It’s the story of so many women’s lives: you dream big, study hard, and go to college so you can start working toward a career that you’ll love and believe will provide you with a better life than the one you knew as a kid. But then you get pregnant a little earlier than you planned, don’t finish school and worry that your chance for the better life you dreamed of is over.
When Taylor Knowlton was 21 she was attending nursing school and engaged to the love of her life who was also working towards a career in the medical industry. Taylor knew that she definitely wanted children... some day. Her first reaction when she realized she was pregnant was not the elation or joy that so many women feel when they see that double line on the pregnancy test. It was fear. Fear about what it would mean for the new career she was about to start.
Taylor grew up in a poor family. Her mother cleaned houses for a living and they often struggled financially. All throughout school she was driven to work hard and get good grades so she could get into a good career that would create a better life for herself and her own future family. She chose nursing because she knew it was an in-demand field where she could get a stable, reliable paycheck while fulfilling her passion for helping others. But the timing of her pregnancy meant that she couldn’t finish nursing school with her class. And the idea of doing clinicals and working 12 hour shifts while trying to pump breast milk for her baby who she would barely get to see left her with a deep feeling of despair.
Taylor and her fiance Greg drastically moved up the time table for their wedding and when he started work at the hospital, she stayed home with her baby girl. Taylor loved getting to spend so much time with her daughter, but she also felt driven to still find a way financially contribute to the support of her family. As someone who planned to be a nurse, Taylor was already involved in the health and wellness industry online, and joined the affiliate sales team for a company whose products she already used herself. Slowly she started to build an online presence and added a few more income streams to her burgeoning business. But Taylor said the biggest change she made during this time was to change her mindset. She started reading self-development books, following self-development gurus like Tony Robbins, and even attended a live seminar where she learned about the benefits of meditation, positive mindset, daily affirmations, and actively pursuing personal growth.
“I left that event a changed person. I had to do some real soul searching and self assessment. I looked at the way I was living, thinking, and talking, the way I was showing up in the world. And then I looked at the other people who lived that way and had to ask myself if their lives were what I wanted for myself and my family.”
Taylor admitted that before attending that event she thought that things like meditation, affirmations, and using terms like “the universe” were just for hippies and weirdos. She even admitted that she was a little bit afraid that going to events like the one she attended might brainwash her in some way.
“I think that actually may have been what some of my friends and family thought at first when I started talking about positivity and how we can choose the kind of life we want to live,” she laughed. “And now I do actually say things like the universe was conspiring to help me find this path!”
Before that Taylor wasn’t a particularly negative person, but she would gossip and complain the way many young women in their 20’s do without ever giving it a thought. “Now if I hear someone being negative about someone else, even just how bad someone’s hair looks on TV or something, I don’t engage. I try to interject positivity in any way if I can and I stopped spending as much time with the most negative people in my life. Not that I cut them out completely or anything, I just found myself more drawn to other people who really want to love life and make every day count.”
Now Taylor uses her online platform to inspire others. She coaches and mentors other young women who had children early, single moms, and others to focus on the positive, dream big, and go for their dreams regardless of what they think is stopping them. Taylor is also taking her own advice by starting working on her first book and embarking on a new career as a motivational speaker.
If you want to learn more about how Taylor helps young women and girls to see the potential in themselves and their lives, click here to find her on Facebook and learn more.