You don't have to explain the path that you are on to anyone. Most likely people will try to talk you out of it anyways because they don't have the same vision as you or they don't understand your dreams. But when there is something deep inside of you that calls you to do something more, you have to own that calling. 

So why do we settle in so many areas of our life? Work, life, love, dreams...it's because we are afraid to risk everything for more. What if we fail? What if doesn't work out? Instead why don't we ask ourselves, "What if I changed my life? What if there is something more awaiting beyond one choice that we make? What if we succeed?" 

I was always an overachiever in most areas of my life, but then I hit some walls. Some were walls that I created myself and some happened by circumstance, but I didn't know how to tear them down. Early with my education, I planned to go to Law School, but I didn't do so well on the LSAT so I took some time off to decide if that was my dream. I could have still gone, but I realized I only still wanted to be a lawyer because I told everyone that I wanted to. I didn't really have that passion anymore. And so I didn't settle. And yes, I could have made a lot more money, but I always knew teaching was my passion. 

Shortly after, I started working in restaurant management and then became pregnant with my first child. Then came marriage. But then I became lost. Life happened so quickly, I lost myself. I lost my identity as Natalie and settled with the fact that I as an individual would no longer exist. I became a history teacher, mom, and wife, but I was a shell of my former self. I was 50 pounds heavier, running ragged giving to others, and stopped feeling alive. I felt like I was only living for others. So after crying on the floor of my closet because of trying on 15 outfits that no longer fit, I decided to actually get fit. I had no idea how I was going to start again, but I wasn't going to settle. And the l started shedding not just my physical self...but my emotional baggage. And then a year later, my Dad passed suddenly. I remember crying on the floor of my closet again saying, "why him, all of all people why him?" I needed him the most. Deep down I knew that my marriage was going to be coming to an end too. And so with strength of God and my Dad, I left. 

We often stay in relationships because we think of it as an investment or a decision we made that we have to fulfill. As a Christian, I didn't think that I was doing the right thing by breaking up my family. But I was settling for an environment that did not provide a loving environment for my children or a model of what unconditional love truly is. And I know that God would not want that for me and my girls. I was factoring how many more years I could settle, but then I woke up one day decided to leave. I wanted my children to know unconditional love by providing the best environment for their growth. And it may have come as a surprise to some, but the old...rather new Natalie began to reemerge. 

And now I am at a crossroad with my career. I have been a teacher for 8 amazing years and a Beachbody coach for almost 3. I have worked two jobs since starting to teach to offset student loans, debt, and financial turmoil. And both careers fill my heart. But I know I don't want to settle for working for someone else my whole life. I want to live a life by my design, a schedule that I create, and I have some business dreams filling my soul. And so I will not settle to be a part of someone else's dream or their plan. I will create my own. It may not happen overnight...but it will happen. And that's my truth. And I own it. And I will continue to share it to inspire others to find theirs. 

Xo, 

Natalie