I’m working hard behind the scenes on my brand new website coming soon and wanted to take a break to say hello! 

Today, I want to talk about how important it is not to let other people have a say in affecting your career goals or dreams. 

If you have been following my journey over the last year, you know that I have made some pretty crazy changes over the last year. I had a baby, quit my day job, doubled my business income, spoke internationally in Brazil and welcomed my husband to join me on Team CCG.

How to Handle Other People’s Expectations for YOUR CareerIt’s been quite the year! 

As great as it sounds, though, there were many times over the last year that I thought, “Oh my goodness, what are other people going to think! Can I really do this?”

When I decided to quit my six-figure corporate job to work full-time on my business, I knew people thought I was crazy.  To be honest, most just thought my blog was a hobby and I was really just a stay-at-home mom. I know many people didn’t take me seriously that I was going to make my career dreams happen.

Then, when we made the announcement that John was joining me as Chief Operating Officer at CCG, even very close family members told me that they wouldn’t be able to support me if it didn’t work out and working together would have a negative affect on our marriage. Not only that but what about our six-month-old daughter? How would she ever survive with us both being self-employed…..oh and not to mention benefits! How would we ever see a doctor when we got sick!

Needless to say…I heard it all and I learned very quickly already this year that other people cannot and WILL NOT have a say in my dreams and goals. I’m not saying don’t listen to wise counsel. But, there’s a difference between wise counsel and “Negative Nancy.”  Are you with me?

Fast forward to today, and there is absolutely no doubt this was 100% the best choice for our family and our business. Our business has doubled each month since John joined our CCG team and I have made the most I have ever made in my business in just the first four months of the year. There is no way it could have been possible without making this leap of faith. Not only that, but we have both been blessed to see together our daughter’s first steps and first words (mama of course!)

What if I had been too scared because I cared too much what other people were going to think?

What if I was scared to break away from the normal working parent’s role because people would think I was crazy? What if I listened to my close family members who put down our idea to join forces and create a better business AND be better parents?  

Here’s what I have to say about other people’s expectations:

1) Other people don’t really know the entire situation. They don’t know what you do every day and what the best choice for you personally is. They think they do but they don’t.

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2) Listen to your gut. Get alone. Buy a journal. Practice writing what you are thinking every single day.  You will start to write out what your gut is telling you.  Getting quiet and meditating helps you listen to your inner guide as well.

3) Let it go and just pray. Other people aren’t going to save you if you fail. God’s got your back.  

4) Don’t try to argue. I found that whatever I said, I didn’t have a good comeback. Why? Because I really couldn’t 100% convince them that it was going to work. I didn’t know the future! I just had this crazy belief in myself, my husband and our dream business.

Eventually, I stopped trying to convince and argue. The conversation was done. I didn’t win but now I just continue to demonstrate my successes in real life rather than arguing.

You might have to limit the conversations and the time you are around those people that don’t believe in your career goals and dreams. That’s fine. Love them for who they are, especially if they are family, but don’t let their expectations bring you down.

All that truly matters is that you believe in yourself. YOU GOT THIS. Don’t let others have a say in the life you live and the dreams that you can and will make happen this year.

Now back to working on the new website! This was actually a 2016 goal, but since we are moving so much faster with John on Team CCG, we moved it up to this year instead. Don’t you love the amazing things that can happen when you make a scary leap?

Leave a comment below and tell me what you thought of today’s post!

Love,

Anna Runyan