Like most people, I was always wired to strive towards having a successful career. What that meant to me was rising in the ranks, making great money, and doing something that fulfilled ME. The word successful you could actually call status in my old state of mind. But what I consider success today and where I am at in life is nowhere near status and having a successful career. I’m at a place where my definition of success is measured by living well and sharing that life with those I love.
Not to toot my own horn, but I have an incredible work ethic. Almost too much of a work ethic if you ask my husband. I pour myself into everything I do, and choose to perform at a level where my expectation for myself and those I work with are extremely high. I don’t think I’ve ever not had a job, and I honestly believe even with my skillset and experiences that there is absolutely no job below me. You gotta pay the bills, whether that means serving deli sandwiches, packing boxes at a distribution center, being a security guard, or a ranch hand, a job is a job. But what I realized these past 10 years through job changes and career changes are several things: success and accomplishments don’t mean shit if you don’t have someone to share them with, and “working-to-live” is worth so much more than “living-to-work”…
When I moved out West, I worked at a cattle ranch in Northern Wyoming for a couple years. Being a ranch hand was very manual labor, but I loved every day of it. I was hungry for success and that gig was the first step into my large animal veterinary career plan. I had it all figured out and was determined to be successful. I was independent and eager to live this vision I had in my head, and nothing was going to get in the way of it. Until I met a guy and fell in love (I know it sounds like a complete cliché, but yes it happened). My whole life I never thought I needed a man, or let alone would get married. I didn’t believe there was someone on this earth that I could connect with on that level; I never cared to honestly. But for the first time, on that ranch in Wyoming, I opened up to someone. In the end, he broke my heart…but while it was difficult at the time, I can laugh about it and appreciate it now. That crazy ridiculous journey of love and being vulnerable with someone is completely worth it, even if it doesn’t work out in the end. My experience of falling in love stripped a layer away from me, and I realized that my obsession to be successful and independent was not all it was cracked up to be. It became clear to me that I wanted to share my life with someone, and not go at it alone. My boss at the time was in the process of resigning from the ranch and moving back home to be closer to his person – the one he knew he wanted to share his life with. When he was telling me he was leaving the ranch, I will never forget what he said on a summer afternoon sitting in his Blue Ford F150 while we were about to check cows. He said Jaime, “All the things you accomplish in life won’t mean anything if you don’t have someone to share them with.” To this day those words registered as the biggest epiphany I have ever had in my life. Life is too short to not live it fearlessly, but it is too long to spend it alone.
My second greatest epiphany hit me when I moved to Nebraska. It wasn’t until I met my person and worked for a larger cattle operation that I realized the meaning of “working to live.” My husband Gary is almost the opposite of me. He’s carefree, simple, and the work-hard-but-play-harder type of person. When I met him after working as a rancher for almost a year straight (every day 12+ hours a day), it finally hit me. Why was I living this way? Life is about so much more than working. Being with someone like Gary helped me realize that it is possible to have balance, and establishing work/life boundaries for your time and what you love to do is crucial to being happy. I knew when I met Gary, I wanted him in my life forever. But there weren’t very many options in western Nebraska for jobs and careers, except for the nearby Walmart or a very well-known outdoor retailer in the area. So, I started my corporate career in the outdoor industry, and 6+ years engulfed in outdoor product and the lifestyle paved the way for my true passion for the outdoors and advocating for others. My priorities changed in life, and I chose to sacrifice a lot of goals and visions of success to be with someone that made me happy; and it was completely worth it. Life is so much more than working towards being “successful”. I encourage everyone to ask what success truly means to you. If your answer is money and status, then you are missing the whole point of what life is. Time is precious in our world, so make sure you spend a good amount of it with the ones you love, doing the things you love and not working it all away.
#selflove #livelife #love #epiphany #purpose #balance #yourbestlife