After 5 years of being
self-employed and running this site, I’ve had to learn a lot of business
lessons the hard way. Unfortunately, last Thursday, I experienced my most
difficult one to date. As many of you know, I have been working for months on
creating my own jewelry line. A few of the pieces were already finished
and a handful were still in production as we prepared for our mid-August
launch. Unexpectedly, last week, I received an email from the company who
I was contracted with stating that they would be unable to produce the
collection as promised (I’ll be sharing more details in the weeks to come).
self-employed and running this site, I’ve had to learn a lot of business
lessons the hard way. Unfortunately, last Thursday, I experienced my most
difficult one to date. As many of you know, I have been working for months on
creating my own jewelry line. A few of the pieces were already finished
and a handful were still in production as we prepared for our mid-August
launch. Unexpectedly, last week, I received an email from the company who
I was contracted with stating that they would be unable to produce the
collection as promised (I’ll be sharing more details in the weeks to come).
I was intensely passionate
about this project, which made the news even harder to accept. I was devastated as I looked back on the months of time & energy that I put into the development of each piece. And then I thought of all the people I would be
letting down as a result – the charity who was promised a percentage of the proceeds, the women who I named each piece after as a tribute…and all
of you who have been so wonderfully supportive of me since I announced this new
venture. If I’m being honest, there was a little bit of pride involved
too. Will this make me look like a failure? Will this hurt my
brand? I immediately felt embarrassed that I had been so eager
& hopeful about this opportunity. Even though I had no control over the
situation & what was being done to me, I felt ashamed & foolish.
about this project, which made the news even harder to accept. I was devastated as I looked back on the months of time & energy that I put into the development of each piece. And then I thought of all the people I would be
letting down as a result – the charity who was promised a percentage of the proceeds, the women who I named each piece after as a tribute…and all
of you who have been so wonderfully supportive of me since I announced this new
venture. If I’m being honest, there was a little bit of pride involved
too. Will this make me look like a failure? Will this hurt my
brand? I immediately felt embarrassed that I had been so eager
& hopeful about this opportunity. Even though I had no control over the
situation & what was being done to me, I felt ashamed & foolish.
But, after some time of self-reflection (and a good cry), I have realized that what occurred is just a part of life – disappointments happen, deals fall through, people break promises & let us down. We can pour our hearts & souls into something – whether it’s a work project, our families or relationships…and when they fall apart or end up differently than we’d planned, it doesn’t mean that we are any “less than” as a result of that outcome. What determines our character is how we respond in those moments – will we allow our pride to get the best of us, lick our wounds and grow bitter? Or will we see that there is a greater picture beyond our circumstances and a deeper lesson to be learned. We get to choose if we will let it weigh us down or if we will use it as a stepping-stone to something better.
Something I’ve found to be true in my own life is that grace changes everything. I am an imperfect woman who makes mistakes, who is selfish at times and who can let her insecurities get the best of her. So I desperately need others to give me grace and, knowing this, I should be just as eager to give it in return. But, giving grace is not something that comes naturally to us; it has to be a conscious decision. I don’t know about you, but I want to be the kind of woman who chooses a grace-filled response regardless of my circumstances. I want to offer forgiveness instead of harboring resentment. I want to persevere in spite of being let down by others. Not because I feel like it…but because I choose it.
A pride-filled heart says: “How dare you wrong me. I don’t deserve this. I am owed something better.” But a healthy gracious reaction is quite the opposite. I want to set a good example for my children, so when they face disappointments in life, they won’t feel justified to retaliate & they won’t carry that hurt around like a heavy burden. I want to model for them the freedom that comes when we let go of unmet expectations, choose to offer grace and move forward with a renewed sense of purpose.
As difficult as this post was to write, I knew I needed to share the news with you. And now that a few days have passed & I’ve processed it all, I can truthfully say that I’m grateful for the lesson I’ve learned. It has helped me grow & mature and it has also put into perspective the things that are most important to me. If you are reading this & you’re also dealing with a major disappointment in your life, let me be the one to encourage you to take the high road, look for the silver lining, release that hurt & dig deep to find grace that you can extend to the one who has let you down. You will never regret it.
Something I’ve found to be true in my own life is that grace changes everything. I am an imperfect woman who makes mistakes, who is selfish at times and who can let her insecurities get the best of her. So I desperately need others to give me grace and, knowing this, I should be just as eager to give it in return. But, giving grace is not something that comes naturally to us; it has to be a conscious decision. I don’t know about you, but I want to be the kind of woman who chooses a grace-filled response regardless of my circumstances. I want to offer forgiveness instead of harboring resentment. I want to persevere in spite of being let down by others. Not because I feel like it…but because I choose it.
A pride-filled heart says: “How dare you wrong me. I don’t deserve this. I am owed something better.” But a healthy gracious reaction is quite the opposite. I want to set a good example for my children, so when they face disappointments in life, they won’t feel justified to retaliate & they won’t carry that hurt around like a heavy burden. I want to model for them the freedom that comes when we let go of unmet expectations, choose to offer grace and move forward with a renewed sense of purpose.
As difficult as this post was to write, I knew I needed to share the news with you. And now that a few days have passed & I’ve processed it all, I can truthfully say that I’m grateful for the lesson I’ve learned. It has helped me grow & mature and it has also put into perspective the things that are most important to me. If you are reading this & you’re also dealing with a major disappointment in your life, let me be the one to encourage you to take the high road, look for the silver lining, release that hurt & dig deep to find grace that you can extend to the one who has let you down. You will never regret it.
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