From Mike Antoni: This is a guest blog post from Kasia Greco. Kasia is both a Mom and an Entrepreneur. She coaches woman on how to balance career and family. As well, she helps Moms start or grown their own online businesses. She is a great friend of mine and an incredible person. You won’t find someone who cares about your success as much as Kasia. Make sure you check out her site and share it with a friend.
With no further ado, here’s some GREAT info from Kasia:
Did you ever think that life is not fair?
Did you ever come across situations where people told you that you were lucky … and you were not able to realize or feel it yourself?
Did it occur to you to just want to press some kind of reset button and restart your life – or certain areas of it?
Well, all of the above and even more things passed through my mind and thoughts … and do you know what I did? I did press the reset button … but it was a long and difficult way to do so: It took a lot of struggle, especially emotional struggle, in my case, for me to realize that my two boys were, and are, my reason and my dream. Having a reason is actually the very first thing you need, a real reason, a real driver that almost forces you to change things in your life, aspects of your life that do not suit you, that do not make you happy.
And then … it is not done with just having a reason and eventually finding out what you really want. The really difficult part starts only then, the way to achieve it. And to do so it takes a lot of focus and determination; but the good news is: you can make it and you will realize along the way that it definitely is worth each single step, each suffer along the way … if just your reason is big enough.
The way to achieving this insight may be a different one for you than it was for me, but this was my way of discovering my reason and my dream and I want to share it with you.
First of all, I had to be very clear in my mind, and in my heart, what I wanted to do and what I needed to do to make my dreams come true. What I wanted to do, was and is, to spend more time with my boys. I wanted to be the most important person in their lives. I wanted to take an active part in their lives. I wanted to ‘be there’ for them in every possible way. I also wanted to start my own business. I decided to start my own business and be self-employed by going online, learning and doing business there. However, my main goal was and still is to find the best possible way to help other women around the world, to encourage them and support them. Empowering women all around the world, to making them find the extraordinary in the ordinary of the challenges in daily life, between family and career, house and friends.
A lot of people thought I was crazy to think of setting up an online business, especially during these difficult economic and financial times. Not being familiar with the requirements of setting up such a business, it was a real struggle for me. Initially, I tried looking for other job opportunities. I tried to get a part time job as a manager. Part-time, because I wanted to spend more time with my sons. However, nobody wanted a part time manager.
So, I finally decided to set up my own business. Since a lot of people did not agree with this idea, I felt quite lonely. I knew this would take a huge effort on my part, and I would also have to struggle to achieve this. But I was determined to make it happen. I recalled to myself, how my parents had worked hard. How they had come here with only a little suitcase and nothing else. Through sheer hard work, they gave my sister and me the best education, the best clothes, and, the best of everything in life. I now realized I wanted to give my boys the same kind of life that my parents had given me. The best, so that they would not lack anything, material or spiritual, they should have enough toys to play with and enough of my time to play with them.
With the support of my husband, I managed to set up my online business. He has always supported me in everything I wanted to do. Now, I would be working from home. Now, I would be working globally. I would be able to contact millions of people. I could also contact people in different languages. I know six languages, it wouldn’t be difficult. But, getting to this point was not easy. I had to make some tough decisions. Like, having to quit my secure corporate job. Life was hectic and difficult, and I wanted to be a part of my children’s lives. To be able to do that, I had set up an online business, and had started working from home. There were times when I felt lonely. There were times when I felt exhausted physically and drained emotionally. Sometimes, my determination and my resolve would be replaced with self-doubts. There were times when my emotions would get the better of me, and I would end up crying.
Still, I knew I had to stay focused on my dream. Each time I would feel lost, I would get inspiration by thinking about how my parents struggled and worked hard to give me the wonderful life they did, and how I had to duplicate that life for the boys. I created my inner circle of people, who encouraged me and supported me. People I knew I could trust and depend on. People like my husband, my parents, my sister, my in-laws, and a few of my friends with whom my friendship had stood the test of time. It is important for you to know your true friends from fair-weather friends. It is when you are facing tough or difficult times that you can distinguish who your true friends are, and which ones might discourage you or even be jealous of your potential to succeed.
Another important aspect in achieving your dream is, to keep focused on your goal. You might often feel alone on your way. But never let the burning desire in you fade away. Always stay focused on your dream and keep making adjustments in your life in ways that will not just help you to achieve your dream, but also perhaps even facilitate it. Let your inner strength be like strong pillars, which support big structures. If the pillars are strong, the structure remains intact. If the pillars become weak, the structure will fall. In the same way, if you keep your inner strength, you will be able to achieve your dream. If you lose your inner strength, you will lose your determination and focus. For this I feel truly blessed that I have an encouraging and supportive husband.
One more aspect of achieving your dream is the ability to organize your life. Once I started my online work, I had to manage my time between my children and my work. Since I wanted to take a very active part in my children’s lives, I made sure that I was constantly with them for as much time as they would be home. I would do my work when I had the time, like the hours when they would be at school and working after they would go to bed. I would also work during school holidays, adjusting to the schedule of my boys. Nothing in this world is free, and sometimes you have to pay a higher price in order to make your dream come true. The price I have to pay is high too. But I am willing to pay, and determined to succeed, as my prize, my dream, is even bigger!
I sincerely wish this blog inspires you to take a step back and look at your life. Understand your real dream and your real motivation. I will be back here next month with all the challenges I had to overcome when setting up my business, my online business … Was it easy? Did I give up? Did I fail? Did I win? … You will find it out soon … and more than that… get important tips for your career!
Feel free to ask me questions in the comment area below.
And make sure you check out my book and get more tips on my blog Moms U Can
Your Kasia G.
