Trusting the Universe
“Ssh, don’t say anything or you’ll jinx it.”
That was me. Every idea or ambition, however rare. Don’t tell anyone what you’re dreaming about doing or achieving because then it won’t happen.
So I’m more than a little surprised at where I find myself these last few months.
Because it turns out the opposite is true.
The past year I’ve been quietly working towards my dream of owning a small hospitality business. A small local cafe or takeaway style shop where I can sell the food I know is good, and which I love to make. I’ve worked in food retail long enough to have learned a few things, have helped my husband run his own growing business for over a decade. Even my accountant told me I have a head for business.
In other words: enough of the self doubt.
I’ve seen so many people over the years with zero business experience try their hand at restaurants and cafes, with varying degrees of success. So why was I so afraid of even saying that I wanted to have a go?
Recently I was browsing a new deli that opened nearby and started chatting with the lady behind the counter. I somehow ended up telling her my plans, who knows how or why, maybe because she was a complete stranger. But when I laughingly said that I shouldn’t say anything for fear of jinxing it she was emphatic in trying to convince me that if you put it out there into the universe and truly believe in it then something good will come back to you.
A bit cosmic and out-there for a Monday morning over the cheese counter, but her words stuck with me.
She reminded me of one of something someone very close to me once said:
“dream it, believe it, create it.”
We were talking about my looming due date as I waited to meet my youngest child, and I sheepishly admitted that I had been meditating and visualising as part of my labour preparation. I felt like a dick even saying the words aloud but I knew that if anyone would get it it would be her. And I was right.
And you know what? That labour and birth played out exactly like I wanted it to. Down to every last detail. The time of night, the length of the labour, my ability to cope with contractions, and even the desperately hoped for moment in which I lifted my baby out with my own two hands, something I had dreamed of throughout four pregnancies. It finally came to happen with my very last baby, after I put it out there to the universe and did crazy hippie-granola-fruit-loop things like visualisation and meditation.
It took me a lot longer to believe that I could own my own small business, but I’m there now. I know I can do it and do it well. I’m not looking to get rich quick, I’m not looking to get rich at all. My idea of success is to be able to make just enough money from it to make it worthwhile. My idea of success is putting in the hours and hard work and being the one who reaps the rewards and not some boss. My idea of success is seeing people enjoy my food and be willing to pay for it.
So take your ideas and ambitions and put them out there. Talk about them while you’re working at them. Do your homework, your research, all the hard work and chase it and don’t hesitate to be proud of what you’re doing. I have two businesses I am pursuing at the moment, and for various reasons there are delays with both. Both are great prospects and both are what I’m looking for. But I’m not stressing about the delays and lack of concrete options before me, I believe that what is meant to be will be. If neither of these businesses pan out then another one somewhere down the line will.
Here’s to a bit of crunchy-granola-fruit-loop craziness in your life.
