You should do it broke.

Do people know that they're going to die one day?

I often hear people tell me about their dreams of starting a business, traveling the world, or having a family, but their dilemma is that their current circumstances are not where they want them to be. What they really mean is that they don’t have the financial capital and safety to start. But my unsolicited advice is to do it even if you’re broke, because one day you’re going to die, and dying with regrets is more painful than death itself.

My advice comes from my own experience. I had BIG dreams and little to no capital, but I started anyway. I don’t speak to this from a place of achievement or financial success because, truth be told, your girl is rubbing two pennies together as we speak. The journey has been long and, at times, frustrating. You live in the unknown most of the time, and if you’re a Virgo like me who likes to be in control, living in the unknown is fucking terrifying. However, the thought of never trying filled me with more fear than the thought of failing or, worse, never trying. I wanted to see my fullest potential.

It’s true that when you start on your dreams broke, it’s very difficult. Yes, sometimes you have to pick the ugly apartment, you have to say no to going out with your friends, you have to skip out on that vacation, you can’t eat out at that high-end restaurant, you have to budget $20 for the whole week, and you live off ramen and vibes. But that’s literally part of the journey. It’s part of the story that you’re going to tell when your dreams manifest. Most importantly, it’s the journey that molds you into the version of yourself that can actually hold your dream. Do you know what I mean?

I’ve done work exchange programs so I could have a place to stay while I traveled. I lived in a whole-ass eco-village in a jungle where animals would come in and out of this little treehouse I lived in. I’ve stayed at a janky-ass hotel for 20 bucks in India because that’s what was available. And you know what? It was a 10/10 experience. I’ve met the most fascinating people, people who blew me away with their charm, talent, and expertise. I’ve had supernatural experiences. I’ve seen places I could only dream of. I’ve had experiences that money could not buy. Literally. Money would not have allowed me to meet these people or have these experiences because it would have brought a completely different experience, where I wouldn’t have been in the position or circumstances to attain them.

Before the pandemic, I was a very materialistic person. I had all the designer bags, shoes, and jewelry. I stayed at the finest hotels and had luxury experiences when I traveled. That too was a 10/10 experience if I’m being honest. I had a blast blowing money. I’m not going to lie. But the truth is, I would pay to be in a bubble, and then I would say I traveled to such-and-such country when really, I just went from one bubble to another and never had any authentic experiences.

When you pursue your dreams while being broke, you meet other fellow talented brokies, and those people remind you why you’re doing what you’re doing. No one wants to be broke, but it’s the circumstance you’re in, and you’re locking the fuck in so you can change your circumstance. You are challenging your circumstances, and the universe LOVES A MIGHTY HEART. You’re telling the universe, “I accept that this is my life, but I want something different, and I’m not going to stop until I get there.”

From there, life sets up an obstacle course for you. Each obstacle course gets harder and harder. The universe does not play. It tests the fuck out of you. Do you know what it’s like to look for change all around the house so you can do laundry? Bitch. It’s embarrassing. But then you vent to your friends, and they share how they’re struggling too, and then you both laugh over some meal one of you whipped up and cry about it, and then you hype the fuck out of each other, and you get up the next day and lock in again.

There’s something extraordinarily beautiful about sharing in the struggle with other dreamers. Not from a place of misery, but from a place of love. It’s like you’re climbing a mountain and you look back and someone’s about to slip and fall, but you extend your hand even if you’re a bit rocky yourself because you’d want someone else to extend their hand to you too.

A few years ago, a friend of mine was in deep debt and depression. She was spiraling, and she hadn’t seen her family in over a year. I gave her $600 to buy a plane ticket to see her family when I only had $800 in the bank. I didn’t just want to see her get better, I wanted her to win in her test with the universe. And you know what’s crazy? A week later, someone paid me $1,200 to do some work for them.

I’m sharing this because over the last six years, I’ve had to make ends meet in ways I never had to before. I didn’t know how I was going to pay for things, but somehow things always worked themselves out. I just had to stay focused on what I was doing and trust that the universe was, in fact, rooting for me.

The universe does actually want you to win, but it’s preparing you so that you can become who you need to be. I have failed and been rejected more times than I can count. But every time, the universe continuously redirected me to something better. I had to have so much faith in my mission, in my dream, that nothing could shake that. Your dreams require more than faith; they require conviction, and it’s okay to feel doubt throughout the journey. But it’s during those times when you’re at rock bottom and you get up and fight another round that the universe stands up and gives you a round of applause.

I’m not anywhere near financial success, but I have had a lot of success in other ways. I completed projects that I set out to do. I visited places I had dreamed of seeing. I’ve been in rooms with people whom I admire and look up to who wanted to hear me speak about my experiences, philosophy, and politics. I’ve captured stories of people who put my heart in a chokehold. I used my voice to educate people about other groups of people. But most importantly, I have become the woman who is ready to take full hold of her dreams.

Seven years ago, when the dream was planted inside me, I wasn’t ready even though I thought I was. But the journey has shaped and molded me into someone worthy.

I guess I’m sharing all of this with you because I’ve been thinking a lot about mortality. When I look at my parents and see how much they’ve aged and how they’re running out of time in this world, I get scared. I know they wanted their lives to be so much different than what they were, but they sacrificed their dreams so I could have a chance to live a life that I wanted and not one that was forced upon me because I was surviving.

Even when I had money and luxury, I was surviving.

But when you begin to think of life like you got the Willy Wonka ticket to be here on Earth, you start to become more intentional about the time and energy you’re putting into things. Time waits for no one. The chances of you being alive are 1 in 400 trillion. So why are you wasting it waiting for the perfect circumstances before you execute your dreams?

When you die, do you want to look back at your life and regret that you spent it paying bills on a spinning rock? Or do you want to look back at your life and think about how you succeeded in the game of life because, despite the odds being stacked against you, you pushed through? And it doesn’t matter if you became rich or not because the journey itself was rich.