Written by Lizette Desirae Maldonado
Ever since I began observing how creators influence and inspire their audience on digital platforms, I fell in love with content creation and social media. I always found it fun to envision myself making skincare tutorials and working with the best skincare companies as a brand ambassador so that I can help my followers find products that will work best for their skin type to help them overcome any issues they may have with their skin. If you are like me, you were likely forced to let go of a silly dream like this once you were introduced to the importance of college and a stable income to cover living expenses. The pressure of choosing a safe career path creeped closer as I got older. Every lecture in public school led me to believe that the key to living a satisfying life was by pursuing a traditional route, being a good employee, and earning a stable and practical income. My creative spirit felt slightly defeated when I was told that this did not include uploading cool videos or social media content for a living as it wasn’t “practical” or “realistic”.
Let’s fast forward a few years to when I found myself on a path I thought I was pleased with due to my foggy perspective and limited beliefs. I had passed my entrance exam for a nursing program, and was on my way to becoming a nurse. After a few semesters of hard work and persistence, I suddenly felt constantly discouraged and lost in the path of pursuing this career. I began to question myself and wondered if I was even cut out for this kind of job—a job that I randomly chose. I had to be cut out for it, I was doing everything I was supposed to be doing, or so I thought.
For a little over a year I resisted these surfacing feelings and just continued my education for nursing, but they only grew greater and it was getting difficult to look past the shameful feeling of boredom despite my successes in my classes. I felt lost—as though I was floating around with no direction whatsoever. I soon realized that I stood defeated by the truth that I did not want to face. Tearing through all my excuses, the question I needed to ask myself all along was, “Is this even right for me?” I came to the conclusion that all of these feelings were coming from a place of guilty regret. I was settling for a “stable career” that was a safer path to success where I did not have to face any fear of failure even though I lacked passion in it. It was daunting to think about changing my career choice after how far I had already come; especially for a career I knew felt like a long-shot for success.
In the midst of this dilemma, I was also getting tired of working hard to make other people's dreams become a reality instead of my own. So what was really holding me back? Was everything I wanted really just on the other side of fear? That was the moment I knew the time had come to make a change for myself to feel the purpose in my path to success. I started to reconnect with myself and remember who the real me was. The me that I had buried under false confidence and pressures. Remembering what inspires and moves me, I took action by searching for opportunities to be part of a team or even a project to gain some momentum in this new journey.
Even though I still worried about how or if I would be guaranteed a good income in this career change, I had to realize that I was, in fact, taking a risk and that I couldn’t let a paycheck determine the choices for my way of living like they once did. While I was scrolling on instagram at work on a regular Tuesday, I came across a reel of a young girl who was showcasing her journey to entrepreneurship in her niche. As I went further into her profile, I gathered that she had been in a similar situation as me in the past and was now networking to inspire people to make the same change in their life that I was making. Well, I was inspired. I took it as a sign and messaged her. After reaching out and telling her my situation, we instantly connected and she introduced me to opportunities where I could potentially make an impact in the digital era all while earning a meaningful income. One of these opportunities included a Monat marketing partnership—a brand that uses the highest quality of natural ingredients and organic raw materials to create effective and safe skincare, haircare and wellness products. As somebody who was familiar with this since I worked at a spa and loved skincare, it was definitely a perfect place to start.
I began the process of becoming a market partner and letting her guide and train me through this exciting new journey. Simply seeing how excited and passionate she was caused me to want to make the same impact with others. After I began sharing content that I passionately enjoyed creating on my platforms, not only did I grow faster but I learned that there were a lot of people out there who shared the fear of failure I was once consumed with when I lost confidence in my own path. I began getting messages with questions on what I worked on and how I got to do the things I participated in or how, by the looks of it, I got to enjoy life quite freely. The truth was I was just a regular college girl who took action to overcome the
unworthy feeling of taking risks and becoming my own boss, which felt so out of my reach. I learned to shift my effort and energy toward something that would make me feel fulfilled and bring me joy.
Not only did this opportunity further my knowledge in the brand and business, but it led me to start building a platform where I could socially impact and inspire people even in the slightest way to turn their passions into a career they can pursue with enjoyment. I am so grateful for the other market partners I have met along the way that support and encourage each other to connect and continue to grow. I know that the road to success isn’t going to feel easy or be perfect in any means, I am just excited that everything I was searching for—an amazing, rewarding career path—is now right in front of me. I realized that in a new world full of endless opportunities and limitless growth, the majority of the time we are the ones who hold ourselves back from our higher purpose. The important lesson I was depriving myself of was that the external fulfillment I was looking for actually started with an internal acceptance. I had to welcome an uncomfortable change that I originally resisted to be able to enjoy all the small successes in my life that I am passionate about and that resonate with who I am. I hope to inspire other readers to know that it is okay to change their minds to gravitate and work hard towards what they love and enjoy.