Hi Friend,
The other day I woke up with the song, Burn the Ships, in my head. It’s on my playlist, but I haven’t heard it in a long time. If you don’t know the meaning of the phrase “burn the ships,” here’s the gist:
In 1519 during the Spanish conquest of Mexico, Hernán Cortés the Spanish commander, scuttled his ships so that his men would have to conquer or die. Basically, he created a point of no return for himself and his men.
Without realizing it, I decided to burn my own ships when I opened an email from a company that markets to entrepreneurs. I don’t know what prompted me to open it, but I did. Embedded in the message were five links that promised to make my life easier. I’m sarcastic by nature so, I’m sure I said something brilliant like, “yeah, right.”
There was one link that caught my eye. It said, “hire a virtual assistant from the Philippines, work less, and get more done.” That got my attention and with one click of the mouse, I was on my way to burning my own armada.
If you’ve been following my story over the past three years, you know I’ve had some health issues. There's a long list of problems I had to heal like leaky gut, adrenal exhaustion, gluten, and dairy sensitivity, insomnia, anxiety, panic attacks, vertigo, and more. It got to the point where I found myself at a cardiologist’s office. Yup. That’s how real things got for me.
I’ve spent the past three years practicing what I preach. In the beginning, it was one step forward and two steps back. There was a lot of that. I was afraid I’d never get better. I was angry, frustrated, and resentful. And I was disappointed about hitting rock bottom. I knew better, and yet there I was.
If I hadn’t done the work to turn things around, I know I wouldn’t have clicked that link. And even if I had, there’s no way I would have taken the leap-of-faith to act on it. Hiring a full-time virtual assistant is scary. I am so far out of my comfort zone, but strangely it all seems right. I’ve burned the ships, and there’s no turning back.
Step into a new day
We can rise up from the dust and walk away
We can dance upon our heartache, yeah
So light a match, leave the past, burn the ships
And don't you look back
(Lyrics from Burn the Ships by for King and Country)
So, stay tuned. Vanessa and I are strategizing, planning, and boldly moving forward into a bright, new future.
If you’re ready to burn your ships, let me know. I’ll share my matches with you.
