Why I Passed Up $150,000

Yep, you read that number right.  It wasn't $150.  It was actually at LEAST $150,000 of 'guaranteed money'.  A term I spent my entire lifetime thinking was the end all, be all.

You see, I quit my job thinking I had this entrepreneurship thing down, and the typical rules of an entrepreneur wouldn't apply to me.  I knew what I was doing and because I had done it before, it would all come easy.  Well, reality set in, and although I'm making major progress, it wasn't major enough.  It wasn't fast enough.  It just wasn't enough, and I went into scarcity mode.

I was offered a pretty awesome opportunity.  Contracting at a company just a few miles from my house for at least 6 months, and going back to the old life and what I knew well.  I knew if I took this, life would get hectic, but I knew I could do hectic.  I had made a life out of doing hectic. I imagined the money this would allow me to pour into my business, the help I could hire, and the cushion I could build.

The big problem?  I had to go into an office 5 miserable, long days a week.  

There would go my podcast (and 2 upcoming podcasts).  There would go a lot of time away from my business.  There would go the opportunity to drop things during the day to go to a game changing event.  There would go any opportunities for speaking engagements for a while.  There would go the time I have been so fortunate to spend with my kids.  There would go freedom.  

And as enticing as it was, even knowing it would set back my business, I asked myself a question I had never asked myself ever before in any decision in my life....

Will this make me happy?

You see happiness in my eyes, didn't put food on the table.  It didn't buy the house.  It didn't make ends meet.  Sucking it up and dealing with it is what took care of those problems.  How dare I ever ask myself if this was going to make me happy because well sometimes you just have to deal with it.

And when my stomach sunk just at the thought of making even that 15 minute commute every morning, I couldn't do it.  As nice as that extra income would have been to have in my pocket, I knew I was going to miss out on a lot.

I then asked myself that cliche question you see all entrepreneurs talk about...

Will this push me forward to my goal or take me away from it?

What really makes this all crazy is that during this time I had two major problems happen to my rent houses.  One had an air conditioner go out, and one had a leak.  I debated if this was a sign that I needed to take this money.  Take the safe thing instead of having to pay for these unexpected expenses.  Was I being an idiot to pass up this...what I would have considered before as free money?

But I refused to see was that this wasn't free at all.  In fact, there was a very big price to it.  
I was then able to open my eyes and see that those things happened because those things were some of my biggest fears: unexpected expenses.  And you know what, I'm still okay. 

After thinking about this for a few days, I finally sent one of the hardest emails I've ever composed in my life.  I put my happiness over safety, and I told them thanks, but no thanks.  

I woke up to an email from someone thanking me for my podcast.  I then spent an hour and a half talking to and mentoring someone who is getting ready to launch on Friday.  I also answered questions from a family member, that I never knew had it in her, to take her idea to a business (and a great idea at that).  I received an email from someone on my email list who was completely moved by my newsletter that shared this story.

I'm changing lives.  I never gave myself enough credit, but I'm freaking changing lives.  And I'm not sure I can put a price on that.   And my life is forever changed by the amazing people that I come in contact daily. Whether it's a listener, someone who follows me on social media, or a business contact, I am seriously blessed every single minute.  

I'm happy, and yes it's hard.  But I'm happy through every single ounce of hard.  And I'm going to be okay.  For the first time, I believe it.  I'm truly going to be okay.  In fact, I'm going to beat this security fear once and for all.  

Saying no never felt so amazing!  

So here's my question for you:  Is there something you can say no to today so you can say yes to something else?  If so tell me what it is in the comments.  (Writing it down will make it more real for you).  Then go do it!

The time is now!!  Believe me, if I can pass up $150,000 of guaranteed money, you can pretty much do anything you set your mind to!