My life one week out

I've never been so excited to blog in my life.

I don't think I've ever been this excited in my professional life, period.

Just a week ago today, my life was rocked in an amazing way. I experienced a roller coaster of emotions and just laid it all out on the table. I started to open up to what I want in life, what is holding me back, what makes me feel happy and whole, and what I want to make happen this year and in the years to come. A day of self-reflection so deep, that my head started to hurt. But in the best way possible.

I walked away with a new perspective on life. With a new drive and new enthusiasm for what I'm doing.

I generally don't consider myself easily excitable. It's tough to get me really enthusiastic. But after Lara Casey's Making Things Happen Intensive, I've been the MOST FIRED UP, I've ever been. Ever. About anything in my professional life. And it's such a new feeling to me that I'm still riding on the most amazing natural high even seven days later. It's unlike anything else.

And those who experienced the intensive know what I'm talking about. It's an indescribable feeling, but the feeling is there.

For everyone else - my friends, family, and contacts - have seen this new side of me. And they probably think that I drank the special Kool-Aid or started taking some crazy pills or joined some kind of a cult. Because I haven't always felt this way. And suddenly, pretty much overnight, it's like my life took a SERIOUS 180. Serious.

And I had no idea it was coming.

I've had my lows, and probably my lowest moment was working in a stifling corporate environment. It was the most frustrating experience that I've had in my short existence. I wasn't excited about the work. I wasn't excited about most of the people. I wasn't excited about the company. At all. I had a generally disenchanted sentiment for the entire thing. Managers who didn't listen (except for my one manager who was AMAZING and was my silver lining for the 14 months she worked with me). Budgets that I managed that were three, four, five times my annual salary. Expectations that were completely unachievable. I felt like I was set up for failure.

And I don't think anyone likes that feeling.

I think it's a universal good feeling to succeed. To meet goals and exceed expectations. This was always what I shot for. In high school. In college. Even in France where I didn't understand the grading structure at all. I've always aimed high and shot for success. But after enough time at this company, I felt like I had not progressed in my career at all. I felt like I was shuffling papers for the sake of shuffling. Talking the talk. Playing the game. And all for what? Making other people's bonuses bigger? Are you kidding me?

That was the old me. By the end of my time there, I was just apathetic. I was cynical. I had no kick in my step. I wasn't excited. I was unhappy. My silver lining in it all was that there was a light at the end of the tunnel. It wasn't going to last forever. I had a vision far removed from a cubicle life. I had a vision of bigger and better things that I could define. That I could decide.

So here I am. At a crossroads. And I'm so excited.

While I don't know where this project will take me, I have confidence that it will be an amazing journey. It's total uncharted territory. It reminds me a lot of when I moved to France. I didn't know what I was doing, where I was going, or what kind of experiences were going to change my life for the better. I just knew that I could speak French and would get by.

That's how I feel about this blog. I know that I can write, relaying and sharing experiences that have made me feel like a whole person (like the best version of myself), and hopefully helping just one person find their silver lining - their joie de vivre.

And that if I keep doing it, I will be achieving my goal of helping others find and see the best version of themselves. Because we all have it in us. Deep down. We just need to dig.

If my life can take a 180, I know it's possible to find your joie de vivre.

Merci a tous (thanks everyone),
Catie

The Phone Call

This blog isn't even seven days old, and it's totally rocked my world. For real.

Last week, I had the opportunity and sincere honor of attending Lara Casey's Making Things Happen Intensive in Dallas. And it was amazing. It was empowering. It changed the game.

I mean, I knew that this intensive was going to be good. I just didn't know that it was going to be that good. I had no idea that I would walk away with my dreams on paper and spoken aloud to a group of strangers turned friends. I could have never predicted what I would experience that day.

In fact, I almost didn't have this experience. I had known about the tour and I had been following Lara's blog posts (which, if you need firing up, go read them, NOW!), but based on the cost alone and the current state of my business, I just couldn't justify the cost. No matter how much I tried to rationalize it, it just wasn't in the cards. Or so I thought.

Lara Casey, who is seriously one of the most amazing women I've met to date, ran a contest on her blog for a free seat to one of the intensives. And thanks to the amazing people who attended the first Making Things Happen Intensive in Watercolor, FL, they organized a scholarship and raised $700+ to send a lucky person to the intensive. Amazing. I read through the post and I read the other comments from other inspiring folks with their stories. I thought that there was no way my comment would win. But on the other hand, if I didn't at least try, I would never know. So, I did it anyway.

Monday afternoon, I was running my usual errands, and I received a phone call. I didn't recognize the number so I didn't pick up. Later, when I checked the number, it said it was from North Carolina. Hmmm. I didn't know anyone from there. But then, I checked my voicemail. It was a message from Southern Weddings Magazine, calling about the Making Things Happen tour. My heart started beating. Fast. I tried finding the best spot in my house to make a phone call (reception is spotty at best, and I didn't want to miss a second), and called them back. And left a message.

Twenty minutes later, I received a phone call. It was Emily of Southern Weddings Magazine
. Then the phone signal started to waver. I rushed outside so that I could hear what she was telling me. "Story. Liked. Offer. Partial scholarship." These were the words I heard. Thankfully, I found a spot on the front lawn that had better reception and repeated the details back to Emily to confirm I heard them correctly.

They were touched by my story and wanted to offer me a partial scholarship to Making Things Happen.

My heart was racing at that point. I thanked Emily and said I would get back to her in 24 hours.

I literally started pacing. Around my house. Pacing. I probably looked crazy. But I think better when I'm active.

