Hi, all!
Here comes another emotional message. If you’ve been on this journey with us, then you know that since the news came that our beloved studio space would be torn down, things have been a whirlwind.
But I want to tell you a story—so pull up a chair and get comfortable.
Note: If you haven’t heard the news, we now have a podcast called The Write Mindset and you can listen to this message on most platforms if you prefer.
This was indeed a bumpy ride. And I don’t just mean running the studio has been a bumpy ride. Running the studio has been a much more intense kind of travel. But that’s a given. I’m an entrepreneur and it’s a niche business on top of that. What I mean, is that this entire process of finding a new home has been one of the hardest battles I’ve ever had to fight. It may seem dramatic if you’re on the outside looking in. But when you’ve poured every, single ounce of your soul (like right before the point you sell it) into something, an end to it can feel like you’ll have to be an empty shell for the rest of your life.
So when that news came that the building would be torn down, I sat for ten months with a continuous ringing in my ear.
I could hear you all offering your support but I couldn’t hear you—not really—the ringing was too loud. In fact, it grew so loud, that I started to wonder if maybe this meant it was time for me to give up. Was it a sign? Was this what I wanted to do for the rest of my life? Maybe this wasn’t my calling. Sometimes dreams don’t work out.
So I cried. (And you know how difficult it is for me to admit, because I typically don’t cry). And then I cried some more.
I prayed.
I looked for more signs.
I ranted. (Forever indebted to the WA team and my family on that one.)
My work life suffered. I remember so many days where I just couldn’t concentrate.
I flip-flopped: Don’t give up. Give up. Don’t give up. Give up.
And it’s not like good things didn’t happen in that space of time. There were definitely some good moments. But those good moments only came about because I knew how to work on my thoughts. I couldn’t stop our building from being torn down, but I could control the way I viewed the situation. I made a continuous effort to redirect my thinking (again, not without a lot of venting). I did a lot of soul searching last year, and deep down I knew that this was a sign it was time for me to move to the next level.
The current studio was always meant to be a starter space. I have much bigger plans for Writer’s Atelier as a whole and I always knew we couldn’t stay in that space forever. One of my goals was to make it a home for writers and it became just that. Our community became a family and the studio became a place where we gathered to write together and perfect our craft. Though Writer’s Atelier was in existence before we started the brick and mortar part of it, it really came alive in our little Winter Park studio. That’s why moving on was so hard to accept.
But there was something that I kept repeating day after day, despite the foggy state I was in. That phrase was: Something must work out. I let it spin in my head again and again. That phrase helped something else emerge too—and that was my buried belief. This one belief has been there since day one. It was the belief in the work I was doing. There is often so much that stifles this belief sometimes, but somehow or another, it always seems to rise above everything else. I should really learn my lesson by now, but I’m an over-thinker by nature.
Anyway, I went back to my why and I summoned all those mindset principles I drill into everyone else. I reminded myself that everything happens for a reason.
So I fought.
And fought.
And fought some more.
Then I got super serious about finding a space. The current studio had fallen into my lap, surely I could make that happen again. I told myself, if we don’t find a place by our deadline, then maybe we’d be homeless for a bit. I made a list of all the backup plans (and bless our admin Megan who immediately sent me a list of temporary fixes as well). Ultimately, I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t at least go down without a fight. I had to at least try.
The process of looking for space was draining, uncomfortable, and required so much time. So. Much. Time. And there were a few times where I thought a space might work and then it didn’t. Actually, some very woo woo things happened as well.
I had visited a space that wasn’t ideal, but could work as a place we could land. It was just down the street in the same city, and though smaller, we would be able to run most of our usual programming. But something felt off about it from the moment I set foot in it. I’m a huge believer in gut reactions, y’all. But it was also the right price. And when I mentioned it to others, including my parents, they all said, Go for it! Where will you ever find another place like it for that price? So I thought, Okay, if this place is the one, nothing will get in the way of it. I kept waiting for a block but there was nothing. So I got all the way to the point where I was on my way to sign the lease and put down a deposit. I called the property manager simply to ask how they’d like me to hand over the deposit, and long story short, they told me a more suitable tenant was going to rent multiple offices in the building. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed. But again, that was exactly what I had asked for. I prayed that if this wasn’t the right space, then something should stop me. There it was.
After that, another space I was serious about pursuing became available. Again, it wasn’t ideal, but better than the last. While I didn’t have the exact same “off” feeling I did with the first, my gut didn’t feel totally sure. I figured I was being unreasonable, maybe even too picky. This space was a good size and they were going to put in the kind of flooring I wanted! And paint the walls white! It was going to be on brand! The property manager emailed me the lease and application right away. And here comes the woo woo part. When I responded to her email and told her I still had one more space to view, the email bounced back. I kid you not, the returned message actually said, “Your email to X has been blocked.” I was stunned. This was the same email I had been communicating with her on. So then I tried again. Same message.
What?
Again, I thought, Okay, Universe. That wasn’t the one either.
Enter the last place I had on my schedule. It was a place that a friend by the name of Kim Britt suggested. Her friend owned one of the businesses in the Plaza and she had seen the for rent sign. I knew the plaza, but I was skeptical. Retail space tended to run at a higher rate and I just didn’t know. And to cut this story down a bit, the space for rent was a bit out of our budget. When I mentioned it to the owner, she said, “Well, I have a space that’s a little smaller that will be available in the next month. You can look at it if you want.”
I followed her around the corner of the plaza and there it was: Our future studio space. It was in the same plaza, only it faced one of the main roads. From that moment things started to fall into place—the gut feeling, the price range, the application process. It all seemed to align. And before I knew it, I was handing over a check and signing a new lease. A new space had fallen into my lap.
I’d been holding my breath for ten months and finally, finally, I could breathe. And if you didn’t believe in all my woo woo moments, I’ll make you a believer now. The day I signed the lease was the same day I started cleaning out old photos on my phone. (My phone gets very full because I love taking pictures and screenshots—don’t judge). But I was going through the old photos and there in a sea of all my memories and reminders, was a photo of our new studio space. You’re probably thinking, so what? You took a picture of it, big deal. This picture was dated November 21, 2018. The day before my birthday, one year ago. I had no idea why I even took that photo, but there it was on my phone. If that isn’t the Law of Attraction at work, I don’t know what it is. I knew then that I had made the right decision. Every single thing that had happened on this journey led me to this point. There is no way I’d be in the place I am now if I didn’t have the knowledge that the mind is the most powerful tool we have. If I didn’t believe deep down that something would work out, I honestly don’t think it would have.
I won’t pretend like this just magically means we’re great and we’ll never have a challenge again! No, the studio isn’t anywhere near where I want it. We still have a war to fight. But right now it feels like we’ve won a battle, and I’m going to let that sink in and let it just be a good thing.
By the way, we’ll be leaving Winter Park and moving to Maitland. Interestingly enough, we’re in the part that is right on the outskirts of Winter Park. (It’s only ten minutes down Orlando Ave., the street we’re currently off of.) Local folks, I can’t wait for you to see it! If you’re not local, be on the lookout for updates and pictures on our social platforms! We got this far because of our community, I hope you’ll come along as we begin a new chapter!
Xoxo,
-R
