L.E.A.P. "Are you Comfortable?"

I was a server for  7 years of my life. It was decent work. You get to meet new and interesting people. Sometimes you get free food and most importantly, (or so I thought) you have money in your pockets every single night. In your twenties, with a pocket full of cash is one of the best feelings in the world. I was comfortable working as a server and truth be told, if the right opportunity presented itself, I'd consider doing it again. With some stipulations of course. 

Now I wasn't getting rich as a server but I could pay my bills and sometimes have a little to spend on myself. Being in this comfortable position, people always question, why did I give it up? The answer is simple. I was unhappy. Every time I got ready to step foot inside work I would ask myself, why? Why am I doing this when I know that I'm unhappy?

I've always known my purpose was to change the world through art and I was doing it in small doses. I wasn't giving my all because I was comfortable at this job that was making me unhappy and taking up MOST of my time. You may not agree, but I don't think we were put on this earth just to be comfortable. Especially with this misconstrued idea of what comfort is. Let me break it down a little more. I gave more time to a job that I didn't like, than I gave to myself.  I sacrificed my happiness and gave 40+ hours a week of my life, just to pay bills. When did bills become more important than my happiness? Now don't me wrong, I am not saying stop paying your bills! I'm simply trying to shift our minds into thinking of ways to pay our bills without sacrificing our happiness. The only way I've been able to do that, is to pursue what I loved. Some people are ok with working long hours at different jobs. If it suits you, that's completely fine. I still encourage you to find time to do the things you love. Sometimes things and circumstances may slow down that process, but it should NEVER stop. I'll use my father for example. The greatest man I've ever met and a amazing artist! When I was younger, I use to tell kids at my school that my dad worked for Disney. He is just that good. He use tell me stories of him being in school and drawing often... but then I was born, so somethings had to change. He stayed at his job to support the family and honestly, he has to be the hardest working man I know. But as his son, I want him to do what he loves. What I want parents to understand is, your kids are rooting for you. When my dad is happy, I am happy. I know doing art full-time would make him extremely happy. I've always said, the first thing I'll do once receiving that big check is buying my dad a house, car, and a art studio.  

"If you do what you love, you'll never have to work a day in your life!"

It's been almost a year since I've had a "job". Some days have been extremely hard. Some days I didn't eat the recommended three meals because of funds or the bills may have been a little late, but I was happy. I took the LEAP into pursuing my love full-time. I decided to stop living in my comfort. I have a saying, "We are extremely comfortable, being uncomfortable" meaning, although we are unhappy with current situations, we stick to them because it's a comfort zone. Forget that we barely see our families. Forget that we aren't really living our dreams. Forget that we can't travel the world. We have bills to pay and we all know that is the most important thing in the world right? 

Let me let you in on a little secret. BILLS WILL NEVER STOP COMING! Even after you're dead and gone. My grandmother still receives bills from my grandfather and he's been in heaven for almost 30 years. You can try an beat the system and go live in the forest somewhere, but even then someone will come along and say that's their land and ask for payment. Now that you know that the bills won't stop, do you think we should put most of our efforts into satisfying them over ourselves? Let me reiterate, I'm not suggesting that you stop paying your bills! I am suggesting that you put yourself first sometimes. Bills will never care about your happiness. I've never gotten a call from a bill collector who just wanted to know how I was doing. If I want happiness it has to start with me. Not Georgia power.

Take some time and ask yourself these two questions. Are you "comfortable" right now and when was last time you got outside of that comfort zone? I know it's scary, but we have been put on this earth TO LIVE. That's a lot different from existing. You are the only person in control of YOUR life and I think you deserve to live it to the fullest. I hope that you agree.