Shae's Story

I love to hear personal stories about how you've transitioned in your life - whether it's on the level of career, lifestyle, or spiritual - your stories validate the concepts of Dynamic Transitioning.

Recently I was at a local Farmer's Market and met Shae, the founder of CobblerMania, who briefly talked about her transition from a safe, secure "normal" job in medical billing to creating CobblerMania and following her passion. What I liked about Shae and her story was her enthusiasm for what she was doing. I just know she's going to continue to be successful. Send your stories to beverlymacy@gmail.com

It's always inspiring to meet people who love what they're doing and Dynamic Transitioners know how important it is to Consider the Possibilities and then See Yourself Succeeding.

Here's a bit of Shae's story from her website. Oh, and PS, the cobbler is amazing!

In the mid-90s, I began having daydreams about the fantastic cobblers I enjoyed at family gatherings. In March 1999, hoping to create a few of the fantastic cobblers of my childhood, I began making cobblers for my friends and relatives. Around that same time, I began fantasizing about turning my growing passion for cobblers of my childhood into a fruitful business.

In mid-2002, with the support of an ever-increasing number of loyal cobblermaniacs, I created Cobblermania, a fun, friendly, family-owned, and family-operated company.

Now, Cobblermania offers an array of exceptional traditional and creative cobblers that are great-tasting, beautiful, nutritious, and reasonably priced. Also, cobblermaniacs can customize their cobblers, using our filling grid, or join our cobbler-of-the-month club.

Obviously, a lot has changed since my daydreams of the mid-90s became a reality in mid-2002. However, one thing has remained unchanged. My passion – then and now - to provide the absolute best cobblers. May my passion be your indulgence!

Practice Flexibility - The Power of Recalibrating

Lesson 5 in the Dynamic Transitioning program is all about flexibility. People sometimes feel that if their outcome is not EXACTLY like their picture, their plan....they've somehow failed. Has this happened to you? The business idea doesn't pan out as visioned, the romantic interest doesn't happen the way you imagined, the child doesn't want to pursue the sports activity you had in mind for him....the list goes on and on.

In my own life, after my husband's health changed for the worse, my business took a downturn. My husband needed me and my focus shifted to him instead of the business. It took its toll. I had to dip into savings that year...and that was NOT in my plan. I found myself getting resentful and feeling like I had "failed" and that's not good, either. I knew I had to do something to turn my own attitude around or it would begin to take me and my business down.

I used the power of recalibrating to get a new perspective. The oak tree is fed from water stored deep within the earth. It doesn't rely just on rain. It relies on this deep water stored within to constantly nurture it.

I needed to turn inward to listen for the answer. I believe the answer is in the problem - the healing is in the disease. I can "ask" the problem what it wants me to know...what is the lesson I need to learn to move on? In this case, I needed to put my husband and our marriage first in ALL ways. I needed to have faith that if I put the business on the back burner for the time being, all would be well. I needed to learn to "drop the loss and take the gain" out of the situation.

Transition, change, and growth can come in unforeseen ways. When the forces of the Universe guide us in a slightly different direction, don’t resist. There is power in going with the flow.

Emerson says in his essay "Compensation" that for everything you lose, you gain something. What could I gain in recalibrating my business life and my husband's needs at that time? I gained a closeness with my husband that may not have come otherwise. I gained the knowledge that I did the right thing...he needed me and I was there. This is more valuable than any work I felt I "lost". I renewed my commitment to the love I have for my husband and put that back on the front burner. My business recovered nicely and all is well. I like to believe my focus on my husband and his needs also helped his recovery at that time.

Recalibrating can bring unexpected gain. Don't dwell on the apparent loss or feel bad you've "missed the mark". Instead, look for the growth and gain that came to you through the experience.