It's no secret that I am a podcast junkie. One of my daily habits is taking Lilo on a walk while listening to business podcasts. These have pushed me forward both in photography, with my SEO training, and personally as I learn from outside the wedding world - and even the creative industry - on how other people run effective businesses.
Running a small business means making a lot of decisions. From daily deciding what I'm going to tackle to long-term planning and marketing, sometimes I feel inundated with a barrage of could-should-would and I am often paralyzed, not knowing how to respond. I am usually quick to move past the initial feeling of overwhelm, but recently some bigger decisions have come up that required me to do a lot more deep thinking - and I was honestly stuck when it came to knowing what I should do.
What I didn't know until I listened to this podcast from Jeff Goins is that the question many times boils down to how I want to optimize my life. There are generally three different paths to choose: do you want to go down the path of fame, fortune, or freedom? None of these paths are better or worse than the other, and certainly none of them are wrong. Fortune can be used for the good of those around you - philanthropists clearly have to first become wealthy before they give their fortune away. Fame can also be used for good - I think of people who have leveraged their status to bring attention to the needy and the underprivileged.
Ultimately, today, I am choosing freedom. I am choosing a life that allows me to visit family on weekdays when I am not in my busiest season. I am choosing walks throughout the day so I can take a break, regain my sanity, and spend time with my precious puppy. I am choosing to shut down the computer when Nathan gets home, minimize work on non-wedding weekends, and staying off social media (for the most part!) on Sundays.
When I realized this, it opened me up to a world of easy decision making. When I am thinking about saying yes or no to something, I think about the freedom it will give or take away. Will I have days or weeks that are slam packed and I can't get my to do list done? Absolutely. Will I have busy seasons when I can't drop everything to take a day trip and visit family? Of course! But will this become the normal routine in my life? Never.
Today, I am choosing freedom. Next year that decision might change, and I know that ultimately it's the Lord who guides my steps no matter what I choose. But today I rest easy knowing that I have the freedom to absolutely crush work during the day - and then spend the evenings cooking, reading, and spending time with those I love most.
