Welcome to The Creative Entrepreneur Society Podcast

 I am your host, Jessica Laughlin and my purpose for this blog is to inspire, motivate and hopefully start a little fire under you to get going on your dream life. This blog is for you if you are constantly daydreaming about your dream life but not quite sure how to go for it.  You might be feeling like you are too old to start something new or have fear of failing.  Maybe you don’t want to be seen starting over again or starting small.  I have to say, you are not alone.  It takes courage to be vulnerable and go for your dreams.  There are about 1% of the population that will actually go for it and this is your first step.

I wanted to break this first post in by giving you a little glimpse of who I am and where I come from.

I grew up in a very small town of 800 people in Montana with a simple yet very loving upbringing.  From a very young age, I knew I wanted to live in a big city and do big city things but I needed to figure out how I was going to do it.

 I ended up going to college at Montana State University and quickly realized that traditional education wasn’t really for me and I had this deep knowing that I wanted to work for myself at some point and I also needed to find a trade or skill that someone could never take away from me no matter the circumstance. SO,  I went to cosmetology school and excelled.  I knew this would be my ticket to the big city that I kept dreaming of.

My entrepreneurial spirit has always been there.  You could say I was inspired by my incredible father who had a dream and a passion and lives it every day as an entrepreneur. He instilled in me the notion that if you do something you love out of service to others you will never work a day in your life and the good lord will always provide. He wasn’t wrong.

I worked hard for a few years in a great salon in Bozeman Montana to save up and when I turned 23, the time was right, I moved my way to Seattle Washington to be one of the top hairstylists in the city.  

Oh, my naive little self was very disappointed when I couldn’t land my dream job right away but that did not stop me from trying. 

I found a job that wasn’t exactly what I was looking for but it paid the bills for my very expensive apartment downtown. I kept looking for the right opportunity and

Right when I thought I was going to fail at this vision that I had of being the best hairstylist in the city, my boyfriend at the time ( who is now my husband)  saw me mentally struggling and asked me a few simple questions that changed my life. 

He asked, “ If you could work anywhere, where would it be?”  I knew exactly where that salon was, who the owner was, the style, esthetic, the vibe, The music ( it was loud, hip..gosh the coolest vibe), the stylist that worked there were so talented and not to mention the on-trend clothes… it was perfect. I just knew this was the place where I would be proud to work. But it was out of my comfort zone for sure. 

So he then pushed me a bit further and asked “ So, have you applied to work there yet?  ***COUGH COUGH**  

No, I had not.  I had not because somewhere in the back of my head I had made up a story that this girl from a little town in Montana could never be good enough to work at such a high-end, high vibe salon.  I thought that I would start at a little smaller, less trendy a place and make a name for myself and then be able to work there…eventually.

He asked “ SO, Why don’t you apply.  You are amazing and I wish you saw yourself the way others see you.  You have done such amazing work, you have an amazing work ethic and they would be silly not to hire you.”

Boy, do I love you, Matt Laughlin, because the next day I got all dressed up in the coolest clothes I had in my closet ( which by the way were not very many) and walked my resume into the salon.  I had this new sense of confidence that I really didn’t know where it came from but I went with it. 

 The owner was there and took a quick glance at me and my resume and said “ can you come back tomorrow and do a couple of models so I can see your work.  Why yes… Yes, I can.  I came back the next day, did the physical interview, and landed that job.  

I went on to open their second location and worked my way up the ladder. I became a master stylist and had a clientele that dreams are made of. I did exactly what I had set out to do years before. 

What I know to be true is that your mindset and Self-confidence is a powerful thing.. The smart man, Henry Ford once said “Whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t, you’re right.”

During this time, not only was I a busy stylist but also a mentor to the up-and-coming stylist. I loved it. Such a great experience.

If you know anything about hairstylists, we are kind of like bartenders, people tell you their deepest desires and secrets, and you share ups and downs, marriage, divorce, babies, sickness, death, graduations.  It's a safe place to be themselves and to speak their dreams out loud without judgment. I loved this part of my job the most.

As time went on,  I started to become very passionate about living the dream life with the idea that life is short and encouraging the people around me to go for their big heart desires, whatever that may be.  I started taking a ton of classes on mindset, and business got my coaching certification and attended tons of seminars, retreats and so much more.

