You hit rock bottom.

Or at least it might feel like it.

For me, I was damn certain that I had hit the bottom and hard. I had metaphorical bruises all over my body and I was down for the count.

It felt like the cards that had been dealt to me were a sh*t hand, the kind that you fold as soon as you look at them.

I am now realizing how common this.

Talking to my friends and coworkers shows me on a daily basis that as a generation we are struggling to figure it out.

What do I mean by it?

I mean life. I’m talking about how do we figure out how to make ourselves happy? How do we find out what we want to do with our lives? What legacy do we want to leave behind?

Through a hell of a lot of trial and error, I have figured this out for myself.

One year ago today I was a full time waitress at a biker dive bar. The kind of bar that you walk into and walk out of. The place was always fishbowl-ed with cigarette smoke, there were mice in the kitchen, and I had to mop the floors and clean the bathrooms after my shift ended at 3 AM.

Today I am a social media manager, avid blogger and about to interview The Chainsmoker’s drummer (Tony Ann) for my podcast The Passion Series Podcast. I wake up whenever I want and I work from wherever I choose. I am also about to start backpacking the globe with my first stop being Costa Rica (Pura Vida Baby!).

Big difference right?

Do you want to know what I did to create this massive change in my lifestyle?

Everyday I did ONE thing that I loved to do.

At first it was little things. I would work out, eat a great meal, write in my “journal” (really it’s a word document on my laptop), read self development books, etc. Things that didn’t seem like they would ever amount to phenomenal lifestyle change.

I like to call this phase “Create The Snowball”

Remember as a kid trying to start a snowball. At first it is kind of hard because the ball is so small it keeps breaking into little pieces as you try to force more snow to pack together.

BUT if you are consistent, eventually the snowball will start to take shape.

Cue the next phase, “Growing The Snowball”.

It took me a few weeks to realize that I may as well make my writing public if I was going to be writing things that had the potential to help other people. I started my first blog. I didn’t tell my friends or family because I felt incredibly self conscious of it. I was forced to learn the ins and outs of blog marketing and creation (as I had no idea that you actually had to put effort into getting people to read your writing and making your blog “pretty”).

Eventually my snowball got so big that it didn’t fit in my hands anymore. I needed the support of the ground to roll it and collect more snow so that it could keep growing.

This led me to the final stage I like to call, “Where Did This Snowman Come From?”

Wait, I quit my waitressing job to go full time social media manager? I have an Instagram influence? I’m interviewing The Chainsmoker’s drummer?!

When did this happen? How did it happen? What is this feeling of purpose and happiness that has taken over me?

When did I figure out exactly what I wanted to do with my life?

Tony Robbins talks about how we all have an internal blueprint. He says that you are happiest when you are aligned with this blueprint. For some of us that means we are happiest as the CEO of a Fortune 100 company. For others it means our hearts are filled to the brim when we are in a room with our husband and children. For me it was a blueprint of living minimally, traveling consistently, building my own empire and meeting like minded people along the way.

We all have this blueprint and that’s exactly what you start walking towards when you decide to do one thing that you love a day. Some days there’s no time-do it anyway. Crack that book open, read that interesting article, listen to music, do whatever it is that makes you content in that moment.

Yes, rock bottom hurts but if there is anything I’ve learned it’s that if you are there-it’s for a reason. It’s so that you can pick yourself up and KNOW exactly what it is YOU DON’T want to do with your life.

Put your cards down and trust that they are going to win you the jackpot. Start making your snowball now so that your snowman appears as fast as possible.

There are two options: keep living how you are or try to create a beautiful life for yourself. What could you possibly be waiting for?