But first, I'll admit that I'm sort of infamous for being inspired to pursue a creative vision, only to let it collect cobwebs in my imagination for years. So when Meg over at APW wrote a fan-FREAKIN'-tabulous post the other day about life goals, money, and self-worth, I paid very close attention. Based on her essay (and the 240+ reader responses that followed), it turns out I'm not the only woman who talks herself out of pursuing big dreams because of excuses like I'll never make enough money to make it happen.
Her post got me thinking: If a lack of money, a mountain of debt, and a job at a non-profit agency that pays in Ritz crackers were not obstacles in my life, what dream would I pursue? What beautiful, meaningful, and kick-ass contribution would I want to make to the world? And what would happen if I tossed out my limiting attitude toward money (I will probably only make enough to keep a roof over my family's head), and instead saw myself as a helping and healing vessel in my community, fueled by abundant earnings that would allow me to expand my services and charity, thus fulfilling my life's purpose? What would happen then??
Well, I'll tell you what I'd do if all of these things came true. Okay, stick with me here...
Imagine a beautiful piece of property on Long Island:
Now imagine that at the center of that garden is a spacious, light-filled cozy coastal cottage style building with the charm of a farm house, the open layout of a loft, hard wood floors, gigantic windows, and enough space for about 125 or so people:
Surrounding the beautiful structure are some seating areas for people to chat, laugh relax, and eat:
...and some areas of open grass where people could have picnics, set up tents, let their children run around and play tag, or look at pretty daisies:
And now imagine that there's this nice couple, Kim and Brian (that's us!), who own the place. They planned their own adorable and charming wedding for $10k. And now they rent out their property at an affordable rate in order to help other couples plan their perfect $10k Long Island wedding!
The property would feel like the charming abode of your distant aunt and uncle who did everything possible to make you feel like their home was your home.
Available also would be a list of vendors who have worked with Brian and me specifically to come up with affordable options for a 10k budget wedding at this particular venue. I would have photos and testimony from couples who have enjoyed creative and affordable catering options, too, like BBQ, brunch, picnics, and luaus. The engaged couples who come to scope out our venue would hopefully feel fully supported and encouraged to have a simple yet personalized wedding with an at-home feel.
People, I want to have a small family-run business that supports simple and creative celebrations with backyard charm (well, more like the backyard of wealthy and generous relatives) and a backyard-ish price tag.
So that's my Big Idea, folks. This is what would happen if money flowed through me and outward toward others, versus just barely keeping me afloat.
Can I do it???
*Ideally I would also rent out the space to those offering therapeutic, self-development, or spiritual workshops, and those hosting fundraising events. This was my *original* vision for the fantasy event space in my head. (The budget wedding venue thing has come to me more recently.) This is the kind of contribution I would like to offer my surrounding community.
Kim if you want any financial advice talk to Gabe. That's what he does for a living and he's very good at it.
ReplyDeleteI will definitely pick his brain about this topic. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteKim, if you can somehow make awesome posts nearly every single day, there's probably not much you can't do.
ReplyDeleteI really love this idea!! Both from a helping standpoint (of course!) and also from a financial standpoint. By diversifying how you rent out the space -- weddings and therapeutic retreats -- you increase your liklihood of having consistent business. It's a really cool business model in addition to being an awesome way to help others. I would love to be a part of something like this. If there's any way I can help please let me know!
ReplyDelete@ Aww, thanks, Bret!
ReplyDeletePS. The secret to writing quality posts every day is avoiding important work that needs to be done in other areas of your life.
@ Steph - I could use your help, actually. I need about a million bucks. Thanks. ;)
Oops, I meant @ Bret!
ReplyDeleteI know I'm commenting late on this post but - you can definitely do it! That APW post was really convicting. I couldn't come to the NYC meetup because I was across the country at the time, but that post made me think - what if the meetups could have meetings like the Mighty Summit? What if we all made concrete plans for how to go about reaching our goals and really held each other to them and helped as much as we could?? (My dream is opening and turning a profit at an Etsy store....but I'm afraid to start because what would it mean about me if no one wanted to buy my art? :S )
ReplyDeleteHi Lethe! Love the idea of doing a Mighty Summit exercise at an upcoming APW meetup! Hope to see you at the next one to discuss Committed.
ReplyDeleteYour dream sounds awesome and totally do-able. In response to your question I'll pose another one: What would it it mean about you if you never started an Etsy store out of fear of failure?
But I guess that's what a Mighty Summit is for - encouragement and ball growing. As young as my wedding venue dream is, I've already become discouraged because of start-up costs and the fear that it would be a flop. But if we KNOW we'd love to see a particular dream come true (and there were healthy reasons for being drawn to that dream in the first place), why not at least try? Or at least that's what my less easily discouraged hubby tells me. (He's the Mighty Summit personified. I'm a lucky girl.)
PS. There's no such thing as commenting late on any of my posts. I get an email whenever anyone leaves a comment on a post, new or old. :)