Jun 14, 2022
Have you ever had a dream that tugs and nudges you to believe you were meant for more? And if so, did any of it work out exactly the way you expected it to? Probably not! These unanticipated changes can arouse human feelings of doubt and fear, but even the most unexpected opportunities create unbelievable outcomes. That’s what my husband James and I learned among many other shifts in our journey to plant our roots in the unexpected Austin, Texas.
Living a transient life is deeply ingrained in James and me; we’ve moved nine times in the last decade. I’ve always had the dream of owning a home on my desires list, but honestly, it was never a dream that I needed to happen right away…until one day, it was.
Even though we thoroughly enjoyed that freedom to live and explore different sceneries, deep down we knew it was time to settle down in early 2021. So when I stumbled upon my good friend’s Instagram post that she moved to Austin from LA (something I never thought she’d do), it sparked an idea I never thought would strike me…
It only took a three-day trip (and an empty plot of land) to convince us that this move was meant to be. But of course, this momentous transition proved to be anything but easy. That’s why we decided to sit down (the day after we closed on the home) and divulge the ups, downs, and in-betweens of building our dream home. James and I even share our best-kept tips for fellow entrepreneurs looking to own the property they can call theirs.
This IHML Show episode is for all you big dreamers out there: your reality can transcend your dreams in ways you wouldn't believe… you just have to release your fear of the expansions (and investments) they require of you. If there’s anything we’ve learned, it’s that beautifully empowering opportunities flourish when you decide to plant your roots, but more importantly… give them the grounding love they need!
In This Episode:
- [0:12] What led us to Austin, TX? Here’s how it all began just one year ago.
- [4:36] Big decisions aren’t new to us, but this one was… different.
- [5:48] James & I share the money mindset shifts we made to purchase our home.
- [7:57] You’d be surprised at what comes up when purchasing (and building) a home— we certainly were!
- [10:06] Tune in to see if we really agreed on all our home decisions.
- [12:15] For all the entrepreneurs looking to own property and don’t know where to start— here’s our advice to you!
- [14:39] Of course, we’re sharing our favorite spots in the house (and future plans).
- [15:39] James and I divulge what excites us most now that we are homeowners!
- [17:09] Would we do anything different if we could do it all over? Listen to find out…
- [18:24] James shares what it feels like to be where he is now, coming from a small village outside London (and a bedroom the size of his new walk-in closet)!
- [10:03] I reveal what I’d tell the version of me twenty years ago— and why I never stopped believing in my future.
Quotes
“Well, of course the decision was never gonna be made purely on house prices. You know, it peaked our interest because we were at that stage in our lives where we were ready to have our own home, we'd rented for so many years.” — James Williams
“But the interesting thing is like with mine and Emily's life, especially over the last seven years, making big decisions [and making them quickly] is not something we are new to. And we also trust each other's intuition and we're very much in alignment. And so I think that deep down, we knew that it was the right decision, but because it was so quick, obviously there's all of these ‘what ifs’ running through our minds.” — James Williams
“I never thought I'd live in Texas and it was just a big shock, but ultimately we were meant to be here.” — Emily Williams
“There was a little bit of fear that we had to move past, and just put down roots when we've been so kind of transient and free. We had to decide, is this what we wanna do right now? But ultimately I know for me it actually felt more freeing to be able to be more grounded and put down those roots.” — Emily Williams
“There was a little bit of fear that we had to move past, and just put down roots when we've been so kind of transient and free. We had to decide, is this what we wanna do right now? But ultimately I know for me it actually felt more freeing to be able to be more grounded and put down those roots. And so once I move past the fear and realize, you know, we've paid this amount of money for rent many, many times over throughout the span of the last 10 years or so, living in cities like London and LA, I moved past that fear pretty quickly, but there was a lot of initial fear. ” — Emily Williams (in between timestamp 5:54 and 7:08)
“You can have an idea of what you want and you can put kind of plans in place, but things change, right? So I think what we've learned is that over the years of running our own business the ability to pivot, because no decision [and] no process is finite in business, any more than it is in life.” — James Williams
“Never make assumptions about how you think something has to happen until you've got all the information and know for yourself how it happens.” — James Williams
“I had a coach tell me just to put aside a certain amount of money. I think it was 10% of our sales every single month. And he said, you're gonna be so surprised at how quickly that adds up and turns into a deposit for your mortgage. And I started doing that and he was exactly right. We were able to purchase a house much quicker than I thought.” — Emily Williams (13:10)
Links & Resources
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