I still kind of can’t believe I got a tattoo you guys!
For years I’ve admired wrist tattoos but I was always afraid that they would hurt– I’m kind of a weenie about pain. In fact, it’s why I wear so many bracelets on my left wrist. The bracelets represented the words or phrases I’d want to get tattooed but didn’t have the courage to.
But if I did get a tattoo I used to say, I would get something meaningful because it lasts a lifetime. Maybe I would get one for my kids, or my husband or my grandparents. I figured that if I got one it needed to be something that other people would understand. But I was never going to get one, so it didn’t matter. I was never going to get a tattoo because I wasn’t that kind of person. Other people get tattoos. But me? Mother of three kids? Writer of cookbooks? Southern woman, with big hair?? No way.
Guys, I know it’s silly. All of you who already have tattoos are like, what are you talking about weirdo? A tattoo doesn’t define the person who wears it! I get that now, but for most of my adult life I’ve really thought, this is who I am, I might change or grow in subtle ways but making a change that’s so out of character would alter me entirely.
Then I had a bit of an epiphany: I get to decide who I am. Every single day I’m alive, or you’re alive, we’re choosing this life and this persona. We choose to be the stay at home mom who loves baking and pilates. We choose to be a hipster who loves coffee shops and artisan goods. We choose to be a lawyer who runs marathons and only eats organic. Every single part of our persona, no matter how long we’ve rocked it, is a choice we make every day. This was a MASSIVE eye opener for me. And as odd as it sounds, when I realized this and it hit me right between the eyes, the very first thought I had was, I’m getting a wrist tattoo!
So then the question became… what am I going to get?
My gut reaction was doing something for my family… and then I realized I was again, falling into the trap of the “kind of person” I am. If I got a tattoo and made it about someone else, it wouldn’t be as symbolic to me as doing something entirely for myself.
Meanwhile, we’ve been making such incredible strides at Chic Media and I’m so proud of the work we’re doing. At the office, when I would do something especially boss or awesome, the staff would call me the mogul. It jokingly became my persona.
Only it wasn’t a joke.
I run a media company that I built from scratch –that has made 10,000 mistakes in the last five years, sure– but this company still continues to grow and thrive. When you ask me what I’m most proud of in the world, I’m going to name my marriage as number one. My children and my place as their mom? That is the second thing I’m most proud of. But both of those instances are who I am for other people. My company? That’s something I did. Not by myself, you guys know how incredible the chic staff is. But the drive, the hustle, the grind, the hours to get it to a place where I could even afford those employees. That’s all me. I am so proud of what I’ve built, so proud of the team that helps me keep it running, so proud of the work we’re doing for our clients. I decided that’s what I wanted my tattoo to represent. 13 years of entrepreneurship… that’s the memento I would get for myself.
So I chose the word MOGUL.
I tried to come up with definitions or symbols or something softer or more feminine or that would make sense to others… but ultimately, it’s for me. The word mogul has power for me. That word makes me proud, and once I had the idea nothing else felt right.
Come hell or high water I’ve managed to run my own companies: first as an event planner, then as a successful blogger and now as a lifestyle media business for over a decade. That’s what this tattoo means to me. Every time I look down at it I get inspired. Every time I see the word I feel a renewed sense of purpose.
The experience itself? Well, that was a bit scary but also empowering. You can watch it go down in the vlog below. For more videos, make sure you subscribe to my YouTube and/or come hang out with me on Facebook.
