By Lindsey T. H. Jackson

Has someone ever doubted your abilities? Has someone ever suggested that they were better, smarter, more capable than you because they have more degrees, an impressive resume? Has someone ever told you that you were too dumb, too old, too fat, too ugly, too [insert] to chase your dreams?

...I've been there too.

I knew I was going to be a dancer at a very young age. The first time I saw Judith Jamison perform Alvin Ailey's, Cry, I knew I was going to be THAT.

What I never expected, and am still often shocked by, is how people raise their eyebrow or smirk at me when I tell them I started my career as a dancer.

In college I remember the joke going something like this:

Them: What are you studying? Me: Dance and Theater Them: So you study how to be a tree all day... (Insert laugh)

And then later in life, as I have owned company after company (some of them successes, some failures) there has been this inside joke among supposed intimates that, "well Lindsey's just a dancer..."

But the truth is, being a dancer is #hardAF! We would go fifteen hours back to back, seven days a week, enduring the hardest physical and mental training you could imagine.

We performed with broken toes Temperatures of 103° After traveling all night with no sleep While strapping injuries in the wings

And we did it with an effin' smile on our faces, because that was the job. That was the love of the game. That was the price we were willing to pay for our passion.

Now when people ask me how a dancer become an entrepreneur the conversation goes something like this:

Them: So how do you go from dance to being an entrepreneur? Me: I was looking for something easier to do... (Then I smirk!)

Dearest, if there is someone in your life who you are allowing to make you feel less than, to question your abilities, to drive you crazy with their doubt, then it's time to choose life. There are more people than you could ever imagine who are ready to support, nurture and guide you to do that impossible thing that you are dreaming. (If you can't think of anyone off the top of your head, well, here's an entire list of local, pre-vetted professionals on Hezalia! #wegotyou)

So all that said, let's get to work!

3 Tools To Set You Up For Dream Success:

1) In her Pro-Advice blog, 5 Tips For Turning Dreams Into Goals And A Game Plan, Entrepreneur, wife, and mother-of-two, Clem Lafrades, shares tangible steps to start tackling your goals before the light begins to dim, and eventually the dream burns out. Personally, tip #4 and #5 are my go-to!

2) In her heartfelt story, Time Is Precious, artist Dani Dodge speaks openly about the shift in relationship dynamics that may occur as you tackle your dreams. Although all of our experiences are unique, I could really relate to so much of what she writes in this piece.

3) As a health and wellness coach for almost 20 years now (#damn), when it comes to achieving one's goals, a very common setback that I encounter is how few people think to prepare the mind and body for goal setting and attainment. In my awesome live interview with Dr. Iris Crawford, Your Super Mutant Hormones, we discuss the importance of women's hormonal health and unpack all the ways that fatigue, stress, and depression are holding women back. But more importantly, what to do about it!

Take some time for you today.

I remain yours, as ever,

Lindsey T. H. Jackson Founder & CEO, Hezalia

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