jump and the net will appear
During my four day immersive experience with Tony Robbin’s I had an insane amount of insights. He asked us to make a list of all the times we made a decision and how that decision changed our life. He asked us to write down the list so we could visualize the times we changed our lives for the better. Once I started writing I couldn’t stop. I guess I’ve made some good decisions and when I make my mind up, it’s set in stone. One example that seemed like ‘not that big of a deal’ actually turned out to be one of the better decisions I have made in the last few years.
It was January 2022 and I decided that I needed to move out of my bestie’s house in Hamilton and move back to Toronto. I had lived with her for over a year with cheap rent and as much as I loved our time together, I hated Hamilton. It just wasn’t the vibe. My intuition was screaming at me, “it is time to go”. When I finally decided to move on it was during the third big lockdown of the pandy when people were moving out of the big cities for the ‘burbs. This was my time to negotiate cheap rent and I succeeded every time.
My goal was to be in a one bedroom condo with parking and amenities. I found one that was listed for $2250.00 but I negotiated it down to $1925.00, which was triple the price I was paying at my friend’s place in Hamilton. Yikes. On paper it looked like a terrible financial decision but my gut said otherwise. I knew I needed to take the leap. I asked my other friends what they thought I should do, most of them couldn’t believe how expensive rental prices were as they are mostly homeowners with husbands. This is was my independent woman reality.
They said, if you can afford it then, yes? I was like, well I may not be able to save money or buy organic produce like I used to but it feels right. I said fuck it, lets go. This place had a gym (so I didn’t need to buy a membership), parking (so I didn’t have to go searching for street parking), a sauna (hello health benefits), a pool (it was indoor, gross, I never used it), and quick access to the highway (I commuted to work for the first year I lived there). I am all in.
This one bedroom condo was situated between High Park and Lakeshore Blvd. I was nestled between the biggest park in Toronto and Lake Ontario. It fed my little nature loving soul. I went for walks every morning and almost every night. In the summer I biked to work along the Lakeshore bike path. There was always something going on and the idea of being able to bike anywhere with ease made my little hippie heart so happy. This was my home.
During the first year I worked my ass off but my SUV was falling apart, it literally died on the highway. I had to make a decision, buy/lease another car to commute to work or get rid of it and find a shop closer to home so I could walk or bike. That’s what I did. Intuitively I knew it was right. I didn’t want to get trapped in some lease agreement and the prices of used cars were astronomical at that time. I didn’t need a car, I had a road bike and ubers were a real nice treat. It was a delight to be driven around by someone else for once. And if you could believe this, it was cheaper for me to uber every once in awhile then it was for me to own my SUV.
So March 2023 I got rid of my vehicle and worked closer to home. This is when the money really started coming in and so did the extra time. I was working less and making more. Say what!? I did so much travelling in 2023 it was almost, almost, tiring. I travelled to a few cities in the States: Hollywood, Nashville, Austin, and NYC. I went to Ireland for two weeks with my mom in September. In November I did ayahuasca in Costa Rica. In December I visited my bestie in Dubai. Just out here living my best life. Honestly. I am so grateful that I made the decision to leap into the next level and guess what? A net did appear.
I levelled up my standards of living. I was fearful and I did it anyway. I was betting against myself, and that’s like, so fucking rude. It will never happen again cuz look at me now. I didn’t just throw myself outside of my comfort zone, I jump tumbled like 007. Try it sometime. Throwing yourself outside of your comfort zone is a worthy thing to do. You’ll be amazed at how the right things line up. You’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish when the pressure is on. You get to see how you show up for yourself like never before. Nothing worth doing comes from living in your comfort zone. Even if you did fail, the person you become along the way is a better, faster, stronger version than the one living in fear. If you ain’t failing, you ain’t trying! BUT if you are resourceful enough you never fail, you just pivot.
