I heard a quote today on a podcast (of course) about why most people don’t step out as entrepreneurs.  Seems simple: fear of failure, lack of confidence…

But here’s the quote:

The biggest enemy of great is good.

Of course, “good” can be described as a bunch of things: decent money, decent benefits, security, affirmation by bosses, role of power and significance…

the list goes on and on.

Adeline in constant pursuit of adventure and being brave.

For me, my “good” was Jake’s Carpet Cleaning.  From an outsiders perspective, this was a very cushy gig.  And please don’t think I’m in any way dissing the business we’ve built, because it’s a great business with a great team!  It’s just not my true area of greatness.  

Yes, we had our seasonality and rough patches, but it afforded us to ability to buy a home and make a substantial downpayment, take spur of the moment “baby moons” and trips and with the exception of the WINTER OF SATAN (aka winter of 2013) and the fact that we paid $1200 a month in student loan debt, we lived a very comfortable life .

Buying our first home.

But if it had stayed “good,” I wouldn’t be on this amazing path right now where I feel so inline with my passions: creativity, mentorship and community.

I’m so grateful for that talk over Christmas with Jake, where we decided it’s not about the money anymore… it’s about living a life we truly love.

Adeline adventuring in Estes Park, CO

Yes, I feel a bit scared.  And a lot of things are still up in the air.  I’m having a baby in less than 4 weeks.  I have to completely replace my income from Jake’s with Free Babes between now and then because we just hired my replacement at the business that is taking my salary.  But remember that saying:

What’s the one thing you could be doing for free for the rest of your life and love it?

I’m doing it!  I’ve been up till about midnight every night since Christmas working on the blog and Free Babes and learning how to advertise and grow something sustainable.   In the few short weeks since making this transition, I’ve made new friends, learned more about blogging and product marketing than ever before, and had opportunities open up that were never before in the picture.

2014 is now my year of transition where I’m getting all systems go to support an ideal lifestyle next year – one where I can work remotely from anywhere in the world, one where we can travel 3 months out of the year, one where I can homeschool my girls and teach them through experiences and interactions with other cultures.

If we had stayed with the trajectory of Jake’s, we would have predictably just made more money, learned to adjust our lifestyle to spend more money, bought a larger house and accumulated more things.  We probably would have gone on a nice vacation each year, but “ideal lifestyle” would not be something that we truly addressed.

Riding an airboat in Florida looking for gators.

So, here’s to letting go of our “good” and pursuing our “great.”  I know there is greatness in each of us.

I’d love to hear from you!  Comment below with what you think your “great” might be.

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– Hillary