Don't Beat Yourself Up

Shit, I've made tons of mistakes

Even ones I thought would "ruin" my life

But in the end, each mistake came with a lesson...

And many of those lessons I wouldn't be the same without

It's interesting, because back then, I didn't understand the impact

I didn't realize how important these lessons and teachings would be for me

But as I advance in my career and build a personal brand in cannabis

I can't help but be grateful for all the things I've learned to date

Because many of my mistakes weren't even mistakes at all

They were important steps in my journey to today

They were the things that shaped who I am

They were lessons I needed to learn

They were what makes me, me

And the same goes for you...

We Were Children

18 years old feels so young

In fact, I started college when I was 17

And I had no idea what life was about at that age

But like you, I was supposed to know what I wanted to do

Not to mention all the societal and parental pressure on top of that

So what did I do? I took the most logical decision I could, and studied finance

Not because it's what I loved, but instead because I was great at math

And the finance industry was also known for good salaries

Those two things were enough for me to start out

But I had no idea I would end up hating it

And telling myself it was a mistake

One is true, the other not

Let me explain...

The Dilemma

I'm not BSing you at all

I really hated the work I was doing

My colleagues were great, but that was it

I dreaded going to work in the morning most days

The only thing that kept me going was the commission checks

And I was able to stay in that industry for over 5 years without exiting

Which I thought was a huge mistake, why didn't I leave this sh*t career earlier?

This often crossed my mind after a couple of years living in Portugal

But the more my career advanced, I realized it wasn't a mistake

I realized that those 5 years in finance built a foundation

A foundation I could then build on in the future too

The same foundation I'm building off of now

You see, it was one thing I learned there

That I will never ever forget about

The ability to own the stage...

Entertaining

As a young child

I always wanted to entertain

And be up on the big stage one day

Maybe as a musical artist or famous star

But neither of those have become reality for me

Instead, I found my way to the stage in a different way

It's still entertaining, but it's in the form of public speaking

And I find it to be one of the greatest things I get to experience

The rush of adrenaline you get is something I can't explain

At times, it feels like you are floating up there on stage

And once you're finished, a new energy appears

But public speaking is not a simple task

In fact, it rivals death in fear level

Luckily, I had great training...

The Lesson

I'm grateful for it

Yeah, those 5 yrs in finance sucked

But I learned how to own the stage there

And that foundation, gave me more confidence

Confidence to get up on stage and entertain people

Something that would come in handy while brand building

In fact, I'd argue it's one of the most important skills in personal branding

And this year alone, I landed 2 keynote slots, and a panel invitation

I gave the first one last Friday, and I got a ton of great feedback

In the end, going the finance route wasn't a mistake at all

I took what I needed from it, and then I moved on

And it gave me a skill I could leverage for life

Without me giving them my entire life

So don't beat yourself up as I did

Instead, try to find the lesson

And then move on...

With Love,

Steven Arthur George aka CannaBeMe