Dear Ones -
Yesterday afternoon, I was in midtown NYC, getting a keritan treatment on my hair because: Frizz. ("Liz" doesn't rhyme with "frizz" for nothing, after all!)
I walked into the salon and met THIS human beam of radiant light and joy, right here.
Her name is Shefvon, and I love her story so much that I just had to share it with all of you. Because she is AWESOME.
Here's the story:
A few years ago, Shefvon turned 50, and realized she was feeling bored and stagnated with her perfectly nice normal life in South Carolina. She'd been born and raised in Charleston, lived there forever, and although it's a lovely place, it did not inspire her. Her life had become a dull routine of going to work, going home, going to church, and sitting on her porch waving at people as they walked by.
Not a bad life, right?
But Shefvon didn't want to spend the rest of her existence sitting on a porch, watching the world walk by...and a very familiar world, at that.
And she realized when she turned 50, that – if she was ever going to do something brave and cool with her life — she'd better do it NOW, because we aren't here forever.
Her dream was to move to New York City — a place that had always excited and attracted her, because "it always looked so glamorous on TV."
So she packed up her life, and MOVED.
Did she know anyone in New York?
Nope.
Did she have a job lined up in New York?
Nope.
Did she know ANYTHING about New York?
Nope.
Did she have a giant pile of money, or privilege, or connnections, to make her journey soft and cushy?
Oh, hell, no.
Were the first few months scary and hard, making her doubt the wisdom of her choices?
YES.
But she just did it. And she stayed with it. She just walked away from everything that was familiar and secure for her, and she stepped into the first big giant adventure of her life...at age 50.
I asked her how she found her job, and she said she was so desperate for work that she basically attacked the internet until she found an opening. ("I was on Craigslist, I was on Monster.com...I was on EVERYTHING.com!")
I asked her, "Did your friends and family think you were crazy to move here?"
She said, "Yes! And they tried to shame me for it, and bully me into staying home. But now they all want to know my secret, because they can't figure out why I look ten year younger. It's because I'm HAPPY!"
In the last two years, Shefvon has created an amazing life for herself in this wild new city.
She absolutely loves her job. ("I meet the WORLD in this salon," she said. "And such diversity! Back home in South Carolina, it's just Black and White. Here in New York, it's EVERYTHING! I've had my mind opened in ways I could never have imagined, and I learn something from everyone who sits in this chair! I love my job so much, I came in a few hours early today, just because I love being here!")
She met a great guy. ("I found him on the internet, too! I was so scared to start online dating, but after all the other risks I'd taken...why not? He has integrity. He's a gentleman.")
And she loves basking in the shining joy of own courage — knowing that she had the spine and the stubborness to have pushed back against the comfort/discomfort of security, trading everything she knew in order to take the most creative and brave act of her life. ("People want to program you into thinking they know what's best for you, but they don't even know what's best for THEM!" You have to live your own journey.")
I love you, Shefvon.
I love your life.
Every single day, I hear from people who tell me what they WISH THEY COULD DO with their lives...and then they give me the list of reasons why it's impossible. I feel like Shefvon stands as an example of why all those reasons melt away, once you commit yourself to taking the leap.
THIS IS HOW YOU DO IT, PEOPLE.
And do you see all that joy and beauty on Shefvon's face? That's the beauty you earn, when you learn how to fly. That's the radiance you earn, when you finally step off the porch, and stop watching the world pass by....and join it, full-on.
YES!
ONWARD,
LG
LG
ps: I KNOW somebody is going to ask, so here you go: Keritan Lounge, 39 W. 38th Street. They're great!
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