PRO. Lessons: The 'A' Word

For the past year I devoted my life to The Ji Li Project Institute and MyCuticles. There are so many words that can express what it means to be a full-time entrepreneur, but two stand out the most: Accountability & Perspective.

The A Word: 

Before I left the government, corporate America and my part-time job in retail, I lived life how I wanted. I wanted to work, work, work, spend, travel, save and work some more. I thought I could fund my great business ideas. I thought I could do it all and pay off the debts I dug myself into. Why not? I was making decent money for my age. I had a good retirement plan during my 12 years of government service and my credit score was above 780.

However, I was at a point where I knew I couldn’t move forward with everything on my plate. Not because it was too much, but because my purpose was pulling me in the opposite direction. I had no peace with how I was living my life. So, I decided to start something new. Something physically engaging in which I could accomplish something outside of work. I decided to play basketball again. I began training September 20, 2017. And then, the unthinkable occurred the very next day: I tore my Achilles. 

Rupturing your Achilles tendon will sit you down, literally. First it’s surgery. No pressure for at least 3-6 months. Then it’s rehab. Not an ordinary stretch and pull. You have to learn to walk again. First, you have to trust your body to shift your weight from one leg to the other. Then, trust that your body is healed enough to bend your knee. Slowly, you physically get back to normal, but mental strength is the key, mainly because there isn’t a solid known cause of why it happens in the first place. So, the likelihood of it happening again is 50/50.

I became more concerned than focused about getting better. And soon learned that worry always kills progress. 

All the while God made sure everything that needed to be in my life was there and everything that wasn’t purposed immediately disappeared. It was as if God made it plain and clear the path that needed to be taken. Once I regained my strength, physically feeling the presence of my Achilles with each step, I knew I had to follow my heart - full time.

I had to hold myself accountable about my purpose. I could not do it my way anymore.

I had to trust God. Nope, God did not rupture my Achilles. God did not cause me any pain. However, God was present the entire time - when I was handling life with mine own wisdom and when life sat me down. God was present through my healing and every day I woke up during the process, God was showing me the demand for my purpose. And each day, I am given another chance to hold myself accountable for fulling it.