all these solutions, but first listen to what are your needs, what are your concerns, and for that you have to write things down so when you're engaging in these conversations, you're able to say well, this is what I'm feeling, because sometimes you may not even know what you are feeling. You haven't labeled it, identified it, but people are telling you how to feel in the transition of quitting your job.

Speaker 1: 37:39

And now are you going for a next job? What type of job? Are you gonna go back to full time? Are you gonna have two part times? Are you gonna now launch your business? Are you gonna continue the side hustle that you had? Are you traveling? Why are you doing this? Why are you doing that? Don't spend all this money, can you?

Speaker 1: 37:55

So what I mean is that many people can have opinions about your life, but you have to take control and you have to know what are your achievable goals that you want, and that's what I'm working on. I don't have it all figured out, but I am really working on embracing this journey and staying very present. I'm blessed to have my husband that's so supportive, my son, my mom, my sisters right, my friends that I have that do know about this decision. Not everyone and it's not because everyone could have known or not known, I'm saying before I made the decision but just very close knitted people that I know are able to work with me in my process, cause some of us.

Speaker 1: 38:45

While we're in the process, you may find yourself that the folks that you're around with it could be your mother or it can be your best friend. It could be anyone. They're very good intended, they love you, but maybe right now, where they're at, they don't have the patience for this decision that you're making. They may not have the patience to hear you out for the 10th time on the back and forth before you do make the decision. So you have to be very clear on who you're trusting with this decision that you're about to make or that you already have made. And it's okay to pivot and it's okay to be scared. You just have to go with the flow, trust the process, be very wise in what you're doing, don't go off impulse, think things through, be open to feedback and really maintain that sense of curiosity in what you want to do with your life, because life is a journey, it's not a race. Don't compare yourself to someone else don't compare yourself to me, right? We can influence each other and really inspire each other with our stories. That's why I'm sharing my vulnerability of where I'm at right, now that I quit my job of 18 years and a half and I am really in a place of exploring my next steps.

Speaker 1: 40:15

Definitely, I'm still doing Smiley Empowerment, my podcast. I'm gonna continue and, of course, I'm gonna continue growing. But I'm very early on in the business, not in what I know to do, but on social media with Smiley Empowerment. It's very different when you and it's very different when you are doing a service. But it's your business, right? It's not someone else's agency. When it's yours, it's all of it, every aspect of it. You have to learn, get folks to help you, but sometimes at the beginning you don't have the finances to hire all these individuals and maybe there's not even enough tasks. So you have to start very slow and that's where I'm at.

Speaker 1: 41:02

I am so happy that you've been supporting me, that you're listening to this podcast. If you're on Instagram, you know that I have a daily post there. Try to be very positive and inspiring and offering guidance. I also do the master classes which I've been doing every Thursday at 7 pm Eastern time. That may change, so just stay tuned for updates and things like that.

Speaker 1: 41:26

But I've been for more than two years and a half, for so many years it's been a lot of years, right before the pandemic. When I did my first YouTube, when I opened the YouTube channel I believe it was in 2019, so All of this I've been giving of myself right and now I'm looking at okay, now I'm taking a turn for having this business little by little, for it to be something that I can give as much as I can to everyone but, at the same time, sustain myself. So I am so grateful to your support, as I've given of myself, that you guys are supportive, receiving and being so generous, also with your time, because this is your time when you're listening to this podcast, or if you join me on the lives on Instagram or you see my TikTok or see my videos on YouTube. That is your time, but it's precious and it's my time as well, but it's meaningful, right and purposeful and that's why I want you to take a close look at your life, whether you're quitting your job or changing jobs, or you are in your current job and you're not even thinking of quitting. You know what this could be for you too all the tips that I've just shared and my story.

Speaker 1: 42:45

Because even if you are the happiest, go fella or chick right in your job it's important to look at what is your work ethic, what is your dedication? What is your legacy? What are you happy about? What brings you joy? What brings you fulfillment? Where you are now, is it aligned with your personal values, with what brings you joy and satisfaction? Right. And if you have to stay in your job, it's okay. It's okay for whatever the timeframe that that is. And if it's till you retire, that's okay. And if it's till a season, whatever that season is, it has to be good for you. So I hope that these tips and the conversation that I've had very authentically with you I hope that they have helped and embrace your growth, embrace your journey.

Speaker 1: 43:45

Understand that this is your journey. While we're here, we sharing in the journey, but we come in right when we give birth. We come in that journey alone, right when we are birthed. And when we exit this planet, it's also alone. What I mean by alone? It's right that it's your journey as an individual, as much as you may have support within that process.

Speaker 1: 44:10

So enjoy life. Life is to be enjoyed and I know that, wherever you're at in your journey, you are someone that deserves happiness and fulfillment and you deserve to be treated with respect and dignity. The same thing as you will give others respect and treat others with dignity. Right and be kind to one another and be kind to yourself. Have grace for yourself as you have grace for others, and you're responsible in making the changes, the choices that are for you. Of course, it impacts your family as well, but you as an individual, you're the only person that can make yourself happy. You have control over that. Okay, so I hope that till we meet again here on the podcast, that you take care of yourself and of each other and know that you got this. Whichever way you decide, you got this. Take good care. Fancy peace to you.