we see the light

... I wrote this post... twice... and it for some reason has had trouble saving.  [So to be honest, I'm writing again a third time, but now am just going to upload whatever comes to mind instead of trying to rewrite the post.]  Sometimes, the world is telling you that is was not meant to be.

Along those lines, what is meant to be anyways?  Sometimes, despite ourselves, things have a magical way of finding their path into existence.  You mess up, you try and will it away, it doesn't seem like it would be, but it is.

• Personal story, take me and my husband.  I have forever always said, no way would I marry, let alone a Korean man.  Here I am, super happily married to a... Korean man.  He's amazing - even 5 years ago, I would have told you, "No way in hell".  It took him 5 months to convince me otherwise.  Our engagement date to the date we were married was exactly 5 weeks, too.  Crazy, huh?  
• Pregnancy and babies are another example of just pure miracles.  The chance, that you time it right with an egg at the right place, with the right sperm, that makes it through all of those biological obstacles and actually fertilizes the egg is amazing in itself.  Now the fact that that fertilized egg starts splitting into cells and growing into an embryo... into a fetus... into an actual human baby is a miracle.  I think about this a lot.  
• GiftStarter is also like that for me.  To literally go from a random startup weekend that I randomly showed up to.  No plan.  Just winged it.  We came out 1st place... to getting accepted into this accelerator, 9Mile Labs, ... getting some awesome Angel Investors, to getting invited to joined 500 Startups.  AMAZING.  

Now about 6 weeks into the 500 Startups program, it's been an emotional roller coaster.  What startup journey isn't?  Now about a year after we incorporated, we're taking the time to reframe and rebuild pieces of the business in terms of culture, processes, all the fundamentals that'll help us move faster in the long run.  We've had to make some really tough decisions.  I mostly feel like my body isn't my own and I'm the "ass" on behalf of the company.  The deliverer of tough news and feedback.  The one to punch the wall down with my bare fists sometimes so we can go through.  Having so many of those uncomfortable conversations a normal human would go shrinking into the corner at...  here we are, taking them on, head on.  Each week, we're getting better and stronger.  This week, I think we actually broke through the darkness and I see the glimmer of light ahead.

Into the light we go.  Appreciate that you are cheering us on.
PS, try out GiftStarter.  Feedback always welcome.  Use the promocode "GiftMe!" to try the GIft Concierge service for free.

--Arry