defining success: validated

defining success: validated

so - as you are most likely aware, i went to a blogging conference, haven home & diy precisely, about a week ago. it was there i discovered possibly the most important step in my journey to success to date.



what is truly funny is i didn't realize how important this was to me until after i had received it.

unlike the other things i must work toward (like being aware or calculated) or traits i am just born with (like being unapologetic or cheerful), being validated is something that, in some ways, must come from somewhere else.

i can preach to myself all day long that i'm where i am supposed to be. but until i get that feeling from others - that light in someone's eyes when they recognize who i am, or that "oh i love your shop - i will definitely check it all out!" - it is so hard in this hobby (profession, side-show, whatever you call it) to feel validated.

only i can be me. and i don't necessarily need others to tell me that being me is okay. i definitely get that. but to hear that being me is AWESOME and that the me i am being is the path i wanted to be on anyways is even MORE AWESOMER.

is that muddled? let me give you an example...

i've been toying with the idea in my head to offer some virtual assistant services. but i wasn't sure how to go about it. what do i have time to do? who would need my services? what on earth do i charge? i know it is something i will enjoy doing but how do i know if this isn't just something else to distract me from where God wants me? i have a really hard time discerning His will. yeesh.

so anywho - at haven, thursday at lunch i just so happened to sit down with a couple of super sweet girls. we sat and talked for a minute, exchanged names and business cards, and somehow {perhaps by the grace of God?} the topic of virtual assistants came up. so, i guess you could say that i am one now. for one blogger at least. hopefully for more in the future. and possibly one day i'll be able to do it from home full time?

lofty goals, but what is a life without a dream, eh? so - this desire to do something fun and different was validated. it doesn't feel totally off the cuff now. it feels planned, crafted, and intentional. and whoa if that isn't the coolest feeling EVAH.

have you felt entirely validated lately - like the path you are on is exactly where you were supposed to be? i'd love to hear some stories!