cycle of success

Do you ever look at someone who is what you interpret as successful at something you are not and think they are different than you? They must be smarter more educated luckier more motivated stronger younger older than you that is why they are where they are. I know I have and sometimes fall into still doing. The difference is their journey to get to where they are-the insane number of hours/rejections/labor/time to allow them to receive or achieve the level they are at. There is a cycle of success that involves a lot of tests. Tests that fail more than those that succeed. The key to success is to keep adjusting, test, fail, learn, improve, test again.

We have had a lot of failures along our journey, some small, some huge. Before we re-branded our company and changed our focus to unifying our brand as “Denica’s Real Food Kitchen” we were Denica’s Pastry Cafe and our expansion in Dublin birthed “Denica’s Taco Lounge” in the adjoining space. The two separate menus and the fact that we charged our early guests for chips and salsa were definite fails. The separate menus confused our guests, and diluted our brand. We were coming from a place of scarcity, we were really struggling financially in spite of what appeared to be a busy restaurant, which is why we did not even think of giving the free chips and salsa like we do now. We were busy operators, but had no infrastructure to be able to assess if we were actually profitable. Any cash flow went right back into the business, and James and I worked 7 days a week to keep the business running. Ingrained in my memory is the 21 day mark that when we would reach this point (of no days off) we would inevitably begin bickering and the smallest irritation could blow up into a huge argument. What we didn’t know then is that if you are coming from a place of scarcity, it only serves to create more scarcity. Especially when you are struggling to make ends meet, it is so life changing if you can reframe your mind and your heart to giving more. Once you can really shift yourself into the belief that you will always have enough and begin living from that place, everything begins to fall into place.

We have been very blessed all along the way because we really love what we do, and each other. I suppose it is rare to have a relationship that works on multiple levels, but we have always worked so well together both as a couple and as business partners. Our business and personal lives are intertwined and there are no divisions. The shift for me into abundance, especially at the time when we were struggling with finances, was the first step in creating the life of my dreams. The sacrifices we make to continue to be able to work together, and now together with our children, have been so worth it.

There have been many times over the past 18 years that I have been burnt out, and not wanting work on our business. I have burnt myself out to the point where I would have walked away from it all had I not had my husband who thankfully is my strength and support in my times of stress. Thankfully, those days have passed. I am learning to roll with the ups and downs, and to learn and grow during the downs in order to take the ups to the next level.

There are always sacrifices required with anything that we do, there is no shortcut to success other than to continue to act. Success is not a destination, it is a constant learning journey to define what success is for you. For me success is dreaming something and seeing it manifest, it is the joy of seeing my kids learn and grow, it is hearing the people that work with me in my organization teaching me leadership. It is stretching myself and always stepping forward across the invisible barrier that is the edge of my comfort zone, into the unknown where life really begins…