Hugh Jackman and My Wedding Business Mid-Life Crisis

Ever had a “mid-life crisis” with your wedding business?

It’s a time when you’re just feeling…blah…about what you’re doing. Maybe you’ve plateaued and you just don’t have the FIRE for it like you used to.

I sure have. About 6 years ago I was ready to give up our wedding DJ business altogether. The business was going well, but it felt like it owned ME, not the other way around. I just needed a change.

I started looking for answers, found the teachings of Eben Pagan, and it ended up changing my life.

Instead of feeling like I was “just playing music” for our couples, I realized that I had a much bigger job: to help the couple feel safe and taken care of during the planning process, and to channel their sense of love and fun on the wedding day.

I started listening to brides in a deeper way. Sometimes Jeff and I even stepped into a role of therapist. (If you’ve ever talked down a panicked bride, you know exactly what I mean!)

I wrote an eBook about planning a wedding, set up an email sequence full of tips to help our couples, and really upped the ante by making it my JOB to be there for them through the whole planning process.

It breathed new life into our business, and into me.

Why am I sharing this? Because I’m having another “mid-life crisis,” and I figure you might be, too.

If you just aren’t inspired by your work anymore, it’s time for a change. Sometimes, it’s a full blown “mid-life crisis” type change in the entire direction of your work, your approach or your lifestyle.

Another Reason to Love Hugh Jackman

I just read a brilliantly simple bit of advice from the actor Hugh Jackman, whom I love. (When I told that to Jeff, he said, “You and every other red blooded woman.”)

This is an excerpt from Hugh Jackman’s letter to his 16 year old self, complied in the book Dear Me: A Letter to My Sixteen-Year-Old Self…

“Keep writing down one list…and one list only…the 5 things you love to do, and the 5 things you are good at…they will keep changing, but one day they will match up…and there is your path…”

God bless you, Hugh! This a simple, clear way to make sure you’re headed in the right direction.

Purpose + Passion + Profit

The reason we don’t feel passionate about what we do sometimes is because we may be good at it, but it’s not what we love. That’s when it stops feeding us.

The trick is to put what you love back into what you do, and to gradually focus on doing more of what you love…and making money from it.

I believe you CAN make money from what you love. In fact, if you align your sense of purpose in life with the work you’re passionate about doing, getting into profit will be faster, easier and more fun than you can ever imagine.

5 Things I Love and 5 Things I’m Good At

Okay. I’ll be the guinea pig for my own experiment here. 5 things I love to do…

1. Write.
2. Connect with people emotionally using my written and spoken voice.
3. Learn about communication and learning behavior.
4. Listen to live music.
5. Create trainings that help others.

And here are 5 things I’m really good at…

1. Writing.
2. Reading for an audience.
3. Being a wedding DJ.
4. Listening for understanding.
5. Communicating ideas clearly.

Hmmm. My lists aren’t exactly aligned, but there is some overlap.  My job is to get good at more of the things I love, and do more of them.

This little exercise confirms that the transitions in my work and life are on the right track. Though I love working with our couples, it doesn’t give me as much of the work I really love involving learning, teaching and writing.

Which is why we’re shaking up our whole lives right now and pouring our energy into Book More Brides…and into helping you.

Ready to try out Hugh’s advice for yourself?

1. Write down 5 things you love to do.
2. Write down 5 things you are good at.
3. Look for the gap and the overlap. How can you do more of the things you love? Can you bring those into your wedding business in some way?

Now is the perfect time to shake up your life a little bit. Now is the time to evaluate where you are and figure out how to do more of what you love. NOW is the only time.

I don’t usually share articles like this, so do me a favor and leave a comment to let me know…

Is this helpful? Do you like articles like this or do you prefer something else?

Thanks for not leaving me in the dark. And thanks for listening. 🙂

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