Independence

Independence Day is recognized around the world by most countries and cultures as a celebration of freedom from oppressors and the right for each of us to determine our own destiny.

4^th of July. Bastille Day. Canada Day. Fiestas Patrias. Grito de Dolores. Yom Ha’atzmaut. Youm-e-Azadi. Constitution Day. National Day. Republic Day. The names and dates for the official holiday in each country may vary, but the sentiment is universal.

We also celebrate the anniversaries of major events that helped spark significant progress towards independence from other types of oppressors, including the movements for gender, racial and LGBT equality and freedom.

Coincidentally, the 4^th of July weekend has been momentous to me over the years marking my own journey towards freedom in independence.  It was this weekend in 1993 that I finally had “the talk” with Mom that, after a rocky start, led to a much closer and more fulfilling relationship for us both, not to mention finally learning to be happy and confident in my own skin. We gained a new global LGBT family that has a been a rewarding experience for us both.

In 1999, I celebrated this anniversary by adopting Lukas, my gorgeous and gregarious solid black cat, who almost made it to his 18^th birthday before we had to let him go earlier this year. I dragged that poor cat all over the country and even overseas for our adventure in France in 2005-6.  In 2009, we welcomed my grey tabby Wolfgang into the family on this weekend. Lukas wasn’t very happy with that decision, but he begrudgingly provided hours of entertainment to Wolfie trying to improve his bull riding skills. Sadly, he never quite got to his goal of 3 seconds, but not for lack of trying. Not surprisingly, I digress!

This year, to commemorate Independence Day, I’m coming out again….as an entrepreneur this time! I’ve been sharing this stepwise with family and friends over the past year, but never this publicly or openly. It’s been a crazy, fun and scary journey so far, but I’m finally comfortable with the label and confident that I’ll not only survive, but thrive on this new adventure.

My new business is Big Frog Custom T-Shirts & More of Central Dallas (dedicated store website coming soon). Today, I took possession of the property that I’ll be leasing for the next 10+ years, so renovations are getting underway to prepare for the opening on August 16^th. The store will be at 332 W Davis Street, Dallas TX 75208, right in the heart of the Bishop Arts District on the corner of Bishop and Davis. For those of you not familiar with the area, it’s our trendy and fast-growing entertainment district just a few miles southwest of downtown.

After a tumultuous final couple of years as a corporate slave, I finally left that world almost a year ago now, but I started getting the entrepreneurial bug a few years prior. I’ll share more about how that started later, but once I started down that path, the momentum was too strong to ever turn back. I haven’t regretted it for a moment…. although there have been a few moments that I wondered if I should have my head examined for taking on such a big risk!

I hope by sharing my story more opening going forward, I can help inspire others to start their own businesses and declare their independence as well. With the rapid evolution of technology and the giving economy, there’s so much opportunity for all of us to follow our passions and find our niche without giving up so much of our power and control to the overlords that just see us as numbers and liabilities on their balance sheets. Too many large companies don’t have their employees’ best interests at heart, despite all the lip service to the contrary. Too often profit wins out over people, especially those that give millions in bonuses to executives right after having mass layoffs just to make their numbers look better to investors.  It’s logical and makes perfect sense in their contextual vacuum, but it’s a broken model that is going the way of horse driven carriages and agrarian society. We’re human, so it’s not business, it’s personal! We now have the opportunity to find our tribe, pursue our real passion drivers, and grow them from hobbies into a lifestyle and a livelihood.  It’s a scary path to start down, but once you start making progress and achieving success, it’s almost more difficult to turn back. It’s time to take the first step and declare your intention to own your own destiny.

Happy Independence Day!!!