Happyseekers is coming into its own.

You may have noticed that some things look different around here. Well, you’re not wrong. Some changes have been made and I’m going to share what’s been going on.

Let’s start with a little history

Two years ago I was a real estate agent who was displeased with her career choice. Everything about it felt wrong and a little icky. I didn’t like who I had to be to succeed in that role and I felt insincere. I didn’t come to Seattle with a sphere of influence, I had to build one from scratch. I was spending a lot of time and energy meeting as many new people as I could without sacrificing the attempt to really build a relationship. I was part of formal referral groups, I would go to meetup groups, I hit up all the biggest professional networking events and all I was left with was more energy out than in. After a year of putting myself out there, I was fed up with having the same shallow conversations over and over again. I wanted to be honest and tell people how hard it was to try to make friends and build a professional reputation in a new city. But everywhere I went, there was an utter lack of authenticity. I knew there was no way I was alone in this feeling. Craving connection and softer walls, I worked on coming up with a format that I thought would help other women find the honest conversations they were searching for.

As a real estate agent, I enjoyed a lot of what I got to do for my clients, like, arranging appointments regarding to the sale and helping them envision a happy life in the home. So, I wanted to find a way to do that professionally. One fateful evening I met a gal named Super Julie who gave me the encouragement, enthusiasm and vocabulary to move forward with this idea. When I described what set me apart from other real estate agents and the services I’d like to provide in exchange for dollars she said “so, you’re like a personal concierge?” DING! DING! DING! It was in that moment that my concierge service was born, conceptually.

Both of these shifts happened around the same time. Without realizing it, I was starting two big projects simultaneously. The networking group was just a hobby, something I needed for self preservation. The concierge business was going to be my bread and butter. March 2014, both Thirsty Gals and Pursuit Concierge were born.

Fast forward a bit

The concierge business got about 92% of my attention from that point forward. I needed to build, baby build. Fortunately, the connections I had built as an agent were still relevant with my new “project”, as I would call it. I’m happy to be looking back on where I was almost 2 years ago because there were some times of serious struggle.

I visited my family in the spring of 2014 and I was sharing my insecurities with my dad. I was suffering from doubt but also didn’t want to let that voice win. He wanted to help so he signed me up for an 8 week MBSR course. Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is a nonreligious form of meditation that guides you to follow your breath and be an observer of the mind. This course shifted my entire life.

As I was creating a business from scratch, in an undefined industry, as a solopreneur, I took the time to start my meditation practice. It lead me down a spiritual practice I was not expecting to find. An observation I began to make was that as I focused harder on my concierge business, the less it would flow. I needed to channel some of my energy into another endeavor to loosen the grip on the first project. I was enjoying Thirsty Gals and it felt like it had it’s place in my community of networkettes so I put more of my attention there.

As I allowed myself to shift my focus from one project to the next, I found they both started to flow with a little more ease. More ideas for networking groups appeared before me and concierge clients were beginning to find me. I saw that both of these endeavors were closely related. They’re designed for the same person and attempting to answer the same question: “how can I live a more fulfilling life?” I thought they were one.

In my mind, happyseekers and Pursuit Concierge were one entity until I tried to explain it to other people. I struggled to find a way to tell people that I offer personal assistant-type services and host networking events. I wanted to generate new content for the blog but it felt less natural knowing I was supposed to be pushing a product. I began to get confused about what I was doing and where all the pieces fit. I started to explore the idea of separating them but I just couldn’t get the nerve to do it.

Here we are now

I recently met with a friend of mine who’s a blogger. We talked about logistics and strategies but mostly about the importance of coming from the heart. I know I have a lot to say and perspective worth sharing but trying to combine my personal truths with a blog designed to promote a service felt conflicted. I was struggling to give myself the permission to say what I really wanted to say. The only way I would be able to is if I cut the umbilical cord.

Happyseekers was once the blog for my concierge business because they’re both trying to answer the same questions. Besides that commonality, they serve totally different purposes. Happyseekers is my opportunity to be the most real and raw version of myself. It’s my opportunity to create the community I seek. It’s my opportunity to be honest about the doubts, struggles, truths and discoveries that I make as a woman, as a happyseeker and as a business owner.

The reason I’m sharing all of this with you is to show, with total transparency, the journey that I’m on. I don’t believe happiness is a destination, it’s an ever-evolving pathway. I know that I cannot predict where I’ll be one year from today because my own path continues to surprise me. I just hope you’ll stay with me as I do my best to share my journey to discovering what a fulfilling life means for me.