Preparing to Make the Jump
By Debbie Cromack, Guest Contributor
Hi there! My name is Debbie, and I’m the founder of Emerge Empowerment. I’m the youngest of three children. My undergraduate degree is in Psychology/Sociology/Anthropology with a minor in Corporate Communications. I did two years of Master’s work in Speech Pathology. My MBA is in Marketing. I earned my certification to teach yoga. I got my Realtor’s license. I wrote a romance novel that's yet to be published. And I once had an event decorating company.
If you just read through all of that and your head felt dizzy, I wouldn’t be surprised. I spent 46 years of my life completely lost. The majority of my working life has been in corporate America. I have learned in this world not to rely on anyone but myself, and my corporate job allowed me independence. As the responsibilities of my job morphed and changed around me, I remained the same person, but my strengths no longer suited my role. Somehow I kept my head above water, and my core values and work ethic propelled me to continue to overachieve. But something was missing.
Although my job fulfilled what I needed it to during that period of my life, I also finally realized that it did not fulfill ME. I spent many years droning along, thinking that I was “safe” and “secure.” My job was also killing my body and spirit, as I spent endless hours with no satisfaction or sense of purpose. I found myself searching for distractions, and those distractions consumed what little time I had outside of my 12- to 14-hour workdays. They were a wonderful escape. What I later realized is that each preoccupation was leading me toward my ultimate path and purpose in life. Each adventure taught me something along the way, but none of them were what I was put here to do.
The stress, long days, unhappiness, pressure, anxiety, and constantly feeling negative suffocated me. Through conversations with friends and coworkers, I learned I was not alone. There had to be something I could do to make a difference. After one of my panic attacks, I decided it was time to do some soul-searching and change my life so I could help others change theirs and break the negative patterns that consume us and rob our happiness, leaving us depleted and empty.
I thought a lot about who I am and what I’m passionate about. I had conversations with God, and even though they were one-sided, I found them very helpful. I have always had a desire to help people. And I surely wasn’t doing that in my corporate job. Deep down I knew I wanted to empower women to become the person who they want to be and live the life they want to live. I wanted to provide guidance to those who need a little direction, some support, better stress-management tools, and resources for life’s many challenges.
As I wrote down on paper what truly impassioned me and how I can best help women realize their inner power, the concept for my business unveiled itself to me, and Emerge was born. My mission is to help women become stronger, feel supported, gain knowledge, take control of their lives, and be empowered.
Now, when I have those few precious hours early in the morning before my corporate job and late at night after a full day's work, I focus all of my energy on every step that needs to be completed so I can eventually take on Emerge full-time. Preparing to make the jump from the corporate world to that of a small business owner changes shape each day the more I learn and define what my company will provide for women.
Although there is a part of me that is terrified to walk away from the security of corporate America into the unknown, one thing I do know is that I am truly helping women. And that feeling transcends anything corporate America could even hope to offer me. I am leaping forward into that abyss with joy, confidence, and the empowerment that I share with others as I facilitate their journey (and my own) to self-empowerment and a fulfilled life.
Debbie Cromack is the founder of Emerge Empowerment, LLC. Emerge focuses on facilitating an empowerment-infused transformation that helps women feed their mind, body, and soul with knowledge, nourishment, and hope. Connect with Debbie on Facebook page for daily uplifting, encouraging, and inspirational messages and details about upcoming seminars.