Note – Let’s get two things straight before we get into this post: 1. This is NOT a sympathy post. I’m not looking for people to come and say “Oh Christine, but you are so good at _______.” 2. This isn’t a brag post either. I’m not one to flaunt nor talk publicly about many of the successes I’ve had in this industry. I’m simply wanting to share something that I’ve walked through in my life and how things have changed and transformed, in the best ways, over the last two years. Plus read all the way to the bottom for a special announcement!
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Have you ever been good at a lot of little things but never felt GREAT at ONE thing? Have you dabbled in a bunch of hobbies but never found that one thing that was truly yours?
This is how I would describe much of my life.
I’ve always been interested in LOTS of things. I’ve always been good at a variety of hobbies.
Whether it was crafting or singing or playing piano or synchronized swimming (yes, I did that all throughout high school), I always enjoyed a variety of different “things.”
But I never found ONE thing that I excelled at.
When it came to sports, I can remember trying a handful of different ones in my early childhood. I was in swimming as a small child then tried figure skating and then precision figure skating then some gymnastics and finally settled into synchronized swimming. But because it had taken me til I was 11 to find that sport, I was way behind most others and knew it would just be a fun hobby for a couple years. I loved it, but I never excelled at it.
Same with piano and singing. I started playing the piano when I was four years old. I struggled for years with it trying to force my short, chubby fingers to play classically (which they just wouldn’t move that way), until I found a teacher that taught me how to chord and play more rhythmically. I played and sang in church and at various events, I even went on to study music in college and work professionally doing this for 10 years, but I would never say I really excelled at it.
Don’t get me wrong, I thought I was good (and still think I can hold a tune), but I knew my limitations and while my childhood dream was ALWAYS to record a full length album, I had to come to a realization that that would likely never happen.
I dabbled in a number of other things: I started a wedding planning company a number of years back, I’ve also done a little crafting business, opened a small school of music to teach piano and vocal lessons and learned how to cut people’s hair on the side.
All of those things I loved doing and I know I was good at them, but I never felt GREAT at ONE thing. Even when I was doing music for a living, I never had this sense that this was MY thing.
And then I started blogging.
Over the last two and a half years I can finally say that I’ve found MY thing that I feel GREAT at. This isn’t to brag AT ALL, rather it’s to celebrate that after 33 years on this earth, after trying countless different jobs and hobbies, I’ve finally found something that just FITS.
Something that gets my heart beating fast with excitement. Something that makes me strive to become better and better at. Something that has given me this deep sense of satisfaction knowing that I’ve produced something I feel proud to share with the world.
It’s not just blogging, it’s the art of content creating, which I was already doing in my personal life, but was never sharing it on a larger scale.
It was actually a number of my friends that encouraged me to start blogging BECAUSE they thought others should see the stuff I was creating. I really had no idea what blogging really was at that time, but the idea of sharing publicly some of the things I was doing privately to hopefully inspire others got me really excited.
Even more exciting is when I discovered that this could be a CAREER option, sitting in my pyjamas on the couch while I still had kids at home. Like…what?!
Three years ago I didn’t even know this “career” existed, let alone that I would be making a full-time income doing it. Since then, I’ve had the opportunity to work with countless, large brands like Disney, Walmart, McDonalds, Dove, to name a few and create content for THEM. It’s truly an unconventional hobby-turned-career and I couldn’t feel more blessed to have this platform to share with this amazing community that has rallied around.
Don’t get me wrong, it hasn’t all been rainbows and peonies (ha, is that a thing?!) on this journey. I’ve had my fair share of heartbreak. I’ve seen the really ugly side of when women don’t support each other. I’ve lost a number of friends. I’ve had people bully me. I’ve cried MANY nights and doubted myself more times than I can count.
Also, in me saying that I’ve found my GREAT does not mean I am THE greatest. In fact, I feel quite opposite. I told another blogger friend just yesterday that I often feel like a little minnow swimming in a sea of rainbow sharks! LOL! Clearly, that’s not a thing, but I think you get the picture, right? There are so many other amazing women (and men) content creators out there doing such incredible and inspiring things. I know that I still have lots to learn and continually let my peers inspire me to reach higher and push myself to do even greater with this opportunity that I’ve been given.
But at the end of it all, I KNOW, without a shadow of a doubt, that this is MY thing which I am GREAT at.
Blogging was never Plan A. Like I said above, less than three years ago, I had NO clue what blogging even was.
Blogging came almost as a need for therapy for me. You see when my friends were suggesting that I start a blog to share my creativity with the world, it was because I was walking through one of the toughest seasons of my life. They KNEW that I needed SOMETHING to help me out of the despair.
I had just lost my job/my career of 10 years had come to a screeching halt. I was living far away from family and was having our third child in four years. We moved to a new city and I had no friends. Six months after our sons birth, I was diagnosed with postpartum depression. It was like an 18 month valley that I had been stuck in.
I can remember after I lost my job, a good friend of mine had a heart to heart with me and said “Well, what’s your’ Plan B?” Through tears I exclaimed in a defeated way, “I don’t have a Plan B!” And that was the truth. I had prepared my life for a career in music and in the church, helping others. That’s what I wanted to do…more so, that’s what I felt called to do…my purpose in life.
It took the better part of that year for my wounds to heal and for me to be able to dream again. And it was through the gentle nudging of a few dear friends that this idea of starting a blog was born. It wasn’t my idea, rather, I truly believe that God used a few of these people to speak life back into me when I felt like I would never dream again.
I am so thankful that God wasn’t done with me yet. I am so thankful that I lost my job when I did. I am so thankful that I walked through those dark times because they all led to THIS. Without any of those things, I’m not sure I would have ever found this.
And THIS, my friends, is my thing. This is my GREAT.
With that, I’m SO FREAKIN EXCITED to share with you that I will be speaking at my first ever blog conference! <INSERT 12 YEAR OLD SQUEALS>
At the end of September this year, I will be speaking at BlogPodium, a blog conference here in Toronto, Canada, geared for lifestyle and DIY digital influencers. Let me tell you how much ugly cry came out of my face when I got the news that they wanted me to speak! You can check out the session I’ll be doing and my bio here.
Because you see, it’s one thing for you to feel like this is your thing and that you are great at what you do. But when some of the best from the industry acknowledge that in you, man, it’s a game changer.
If you are a digital influencer or are thinking of becoming one, I’d love for you to join us at this amazing, one day event! Early bird tickets are available til the end of June. AND…I have a special discount just for you! Use ATC10 at the checkout for an additional 10% off! I hope to see many of you there!
Remember, my friends, it’s not too late to find something that you love…to start over again…to dream something new up for your life. Keep surrounding yourself with inspiring people who believe in you, even if you don’t believe in yourself. Let those people speak into your life and help bring you life.
It’s never too late to find your GREAT.
Love & Blessings,
