I am a single mother and have been the sole provider for a family of three for many years now. I’ve overcome a laundry list of obstacles from mental abuse to poverty but, nothing prepared me for the challenge of trying to maintain a romantic relationship while being an entrepreneur.
Admittedly, for a moment it seemed I would have to give up one to achieve the other. I almost tossed the idea of sailing across the bluest waters, comforted by the warm embrace of a loving companion overboard. In the past, my decision to employ myself was a deal breaker and it’s very isolating to share a bed with someone who doesn’t have enough faith in you to support your dreams.
As a creative, I’m acutely aware of the possibility of living as a starving artist whose genius goes unnoticed until years after a tragic and untimely death. Sounds dramatic although I imagine this must be the fate my former lover believed he was rescuing me from by bringing home job applications and slamming them on the dining room table.
Unfortunately, my Aquarius moon is fixed, plus stubborn. This makes me a woman obsessively committed to doing whatever I set my mind to but when the bills were due, my wallet was empty, so I understood his point of view. How does one explain turning down jobs making $15 hourly, to pursue goals that don’t pay anything in the current moment? I’ll try by sharing my first experience of being paid what I truly felt I deserved.
While teaching at a dance studio making little to no money, my friend offered me a gig to sub as a belly dancer at a child’s birthday celebration. The pay was $100 for 30 minutes of a little shimmy shake with a beaded lappa wrapped around my waist.
I rushed over to the Detroit Yacht Club as soon as I could, once I got there, I noticed the children were anxiously awaiting my arrival. I rounded them up, we danced in a circle together for six minutes before the next performer walked in. Excited by his presence, the youth left my circle and surrounded him. I thought for sure either one of two things would happen next:
- I would be given more tasks to round out the 30 minutes of time I promised.
- I had done a horrible job and wasn’t going to get paid.
Both of my expected outcomes were incorrect. I walked over to the host, he handed me a $100 bill and sent me on my way.
I sat in my Car for a while horribly confused and slightly upset. Up until that point, my experience being a part of the workforce meant I would spend 8 hours doing something I really didn’t like to bring home just a little over $100 before taxes. There I was laughing, dancing and playing with children for six minutes and I went home with the same pay. After that experience, there was no way I would spend my day at a cubicle, half sleep, watching the clock for the end of my shift when I can have fun and make more money than I ever had. I was convinced that God was showing me my worth.
Since focusing on following my heart, my romantic relationship ended and I am still single, I have let go of friends, some friends have let me go as well. Even though, I have not experienced making $100 in six minutes again,
I absolutely love what I do for a living on top of the fact that I create my own salary based on what feels good to me. It’s most rewarding to know that my clients find enough value in what I offer to pay what I ask and often I find myself receiving wonderful tips!! I consider the changes I’ve gone through as the cost of doing business, though at times the price of achieving my goals is high, it’s one I’m willing to pay and I know that all will work out for the best in the end.’
-by Yashi BIN
Yashi BIN is 3x published Author and CEO/Founder of online Life Coaching Service, YashisWorld, LLC. She has spent the last five years under the tutelage of Master Teachers in Holistic Counseling and Wellness such as Wyoma, creator of African Healing Dance and Dr. Dawud Abdur-Rhaaman, Founder of Michigan Institute of Natural Health. As a Life Coach, Yashi uses guidance of the Tarot, personal experience and spiritual gifts such as clairvoyance, clairaudience and mediumship to assist clients with everything from finding/and or creating their dream job to attracting the love they deserve. To get in touch with Yashi visit – https://www.yashisworld.com/
