Hey friends,
Last time I posted here was my 2019 birthday, October 28th. One month prior I was sitting at my parents dining table pre planning Octobers content to prep for our precious Charlotte Ann to arrive. Life at that time felt so exciting, we had sold our fixer upper, almost done with our next fixer upper, chasing an 18-month old while nine months pregnant living with my parents. My hubs was commuting 5 hours round trip daily to NYC for work while I was coaching clients and writing my first book Thinking Like a Boss after signing my first book deal with Baker Books. Stressful was an understatement for our family, manifesting as shingles on the left side of my husbands body. Yet this time was also JOYOUS with sweet expectancy. Life can always be both, right? It’s times like those that you wonder “HOW WILL I EVER SURVIVE this next month or year?” that someday you will look back with humble pride and celebrate that girl who had the strength to push and not call it quits on her dreams.
I know that speaks to you. YOU are that girl and if you’ve lived through 2020, you sure have the 2020 version of you to thank. And of course you lived through 2020 if you’re reading this HA
Now almost two years past the last time I wrote, boy has life changed. Some may say for the worse, but I beg to differ and would say it’s only changed for the better. Yes, it’s been almost 18 months of uncertainty, disappointment, loss, pivoting, and so much more for most, but I bet most of you wouldn’t trade that seasons badge of honor for anything. You’ve shown yourself just how resilient you really are. You’ve survived painful events. You’ve lost family to illness. You’ve lost friends to politics. You’ve lost income from shut downs. But you have shown yourself just how resilient you really are. Now I won’t get into what 2020 was like for me, because I wrote almost an entire book on this epiphany which releases with Baker Books Spring 2022 entitled: Drawing the Line: How to find more peace and less chaos in your life. Be on the lookout friends!
But here is what I want to send you off with today…….I am committing this moment forward to share even more of my thoughts and the conversations that I have with people in my home or in the DMs that I don’t necessarily openly broadcast. To be honest, I’m not afraid of whether you’ll judge me or no longer like me, I honestly don’t have time for that, but I constantly ask myself as social media is my business + livelihood…… “is this related to business? Is this something that needs to be shared on my business account or maybe a more intimate space where I have more than 150 characters to explain why I feel the way that I do?” I also just miss good old fashioned blog posts and want to vomit thinking about recording a reel. I did a whole post on why I refuse to record reels, how I think they’re silly, and refuse to do something “just to beat an algorithm”. I don’t know about you, but most of the time I find the pointing and lip syncing cheesy and just plain awkward, the words move too quickly for these tired eyes of mine, and it takes me multiple times of hitting re play to actually catch on to what they are trying to say. Also, who knows where social media platforms are going? We don’t own them, so can’t control the shop we set up on them. Don’t you want to fully own your content and have it safely tucked away onto a page that can’t be taken from you or censored? That’s why I’m back….I want this blog to remain a headquarters for my friends to be able to find me should social media ever go bye bye.
I love this C.S. Lewis quote and feel it more than ever before in this world we are living…. “When the whole world is running towards a cliff, he who is running in the opposite direction appears to have lost his mind.” I’ve gotten so many “private” messages from mamas, dads, and other business owners sharing their opinions of what our world is experiencing these days. These are opinions that are felt they need to stay hidden, in fear of people thinking they are crazy or naive or even a conspiracy theorist. But friends, many of those opinions I see truth in and even agree with! Our nation is living in constant FEAR and being fed fear-dependency on the daily. As awful as it all may seem and scary, how uncontrollable life may appear, GOD IS STILL in control. People have been forced to become alarmists and fear anything outside of their protective bubble. We have metaphorically and literally been muzzled. When everything in 2020 began to unfold I felt SWALLOWED whole + SURROUNDED by fear. But as time went on I realized even though fear surrounded me, I was still surrounded by HIM. This SONG became an anthem and sweet reminder that although the world may push FEAR and the fear may surround us, HE is always surrounding us. HERE is a sweet video of my dad playing this song on the piano and singing it with Annabelle. Oh when I walked into the room and heard what their little duet, tears welled up and my heart exploded with hope for our future generation.
I hope that today you will link arms with me in committing to living a life of hope and not allow fear to run your life. Humans need each other. We were not designed to be locked down in isolation. Find community in life and business and be there for one another. We will come out of this stronger. We will no longer believe all that is fed to us. We will think critically and put our trust in God rather than the daily headlines.
I have found much comfort in an old childhood hymn, one written in 1922, Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus….here are the lyrics:
O soul are you weary and troubled
No light in the darkness you see
There's light for a look at the Savior
And life more abundant and free
Through death into life everlasting
He passed, and we follow Him there
Over us sin no more hath dominion
For more than conquerors we are
Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace
His word shall not fail you, He promised
Believe Him and all will be well
Then go to a world that is dying
His perfect salvation to tell
AND if you want a newer version of this old hymn, you’ll find it incorporated into THIS song. My girls know almost all the lyrics and I catch them going around the house saying “Right here, right now, NO fear”. What a beautiful reminder friend. Did this hit home today? Has this year left you feeling surrounded by fear or confidence that you are surrnounded by HIM? Comment below and share with me!
If think you might be ready to get some support in your business, shoot an email to me at kate@katecrocco.com and we will chat about some ways I can support you in getting confident in what is already within you.
Blessings + Abundance,
XO Kate