What Are You Waiting For?

In my line of ‘work’ I meet a lot of inspirational people who have chosen to break boundaries, shatter glass and bamboo ceilings and definitely defying all odds. I see many people who have a reason for not going after the things they dream about and others with the exact same reasons have an entirely different result.

The recent pandemic comes to mind. In recent months and years, I have come across several people who started their thriving businesses during the pandemic at a time when others felt locked in and gagged. Some of these businesses have gone global and others are thriving on a smaller scale but the key point is they did something and continuing to work towards their goals and achieving their dreams.

As I’ve heard people’s stories, I discovered that for many, the businesses they have today are based on skills they didn’t have until the pandemic happened. Essentially, to keep themselves busy, they learnt a new skill, developed a hobby or learnt a new language all of which have now opened doors to change careers, start new businesses or even move their base locations.

So it begs the question, ‘what is different about them?’  I first met Babna at Babna’s Patiserrie (@babnaspatiserrie) a couple of years ago at a food festival where she was doing a demonstration about French patisserie and she made a complicated dessert look easy and replicable for the home cook. We hit it off; she had me at ‘hello’.

This stunning, petite and sassy lady talked about her journey from being a regular home baker to being Le Cordon Bleu trained in Paris after deciding to elevate her home baking during the pandemic. Her journey from a retired school teacher to becoming a creator of intricate desserts is nothing short of incredible.

In her own word’s once she decided to learn more, she wanted to become skilled at her new passion and she has invested in getting the training that has allowed her to turn her passion to a thriving business. And better still, as she travels the world, she keeps learning new ways of elevating her craft. I am delighted and proud to call her a friend and I am constantly challenged by her creations.

Recently when she designed an entremet to celebrate the first year my food blog, I was blown away by her creativity and how she took the colours and flavours that I love to craft a bespoke creation unique to me.

Well made cinnamon rolls are simply divine with the heady and sweet aroma of cinnamon; it is beautifully addictive and perfect for breakfast, snack or lunch.

Cue Mina the founder of Cinnammmm (www.cinnammmm.co.uk) which came to life in July 2020 during her furlough period in the Events industry’s trying times. She leveraged her 15 years experience in the hospitality industry to pursue her passion for baking. She created her unique niche in a space that many would have described as being over-crowded discovering her true calling in the process.

Mina still has her day job and is baking everyday for her customers. What particularly struck me about Mina was her boldness to start her business without any delay and I am impressed that she didn’t wait to be perfect at her craft before taking that courageous step towards becoming a business owner. A lot of courage and impressive audacity is packed into this tiny and perfectly formed package of a human being.

She has continued to get better in her baking and approach to doing business. That is what I call determined. Many of us would pick up a new skill or discover a passion and write ourselves off for not being ready, prepared, or skilled enough so we wait for the day that never really comes.

We wait for the day when we know all there is to know and since there is always a lot to learn, it means the day for perfection and complete readiness remains elusive with dreams and passions permanently put on hold.

So it begs the question, ‘what is different about them?’ Here are a few lessons I have gleaned from them

Grant Yourself Permission

These people do not wait for permission to go after their dreams or passions and they don’t hand over the reins of their lives to naysayers who will attempt to remind them that they are not ready or qualified to make their dreams happen.

Some of these naysayers are ‘perhaps’ coming from a good place where they think they are doing you a huge favour by keeping you safe from making mistakes. You must grant yourself permission to shine, be great and do great things.

Be willing to learn

Both of these ladies and many others started at the basic skill levels but refused to stay there; they continue to learn, honing their craft in the process. We can’t wait to know it all otherwise we would never really start anything.

Yes, imposter syndrome might rear its head but as long as you know that you’re improving everyday, you have nothing to worry about. Start small but start now.

Time waits for no one

‘Time waits for no one’ is a phrase I heard many times as I grew up and it has definitely taken on new meaning for me as I get older. In five years time, all of us will be five years older regardless.

You will be five years older if you put things on hold or if you pursued them. You will be five years older if you choose to study for a degree or choose to delay it. We are getting older and there is nothing anyone can do about slowing it down. The question is what will you accomplish in the next five years that would mean, you didn’t just get older.

Just Do It

We are all familiar with the Nike phrase, ‘Just Do it’ and sometimes there is nothing more to say than that. So in my closing remarks, all I can say is, ‘Just Do It! Now’.

This post is dedicated to Babna and Mina; here is to even more success and living life to the fullest. I hope I can dedicate a similar post in the near future to some of my friends and other readers. Thanks for reading and sharing my post with others. See you next week.