Today we’d like to introduce you to Tammy J. Brooks.
Tammy, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I’ve worked in Corporate America all of my life. I sort of fell into the field of Accounting/Bookkeeping. I have mostly worked for law firms and was at the last one for about 17 years. About three or four years ago, things started to change for me. I no longer enjoyed the work that I was doing. It wasn’t the firm – I was lucky in that aspect. I worked for a great firm with amazing people from top to bottom! Not usually the case with law firms. I believe I just got burned out. Since Accounting was all I’ve ever done, I had a really hard time trying to figure out my next move. It got to a point where I hated going to work every day. Then, all of a sudden, I started getting these headaches. They would last all day long. At first, I thought it was a dental issue so I made a trip to my dentist. After about three weeks of being in pain, I went to my doctor and low and behold – I suddenly developed high blood pressure. I couldn’t believe it! I was put on two different medications.
Although, I honestly refused to believe that after all of this time, I suddenly had high blood pressure – even though it ran in my family, deep down inside, I knew that I didn’t have this problem. I’ve never had an issue with my blood pressure. In fact, it was always on the low side. Even my doctor was shocked. I remember them taking my pressure about five or six times because it was so incredibly high for the first time ever. Deep down, I knew what the real issue was. It was my job! My mood had changed, I had stopped entertaining at home (which I did often) and I felt sick going into the office every day. For about a year or so, I kept marking dates on the calendar in my office when I would resign. Since I never really had a plan, I kept re-setting that date. Then, during one of my follow-up doctor appointments, my blood pressure wasn’t much better and my doctor noticed the major change in my personality so he offered to prescribe me an anti-depressant. I got so mad at him for that! I was already taking about 15mg of Ambien each night just to sleep because I suffered from major insomnia. However, I refused to take a drug that would alter my mood or cover up any real feelings I was having. I looked at my doctor like he was crazy and just said: “absolutely NOT!” I told him that I knew what the issue was and that I was going to fix it. I resigned from my job shortly thereafter! I felt like I had no choice at this point. My mom died at the age of 50, my dad’s mom and sister both died at the age of 49 and 50 and all three with the same diagnosis – ruptured aneurysms! High blood pressure can cause aneurysms to burst. I never thought I would live a long life because of my family history, but I at least was going to do whatever I could to stay healthy and happy while I was alive. After leaving my job, I stopped taking the Ambien and cut back on the blood pressure meds pretty quickly. In no time at all, I was sleeping every single night and my blood pressure went back to being on the low side. Who knew that stress and anxiety could wreak so much havoc on one’s body?
I’ve always loved cooking and entertaining. I even went to culinary school many years ago – but just for fun. In 2016, I purchased the domain name The Sensual Palate. The name just came to me one day so I just sat on it for a while. About nine months ago, I launched a food blog. I post recipes that I create and I write about my travels. I eventually hope to have an online store where I sell cookbooks and cooking tools and gadgets that I love to use. I have a lot of ideas and plans for the blog, but for now, I am just focused on putting out great content.
I am also an Independent Distributor for a health and wellness company. The idea of creating residual income really appeals to me. This opportunity just fell into my lap at the perfect time. I wasn’t even looking for something like this. However, I had some friends that were involved in the same company and after doing some research I was hooked. I knew this would be a good decision for me. I also have some clients that I do Bookkeeping consulting work for. I have never been happier.
Has it been a smooth road?
I wanted to be able to work while traveling, which so far, I’ve been able to do. Since leaving my 9-5 over a year ago, I have traveled to two events for my Network Marketing Company; I went to Paris for the first time – which was amazing! I wrote a blog post about that trip. I was a bridesmaid in my best friend’s wedding in Door County, Wisconsin. I hadn’t been back there for a very long time! I was able to visit family for 2 weeks during the holiday season while working remotely. I spent my last birthday back home in Chicago eating and drinking my way around the city at some of the best places in town (another blog post). And I recently just got back from Mexico City! A place I’ve wanted to visit for a while now. Next, I hope to visit Cartagena, Columbia, and Portugal. I am currently working on the blog post for Mexico City. It’s now been over a year since leaving my 9-5 and things are going ok. I won’t say it’s been easy by any means, but it’s a work in progress – this new life that I am trying to create for myself. There were and still are many obstacles! Figuring out health insurance, no longer receiving a steady paycheck, getting used to having a totally different schedule and being disciplined/staying focused and most of all learning how to do something brand new. All of this is still very challenging.
