The power in doing the things you think you cannot do.

Note: This was originally published in Fall 2020 during a pandemic while I was still a single mom. When I found it today, I knew it still needed a permanent home here on the blog. 

I was walking out to my kitchen to make my morning coffee when the poster on my fridge caught my eye. It says …

"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. Do the thing you think you cannot do." Eleanor Roosevelt

In the middle of a season where exhaustion can be overwhelming, I looked at that quote this morning with a fresh perspective and the realization that one of the things I am most tired of is feeling afraid.

I am tired of treading lightly on my dreams because I am secretly afraid to fully embrace them.

I am tired of letting my fearful, people-pleasing nature dictate my actions.

I am tired of the concern that sharing the hard parts of my story would anger people who'd rather I stay quiet.

So coffee in hand, I moved from the kitchen to my office/bedroom and opened up this website, and looked over my design work, blog posts, and what I've built, and I know that this isn't it for Bravely Inspired. When I opened this, it was to launch into something brave and new, to disrupt my life while changing the lives of women around the world for the better.

It was about setting people free to live their dreams, yet somehow I wasn't doing that myself.

I don't think I've done what I set out to do, and I don't believe this space is all it's meant to become. In creating it, I was brave, I opened my studio, but I never wanted it only to be a studio. I was brave, yes, but only up to a point. Old patterns, mindsets, and belief systems caught hold somewhere along the way. 

This weird season of being home, seeing that the world can change in an instant, and knowing that nothing is guaranteed has stirred me to action.

So today, I am ready to look fear in the face, and I'm dreaming bigger … way bigger. 

From now on, I am going to write and share passionately and honestly about the things that matter because I want to use this space for more than design. I dream of creating a jumping-off point to help women, especially mothers, launch big dreams while creating space to be together. I want this to be a safe space that acknowledges that running a business, raising our families, and caring for ourselves right now is challenging, which is why we need support and community.  

Bravely Inspired is changing because women need more than a logo or a pretty color palette to launch their brands and live their dream lives. You need to be able to start and grow without sacrificing your well-being in the process. It would help if you had community, support, and understanding. 

You don't have to go it alone or feel like you need to "fake it till you make it" while putting on a brave face that everything's ok when you may be struggling.

When I launched, I had just become a single mom, and everything felt out of balance. To maintain a steady home life and start my business, I created tools and sought out systems to help make things easier and to remain a joyful mom. I didn't want to sacrifice my family for the sake of success, but I felt like I needed success to care for my family well. 

I've heard that necessity is the mother of invention, so I created tools to keep our single-parent household running while making sure I was caring for myself and filling my cup. I needed to be able to pour into my children's lives and my business without ending up depleted. 

When I look out into the world right now, I can see how sharing more of that journey and the tools I used along the way would be so helpful. So from now on, you can expect to see more resources taken from my journey as a single mom + solopreneur, designed to help you through the day-to-day of running (or launching) business from home while caring for yourself and your family.

I'm excited to share more, and I'd love to hear from you about what would help the most. I'm rooting for you. 

We're all in this season together, and together we're going to make it through.

If you're home right now while also in the process of launching a business, or you're just starting to grow, what are your biggest struggles right now? What would help you the most in this season?