It’s scary to dream big – to imagine the hard work and sacrifice that comes with chasing what’s in your heart. But what if achieving your goal helps you build a life you love and helps thousands of women along the way? You’d probably decide it was all worth it – that’s how Emily feels. As Simplified celebrates its 13th birthday, Emily shares how Simplified started as a dream to help women live and work well, grew into late nights watching YouTube videos on designing note cards and invitations for an Etsy shop, and eventually evolved into creating the Simplified Planner, writing bestselling books, and creating a beloved brand. Emily shows how to keep moving forward after big life changes (because balancing a new company and a new baby is hard) and how to bounce back after making a million mistakes (because that’ll definitely happen when you try something new).
Thought-Provoking Quotes
“I was not alive. I didn't know what to do, but I had to find a way to become alive again.” – Emily Ley, on her career before starting Simplified
“I bet you probably have a dream quietly blooming inside your heart. It may not have opened up all the way where you can see it in its full shape. That's okay! Sometimes dreams take time to fully blossom.” – Emily Ley
“As you dream, I can promise you this: when you decide what your next right step is, and when you put one foot in front of the other and make big and small decisions with grit and grace and wisdom and bravery and a deep connection to what truly matters most to you, the rest will fall into place. It did for me.” – Emily Ley
“Just keep moving forward. Small steps are still progress.” – Emily Ley
“I think back to one of the first goals I laid out for my brand, for my company. And it was this: ‘This business will give me and maybe an eventual team the flexibility to do life well so that we can do work well.’ And guess what? That's exactly what Simplified has become. And I still believe every word of our end goal.” – Emily Ley
“Try to learn to breathe deeply, really to taste food when you eat, and when you sleep really to sleep. Try as much as possible to be wholly alive with all your might, and when you laugh, laugh like hell. And when you get angry, get good and angry. Try to be alive.” – Ernest Hemmingway (and one of Emily’s favorite quotes)
A Blessing for Your Week
I hope you remember to give yourself the grace to start small.
I hope you remember that progress, no matter how little, is still moving forward when you feel stuck.
I hope you remember that it's okay to ask for help. And through it all, I hope you remember why you're following your dream in the first place and that the reason still makes your heart soar.
Simplicity Tip of the Week
Think about the dream you have for yourself. What is the smallest, most basic first step you could take toward making that dream happen? And then maybe instead of a dream, you start calling your dream a goal because you know what a goal is. It's a dream with plans behind it. And you're going to need some good planning to get the thing done.
New Book Alert: Build a Life You Love!
Get Emily’s new book, Growing Boldly: Dare to Build a Life You Love, wherever you buy books!
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