Free to be you....and me!

My mom says that I used to have a record (yes, a record!) of Marlo Thomas' Free To Be You & Me. I can just imagine me with my Dorothy Hamill haircut, dancing around the living room in corduroy bell-bottom pants, letting the words wash over me. I can't even remember the tune of the song, but my mom likes to remind me every so often of that particular album and then proceeds to hum a tune wile looking at me expectantly, waiting for the familiarity bell to ring true with my faded memory. She also likes to remind me of certain characters or episodes of Mel's Diner as if I were alive when that show was made.

Uh....right.

Anyway, I was looking over some of my posts from this past year and came across the one about picking a mantra and was remembering all over again how definitive that statement was for me. Since I've gone back to working for myself full time I've had the opportunity to either fail miserably or succeed in the most unbelievable ways. As my old ballet teacher used to say, this is my time to shine! There is really no in-between when it comes to owning your own business. You either make it or you don't. And I think that a huge part of whether or not a business survives (especially in this economy!) is due largely to passion. In other words, if you're all in, it shows. And this principle goes far beyond your commitment to your work. If you're all in with who you are, it shows.

I'm not entirely sure when this Stella got her groove back, but since I've recovered parts of myself that I felt were lost, I have been all in. It's like I've taken on a whole new personality...or maybe just reclaimed pieces of my joy or enthusiasm. Either way, these last couple of months I have finally felt like I am free to be me.

Best feeling in the world.