Happy Tuesday!
I want to share a part of my journey that I don’t talk about a lot with you today.
As most of you already know, a year ago I was living a very peaceful and content life in Scottsdale, Arizona. I was spending my days training to compete in fitness competitions and doing the bare minimum to keep xoNecole running. The site was growing, but there wasn’t enough staff, or resources to bring in revenue to help it evolve and expand into the empire I always envisioned it to be. Although I was very comfortable and making a living, I knew I wanted more for myself and my brand, so I made the tough decision to move to New York where my business had a better chance of thriving. I knew New York was going to be tough, not to mention expensive, but seeing xoNecole win meant more to me than my comfort.
In July 2017, I finally made the big move after selling everything I owned (including the truck that was once on my vision board) and I showed up in New York with just 3 suitcases. I rented a room in a Harlem apartment with a rotating door of roommates and there wasn’t a day that went by that I wondered what people would think if they knew about this moment of struggle. Just three years prior, I was a celebrity gossip blogger making tons of money, traveling the world, and living good, and here I was back in New York, living with 2-3 roommates and not knowing where the next check was going to come from. This was not the life I had envisioned for myself!
But my dreams meant more to me than my comfort.
Everyday I woke up and whispered to myself, “this is only temporary. This will not last long” I reminded myself that God had my back, and that everything I was willing to sacrifice for my dream was going to be returned to me tenfold. I just had to trust and believe that things were going to work out in my favor, and that the lesson always comes before the blessing.
2017 humbled me.
I was stripped of everything. My finances, living comfortably, all the clothes, shoes, bags, the whip and material things I had acquired at the height of my success. I had to get rid of all of it, and looking back, I realized that I had to let them go to grow. It wasn’t meant for me to take those things that represented the old me, into this next chapter.Sometimes you will have to be broken down to your lowest just to be built back up into the best version of who you are meant to be.
The risk, sacrifices and moments of discomfort eventually paid off in the Fall of last year when xoNecole was acquired by producer Will Packer’s company. Two months later, I moved into what I like to call “my zen space” and I added a few inspiring young women to the xoNecole staff. Finally, all the struggle and discomfort I had experienced over the past few years made sense, and it was the first time in over 10 years as an entrepreneur, that I didn’t have to wonder when the next check was coming. I could focus solely on growing my brand into the empire I’ve always dreamed it to be.
I don’t know if I could have asked for a better situation with the freedom Will has given me to grow my brand, while providing a work environment that encourages and promotes self-preservation and self-care.
I also realize that I may not have gotten to this place where I am able to live out my dream if I didn’t first believe in it enough to take the leap, and trust that the parachute would eventually open for me.
This is why I am absolutely in love with a recent article we posted on the site from writer Kiah McBride titled, ‘Being Unemployed Made Me Better’. In the very vulnerable and transparent piece, Kiah detailed how she risked everything to move to LA a few years ago as a freelance writer and it resulted in some of the most uncomfortable and desperate moments of her life.
Being broke and uncertain made her better. It made me better.
And it’s a reminder that whatever you may be going through right now, it’s making you better.
So if you’re in a place of feeling stagnant, not knowing what’s next, being placed out of your comfort zone and struggling to find peace in each day, know that you are being prepared for your breakthrough that awaits on the other side.
Is that where you are now? Check out Kiah’s experience as well and let me know in the comments how you get through stages of discomfort.
xo,
P.S. Keep in touch! @hellonecole on Twitter, and Instagram
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I couldn’t get through this without crying. Not just crying. Breaking down because this is where I am now but I have to remember He hasn’t forsaken me. He’s preparing me for something better. I just have to keep the faith. Thank you so much. You have no idea how much this has helped me. ❤️
Thank you for posting this. I’m in a place where I’m working on my 2nd book because my first one flopped and I was feeling a bit discouraged. But your story is so inspiring it made me realize that it wasn’t a failure, just a learning experience on how to be a great business woman and author.
Thank you Necole for your transparency in sharing your journey with us readers. Struggling with deciding to a leave a job of 7 years is tough, I’m still weighing my options and seeking God to guide me in the right direction, especially since there’s no growth where I’m currently working. Time to shake things up and get uncomfortable, and I hate being uncomfortable. I guess that’s the only way to grow and be obedient to what the Lord has promised to deliver to those of us who believe.