Three weeks ago I made my biggest adult life transition to date: I left my apartment in Brooklyn to spend a month with my family upstate, and I quit my part-time restaurant job to go full time with the business I’ve been building over the past 5 years.

On September 1st I’m moving to Costa Rica by myself for three months to work remotely and experience an entirely different lifestyle. After that, I’m not sure where I’ll go next… but I’m excited to see.

I love the unknown and the possibility of living anywhere.

I worked in NY restaurants for nearly 12 years, with a 3-year hiatus working full-time 9-5 at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition as a copywriter, curriculum developer, and on-camera talent. For the past 5-6 years I’ve always kept a small roster of health coaching and copywriting clients, and now I’m working for myself 100% of the time.

WHOA

Tons of emotions have come up already, and I’ve quickly learned what I need to feel grounded without the structure and security of working for someone else.

1. I have to work out hard (pant and sweat) every day, even if it’s only for 10 minutes. This flushes my body and mind of any anxiety and gets my circulation moving – key when much of my work is done sitting.
2. I’m more dedicated to my meditation practice than ever, sitting for 10-20 minutes every single day. It grounds me for the day and makes me feel so much softer around the edges.
3. I need novelty in my day. When you work from home or a coffee shop it’s important to take a new route, watch a new show, or try a new food or drink every day. I can’t wait to explore Costa Rica for this reason – there will be so many new things to experience
4. I LOVE collaboration. Historically I’ve done my best work solo. Even in high school track & cross country I would run my best workouts when I had to hit the track early and practice solo because of a scheduling conflict. Working for myself, I’ve already discovered how much I love getting on the phone with my copywriting clients (more frequently than I expected) and workshopping pieces. Coaching is always a collaboration, so that goes without saying.
5. I need to connect with family and friends more. I’m an outgoing introvert, so I love being social, but I also need lots of alone time. Working at a job where I was constantly surrounded by people, I needed to be alone more when I was outside of work. Now that I’m working solo most of the time, I have more of a desire and need for connection and hang-time in my personal life, whether over the phone or in person.

These five pillars are ESSENTIAL to my focus and happiness, and I’m so relieved I’m already crystal clear on them after just a few weeks of solely reporting to me, myself and I. There’s so much more I’ll learn as a full-time entrepreneur, and I can’t wait.

Whether you work for a company or for yourself, what are your daily non-negotiables to feel calm, energized, and focused?

What do you do to prime your body and mind?

I want to hear how you do it – share below love.

XO,
Lula