You Deserve More... and that's ok!

This year I decided to work less and volunteer more.

In volunteering I don't mean handing out coats to the homeless (which I still might do). I meant more in the realm of doing things that are important to me that don't come with a pay cheque. 

Crazy right? Well let me back it up a bit and explain.

The year 2014 was my first full year in business and I did ok and learned to hustle so In 2015 I doubled my first years revenue. Awesome right? 

Yes and no. Because I hustled I made good money. But I also over-worked myself and ended up completely burnt out. 

Even so, I managed to learn more and it also enabled me to not work as hard in 2016. 

So now we're in 2016 and what I had declared as "volunteering more" had actually translated into "taking better care of myself". 

Which I did. I went 5 trips so far and I'm about to head on my 6th. Most of them at least 10 days long.That's a lot of "personal days" in 1 year.

I also got a new fitness certification (Joga), I did multiple interviews, met amazing people doing amazing things and most importantly I learned to love myself more. 

So many of you are like how did you manage to afford all those trips and still pay all your bills? 

In addition to taking the lessons from 2014 and 2015 in managing my time efficiently, I essentially had to be ok with charging more.

I realized I was actually undervaluing what I do and the expertise that I have, and with every year in business I gain more knowledge and experience. 

So essentially I gave myself a raise. 

And it was HARD. So many times we question whether we can because for some reason we aren't sure of our worth. The more self aware I became and the more I loved myself, the easier the decision became.

I used to get annoyed with people feeling they were "entitled" to this or that, but I decided to study them, and I understood that, the reason they got what they wanted was because they understood they deserved it. 

It's no secret that most of what we get is what we go after. 

I reflect on the fact that 3 years ago I wouldn't have accepted the request to apply to be on Canada's Smartest Person but I did, and I got on the show.  (Watch and see how I did airing on CBC on December 4th @ 8pm EST) 💁🏿

3 years ago I wouldn't have auditioned for the competition "So you Think you can Joga". I heard about it on a Tuesday and the competition was Thursday. I moved some things in my schedule and not only did I compete, but I WON! 💃🏿

I had never even heard of Joga before that day but I went in vowing to just do my best, and my best got me the prize. 🤗

These are 2 examples where taking chances and stepping outside of my comfort zone paid off. Sometimes you're going to win. And sometimes you're going to raise your prices and lose clients, but the ones that stay are the ones you really want to work with. In which case you win! 

As we come to the end of 2016. Take inventory of your wins and losses. Were your losses really losses or did you gain something from them?

If you haven't tried it yet, make sure you take the Positivity Challenge. Changing my outlook on life helped change my life and I want you to enjoy the same benefits I did!

In mental fitness and bravery

Devon M. D. Jones
#LessonsLearned