I had just been laid off when I found out I was pregnant. It wasn’t a bad thing (either of them!). Truth be told, I had been growing sick and tired of the corporate grind, slaving away and stressing myself out…for what? For who? I wasn’t happy. This was not how to live life. But I felt stuck. I made good money, GREAT money. The benefits were amazing and I had quite a fair amount of autonomy and flexibility. How could I want to leave this great gig? I don’t know, but I just KNEW something wasn’t right. I actually hoped and prayed to be laid off because I knew that would give me the cushion I needed to find something else, something I actually enjoyed.

And so I was. Laid off. Yay! All the stress immediately melted away. I can’t describe just how happy I was, but my body knew and I pretty much immediately found myself pregnant. 😂 Any normal person probably would have been freaked out, pregnant without a job, or any prospects, or any desire to even get a job. What would I even go back to? I was SO burnt out. But we could make it work, right?

I mean hubby makes a good living, but it wasn’t the GREAT I was used to. And, San Diego cost of living is not exactly cheap. There would be sacrifices, but I was in such a state of bliss for the first time in a long time that any obstacle seemed miniscule. I was happily pregnant, and I had none of the yucky side effects I heard people talk about. This was going to be a piece of cake! Famous last words…

Then baby came. WHOA. Now that was a huge wake up call, and not in the way I thought it would be. People say your life changes forever, for the better, but this was, ummm…hard. Where was the better? I was exhausted, nursing was hard and hurt, my birth was a trainwreck and I felt scarred (literally I actually was, but emotionally, too) and alone in that pain. But there was no time or space to process this pain, I had to take care of this BABY!!! Like now!

But, as hard as it was, I STILL never wanted to go back to work. Now more than ever I could not imagine leaving this baby for any extended period of time. As miserable as I felt, I was also mesmerized. I literally could not take my eyes off her. She grew in me, she was a part of me. So, as a new family we made it work…for a while. Joe didn’t want me to have to go back either. Who would end up raising her? Be there for her for every little moment?

We tried hard to make it work, but after a while I could see the writing on the wall. Especially after our second was born, our expenses were only growing. I knew this wasn’t going to last. I knew I needed to find a job…soon. But I didn’t want to leave my kids. What would I do? What could I do? I certainly knew what I didn’t want to do. I had left a trail of professions behind me like a cemetery, including trying my hand at opening my own brick and mortar business. I’ll save that story for another day, but it’s a good one – I lost my a$$ and learned HUGE lessons.

So, you know what I did? I let go, and asked the universe. I prayed over it. I wrote a list of what my ideal job would look like. I told the universe, God, higher power that I was open to any opportunity if it fits in with my list, with our life, with our family…anything. In those moments of fear all you can do sometimes is pray.

You know what the universe answered with? One of those MLM companies. Network Marketing. Ewwww. Are you kidding me??? I had heard about *those* things, how creepy they were, their sales tactics, and no one made any real money at them, right? You had to get in early, or know the right people, right?

Well, here’s the deal. I had already started using essential oils. My friend introduced them to me. Pointed me to resources, helped me with learning how to use them, and OH MY GOD they worked! Ummm…this wasn’t creepy at all. I realized my friend was making decent money in a fairly quick amount of time, (she showed me her paycheck!) just sharing how she was using her oils word of mouth style, mom to another mom, so I asked her more about it.

Remember, I was open to ANYTHING, right? She added me to the business groups, connected me with resources to educate me on how things worked, how we were compensated, etc. I remember searching for “the creepy MLM part” – I looked and looked and never found it. Still haven’t.

So, was I really going to do this? Let’s see if it matched up with my list.

+ Freedom to be my own boss
+ Something that excited me, was passionate about
+ Unlimited / large income potential, that was also realistic and achievable (let’s face it, I’ve got big dreams for this life!)
+ Positive, uplifting work environment
+ Set my own work schedule
+ Opportunity for leadership and advancement on my terms
+ Personal and professional growth opportunities
+ Sense of purpose that I was doing something bigger than myself for a greater good

It matched and more, so much more beyond what I could have ever dreamed up! I work with my friends, friends who CHOOSE this, so they are happy to be here. Positive, inspired, excited, passionate, empowered. Literally everyone wanting to help you succeed! Where does that ever happen?! I’m used to cut-throat corporate. Eww. I can go on vacation or take time off whenever I want, I don’t have to check with my boss…because that’s me! I can be there for the kids whenever I need to or want to. Work is intermingled and integrated into my momlife. Work is life! I have literally never looked forward to “work” as I do now, and I’ve done A LOT in my time.

Is it perfect? C’mon, I don’t think anything out there is. There are challenges and it takes WORK, actual work. A lot of people go into this line of work thinking it will be easy, or something will magically happen without them doing anything. Big fat nope. This is an actual job, just like any job, but you won’t get fired if you don’t work at this job…you just won’t make any money. You’ll also need to get used to criticism from the naysayers of this profession, friends and family will most likely put you down and say you are part of a scam or pyramid, so you’ll need to thicken your skin a bit. You’ll need to rise above it, and so you shall bolstered on what you know to be true, on your own experience.

What do I know to be true? I have found the perfect job for me, a stay at home mom who didn’t want to leave her kids and go back to the corporate grind. A mom who wanted a purpose. A woman who wanted her own identity, to be successful, but to ALSO be a mom. We can have it all, right?!! We can and do, if you choose wisely and are open to opportunity, if you lay aside your fears and just go for it! If you open your mind to the universe, rather than scoff and say, “I would never do that,” you better watch out because you just might have the lifestyle you want, be wildly successful, and actually enjoy the journey!!!

Humbly, this stay-at-home mom thanks the universe, God and the higher powers that be, for answering my list and helping a family out. Gratitude.