How Do You Live Authentically and Live a Happy Life
[Music]
how do you
live authentically and live a happy life
does it mean having a job that you love
doesn’t mean making the money you’ve
always wished you would be making
doesn’t mean having a family and being a
great parent
to many of us living authentically and
living a happy life
can mean different things for me
living a happy life is doing something
that i love
which allows me to live a lifestyle that
i truly
and authentically enjoy as a little girl
i always dreamed of living in new york
city
i grew up in a small town called
lancaster pennsylvania
where we’re known for the amish and that
is our claim to fame
my mom told me when i was around the age
of eight we were tourists in new york
city
she said i looked up at the buildings
and said
i am going to live here someday
there is such innocence and a sense of
dreaming in this comment
coming from a child at this age but if
you knew the type of child i was
you would know this is a statement of
fact i
would be living in new york city one day
when i wanted something i was determined
to get it
as a child and even now
there are so many emotions when i think
about my childhood and growing up to
where i am now
i loved high school i was always happy
and active
when i received a scholarship to run
cross-country and tracking college
i thought this was the greatest gift
that i ever could have received
i was happy i was extremely grateful
and honored i was determined to make the
most of it
and i did after college
i followed the route i’d planned for
myself at the age of eight
i moved to new york city not knowing
anyone i moved into a basement apartment
in queens
with the heat that worked of times of
course it wouldn’t work when it was
below 30 degrees
there were no windows in the bedroom and
my roommate i found off of craigslist
and i survived no scary craigslist story
here
i didn’t want financial help from my
family for rent
food transportation etc and we all know
new york city is very expensive
i wanted to be successful on my own i
was determined
i wanted to find what made me genuinely
happy
just because i had a degree in
communications
that didn’t determine the type of job i
needed to get
i wanted to do something that made me
happy and allow me to
enjoy my life authentically i wanted to
do something that i was passionate about
that i woke up every day excited to do
and also
allow me the time to travel and have
hobbies that fueled my career
such as volunteering you think i would
say
never in my wildest dreams would i have
thought i’d be working my dream
job that i’m actually obsessed with
doing in a city i love
and enjoy working every single day
but it’s almost the complete opposite
i feel i created this lifestyle for
myself
it wasn’t easy but you can give yourself
the life
you want if you believe in yourself and
really push
if you really focus and have persistence
and drive
in high school you believe your next
steps are to go to college then you get
this degree
and all of a sudden life is passing you
by you’re not even working in an
industry you got your degree in
or maybe you are but then you’re like
wait
what is my passion and why aren’t i
doing it
why are we so accustomed to living this
life
you go to school you graduate you go to
college you get a degree
you get a job you retire
then you die that’s the american dream
so many people don’t even try to find
their passions
and they never take a risk like never
you always need to take risks and live
your life even if it’s uncertain
like i said i always dreamed of living
in new york city
since i was a tourist at the age of
eight okay
so i did watch a little sex in the city
i wanted to be carrie
with the fancy clothes the apartment in
the village going out on the fun dates
and the nice dinners but
i wanted to be her and live in the city
but i wanted to make it on my own
i didn’t feel that i wanted or needed
the help of others
i was determined to be my own person and
make my own
happiness i had to live my life and take
risks
big ones i’m really passionate about
what i do
and i did take a huge risk i always
wanted to work in residential real
estate with
ryan sirhant from the bravo tv show
million dollar listing new york
how would i possibly do that in an
industry that i had no experience in
knew no one within within the industry
and the job is a hundred percent
commission based
and the majority of the industry is
white
older men then there’s me
hey after emailing ryan for
two years every single month and getting
no response he finally emailed me back
i met him the interview went amazing
and he brought me onto his team with
very little experience
he saw something in me and the rest is
history
i must say i have a great boss and
leader
he’s a trailblazer and someone who gave
me the confidence to be the same
to be a trailblazer in an industry in
one of the top
real estate markets in the world that is
dominated by
white older men sounds pretty
intimidating huh
but if you find your people like for me
it’s my clients turned friends my
networking groups
my social media followers my real estate
peers and my team
if you find your people then you can
feel empowered to pursue
the true lifestyle that you want a
survey by the equal employment
opportunity commission stated that at a
senior level
only about 22 percent of new york city
real estate industry is women i won’t
lie
that’s a daunting and scary statistic
but
i pushed forward because no statistic or
moody client
would stop me from achieving my dreams
this business wasn’t necessarily made
for me
and i wasn’t sure if i would even be
accepted
but i knew if anyone could push through
and rise to the top
it was me i wanted to work with ryan for
the confidence and that platform
to help support my goals and dreams find
someone who inspires you
i’ve had very emotional discussions with
my boss about
colleagues and clients who have talked
down to me
and even to this day they talk down to
me and they belittle me
i stay positive and i kill everyone with
kindness
and kindness and hard work doesn’t have
a race
an age or a gender in this industry
it’s about humanity in sales humanity
wins
and humanity sells in my industry
you really need to work hard even if
your business doesn’t have many of your
demographic
you know walking into a sales pitch or a
meeting
it’s rare to see someone who looks like
me
i’m doing what makes me happy and it is
rewarding for all the people who helped
shape
my life people want to work with me
because i am
happy i am genuine i show my clients i
work hard
i am loyal patient and dedicated because
i am confident in who i am
and in my passion for this career in
life you don’t have to limit yourself to
one passion
for me it’s about my career in real
estate traveling the world
incorporation of fitness in my life and
doing volunteer work you have to allow
yourself
the opportunity to try many things and
experiment with many passions
the idea of living and taking risks has
to be something that you are
okay with it may be uncomfortable and
scary
but that’s what risks are try not to be
afraid of failure
and if you fail what happens
you use that fuel to light your fire and
build yourself back up
if you have a passion go after it no
matter what someone tells you
or society says is the norm you need to
build a life that’s happy for you
just in case you need this reminder
dreams really do come true
you need to be persistent driven
confident
and you need to find your people
it’s never too late to live
authentically and to live with passion
there are so many reasons to be happy
what does living a happy life mean to
you
thank you