I’ve done it. I signed a 3 year lease on my own office space.

This is an iPhone snap (ignore the ShopVac – she’s still under construction). 🙂

For the last 5 years I’ve toddled back and forth between working at home, at coffee shops, and shared office spaces like WeWork. None were exactly what I was looking for and it has taken me a long time to finally decide to get my own space.

Part of it was learning what I needed. The last 5 years, I’ve learned that in order to be the most productive, I need:

• A workspace that is close to my home (no more than 30 minutes)
• Creative people around me when I’m working
• A workspace with clean natural light
• A workspace where I can create content for my social media
• A workspace where I can consistently hold meetings and workshops

Frustrated, I kept complaining that none of the shared spaces I rented before were set up exactly how I wanted. Then one day it hit me. Why am I looking to rent someone else’s vision of an office? Why don’t I put MY name on a lease and find something that is EXACTLY what I’m looking for? If I can’t afford the entire thing myself, I can be the one subleasing it to others (and that is exactly what I did – I share the space with 2 other amazing people).

I stopped relying on someone else to do it for me.

Photo by Jesse Leake.

It’s the same lesson I learned years earlier within my personal life. For a long time, I wished I would meet a man who would do all these things for me – travel the world, take me to nice dinners, inspire me, make me laugh, etc. After years of dating and doing personal growth, I thought, WTF am I waiting for? What is truly the result that I want? If adventure, good food, and good company are what I want, why can’t I do these things for myself and have it NOW?!

Slowly I learned to do things for myself that lit me up. I took myself out to brunches at cute cafes with AMAZING French pastries. I took myself to the movies, sneaking a Chipotle burrito into the theater (to date it’s still one of my favorite solo activities to do). I took myself on exotic trips, like to Micronesia. I learned to enjoy my own company and as a byproduct, it opened amazing doors in terms of friendships and relationships.

Eventually I met a man who now does these things for or with me (We’re going to Disney World + Cuba in a few weeks!), but the lesson was I learned to take action and stop waiting for someone else.

And dammit, it feels good.

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