From Hospital Bed to Center Stage: Embracing Unexpected Opportunities

Hey y'all.Welcome back to the She's Crafted to Thrive podcast for season four of the show.Throughout the summer,I am gonna kind of have like bonus episodes for different little things.Surprises coming,so stay tuned.But this is the last official episode of season four.We will be starting up season five,likely sometime in July or August as I do some updating for my Creator Clarity series.It's going to not be more focused on how to use and make a hundred thousand dollars with ease with a podcast,and.While living with chronic illness,of course,and I am also going to be doing other little short podcast episodes that are going to be from previous episodes that you guys have raved,that I have pr.You probably haven't listened all the way through and I'm gonna pull out little bit of15minutes or less episodes so that you can get like really short to the point.Directed tips and resources to help you making a hundred thousand dollars with ease to shift your mindset and to grow your business and live your life and thrive while living with chronic illness.So all of those things are coming.So I'm gonna take about a month off-ish,so stay tuned.I will be back hopefully in July.That is the plan.Um,plus we have some life things happening and I just feel like I need the.That's the space I will be hosting and helping my clients currently launch their podcast episodes,which I'm so excited about.So if anything,you might have some surprise bonus episodes coming out this summer just because that's what happens.That's what happens.I never really take a break from podcasting because.It's just really enjoyable to me and it also makes social media very optional,but I,we've had a death in the family.We have recently been told that some of our family's going through some really life.Health issues that we don't know.We're kind of like in the dark.We don't really know what's going on quite yet.So the next couple of weeks is gonna give us a little bit more information before we start making some really big decisions.And yeah,a lot of things happening.So I needed to take a pause and I thought this is the perfect time and this is the episode that you are gonna wanna listen to because I am sharing with you.This question that I have asked clients,I have been on sales calls,I have reflected on in my journaling is what will your life be like in seven years if you don't take the baby step?If.You don't borrow my belief or someone else's belief in your ability to create a shift in change.Right?And I am sharing this from a very raw place.This little episode that you're going to hear.This is a recording of me doing an impromptu live that I've.Edited a bit to chop it up a little bit,to be more succinct,um,of me going to Brooklyn,New York,all by my little itty bitty chronic illness self.And why?I truly believe that no matter where we are in the dark,right there is.A way to find light.And sometimes we have to borrow someone else's flashlight in order to do it right.We have to see the path that they have lit for us and like clinging to them.And sometimes it feels like we are never gonna get there.It's impossible.And I'm here to tell you this episode is for you.If you've been feeling like that,if you've been feeling like it's impossible,I can't do anything.I can't keep going anymore.Or if you're looking for the inspiration to do the thing that scares you.This is the episode for you,so stay tuned.Welcome to She's Crafted To Thrive,a globally ranked podcast for women living with chronic illness and creatives in business.I'm your host,Nikita Williams,chronic Illness Warrior and photographer.Turn Digital Marketer.Turn Award.Winning coach.I love helping chronic illness warriors and creators to live with their chronic illness and creativity as their superpower in life and business.On the show,you will hear the very stories that helped our guests,my clients,and myself,to define our dream way of making money with proven strategies and marketing and mindset,all to grow a business that thrives without sacrificing our health.So stay tuned because you'll find the inspiration and tools and the resources you need to craft a life and business that drives.So I am here at Brooklyn,New York.I have arrived in my hotel Tomorrow is the Chronic Con Conference.And I titled this as Do What You Can When You Can,because in a thousand years living with multiple chronic illnesses,like literally for the last14and a half years of my life,I was,oh,I,I have been secretly,I guess like afraid to do a lot of things like by myself,and I don't.Want to do things by myself.I'm like an extrovert.I love people.That's a thing.But a lot of fear has been around doing things and being like,I'll get too sick.Something's gonna happen.All of these things and might get emotional doing this life.This trip actually ended up,it was supposed to be me and my hubby,but he had some other life stuff that happened.So he's at home.I'm here in New York,meeting out with friends and things like that from the chronic con community.All of the wonderful people living with chronic illness,and I'm gonna go meet with them,but you guys,I have been like straight up scared about doing this trip by myself.Like I initially thought I was okay.Today.I woke up feeling very confident,and I was good.I felt confident all the way to now,but now that I'm here,I can't help but reflect on my thoughts around why.Doing what you can when you can is such a powerful thought,such a powerful practice.In yourself.So there's a couple other amazing things.There's a couple other amazing things.So,um,I'm here for a conference.I was here just to attend as a guest because I have done workshops inside of the chronic con community,and I have spoken,I've been on podcasts with Nika and all these different wonderful people.And I got a call last night,which was,Hey,we would love to have you hop in for as a panelist on the event tomorrow,where