Action

Hello Everyone!! I hope you are having a wonderful Monday...as wonderful as a Monday can be, anyway. :) I couldn't figure out what to write about today. It's the end of a pay period and I have been on the phone, internet, texting, checking my account, etc. all day. Every pay period close is the same--AdvoCare on the brain!! So when I sat to post, I figured, why not AdvoCare? It has become such a huge part of my life that it naturally will be something that finds its way into my blog, it has, after all, found its way into my heart. But since I am determined to keep this blog from being completely overrun with AdvoCare (since most of you probably won't read it if I do ;) ) I decided instead to talk about ambition.

When we were interested in starting an AdvoCare business, I remember one feeling. Doubt. Not doubt in the company necessarily...it has been around for almost 20 years. Not doubt in the products...I was sold on Spark from day one. I was sold on Spark from hour one. Not doubt in the doctors who come up with these products...they have inspirational careers...professional degrees...awards...prestige...knowledge. How could I doubt that? And not doubt that it worked for "real" people, either. Our friends Dana and Eddy are very real...Eddy was Kevin's Lt. at the fire department. I had worked with him shooting weddings, we knew them long before AdvoCare came into their lives. How more "real" can you get than personal friends, coworkers even? So what was all of this doubt really about? I realized that it was the same doubt that I felt years ago, when I decided that I wanted to try nursing. I had so much doubt that I had trouble even bringing it up to my husband, who I already knew thought nursing was a great career, who I knew wanted me to have a career of my own, and who I KNEW would do anything to support me through school so that I could fulfill my goals. The doubt was in myself. Did I have what it takes to make it through nursing school...or to be a nurse? I had made mistakes in the past--poor grades in college when I first began--when I was lost, confused, and afraid of life. How would I ever overcome those mistakes? There was so MUCH in front of me, so many obstacles. But you know what? I figured out a way. I figured it out because I was passionate about my future, and the future of my family. I KNEW it would be worth it, and that one day I would walk across the stage, Audrae Burton, RN. I know it doesn't sound like much, but for someone with so little confidence, I can promise you that it means my world. So I became an LVN. A small step in the right direction and an obstacle removed. And you know what? I recently got accepted into an RN bridge program.

And so here I am; my dreams for our future have evolved into so much more!! :) Many may think I am crazy. Maybe that's partly true. But crazy for dreaming? When did this world turn us into a place that made us afraid to dream? When did we lose that ability? I realized when I was faced again with doubt, this time in AdvoCare, that "we" hadn't become afraid to dream...I had. And Kevin and I took a leap of faith and changed that doubt and fear for ourselves.

Yesterday we visited a new church. It was a church that we were both afraid to try, for many reasons but mostly because we had been raised in our "comfort zones" and had preconceived ideas about this particular church. Yet, we were curious about it. We had friends that went, and we really liked those friends...so there must be something there that we are missing out on? You see, sometimes our idea of something is simply that--an idea. Not reality, not fact, just something somebody else told us long ago that for some reason just stuck. Kevin and I decided that WE are open-minded people! WE are not about to limit ourselves with a closed mind and a closed heart! So we went. And we liked it! And during the service something was said that really made me think--"Sometimes, we hear something, an idea, and our curiosity is aroused. We are inspired. And yet, we step sideways in the situation, or the conversation, and never go forward because we are afraid." How true. I'm so glad that my husband had the courage to dream of a future for us in AdvoCare, and that I had the courage to follow suit. Because we allowed others to change our lives, we now have the ability to change the lives of others!! And we are doing just that! Changing lives for other people!! We have found a passion! A company we believe in!! And the most amazing thing has happened in our lives--we are finding faith in other places, places that we really needed it. And our marriage is better, and our friendships are better, our children are better off...our lives are better off because of it.

Can I be an RN and have a career in AdvoCare?? I absolutely believe that I can! Can I hang my future on both, and believe in two things that I had so much doubt in to begin with? YES!!! And the point of this post my friends is not to point out that I am achieving my goals! Because I promise, I am nobody special...just a simple girl, with doubt and fear and shame and FLAWS--I know that. But the difference in me now is courage. I was tired of doubt and I was tired of waiting, so instead of waiting for my life to change, I decided to change my life. Now, so many of you are already doing that, and my heart is bursting for you! You should be so proud that you have the courage to change your life! Bravo! And if you aren't...you CAN! You should! You will if you just decide to! Whatever your dreams--school, a career, a lifestyle change, a new venture--jump out there and DO IT! You can, and I swear it doesn't hurt nearly as much as a life of fear and doubt and regret! Because the only difference between you and me is action. Action and a little bit of SPARK! :)

God Bless