When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Lemonade
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade — make so much lemonade you make a shit ton of money in the process. Squeeze those lemons as hard as you can and use that opportun-crisis as we call it in my country–the land of crises– that the sourness of those battles you’ve overcome are worth the fight.
I had this realization as I made my way into the deep Patagonian forest, surrounded by the native classic Patagonian trees–Ñires, Coihues, Lengas, and pine trees. The more I walked and kept everything in motion, the more I penetrated my way into the deep forest, the clearer my vision got…
Eventually, I got lost, a four-legged HERO literally saved me from aimless wandering with no signal, no GPS, no maps, and no humans on sight — but that’s a story for the next blog post.
But you must be wondering: WHAT ABOUT THE LEMONS? Here it goes, but first:
My lemons? The turmoil of my life-long hormonal issues, like PCOs, autoimmune diseases like Hashimotos, inflammatory conditions like Eczema, and mental conditions like ADHD and GAD. Guess who didn’t win the genetic lottery?
For the past fifteen years, I’ve struggled with these challenges –others, since I can remember… The undiagnosed ADHD and Hashimoto’s made sure my life was a constant battle against myself. Only… Little did I know I had *those* issues.
But the sour taste it leaves in your mouth can be washed away by the sweet, sweet taste of creating an impact, pursuing your passion, and making the most of your combined life experience and knowledge of the topics while helping others like you along the way.
It’s a win-win scenario.
Over the years, I’ve gathered so much information about these topics–from my own research, experience, talking to professionals, listening to podcasts, audiobooks, and reading tons of pages- that I could write an entire book on each topic (and in fact, I have for some as a ghostwriter).
Ok, so… I could maybe start a coaching business that helps all those audiences, right? Oh wait… There’s a catch: I’m not a licensed coach, nor would I pursue all those certifications if I wanted to help all those audiences. And here’s where lemonade makes ALL the difference…
I CAN, however, help those who help those I want to help.
BINGO!
Naturally, I became a copywriter, a content writer, a ghostwriter. All those skills and knowledge combined, along with years of testing what works and what doesn’t for my clients, have given me a toolkit I can use to think like a marketer.
I get to wear ALL the hats. And notice how I said: “get to” because –for me– it’s a blessing, it’s a nice challenge, and it makes me feel like I’m ACTUALLY doing something. So, I get to help my clients, who are wonderful human beings helping people LIKE ME — basically, they’re the guides I wish I had a few years ago…
No matter what, the silver lining is that I do what I love, and I’m lucky enough that the lemonade stand I run is on an all-time high.
And, remember, if life gave you lemons, analyze them, don’t frown upon them; learn from them and use them to your favor. Whether you run a business or offer a service, you can always choose who you work with, and you get to choose the values, the mission, and the vision of your business–no matter its size or niche.
Don’t let those lemons go to waste ;)
Mercedes Mansilla
Copywriter & Marketer