HELLO my lovely STEEMERS💖
Today as promised I would like to share this one story of mine with you.
If you have not read the "Intro to the Intro-series" (yes I always have to be extra😄...) go do that right now and then jump right back into this post for PART 1 of #introducingmyself.
I want to share this with you so you can get to know me personally, not just the WHO, the person I am today, but also some of the HOW, what influenced me on the way and this one was a #majorkey for me at an early age, that taught me 3 important life lessons:
1. If you want something bad enough, you will find a way to get it.
2. Don't wait if you can do it now.
3. Understand the value of something you get VS you earn.
This is my story, I hope you enjoy the read🤓😊
My career as an entrepreneur began in 2004. I was born and raised in Hamburg, Germany by a single Mom, not born into a poor family but also not a rich one either. If I wanted something my mother and grandmother most of the time found a way to make it happen. Being an only child I was the only center of attention and wasn't used to a lot of "No's",
BUT I remember one incident that changed my life forever and I'm thankful for it to the day.
One day I was watching a show on TV, probably an Episode of "Suite life of Zack and Cody" or any other Disney Channel Show for the third fourth or fifth time, when this one commercial came on: A beautiful pink, sparkling tech diary for Kids, that could speak, had a voice recognition lock! I was writing in my diary every day and this one could keep my secrets safe and it has sparkles! WOOOW I neeeeeded this!
(btw. I can't believe I found a picture of the exact one on Google)
I asked my mom right away and when she (after I went through all kinds of emotional outbreaks and pursuasive pleeeaseees) still told me that "right now it's just not possible", and said: "If you wait some time you'll soon be able to buy it yourself from your pocket money" I knew she meant it. The problem with that was that I wasn't too much of a patient child and hated the idea of having to wait. I did not see why if I wanted something I couldn't get it right away. I got mad/upset like a typical leo child.
Sparked by my emotions the following process took place: 1.) my will to get it got stronger and stronger, thinking "alI want is this diary", 2.) thinking "I don't want to wait, I want it right now!" and then 3.) asking myself "what can I do to get it myself?". You might think that as a child the resources you have are much more limited since you can't just get a Job BUT there is one big advantage, in fact 2 big adavantages that come with being a child: 1. Endless Creativity, 2. No Shame In Your Game!
Sidenote: While an adult would now lay out a plan, analyze what could go wrong, potential risks and and and and... a child keeps it simple. 1.DO IT 2.) See if it works! I still have to remind myself sometimes, being a perfectionist, that perfection should not be the focus but rather start out simple and take small steps of progress every day.
Back to my story.. I went to my room and remember just looking around trying to find an answer that would solve my problem. I knew I needed to make money, but how.. The first answer I found was right infront of my eyes, I had so many toys and stuffed animals in my room that I wasn't even using any more and didn't need so I figured, why not sell them. I called my best friend and neighbour at the time, Lea, who was more of a calm child not too energetic but down for whatever.
I asked her if she wanted to do a garage sale infront of our house (living in the city, in a lovely street with cafés, restaurants and bars, there were constantly people passing). Lea and her mom liked the idea of getting rid of old toys, so we packed 4 trash bags, grabbed some blankets and opened our first business that same day. Already while we were unpacking people stopped, got curious, asked what we were selling and we very quickly had our first customers. The best part about it is that it didn't feel like work, it was fun for us. I couldn't believe how quickly we were selling things and expanded our business already the first day to selling self-made rubberbands. We had so much fun just on that first day and made about 50€ each which was A LOT for us and our parents were impressed too, but what happened next is a real #majorkey ..
Now that I almost made enough money to buy the diary, my excitment all of a sudden went down. I did not want to spend the money I just made right away, but make more so that I can keep some of what I earned (great lesson for a kid to learn, that it is easy to spend your parent's money but when it's your own money that you worked for you start to understand its value), so I didn't buy the diary right away. The small success by itself gave me more joy than a toy could ever do.
After this first day of success I came up with a bunch of other things, like going from restaurant to bar to restaurant doing performances where I would dance, hula-hoop and Lea would rattle or play the keyboard. We had so much fun and our parents at some point needed to stop us from selling all of our stuff (I remember running around asking my mom "do you need this?" "do you need that?" lol it became like a game) and we also had to stop with the performances because our parents were worried that people could think that they sent us to do it, BUT it was an awesome experience that my mom and I still talk about. With the money I earned I bought myself the diary, as well as a new stuffed animal and some candy and I told my mom: "I can't wait to grow up, make more of my own money and buy all the candy and toys in the world."
Today, my purpose has changed but the passion for going after what I want and burning fire inside me is still the same. I believe that you should make concious decisions only, because if YOU don't make the decisions, life will do it for you, so don't complain. Instead choose the life you want to live, enjoy the struggle and daily hustle, because without it there would be no value to your success.
I found this picture on Instagram this morning and it visualizes the truth about value:
This is what happens most of the time when you want something. Think about what makes you happy at the moment and what would increase your happiness, set it as a goal, work for it, achieve it, always appreciate it and don't forget its initial value!
"When you're at your lowest stay hopeful, when you're at your highest stay humble."
Thanks for taking the time to read my story. Let me know if you enjoyed it!
Next post coming soon! (sorry for delays, I always check my posts like 100 times before posting)
Much Love,
- 👑 Mrs.Steemit