I'm sharing the stage with some more fabulous people and I get to answer questions about community and share my own experience and lived experiences of living with chronic illness and finding my tribe and all I can think about right now.All I can think about is.If I had never said yes to my friend who reached out to me to share with me another opportunity to kind of learn more about my body in a different way,and if I didn't just have that small,tiny little bit of like borrowing her belief how different my life would be.How different it would be like I,I,and I don't think it would be horrible,but I don't think I would be doing things that I was scared and still doing them anyway.I,the biggest fear about traveling,living with chronic illness is flareups,right?And not knowing what to do.Like not knowing what to do when you have a flare up and you're by yourself.And I straight up packed a whole bunch of stuff,like a whole bunch of stuff to make sure I was like,good on the flare up standpoint.I got my meds,I got my essential oils,I've got my breathing,my tapping techniques,my journaling,all the things that I would normally do.But these are things I did not have or know anything about.You know,seven,seven years ago like this,like I didn't use it like this.And so it gave me so much power to know that I had those tools in order to show up and be here.Uh,doing what you can when you can is something that I really work with my clients and myself.Like,this came for me first because sometimes you're not gonna wanna do.Anything.Right?You don't think it's even possible to do anything.Like you just like there's no,there's no better.There's no better.And you feel like that and it's y'all.When I say it's the baby steps,it's the borrowing of other people's beliefs.It's the seeing what could possibly be possible,even if it's just like the tiniest little bit of dip can shift your brain and world,right?Like it's amazing,right?It's a me zing and here I am.In Brooklyn in a hotel about to go meet up with some folks that I have been knowing for like three years online,thanks to the pandemic and.I am going to be on a stage speaking about my journey of living with chronic illness and finding community and what does that look like and how have I found that?And I never thought in a million years when I would be sitting up in a hospital when I would be getting tests at the test results telling me,we don't know what's wrong with you,or it's all in your head.I never would have thought this is where my life would've been.I literally,honestly felt like.I just think about thinking one night where I was just like,you know what?This is my life.I'm gonna be at doctor's office all the time.I'm gonna like really not do anything.I'm just gonna have to live a quiet,small life.I'm trying to kidding,and I don't.I don't,I don't,I don't feel that way.I wear color.I have,um,fun.I have friends.My spirituality is even deeper because of just having more faith and because I'm seeing the tools my prayers answered,people connecting opportunities,all from a place where I really thought this was not gonna happen.Like I thought I would be satisfied and I would be good with just like staying at home,avoiding any possible opportunity for any worse thing to happen.And here I am,here.I am traveling by myself.Uh,And I say by myself,I know like physically,like I'm never by myself.I truly believe that,especially from a spiritual sense.I'm never by myself,but the thoughts and the fears before would've completely stopped me.I would never have said yes,never.I would've been like,no,that's too iffy.I don't know what to do.I have no tools.I don't know.Um,I,I,I just didn't,and there was a lot about this trip that I was worried about and thinking about,and I am glad that I'm doing it right.I'm doing it.I actually am having like one of those stomach flares of like,you know,when you kind of stress it out and your body responds in a way and you're like,oh,I always have those flareups that happen in my stomach,but I'm not stressed about it.Y'all,I'm not stressed.I have my owns,I have my meds.I'm good.I'm just,I'm thankful because.My life could have been so different if I didn't,one,have faith if I didn't.Two,pray and say yes to the help and the possibility,and if I didn't give myself permission to do what I can,even if it was the smallest amount of thing we when I could,because all of those little baby steps have led to today.And we will lead till tomorrow where I get to speak in a room full of other chronic illness warriors and share my journey and sh hear their journeys and like really connect.And so I just wanted to share this with you all.I'm not even gonna leave a caption cuz I don't even really know what I would say other than the baby steps.The possibilities can be small,right?They can be the tiniest baby steps in your life.And it can change it.It can change how you view it,how you live it,if you change it.So don't give up.Don't give up.I know a lot of times we wanna give up.But don't,just don't.So hopefully you'll be seeing me on the stories.I might not be as active on stories cuz I will just be like embracing and living it.Um,I'm just so excited cuz I'll be on a panel and I'll be speaking and,um,sharing my thoughts.And perspectives in my journey,and I'm excited about that because I thought it was just gonna be a guest.I am a guest,but I'm also gonna be on the stage.So I'm excited.Another in-person opportunity.I got real,I kind of like,I kind of held it back.I will probably be crying tonight through my journaling,processing all of what today means to me.Apparently a lot more than I.Even could have imagined.All right,y'all,that's a wrap.Thank you for listening and I hope this conversation inspired you.Be sure to visit the website@craftedtothrive.com to check out the show notes and grab all the goodies that I are the guests mentioned in this show,Jonas,for our next one.In the meantime,remember,you are crafted to thrive.