Sunshine, roses, unicorns and rainbows — that’s my life, mama.

That is, you might be tempted to believe that’s my life. I mentioned last week that the final two Free Mama Meetups of the year are coming up, and I got a comment or two about how perfect my life is. 

Yep, that’s me, jetting off on a whim, taking vacations left and right. No cares, no worries, just fun, fun, fun.

Let me take you back about three years, Mama. When I was the primary breadwinner — and the Holder of the Health Insurance — for my family. When my husband worked seven days a week on his business. The business for which we had taken out a six figure loan. The business that did not pay him a salary.

We took exactly zero vacations back then. 

I cried a lot.

What I said last week about the pain and the courage? Not just a story. That was my life. It was hard, and gritty, and we fought and we yelled at our kids, and we worried all the time. 

So, yeah, you can choose to tell yourself, “It’s easy for Lauren. She’s always traveling and having fun and meeting people. She’s not like me.”

For a long time, I told myself that it was easy for other people. 

When I was working my way through the blogging/networking marketing/secret shopper trifecta, I saw plenty of people who were more successful than I was, and when I was feeling down (which was a LOT of the time), I drowned my sorrows in graham crackers and nutella and told Justin how those people had it so much easier than I did. 

(Except I was really talking to myself, because Justin was never home.) 

And also, I was wrong. 

Not one of those people had it easier than I did. They all had to start somewhere, with no knowledge and no experience. They all had to work really hard in the beginning, to get things going. 

If you only show up for the curtain call and all you hear is the applause, you have no idea what things looked like at the very first rehearsal. 

If you only see the beautiful ballerinas on stage, you have no idea what their feet look like inside those toe shoes. 

Beginnings are messy. It’s about getting started. You can refine things later — but only if you get started now. 

If you still think that the beginning of my business was shiny and pretty, then make sure you don’t miss next week’s email, where I’ll show you just how imperfect the whole thing was. 

I’ll break down the step by step of exactly what I did so that you can see it for yourself — and follow the same process for your own life. 

P.S. Can’t wait for next week to learn how I started my business? Grab a copy of my book and dig in!