My advice to anyone just starting out is to try to do something you love. Try to create a life where you don’t have to take a vacation from it. Do something that fulfills you and that makes you happy to wake up each day – especially Monday’s and you know what I mean! And if you are absolutely miserable right now – don’t continue on the same path. We get one chance here to make it count. Be happy! Choose happiness!! There are so many resources out there to help you if you want to make a change. It’s scary but worth it! Surround yourself with positive people. You may have to clean house – and I mean with people and things! Not everyone is going to support you or be on your side. Your tribe is very important. Surround yourself with people that share your vision – people higher than you. Surround yourself with people that help you grow and challenge you. De-clutter your life! I refuse to keep toxic/negative individuals in my life. They serve no purpose. I am very lucky to have a circle of amazing friends and a family that fully support my choices. The people in my life just want the best for me and want me to be happy.
We’d love to hear more about The Sensual Palate.
As for my blog, I am just getting started. As I continue to grow, I hope to get people back to the dinner table by hosting more private dinner parties thru EatWith and maybe the Airbnb Experience platform and on my own. I also want to inspire others to entertain at home more. I would love to be able to do a few culinary travel tours a few times a year. I am also thinking about writing some cookbooks.
I am also working on growing my Network Marketing business. I happen to be with one of the top rated companies in the Network Marketing industry. I am so blessed that my friends introduced me to this company. It’s been fun traveling together and sharing this experience with people that I love. I truly believe our signature product is what helped me ditch the Ambien cold turkey. I have no trouble sleeping anymore and I have never felt better. As weird as it sounds, I feel like I am aging backwards! I love sharing our products with others – especially since I have seen first hand how our signature product has helped so many people. Our company was even featured on ABC Primetime with John Quinones.
I am doing what I love right now. I am doing work that doesn’t feel like work! I love writing, I love cooking and entertaining and I am very good at it! I could throw an amazing cocktail or dinner party in my sleep! I love to travel and dining out and now, I get to share the best places on my blog for others to read about. Being in the kitchen is my happy place. Cooking and creating new recipes is so therapeutic for me. When I travel, I love to experience different types of cuisine and share that with my readers. I am just going to continue doing what I’m doing and pray that everything works out the way it’s supposed to. I wake up every day excited – not dreading being stuck in an office all day making someone else’s dreams come true. Being grateful helps. I don’t focus much on what’s to come or what I want – instead, I focus on being grateful for what I have now and that includes the people in my life – not just things.
So much of the media coverage is focused on the challenges facing women today, but what about the opportunities? Do you feel there are any opportunities that women are particularly well positioned for?
Women are killing it in the entrepreneurial world today! Since I work from home now, I listen to a lot of Podcasts all day long. I listen to a lot of Bloggers that have Podcasts. I listen to chefs and other foodies who have launched their own Podcast. I also listen to Ted Talks. There are a ton of networking groups geared towards women in business and on many other subjects. I follow a ton of successful Bloggers and have learned so much from them. I actually built my blog on my own. I don’t have a web designer or an SEO specialist or anything like that. I do it all myself and am learning as I go. At some point, I am going to need help, but for now, I am accessing all of the free resources I can find. And believe me, there are a lot if you just take the time to look and research. All of the successful Bloggers I follow all have a ton of information to help you if blogging is your jam. Times have really changed. Even millennials are now re-thinking getting a traditional 9-5 after college. People want time freedom these days. With Wi-Fi and the Internet, you can work from just about anywhere in the world! I was able to work when I was in Paris. I worked from the apartment we rented while in Mexico City. There is no reason you have to be stuck inside an office all day long. I remember listening to one podcast recently where two college students knew before they graduated that they didn’t want to be stuck in an office every day. These two girlfriends started an online business where they help other millennials figure out what they’re good at/what their passion is and then they teach them how to do it remotely and earn a living. This is their business and they are successful at it. By the way, they were in Bali working when this podcast was recorded! Just saying! There are a lot more options available today for women.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thesensualpalate.com
- Email: tammy@thesensualpalate.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesensualpalate/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Sensual-Palate-636043600075547/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/sensual_palate
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/thesensualpalate/
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