Last week, I had the opportunity of attending my first event with Women of Influence – a part of their evening series which featured Debbie Travis! It was the perfect timing for such an event, and an excellent segway to my previous article: “Make 2019 Your Best Year Yet“. As you probably already know, Debbie Travis is a television icon, a business woman & a proponent of change. During the event, she talked about her path in life, her achievements and how she re-invented herself yet again by following her long time dream of opening a hotel in Tuscany. She restored a ruin & transformed it into a luxury boutique hotel where like-minded women can travel to disconnect, relax & re-charge their batteries.
The main message of the event & the topic of her new book: “Design Your Next Chapter: How to Realize Your Dreams & Reinvent Your Life” is that it’s never too late to follow your passion and realize your purpose in life. I know 1st hand what she means. Being a CPA, CA myself, I left the firm to move into the world of fashion and soon after started my own blog, and I never looked back!
Debbie did her homework while writing this book! She interviewed 300 people who did a complete 180 and changed their lives by pursing their passion. One common factor with all 300 people was that not one of them regretted taking the leap. So, whether you are thinking of launching your own business, moving up the corporate ladder or going back to school to get another degree – there is still time to do it! You should not fear change – it’s really all on your head, we always try to find excuses of why we shouldn’t pursue our passion. Don’t get mean wrong, fear is a real thing, but fear is a lack of control, and a lot of things in our lives are in actually in our control and can be impacted. We tend to think we don’t deserve to be happy or that we’re selfish thinking about ourselves. Well, in 2019, it’s time to work around those excuses!
During her speech, Debbie also told a story about a trip she took to Thailand. On her flight back, she met a Buddhist monk while she was re-thinking her happiness. She confessed to the monk that she would like to spend more time with her family but she was too busy. The monk gave her a very simple yet invaluable piece of advice that also resonates with me: “Don’t be so busy”. We often get lost in our routine, we’re hard on ourselves and we’re constantly on the go. So we often don’t find time to do the things we love. However, all that is our own choice; we can choose to be less busy. From taking less workload, to cancelling some unimportant events, we can make time for the people we love and things we want to do more of to increase our own happiness.
To conclude a great event, I got my signed copy of her new book and I cannot wait to read it, as I’m planning on how to live my best life in 2019! I will tell you guys all about it once I’m done! In the meantime, start planning your year chix!
Kisses,
WCX