Naomi, a dear friend of mine was making a decent living washing windows – she was great at what she did and people loved her heart wherever she showed up.
That’s all to say, she was doing well in business, so much so, she was at a crossroads. Did she continue on as an employee in the status quo or take the next big step of entering into a larger role? It may have seemed like an easy choice – a step up the professional ladder, more responsibility as well as much more earning capacity.
A no brainer right? Wrong. Because here’s the deal…window washing paid the bills, but it didn’t light up her soul. She was excellent at it, but it wasn’t her particular zone of genius.
What she really likes doing is baking. She likes it so much she’d gone through formal training. She baked me my favorite carrot cake with lilikoi cream cheese frosting for my birthday every year, but she wasn’t making a living doing what she liked best.
If there was ever a time for the rubber to hit the road it was now. Would she go the safe route – making a “solid” and “responsible” decision to take on a business in an area she had a proven track record or would she take the leap and go for what really lit her up.
Of course, since I’m writing about it, you can guess, which way she went. But did her step into the unknown take off like a rocket or bomb like a land mine?
Neither – she put in the work, she’s had plenty of trial and error, she keeps iterating. There are hard days, but there would’ve been hard days washing windows too.
This way she’s doing what makes her happy, and her customers feel that joy leaving feeling lighter(and well fed). She is blessing her community with beautiful custom ordered cakes and feeding the masses with hand pies at the Waipa Farmer’s Market on Kaua’i.
When you’re doing what your heart calls you to do, your toleration level for the learning, the hard days, and most of all your ability to tap into your own creative genius is so much easier.
Heidi
P.S. You have to go check out her Instagram if only to ooh and ahh over her works of edible art! And if you’re ever on Kaua’i make sure the weekly Waipa Farmer’s Market is on your “To Do” list so you can say hi to her at For Goodness Cakes and snack on a hand pie and cupcake 😉