In just twelve short months, I have learned a lot.  About life, about people, about business and about me.  I’ve had a bit of an awakening and so many things have been exposed in perfect clarity.  If you are a long time follower, you know that inspiration has always played a central role in my business.  Much like Young & Free, Be Inspired is simply who I am.  Yet, lately, I have been feeling uninspired by some of my choices and experiences.

My head and my heart have been racing down two different paths, destined for two different finish lines- but there could only really ever be one winner.  One path seemed perfectly destined for greatness and came complete with greener grass, crowds of faceless supporters to cheer me on and urge me forward and even a shortcut to get me to the finish line faster.  The other path was less travelled and clouded with uncertainty, standing on the sidelines were a handful of my closest friends and family, encouraging me every step of the way and ahead of me was an exhausting, uphill foot trail.  No shortcuts.

Having been down both of these paths, I now know, without a doubt, which one was meant for me.  But I am thankful to have experienced both because I can now fully appreciate my surroundings.  This perfect path that my head was traveling down, was exactly that- in my head.  I am no longer fooled by the smoke and mirrors of pretend happiness.  I’ve seen the tears behind the smiles and I’ve met my fair share of characters reading from edited scripts.  I don’t want fickle friends who pretend to have my back, when they’re really the ones holding the knives.  And I don’t need a shortcut to success.  I’ll earn it.

I am so tired of competing and the constant need to prove myself.  I’m so over the vicious cycle of building up, simply to claw down.  And more than anything, I cannot stomach another minute of false pretenses.  I have no desire to live in a world of make believe.  I am not an actress and this is not a stage.  This is real life and I only get to live it once.  I’m not going to waste it on nonsense.

All I really need is the real.  Real happiness.  Real friends.  Real success.  Real you.  Real me.  And I’m no longer racing to the finish line, I am walking the path of inspiration one step at a time, day by day.