For those who saw my Instagram post, you know that this was an open letter to others who harness a victim’s mindset and chose hate over love. It is so important to remind yourself that what you see on the surface is not always the whole story. Always give the unexpected hand of kindness and never judge somebody. For this reason, I have decided to give you a view of my past and the components that took me to where I am today.

Surprisingly, I receive “hate mail” regularly, but the message from today hit me in a special way. Enough that I needed to talk about it. It truly spoke to my die-hard stance on time management and people’s perception of others. 

Basically, I was told – “It must be nice to preach about health and fitness all day long, work from home, and get paid. Normal people can’t do what you do and you are lucky to have the time.” 

There were more derogatory words but that negativity is for the birds so I will just keep it at that. Understand that YOUR perception of something is not necessarily the way it is. We as humans view things based on our personal experiences, desires, dreams, etc. You are fully entitled to your own perception and opinions but that does not make it correct or a true depiction of reality. You never know what people go through and what it took to get someone to where they are today. I can promise you that luck and happenstance had nothing to do with it.

First and foremost, I choose to NEVER react to negative people. I have never once replied to someone who had nothing but poor things to say. One of the biggest tools of a narcissist is using an emotional provocation that usually comes through words. The words are designed to provoke you and get an emotional response. When you “react” you feed the narcissist. You feed that manipulator with your emotional reaction. Although it is sad, it is essentially their supply and what they look to achieve.

Before I was “lucky enough to have the time” I worked three jobs + trying to get my online business off the ground. I obtained a degree in Radiological Sciences. By 2014, I was a full-time security liaison working for a nondestructive testing facility that preformed nuclear testing. I was also working two waitressing jobs to pay for my schooling, personal business, exercise equipment, new home, and car.

I would work almost every single day. 4 of those days per week were doubles, meaning 12-hour shifts for those not in the service industry. I would get up at 4:30 AM to work out and to work on my content and with my clients. I would go to work all day and I would come home and work on my personal business until around 1 A.M. This is truly where time management became a key in my life.  

HUSTLE. GRIND. REPEAT.

Fast forward, it’s 2016 and my dad gets SICK. When I mean sick, I don’t mean the average cold. Without getting into too many details it was bad enough that there were moments I thought that it was over. With that being said, my family is the most important thing in my life and my top priority and that will never change. EVER.

These are the things in life that you have to take into account when you’re considering what people are going through.

I did not talk about this on social media. Almost nobody knew except my family and close friends. As much as I loved my business, my family needed me. My business took a huge decline. Basically, I prioritized my time to take care of my family. When it was all said and done, everything that I built and worked so hard toward was no longer relevant. I was back at square one.

HUSTLE. GRIND. REPEAT. AGAIN.

After building my business back to a sustainable level by mid-2017, I left my 9-5 (finally).

I saved enough money to hop around for a few weeks and to find two waitressing/bartending jobs that would provide me the flexibility I needed to continue to work on and grow my business. As you may know, just because you have dreams doesn’t mean the bills stop coming. 

HUSTLE. GRIND. REPEAT for well over a year.

2018 rolls in and we are STILL GRINDING.  But now I am only working one job + my business. Still working doubles and overtime. Client numbers are growing, I am reaching and helping more people. Thankful is an understatement.

HUSTLE. GRIND. REPEAT through 2018.   

YAS. We are almost here but I didn’t know it yet! 2018 brought me many trials and tribulations but we survived and are THRIVING. Everything happens for a reason and don’t forget that some difficult times are blessings in disguise. 2018 = grinding. We are still hustling. My soul is on fire and no one gets to hold me back from my dreams.

STILL HUSTLING. STILL GRINDING.

2019. WOW. What a beautiful year so far but now we are really doing it. Listen to me guys it took me from 2014 – 2019. THAT IS 5 YEARS! 5 years is what it took to roll with the punches and get me to the “lucky” place I am today.

Imagine day in and day out working toward your dream with little to no measurable gain.

Was it hard? Yes. Harder than you know.

Was it worth it? More than I can ever describe.

Would you do it all over again? 100%. With no hesitation or regrets.

You see, there is nothing on this planet more gratifying for me then the ability I have to help others see their own value and recognize their worth. I wasn’t given more time in the day than you. I wasn’t in the right place at the right time. It wasn’t about who I knew. It was about heart and soul. TRUE PASSION. I refused to quit. Failures did not set me back they inspired my success. Many mental shifts had to happen before I really got it. Turns out it was me holding me back.

I knew from about the age of 17 that I DID NOT want to work for someone else. I wanted to be my own boss. While many people think being your own boss is a dream, they aren’t aware of the time and dedication it takes to sustainably run your own business. It takes more time than 40 hours a week. Its nights, weekends and sacrifices. It is time management to the max and holding yourself accountable. “It must be nice” is what most people tell me when they really have no idea.

I am not lucky; I am actually far from it. I treat each and every day with respect and work. I am thankful for what I have. I am so blessed. I consistently speak to myself positively and live to lift others up.

STOP WASTING TIME. Find you. Chase what makes you, you. You only get one life and if you live to please your shitty 9-5 boss who would replace you tomorrow if you were struck dead you will NEVER get to live your life to the fullest. Manage your time and stop waiting for next Monday, next month or next year to start when you can start NOW. Planning is easy. Ideas are easy. Taking the first step, allowing vulnerability and uncertainty in your life, now that is the hard part. Failure is a part of the game and nothing will ever go perfectly according to plan but learn to adjust. I can assure you that failure is better than the regret of “what if?”

Nothing in life is happenstance. It is the product of your congruence with turning desires into hustles and hustles into dreams. Then and only then will you find the concept of people like to call “luck.”

Always with the most ridiculous amount of passion,

Lorelle