A few months ago a series of events occurred that lead me to, finally, go after my dream career as a stylist. I met a seasoned pro in the industry, got hired, convinced my boyfriend to move to L.A, (which is easier said than done), quit my day job, and packed my entire life into brown moving boxes. All within 3 riotous months, I basically started a whole new life for myself. “Where are you moving and why?!” was something I could expect to answer every day. My response was always the same, “I found a job with a stylist and am moving to L.A to further my career. I GOT REALLY LUCKY!” Or sometimes I would say “The timing was just right; she happened to need someone when I reached out.” One day my friend overheard me answering this monotonous question with my generic response.  She looked at me and said,

I froze for a second. This was the first time anyone had ever called me out, and she was right. My thoughts started to unravel like a slinky, bouncing thought by thought- piece by piece down a tight staircase. Why did I keep telling people I was just lucky? When I started asking myself this, I realized there was no luck to this scenario at all. I was the one who took online classes for the last few months, I was the one who wrote that email, who made that phone call and went to that interview (& crushed it I might add). I was the one who travelled to L.A any chance I could get even if that meant working seven days a week and forsaking my sleep. It wasn’t luck. It was hard work, sacrifice and dedication. Why didn’t I tell people THAT? Why was it that when my closest friends asked about my big move, I couldn’t answer them with pride for my accomplishments?

Because I’m a woman, and I’ve always been conditioned to make myself small and to not be too loud or too accomplished. And to be honest, I was embarrassed to talk about myself. I didn’t want people to not like me or think I was conceited or better than them. Which is a bunch of B.S that I chalked up in my brain because every single person I surround myself with is an amazing person in their own right and has only ever showed support and love for me. Why should I even care if someone scoffs at my pride, they’re clearly not someone I would want on this journey with me anyways.

What my friend made me realize that day is their is no shame in owning my accomplishments. In fact playing them over and over again in my head has rid me of a lot of self-doubt and pushed me to go after otherwise scary opportunities. I encourage everyone to stop feeling guilty when it comes to their successes. Celebrate them. Bask in them. Be empowered by them. It’s ok to have a little pride, you earned it!

You’re not lucky. You’re a boss woman who has worked every single day of your life to be where you are today. Tell that to yourself, to your best friend, and to your neighbor. Say it over and over again until you believe it. And next time you hear your friend, loved one, acquaintance even, saying they just “got lucky.” Maybe remind them of how hard they worked. Remind them of one of my favorite quotes from How Luck Happens.  Authors, Janice Kaplan and Barnaby Marsh explain that, “Luck comes from being in a place where you can take advantage of the unexpected.” Or as I’d like to phrase it, luck happens when you’re fully prepared and you rise up to meet the occasion you’ve been chasing after.