1.5 Years In: Reflections on Going Full-Time On My Own

“Every single day, I wake up excited. First, to meditate, and second, to tackle whatever comes my way that day.”

It's been 1.5 years since I left my job and went out full-time on my own with Carly Caminiti Coaching.

Since then, I have done a LOT of processing, and here are some things that I am very grateful for:

Being my own boss. I don't have anyone to report to, no one questioning how I'm doing things, no one reviewing 360 degrees of my good-enoughness, no one who's got leadership values that clash with my own. It's just me, which has been probably the best part. I'm guessing approximately 100% of other business owners would rank this at #1.

Creating my own schedule. Yes, it's true that I "work" more now than when I worked in corporate, but that's fine, because I'm using more brain cells, having more fun, and doing it on my own time. I had grandiose plans yesterday to get so many things done, but then I found out a friend's mom had passed, so I dropped everything and started cooking for them before driving over there. That flexibility was born out of being self-employed.

“I don't have anyone to report to…

no one questioning how I'm doing things”

Learning whatever I want to learn. I have no mandatory professional development training, so it's up to me to learn about whatever it is that tickles my fancy. I have definitely expanded my knowledge in so many different areas that I would never have guessed (from batteries to surgery to gaming to software dev, you name it), and it's been so eye-opening.

Talking to who I want to talk to. Many of you are included in the mix. The conversations I have had thanks to LinkedIn have been some of the most thought-provoking, engaging, intellectually stimulating conversations that I have had in my life. I have met so many amazing people, and have just scratched the surface.

Not having hard deadlines. I just looked at my to-do list and it has 32 things on it. Am I stressed about that? No, not at all (refer to #1).

Several people who have gone above and beyond to keep me in their circle and promote my work. They say in hard times you figure out who your real friends are, and I'd say in the good times, you figure that out, too.

The conversations I have had thanks to LinkedIn have been some of the most thought-provoking, engaging, intellectually stimulating conversations that I have had in my life.

Meditation and the gym. This should be higher on my list, but here we are. These two things have been INSTRUMENTAL in my journey and 99% of days, I do both. I can't really function without them at this point, and have found so many answers by just turning inwards. I even got my fitness instructor certification and am going to start teaching at the YMCA next month. I have always loved the Y for its youth development work, so I'm glad to be a part of that organization for fun. And meditation, don't get me started, because it's my favorite thing to talk about.

Being inspired by other business owners. You don't know what you don't know until you know, and geesh, there's a lot on that learning curve. I had no idea how much work it would be (even though others warned me). Hats off to all y'all that have started companies. It's no joke, and there's nothing like some good entrepreneurial energy.

Knowing the best is yet to come…

Traveling so much. Just this calendar year alone, I've been to Illinois, Palm Springs, San Francisco, Argentina x 7 weeks, Dallas, Denver, and heading back soon to Buenos Aires. I can do my work from anywhere (and am especially productive in planes for some reason), so I am taking full advantage of that and keep my suitcase close in case I need to make an impromptu trip, and I can whenever I want to.

Knowing the best is yet to come. Every single day, I wake up excited. First, to meditate, and second, to tackle whatever comes my way that day. It's a beautiful process that just keeps unfolding, and I've got some major upcoming changes to the way I am doing things, including a new website that will be unveiled soon. I've got podcasts lined up, Vistage speaking engagements, webinars and in-person meetings that I cannot wait to do, in addition to accompanying my clients along all of their journeys.

And all of that is because of taking a giant leap of faith into the unknown.

So cheers to 1.5 years, and to many more to come. It's been a very wild ride, but there's no other ride I'd rather be on than this one.

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