Our guest blogger, Jamie Collins, sure does take chances. Burn bridges? Maybe. Comic relief? Oh, definitely. Here's her latest escapade:
Today I'm here to tell you about one of the most powerful days in my life. It was transforming. Awe-inspiring. A day filled with tremendous personal freedom. It was the day I quit. I'm pretty sure you're prepared to read some humdrum piece about a colossally awful job, with a dreadful boss, and the day I belted out a song that included the words, "these stilettos were made for walking." This ain't it.
The day I quit, my entire life began to change. I began to change. I realize it wouldn't be fair to make a bold statement like that without telling you about that pivotal day in my life, so here goes: life changed…
The day I decided to have a great attitude and work hard.
The day I quit waiting for validation from other people and realized I needed to provide it for myself, instead.
The day I quit waiting for people and opportunities to find me and sought them out with a will to win.
The day I quit believing that someone else could tell me the best way to "balance" my own family, work, and life obligations, because the only person on the planet who could do that was me.
The day I began to believe in myself.
The day I caught a glimpse of my potential and made the conscious decision to use it up as best as I could on this short adventure we call "life."
The day I decided to quit worrying about things uncertain. Preparing for things unnecessary. And fearing failure. And decided, instead, to embrace these things in all of their former unappreciated glory.
The day I decided to quit wishing and start "wandering"—through life. Into adventures, lessons, a crazy culmination of experiences, mistakes made, and a whole lot of fun, too.
The day I no longer allowed negative people to occupy valuable space in my mind, heart, or inner circle, and bid them farewell on my way out the door.
The day I quit questioning whether my spot in the parking lot of life was good enough. Or big enough. It was then. Still is now. I have the power to make that spot whatever I'd like it to be.
The day I decided to rise up to chase my passion, pay homage to my talents, and inspire others as much as I could on my journey. Because it's a short one, even when it's long.
The day I decided the ONLY person who could tell me what I couldn't do, or could do—was ME.
The day I decided to write this post to share it with the world, because I had something to say.
Because I didn't quit after all. The truth is, I hope I never quit. Not today. Not tomorrow. Not ever.
And I hope you don't either.
We've got a few more rounds to go—some of us in stilettos. It is going to be epic.
#IQuit
#NeverQuit
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Jamie Collins is a litigation paralegal turned writer, who also quit believing she couldn't start one of the leading paralegal blogs in the country, so she did. Follow her on LinkedIn by clicking the button above or below this post. You can also check out more of her legal-based (semi-brilliant, not at all boring) writing on The Paralegal Society, or her personal musings on The Bloggingtown Post.
**Note to Readers: Thanks for taking the time to read this post! If it inspired you, all likes, comments, and shares are truly appreciated.
Chere Estrin is the CEO of Paralegal Knowledge Institute and President & Co-Founding member of the Organization of Legal Professionals. She has written 10 books on legal careers, hundreds of articles and in the field, oh, lots of years. She can be reached at chere.estrin@paralegalknowledge.com.