Story

The seas have been rather rough when it comes to the relationship between myself and jobs. Burger King, Soccer Zone, McDonalds, Brann's Steakhouse, Tumbleweed, Red Lobster, The Buckle, UPS... All before I was 20. That's not even counting all my side jobs I had like mowing lawns, shoveling driveways, painting, Cutco knives, etc.

I remember when I decided to make the move from Grand Rapids to Los Angeles - I was scared to death. The quote I put on the inside of the box is something that just stuck with me that entire time - A ship in the harbor is safe, but that's not what ships are built for.

My first 'real' job when I moved to LA was a glorified assistant to this owner I later realized was basically taking advantage of realtors who didn't know how google worked. He'd tell them he'd help them be discovered on google so that when you googled your name, you'd show up (through an ad). Realtors thought this was great but didn't take time to think about the fact that if someone was googling them, they probably already knew about them to begin with. Needless to say, that company went under soon after I (and nearly everyone else) was let go.

Now that wouldn't be too big of a deal, except for the fact that I had only been here for a few months. I was living in a studio apartment with a friend from high school, my dog Kirby, ants, cockroaches and mice. Believe it or not, none of us had any savings. The pin stripe suit I had saved up to buy was going to waste and I didn't know what was going to happen next.

I was in a trough - the lowest part of a wave. I had just flown over the crest, full of excitement in a new city and found my ship heading straight down. To say I was terrified is an understatement - I was about to be homeless.

If I'm honest with myself, the hardest part of that time in my life wasn't just that I had lost my job; it's that I wasn't living up to my potential. I wasn't doing something remarkable. Like the quote I referenced earlier, it's easy to stay in the harbor and talk about how strong we are. To imagine how much we could do if we 'really' wanted to.

This month's Pearl includes two pins - a crane and a boat.

In origami, a single piece of paper is used. What's made with that piece of paper is up to the person putting in the work. A boat takes 9 steps, a crane takes 12. Both can be made from identical pieces of paper yet the crane is the most popular origami art ever created.

Why?

I like to think it's because we'd prefer to make something remarkable when it comes to art.

When it comes to our lives, however, most of us are only comfortable making boats. We don't go for the cranes because they seems too radical to dream about. We let this feeling that we're not worthy of happiness creep in and keep us frozen from making the changes we know, deep down, would bring us joy. That breaks my heart.

What I want you to remember is that it's only three steps. Three more steps to make a crane instead of a boat. Three more steps to find happiness, to find a purpose. My hope for this Pearl is that it reminds you that you're not as far away as you think. More importantly, I hope it reminds you that yes, you do deserve happiness. If you're reading this right now thinking that's probably directed at someone else then I want you to re-read it again. It was meant for you. <3