I Still Think I Can

I used to do a lot of very active things and often. Hiking, biking, pickleball, kayaking, workouts...all of it. This weekend, I was really counting on muscle memory to get me through a strenuous hike with some younger friends since I have NOT been steadily active in MONTHS.

Turns out, my muscles don't remember squat. What was I thinking? This 54-year-old body nearly made an HR complaint about my brain. 😂

While I was climbing the trail trying to ignore the sound of my own heartbeat and hoping my Apple Watch didn't give me some kind of ominous warning, I had a lot of time to think about what I was doing and, more importantly...why.

I love hiking. I love my friends. I love my husband and doing things together. But I also KNEW I wasn't physically ready for that trail. The most exercise I'd had this year was that 28,000-step day at EPCOT back in May. Yet there I was anyway, climbing a mountain like I'd been training for it. Why?

Ego? Maybe. 🫣 Fear of embarrassment? Probably a little. But if I really lay myself down on the imaginary therapist's couch and dig into what was motivating me, I'd have to say it was something else. Stubbornness.

Somewhere about halfway up that mountain, while I was wondering if my lungs were planning a formal resignation, it hit me. This has kind of been the story of my whole life.

Someone (or something) suggests I probably can't...and something in me immediately responds, "Watch me." If you're just meeting me, here's a little evidence.

• My parents didn't expect me to go to college, and there wasn't money for it. So I worked full time, went to school full time and graduated summa cum laude.
• I was diagnosed with lupus and told I probably couldn't have children. I pursued an alternative healing approach alongside traditional medicine, and today I have a stunning, bright and hilarious 22-year-old daughter.
• I wanted to work from home while raising Hannah before working remotely was even considered normal. So I talked to my boss and made it happen.
• I wanted my career to revolve around Disney without moving to Florida or California. You know how that one turned out, but trust me...there was a LOT between making the decision and getting to where I am now.

When I look back over my life, I see a pattern. It's never been that things came easily or that I've never been scared. It's just that once I decide something matters enough, I have a really hard time convincing myself to quit.

I'm still the same determined person I was at eighteen (broke and applying to college)...just with a lot more life experience. I've seen what I'm capable of. I've also learned where my actual limits are and I just didn't believe that trail was one of them.

Sure, I took a couple of breaks and drank ALL the water, but I got there, because I still think I can. I hope I never lose that.

Anyone around this same age is feeling some sort of way. If that's you, you're not in this alone. Now I made a career shift 15 years ago to make every day at work be about Disney travel, so that was at about 40. But I'd do it again right now. In fact, I think about it every day! What's NEXT for me? What will my 60's look like and will THAT be my favorite decade?

But for right now, my "mission" if you can call it that-I really just like to help people to stop underestimating themselves-is to turn a passion for Disney into a purpose. And not in some deeply philanthropic way, just in a way that provides satisfaction and a feeling of completion. The process of:

1. I have a passion.
2. I have a wild dream that I could get paid to do it.
3. I do what I need to do to get into that paid position.
4. I make the money.
5. I freaking did it.
6. I love it and grow it or I have the confidence to do anything else I want.

That is EVERYTHING. To be able to take what you love, do something with it and have the confidence to then take it beyond your wildest dreams or just prove to yourself that there really is nothing stopping you except your own self doubt.

I will tell you, there is NOTHING like a student of mine messaging me their wins and watching them go from so doubtful to amazed at themselves. No kidding, that's when I think that I was meant for this the most. Not when I make a course sale, or when I create some new lead magnet or graphic or write copy. It's when I watch a woman, much like myself, 40/50/60+ years old go from:

"This is something for other people."

to

"Why NOT me?"

It's the freakin' best! 

We are so much more capable of what we believe at first. At this point in my life, I've gone for so much and had success, but also have learned that the failures or losses I endured (like that first marriage or that crappy NYC media job) were required to move me forward.

So yeah, that's me. If you really want to make a go of this Disney Travel thing, there are a few ways to dip your toes in the water without jumping in. Who wants to put on a bathing suit these days anyway? 😅

Maybe start with a fun quiz which you can take HERE.

Thanks for reading! 💛