They Should Be Your Inspiration, Not Your Blueprint

When I started my business journey in 2020, I had one simple desire. I wanted to have a podcast.

That was it.

I did not have a grand plan. I did not have a multi-tiered business model. I did not have a vision board full of products, launches, or revenue streams. I just wanted a space to encourage people through conversation. Especially women. Especially those who needed to be reminded that they were not alone.

From that single idea, everything else unfolded.

The podcast turned into a content platform. The platform inspired a clothing line and merchandise. The merchandise required a website and an online store. The website became a home for monthly self-care challenges. Those challenges expanded into entrepreneurial challenges. Then came interactive storytelling journals for women. Then a version for teens. Then non-fiction children’s books to honor my grandmothers, filled with life lessons and adventures.

One idea kept opening the door for the next.

And while that sounds beautiful on paper, the truth is I was doing too much.

I was creating and updating merchandise, filming content, managing a website, adding seasonal products, attending events, advertising everything, and showing up everywhere. Outside of packaging and shipping, I was the sole force behind every moving piece. None of it had the time to breathe before I moved on to the next thing. None of it had the opportunity to mature before I piled something else on top of it.

What I did not account for was timing.

I was inspired by what I saw other people doing and told myself, “I’m going to do all of that too. Right now.” I did not consider how long it took them to build. What they experienced along the way. The roadblocks they hit. The seasons they had to endure before the results were visible. I saw the finished product, not the process.

And somewhere along the way, I drifted from my original purpose.

I did not create this platform to sell things. I did not create it for attention. I did not create it to go viral. I created it to help people. To encourage women of all ages to flourish. To remind them that becoming a better version of themselves was possible, even in the middle of uncertainty.

So at the end of 2023, I stopped everything.

I shut it all down.

I closed the online store completely. I stopped filming the podcast. I admitted what I had been avoiding. I am not a salesperson. My books lacked depth because I was more focused on how to turn them into podcast content than on the message itself. The quality suffered because the pace was wrong.

In 2024, I slowed down and focused on the foundation.

I poured into my website and my content. I created challenges with intention. I provided reference articles that made sense and supported the work. I stopped trying to speak to everyone and shifted my focus to women specifically, because depth requires clarity. I leaned into my lived experiences instead of broad messaging.

Then in 2025, I did something that required more patience than anything else I had done before.

I rewrote every single title I had ever authored.

Every one.

It took the entire year. Not because I was rushing, but because I was finally writing from the place I started. Love for others. A genuine desire to encourage. A commitment to quality over quantity. I also created structure. My social media content began to intentionally align with my website content, so even if someone never visited the site, they still received the message. Views stopped being the goal. Consistency and clarity became the focus.

And something shifted.

My following began to grow organically. This platform no longer felt like a job. I did not have to force content or chase relevance. I realized something powerful.

I do not create content. I am the content.

What is naturally in me is what people see, hear, and read. There is no grind toward a goal anymore. There is a drive to fulfill purpose.

I share all of this to say, be you.

Just because you can do something does not mean that it is your assignment. Inspiration is meant to spark ideas, not dictate direction. When we imitate others as a blueprint, we often skip the self-awareness required to build something sustainable and aligned.

People talk about gatekeeping often, implying that others are withholding information out of fear of competition. I do not believe that is always the case. Sometimes the disconnect has nothing to do with people at all.

Sometimes it is God.

You cannot receive what you are asking for if it does not align with your purpose. It may not be a gift He intended for you to carry. Not because you are incapable, but because it does not fit the plan designed specifically for you.

When you stop asking people how to build their life and start asking Him how to walk in yours, everything changes. Purpose and entrepreneurship stop competing with each other and begin working together.

They should inspire you, yes. But they should never be your blueprint.