Well now… how many of you are sitting with your presents wrapped and your hot chocolate in hand and wondering like me how did 2018 fly by here so fast? I am sure I am not alone in my feelings and as each year passes quicker I find myself feeling quite old. Used to be I would write down a list of things to accomplish in January… now I figure we’d all better get a jump start and make that list right now!
For the better part of my life I have been a driven person, and for those that are close to me they sometimes get overwhelmed with all the things I go on about wanting in life to accomplish. I remember when I had my first child, a close friend said to me and seriously she wasn’t kidding… “Why can’t you just be happy being a mother?” I might have been content if the good Lord had given me a different temperament but having been born with this mind of mine, I can be at times my worst enemy…or best coach depending on the day of the week. In my impatience to “get things done” I am telling you right now to hold tight to your dreams and desires because it takes about ten years to accomplish some of “these here” big goals. I hope that you’ll trust me on this so you can avoid that aggravation yourself. I have been trying for at least that long to figure out a way to diversify my name …my brand and become more to my clients and probably a little selfishly, feel more accomplished as a person.
I have dreamed of writing books, being famous, doing stand-up comedy, being a real estate mogul, and a luxury brand influencer. I have thoughtfully pondered “how in the world can I sit on a beach and plan vacations for my clients?” I have wondered just how long I can continue to be creative in my fine art of expecting mothers….newborn babies…children as they grow…families as they are formed? I think all of us have these same thoughts and some of us just get overwhelmed and impatient. Once in a psychology class I was taught to dream the elephant and then break it down and take tiny steps daily to get that big goals. For me it feels like swimming in a sea of dreams of high self imposed expectations, sometimes feeling like the ship has lost its way while other years feeling like I am taking on everything all at once.
Three years ago my father in law passed and with that a legacy in real estate literally dropped back into our hands. We came to Texas in 1991 to actually do real estate and in my true “Alisa” style I just couldn’t live in the shadow of something already done. I tried…in 1992, I got my license and attempted to make it happen and work for the family but it just wasn’t my own. Hence the birth of the photography studio and building from the ground up a brand. For the better part of 15 years, I was coasting out to sea and taking all that on and the world was content. After Daddy’s death though it something began to weigh on my mind. I wondered if I would ever be more..do more.. “finish strong” as they say to children in the last days and weeks of school. I realized I was no spring chicken and if I was to get more accomplished I had better “get down on it!” I wondered if I could even do it again…even if I really wanted to?
So I began classes and that lead to the juggle of relearning things and continuing to build the studio and make a living. Remember I also had a dream of sitting on a beach somewhere planning vacations for my clients while basking in the sun. I wasn’t sure how I would do any of this stuff but I had a burning desire to none the less. All of the goals I had been working towards suddenly came together all at once. At least it has felt that way this year. I opened the travel division in May, got licensed in June as a Realtor, and just kept rolling. The website which for literally years of working with clients to try to rebrand as something more than just a photography studio remarkably became fully formed. Seriously it has been a long journey.
One thing I realize though is that it never comes fast. It never comes when you want it and sometimes you don’t even realize it has already come until it has gone. That last one scares me to death guys, cause truth be told there’s not enough life given to any of us to waste a second not becoming and working towards whatever it is you dream to be! So now as I prepare for 2019, I am thinking about finally writing that book, challenging myself to do stand-up because I am scared to do it and I don’t want to leave this earth being scared of anything! I know and you know too though that it might take a few more years but if you have a dream and make everyday count then eventually you will live that dream. Just don’t give up and don’t be foolish about recognizing the blessing as they come into your life!
