Tsh Oxenreider has spent the last 5 years of her life teaching people how to slow down through her blog, SimpleMom.net. She considers herself an “accidental entrepreneur.” She never set out to start a business; however, through “trial and error… and asking smart people dumb questions”, she is now able to support her family through her blog.
In her new book, Notes from a Blue Bike, she tells readers how to live intentionally in a chaotic world. My favorite lesson from the book: there is no one definition of normal. It is comforting to hear someone successful say that.
Her book is jam packed with great, inspiring advice, so I was pretty happy when Tsh agreed to tell us the 3 things she wishes she had known in her 20s:
1. You don’t have to find that ONE thing you’re meant to do, your ONE passion that drives everything. Most of us enjoy several things, and it’s perfectly okay to pursue them simultaneously. Don’t stress so much about discovering the Holy Grail of What You’re Supposed To Do. Your career might ebb and flow in and out of different forms of art, and that’s great. Enjoy the process, and learn to savor the art of learning new things.
2. Thomas Edison was right—opportunity is missed by most people because it’s dressed in overalls and looks like work. When I was in college, I felt like the ONLY person who had to work to pay for textbooks and rent (which of course wasn’t true, but I’d still envy my friends whose only job was to study). Looking back, I can safely say I learned just as much, if not more, from those late night shifts waiting tables and interacting with customers. Don’t try to cut corners by skipping the stage of working long hours and earning your keep. They’ll repay you tenfold.
3. Find a mentor. Don’t be afraid to find someone who’s doing something you admire, and ask them for coffee. Think of some specific questions, and jot down their answers. Don’t have a super-structured agenda, mostly sit and listen. If you two hit it off, ask if you could meet together once a month so that you could continue to learn from their wisdom. And then here’s the clincher—apply it. Take the suggestions from someone a few steps ahead, and make it work in your life.
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