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Hey, breathing is really cool—we can’t function without it. Be aware of the gift of your breath—it literally gives us this lived experience. Try breathing through your nose this next week, consciously, feeling your breath move, and then read this book about your breath—it’ll change your whole perspective on your lunges and nose and your inhales and exhales. Forging your path I’ve been thinking a lot about forging your own path, even when it’s hard to navigate. I’m a first-generation college graduate, and a first-generation entrepreneur. This has honestly been a really empowering journey and has taught me a lot about what it means to forge a path that wasn’t paved for me to begin with. I didn’t grow up with money. My mom worked for the state and my dad worked in a factory. My dad’s parents were poor migrant farm warmers, traveling state to state finding different farm jobs. I didn’t have close examples of what was possible in terms of career choices, or how much money you could make, or what it could mean to leave the town I grew up in. It wasn’t until my brother attended a national leadership camp his senior year of high school (he’s four years older than me) that I even considered getting on a plane or going on vacation or even becoming a leader myself. My brother forged the path for me to be involved in student council, all four years of high school—and that helped me realize my desire to go to college. I think it’s really powerful to have someone close to you share what’s possible. The path in my entrepreneurial journey has been similar. For most of my life, I wasn’t around folks who ran their own businesses or projects. It wasn’t until I met Isaac, who had worked on side projects for forever, that I realized that it was something I wanted to do, or could do. I’ve spent the last five years inching my way into a deep understanding of how I want to forge my own path, both personally and professionally. And I’m here to tell you that forging your own path means getting quiet with yourself and settling into what you’re made to do. As an Enneagram 3, I have been tempted (more times than I can count) to do things the traditional way, because that’s a lot of what I saw. I literally thought, when I was 20, that graduating college, moving to the suburbs and becoming a VP of HR was the definition of “making it.” Now, don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with that life—I’ve just realized that I adopted that as my definition of success because that was the only thing I knew. I didn’t know that I could forge my own path. It’s taken a lot of courage to step into the space that is mine because it requires me to think about what I actually want. I wanted what other people wanted, for a long time. I didn’t know how to trust or even begin a path that was my own, until I just started. I had an amazing conversation with my business coach yesterday. We talked about settling into what is ours, and creating a business, life, and mindset that is ours to fully experience and enjoy. I talked about how I’m living a life that my parents, grandparents, and ancestors couldn’t even dream about. I’m living a life that I couldn’t even dream about 8 years ago! That’s WILD to think about. And all of it has to do with forging my own unique path, which can be hard and scary and empowering and freeing. My coach sent me an email after our call, which I found so powerful: Today, I saw this glimmer of Abe from a decade ago, being so proud of who you've become. Every moment that Past-Abe advocated and fought for... It is all coming together right now. I also saw Future-Abe, so fucking proud of you now. He is so grateful for all the wobbly steps forward. For your commitment to grounding down and trying and evaluating every new thing. So glad to be your coach and getting to watch you put on the crown that's been bought for you. By Past-Abe. By your parents. By every ancestor before them. You are now (and will continue to step into) exactly who they've sacrificed for. What does forging your own path look like and feel like? How do you do it? This happens in a lot of ways. I think one of the first steps is reminding yourself that anything and any type of life is possible. That’s a reason why I adore traveling—I see different expressions of living that I had no idea existed before. And sometimes you don’t know what step 2, 3, 4, or 5 will look like, and that might be enough to stop you from ever beginning. (I’ve been there countless times—a state of paralysis that keeps me from even trying to move towards what I want.) Forging your own path requires consistent movement forward, consistently choosing to move forward. It’ll feel awkward at first, which is fine. Get really comfortable being “bad” at it, in the beginning—it’s normal. :) If you don’t have anyone around you to remind you of what’s possible, let me be that person. I’m here to remind you, weekly, that this journey is fully yours to create. I want to remind you that there are humans out there who are doing things you’ve always dreamt of and ALSO doing things you didn’t think were possible in your current perspective. It’s all real. It’s all available. You have the capacity to build a beautiful, powerful, joyful existence here on earth. Give yourself permission to illuminate your own path, and the rest will follow. I believe in you,
Abe
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