50 is The Launchpad For Your Dreams!

Life doesn’t always follow the path we think it’s going to follow. The year I turned 50 I was living in an apartment. My divorce was being finalized. I was in my second year, running a successful only fans account. I finally bought the Volvo I had always wanted, all by myself. I had given up a career to raise my daughters. I had trusted my ex-husband to honor our agreements to provide for the family while I homeschooled, so here I was at 50 starting over again with nothing. When the separation first occurred, I got a full-time job, but having been out of the workforce for so many years, my entry-level position was barely enough to cover my basics. I did not receive alimony or help covering my lawyer costs. To be fair, I didn’t ask for any of those things either. I just wanted to be free of the pain of a toxic marriage, so in January 2021 at the age of 48 I also started an only fans account. In my fifth year on that platform, I was able to quit my full-time job and go full-time running my own digital empire online.

So here I am turning 54 next month and running my own business. So much has changed in the last decade. I don’t even know where to begin so I’m just gonna talk about the things that I did to get me to where I am today. Here are my five key takeaways:

First of all, I had to let go of other people‘s opinions, It seemed like everyone had something to say about my marriage the divorce, my ex-husband, but none of those people we’re going to help me start over. After almost 3 decades of hiding the truth, I began to open up to those closest to me. I let them know that what they saw on the outside was not the reality behind closed doors. I knew that starting an only fans if successful would be the best way for me to quickly make the money that I needed so within 30 days of signing up for the account, I had earned $1974.62. My first month. At this time, I was also working my full-time job. With my new earnings, I was able to pay my bills. I had to let go of what might happen if the people in my life discovered what I was doing to make ends meet. There’s a whole other future blog post about who found out and how. I couldn’t worry about any of that I needed to get back on track. I needed to be independent financially.

Next I had to make some difficult choices, I chose to put my daughters first and let them remain in the house with my ex-husband, while I took an apartment and they were able to process what was happening. They were the priority as much as I loved my family home, which had been in my family for over 150 years, I chose to step away for five years rather than to sell the home and split all the assets. I will be returning to the home in 2027. I had to prioritize the people I cared the most about. From the outside, it looked like I no longer cared about my family and wanted to start my life over and have fun. Anyone who really knew me knew that this was the furthest thing from the truth but again you can’t care what people think.

Then I had to be forgiving on some level for what had happened to me. I had to take ownership that I had stayed in a very unpleasant situation for far too long. I had to accept the fact that walking away was not necessarily the failure. The failure was trying to make it work years after I realized there was no hope which led to an escalation in violence and mental health issues that took years to heal.

I had to take a long hard look at my life at what was working and what wasn’t. I gave up alcohol, almost 3 years ago, I continued to treat my ADHD with medication, but I was able to get off of the seven other prescriptions I was on at the time of our separation. All of the conditions I had been diagnosed with during my marriage with the exception of ADHD had been reversed. My therapist later told me that he felt like our marriage was oil and water and that he suspected I’d be fine once away from my ex-husband!

Finally I began to dream and take chances, to see this as the second half of my life. to set new goals invest in my health, and eventually to see this as a blessing as a fresh start as a second chance as a launchpad to build my dreams for the rest of my life. My divorce at the time was the most painful and embarrassing failure. I wasn’t sure I would ever recover or go on to live a normal life let alone a life filled with happiness, joy, and adventures. I would encourage anyone today, to take careful inventory of their lives where they want to be in five years 10 years and beyond. You don’t have to wait until 50 to launch your dream life! You can start today it’s never too late!

Thank you for listening 💋