One day, one of my clients asked me if I would coach her through the mindset drama that was coming up around life and business.

Without me even knowing it, I was developing my next passion project which is now my coaching business and the start of The Creative Entrepreneur Society.

Later, I went on to open up my own studio salon business and did very well but still had this tug that I was meant for more. Can any of you relate?

Then in November of 2019, 11 months after my daughter was born, I woke up one morning, and my life changed forever, again. 

I suffered a minor stroke at the age of 39.  When I woke up that morning, I realized very quickly that something wasn’t right.  I had kaleidoscope vision and my eyes wouldn't move.

I was pretty healthy and didn’t have any of the underlying symptoms or issues of those that could potentially have a stroke.

 After many tests, they found that I had a blood clot that most likely formed when I was pregnant that had made its way up to a hole in my heart, that I didn’t know I had, that ended up going into my brain causing the stroke. 

I had heart surgery a few months later to close the hole and I am honored to say that I have made a full recovery. 

But what will stick with me forever, is after 12 hours in the hospital, I was allowed to walk around and move my body with no issues and my vision was back.

As I was walking around the stroke unit, I could see into all the rooms, The other stroke patients' lives were turned upside down from the damage their stroke had caused, but here I was allowed to go home the very next day. I was and am extremely lucky to be able to walk away free from damage and continue my life. 

But I asked myself, “Who am I to waste my time on this earth?” I had a life-altering experience that morning, which rocked me to my core and forever changed me.

At that very moment, it struck me like a 2x4 or in this case a mild stroke..HAHA.

That I have a bigger calling in life. 

So here I am today, with my newfound calling, to push you to get uncomfortable. 

To get out of your comfort zone and make sure you listen to that gut feeling that you are meant for more.  Don’t wait for the perfect moment because it will never be there.  Something will always come up. You never know when your life might be altered or cut short.  

That dream or vision that was placed in your heart…. it's there for a reason.

It was placed on your heart… yours and only yours for a reason.   Not anyone else’s. 

You have a unique voice, vibe, and vision that makes you special and uniquely you.  If you are feeling called to be an entrepreneur, change jobs, get out of a relationship, start a new relationship, change cities, change careers altogether, reinvent yourself or whatever it may be…..then do it.

When you think of yourself when you are 80 years old looking back at your life, will you be satisfied with your accomplishments or will you wish that you would have at least tried to go for that thing that was laid on your heart years before?

We all have excuses as to why we can’t go for our dream life. Do you have a fear of failure, fear of not being good enough, fear of starting over… You are not alone.  

Starting your own business or going for your dream life is very scary.

But do you know what is even scarier???

Staying exactly where you are because you are scared to start.  What if you took a chance on yourself and your dream version of yourself? How might your life be different?

Will it be easy… absolutely not. 

But the fulfillment you get when you make your own schedule, create the life you dreamed of by using your own unique voice, vibe, and vision that is tugging at you….. I promise it will all be worth it.

So I want to ask you today… what is your vision?  What does your dream life look like?

If today was your last, would you be proud of how you lived it, or are you just going through the motions?

If the answer is no, then I encourage you to write it down.  Write down your dream life.

What does it look like, who is in it, where are you, what does it smell like, what are you wearing? Are you working for yourself or working at that dream job?

When you can get very clear and detail out exactly what you want, you are 50% more likely to take action on the steps to get there. 

 Why?

Because, when you put pen to paper, your brain can visualize exactly what it is that you want and is able to process the information vs keeping it in your head… when you keep it in your head, you don’t fully see all of the information or all of the details and you don’t have a starting point. The clarity just isn’t there

 If your dream life isn’t clear, how can you get what you want? Usually, you don’t.

What is the vision you have for yourself?  Get clear. Write down exactly what you want and how you want it to be.

Let today be your day to start living your dream life.  

Understand exactly what it is you want and let's go for it. Together.  You can live your best life right now... so, what are you waiting for? 

You just have to do it.  Do the work and show up every day.  Because what I know to be true… You are born to do great things and the moment you decide and commit to taking the first step … Everything will change.

Thank you so much for joining me today…. And Until next time.   Bye for now.