Get Rich Quick Tip: Step Out of Your Comfort Zone

Try taking a different path

In beauty school, I learned many valuable lessons.  Some of them were important concepts, procedures and industry terms that I needed to memorize in order to pass State Board. Thanks to my fabulous Learning Leaders, I also learned a lot about real-life and how to be successful once I graduated from school and started working in the professional world. One of the real-life lessons I really took to heart while in school was the need to do something that scares me each and everyday. I'm not talking about forcing myself to watch scary movies just so I can spend the next week sleeping with all of the lights on and looking underneath my bed before I go to sleep every night. I'm talking about doing things that force me to break my daily routine and get out of my comfort zone.

I'm a creature of habit. I'm one of those people who loves to have a routine. I like to wake up at the same time every morning, walk down the same side of the street, go to the same coffee shop and order the same breakfast sandwich on my way to work everyday. Having a routine is settling. It's mindless. It reassures me that I wont forget anything. It also isn't very exciting.

It's the days when I don't stick to my routine when exciting things happen. It's as simple as me having to take the bus to work because I ended up leaving my house a little later than usual. Instead of walking to work, I'm forced to walk down a whole different street, see different store fronts and experience a different form of mode of transportation to work, but I also gain a fresh perspective on the new work day.

In beauty school, I quickly got comfortable with all of my classmates and Learning Leaders. It was easy to talk to anyone at school because they had all become an active part of my daily routine. I've always thought of myself as a social person. Being a bartender for eight years, I knew I had the people skills to be able to start up a conversation with anyone who sat in my bar. My tip jar depended on my people skills and being able to win my customers over.

Last year I attended my first industry networking event, the iFabbo event at Beauty Company. It wasn't until I had got to the event that I discovered just how much networking terrified me. I no longer had my classmates or even a bar to draw people in to have a conversation with me. Now, it was up to me to go up to someone, introduce myself and start a conversation with a complete stranger. Luckily I went to the event with a really good friend of mine who also happens to be a networking master. She's one of those people who isn't afraid to talk to anyone. She picked up right away that I was nervous, even though I was the one who had invited her to the event. She gave me a little pep talk and had me follow her lead for the first few conversations. By the end of the event, I was completely comfortable and had even managed to make a few friends.

I ended up going to five more events last year after the iFabbo event. Most of these events I attended by myself. At each event, I became more comfortable with approaching a complete stranger, introducing myself and talking shop about anything pertaining to beauty, makeup or skin care. Once I made the decision to face my fear, break my routine and step outside of my comfort zone, I started to grow as a person. My confidence soared and I made a lot of new friends.

Choosing to do that one thing that scares you everyday doesn't mean you have to go to an industry networking event solo just because you're shy or even jump out an airplane because you're afraid of heights. It can be something as little as walking on the other side of the street to work that morning, trying a new serum or moisturizer, wearing a different color of lip stick than you normally do, wearing a pair of heels, trying food that you've never eaten before, telling the girl on the bus that you think her boots are cute or even just smiling at a stranger. Whatever it is, choose one thing each day that scares you and do it. Don't be afraid to shake up your routine a bit. Who knows. Doing that one thing that scares you could inspire you to do something even bigger and better than what you're doing now.