So I considered my options. I could turn it down and potentially regret it for the rest of my life. Or I could take opportunity by the reigns and quite literally, MAKE IT HAPPEN.

I talked to my husband. I explained the story. I told him about the books (another blog post to come). I told him about the signs (also another story). He said, "You should do it."

The next morning I nervously typed out an email to Emily. I laid it out on the table. I spoke from the heart. I told her I couldn't not take the opportunity. About ten minutes later, I receive an email from Lara herself, inviting me to Making Things Happen and thrilled to offer me the partial scholarship. A-MAZING.

I did a happy dance. I jumped up and down. I was fired up.

It was the phone call that started it all.

I totally didn't think that my little comment on a blog would leave a mark. But I also would have never known if I didn't try.

I love Lara's quote, "Feel the FEAR, and do it ANYWAY."

Seriously, what's the worst that could happen?

Is there anything holding you back? Something you've always wondered or wanted, but haven't tried because of fear?

Feel the fear, and do it anyway.

It just might change your life. It could be your joie de vivre.

Merci a tous,
Catie

Dreaming Big and Out Loud

I think people forget to dream big. They overlook it. They take it for granted. They put it off for later.

Or they never tell anyone. They keep their dreams hidden. Guarded and safe. But safe from what? Safe from achieving those dreams? Safe from pursuing your heart's desire? Why?

Over the last couple of days, that idea has been challenged. The idea and notion of dreaming big was not only encouraged, it was necessary. Mandatory. We had to utter those words, whatever they were. We had to feel the fear and do it anyway. And though it was challenging - I started to literally shake and my voice quavered - I stated my dream out loud. We all spoke our dreams. What we are going to be or do someday. What we want in our lives.

Without big dreams, how do we know where we are going? How do we know where we want to go? How do we know when we have succeeded?

I don't think we can.

After stating my big, hairy, audacious dream out loud, it was out there. It started to materialize. And it's first manifestation is this blog.

I love the French lifestyle.  I love the French savoir-faire (literally means knowing how to do). I love French food (hello Salade Lyonnaise and Crepes with Nutella and bananas). I just love it. It brings back amazing memories and having lived amazing experiences.

And who doesn't want to have lived a life FULL of...life?

I want to live a life full of experiences, whether it be food, travel, photography, adventure, conversation, and wherever my dreams may take me, I want it to be full. Fully lived. Full of joy.

Joie de vivre: the joy of living.

Dream big. Dream out loud.

Live your dreams. Find the joy.

Merci a tous,
Catie

The Start of a Journey...

Yesterday, I blurted out my pie in the sky crazy awesome dream.

And in an amazing series of moments and conversation, I realized my passion. My deep-down-to-the-core-feel-it-in-your-soul passion. Like the kind that makes you start to weep kind of passion. Like it hits you, hard. Without notice.

passion: intense, driving, or overmastering feeling or conviction

So thus begins this blog.

Why Project: Joie de Vivre?

joie de vivre: the joy of living

Quite literally. That's what joie de vivre means. And I think that the French have nailed it on the head. Having lived there as a child and then again as a young adult, I was able to experience real life in France. Not just as a tourist. Not just on a casual vacation. But I got to live. And I can honestly say that living in France were some of my happiest years of life. It was truly life changing.

Granted, my first stint in France was when I was four until I was seven, but that experience has ALWAYS stayed with me. Always. Twenty years later, I still have memories of those days. How life seemed so much easier. So much lighter. And I think that's because it was.

I learned to speak French because I had to. I didn't go to an American school. We lived in a small town about an hour outside of Lyon, which is two hours by TGV (high-speed train) southeast of Paris. I don't think they had a fully dedicated American school in our little town in the late 80's. And I'm so glad they didn't. I was able to have the full experience. Like a real French kid.

I remember my first word I learned. Poisson. No, not poison. But fish. Ever seen The Little Mermaid where Chef Louie sings about fish? Yeah, that poisson. And from there I just picked up. The resilience of young children. I learned how to read in French before I did English. I had a real French accent. At five years old, I was correcting my parents' pronunciation. Go figure.

I remember my parents had such a happy life there. My mom was able to stay at home. Live the life. My sister was born in France. We traveled to neighboring countries. I mean, seriously, what kid can say that they've been to Italy, Germany, Greece, England, Austria, Switzerland, all before the age of 8?! I can. And I'm so much better for it. I was able to see the world. Appreciate the beauty in each place. Appreciate the unique ways of life.

When I returned to live in France in 2003, it was an amazing year. With a fresh perspective as a budding young adult, I was able to live day to day in the shoes of a French student. Again, while I was there, I attended L'Institut d'Etudes Politiques, a part of the Universite de Lyon system. A real French school with real French students.

And man, do French students study hard. Like fiercely hard. And I think that's why they enjoy their vacations so much. It's well deserved. The French university system definitely introduces you to bureaucracy right away. But it's a system, and it's a system that works for the French. And shoot, they've been around as a country for a very, very long time.

My life in France is unparalleled with any other experience. This is not to say that I don't love my life now. But I think that in the United States, we get so caught up with status and chasing status, that we forget to live. Forget to live the life that we've been given. We forget to serve. We forget to encourage.

It's been a lifelong dream to return to France. To enjoy the food. To savor the wine. To take a promenade down the street. To live. Fully and joyfully.

And so the birth of this blog. It's a project, a path, a journey towards unlocking that passion, and making it real. Making it tangible. Finding the joie de vivre. Living the life I've been given and defining the path on my terms.

This is my journey. Come, join me.

Merci a tous,
Catie