How I Activated My Inner CEO: The Catalyst - Nikki Rogers
Part 1 of a 2 Part Series in My Journey to Actualizing My Dreams
Many of us have a dream of the life we’ve always wanted, but never take the first step in making that dream a reality. I, for one, am guilty of this; it was not until my mother’s sudden death that I realized I had to take action in actualizing my dreams. Her passing shook my world, but also served as a wake up call and the catalyst to my start in entrepreneurship.
I spoke at the ‘You Are Enough’ conference in June, and decided to share my story further, to spread the message that the time is now. Don’t wait for your dreams, just start and make them happen.
“January 1, 2017, should have been a day of joy and celebration. But instead of celebrating with family and friends, my brother and I were making my mother’s final funeral arrangements.
“This was a sudden and unexpected death. My mother died just two weeks after her 67th birthday and three days after Christmas, which was her absolute favorite holiday. So on that New Year’s day, instead of participating in our annual traditions and cooking with my mother, I was picking out a casket and discussing a burial outfit. That’s how I started off 2017.
“Later on that day, I was back at my mother’s house. I was looking through some of her paperwork, trying to keep busy as friends and family floated in and out of the house to pay their respects, and I found something that stopped me dead in my tracks: a business plan. I found a business plan for a shoe store that my mother had been working on. Anyone who knew my mother knew that she loved shoes; she had every type of shoe possible, and always said that ‘an outfit started with shoes.’
“If I ever sent her a picture of something that I was going to wear, she would always ask: What shoes are you going to wear with that? And she had always talked about opening a shoe store. Now, just two years after retiring from a 30-year career, she was finally taking the steps to make it happen. My mother thought she had plenty of time. And until that very moment, I thought I did too.
“How many of you know that you are being called to do something greater in your life? But, you are waiting for the perfect time. Have you thought about how living out your dreams will impact not only your life, but also the life of your family and friends? It could go further into the lives of those in your community and even the lives of those who are in the world.
“I’m here to tell you that life is just too short not to do what you love. Now is the perfect time for you to get started on your dream. I was just like you. A few months before my mother’s death, I was starting to feel stuck in my job. I knew I was being called to do something greater, but I just didn’t know what it was.
“As a matter of fact, I was planning to take time off that spring just to spend time with my mother and relax, restore, and figure out what I was going to do next. But I didn’t get that chance. As I sat there looking at her business plan, I remembered the business plans that I had created and put to the side, both in college and in grad school. In that moment I decided that I didn’t want my son to find one of my business plans and wonder what might have been. I realized that I needed to take control of my life, my wealth, and my legacy. And in order to do that, I had to activate my inner CEO.”
About Nikki: Nikki Rogers is a transformation coach assisting people and organizations to grow and become sustainable entities. She is an experienced management consultant that works to bridge gaps and create opportunities for all. Nikki supports strategic visions to co-create success with other leaders.
