Letting go of my nonprofit

I started a nonprofit a few months ago and coerced a few people into being on my Board of Directors 😉. For some reason, they believed in me and wanted to help me share my passions. We met for months, figuring out how the heck to even start a nonprofit and planning our next steps. We were organizing basketball clinics for orphanages in Mexico. We secured a date for a golf tournament fundraiser at a private country club. (We were stoked about this because they only allow 8 per year and their board had to approve of us.) So it felt like we were accomplishing big things. The vision of the organization was coming together, and we were excitedly moving forward.

But one weekend with my good friend Lisa from www.handlettereddesign.com changed everything for me. I realized that this nonprofit, along with my chemo clothing company I was starting, were two endeavors too many for my life at the time.

I’ve always known that the most important things in my life are my family and my spirituality. But the execution of putting these two things FIRST has been a struggle for me in the past year. I’m addicted to being busy and tend to over-schedule my life. I seem to think that I can squeeze in SO many things everyday (which is why I’m usually late and always running around with no makeup and undone hair). I’ve just always liked being busy, and I have serious FOMO. But my friend Lisa helped me realize that the late nights of trying to run two companies simultaneously was not worth the depleted tank of energy leftover for my kids and husband. While I don’t judge other people who do this, it suddenly just didn’t feel right to me especially in my unique circumstance. I knew I needed to make major changes. But I was extremely frustrated knowing that I would have to walk away from these great ideas that I had spent so much time and energy developing. Lisa reminded me that, “just because something is a good idea doesn’t mean You need to do it.” BOOM. Wisdom. Those words hit me hard.

I don’t know how much time I have left on earth (well, who does?), but my diagnosis has helped me to be more keenly aware of how valuable time is. I want to focus my time more on family and simply sharing with others the perspective cancer has given me.

Although I let go of the nonprofit, it still continues. Some of the board members decided to take it over and move it in a slightly different direction. I told them I’d be glad to help, just in a very limited role. I was honored today to meet with this great group of women, as well as our attorney and other board member, Paul (not pictured, obvi). I’m so excited to see the good this organization will do for our community. Their first project is a free basketball clinic for kids ages 6-13 on August 3-4 at the Provo Rec Center. Their next project will be assembling chemo kits in October for cancer patients! Go to www.ServiceLife.org to check out the goodness!