“If they offer you a bad deal at lease renewal,” I told myself, “something better is coming that will make it worth the effort to move.” My head knew the statement to be true, but my body was exhausted just thinking about the work that relocating would require. I was about to put the finishing touches on a few exciting new things for my business and didn’t want to put my projects on hold, but my intuition said I would probably have to. A few days later, the horrible lease deal arrived. I tried to get them to adjust it to something reasonable, but I was unable to convince them that I shouldn’t have to pay more than new tenants… even though the complex had many vacancies and I always pay my rent on time, don’t call the office with issues often (nor cause issues that make others call), and paid increased common area maintenance fees for two years although the pool had not been open a single day. When I said I didn’t understand why they weren’t trying hard to keep tenants like me, management claimed that they were. “We really value you,” they said. I rolled my eyes and walked out. It was time to call their bluff.
After delivering another batch of Fortune Telling Tiny Art Playing Cards for the Gallery to Go art vending machine the following day, I decided to cruise the nearby neighborhoods for possible options. I stumbled upon one apartment building in particular whose surface info made me excited to move. Seeing the place made me realize that I would gladly downsize my living space to be in the Arts District and/or near downtown. I told myself that I was about to experience something similar to but far better than when I moved to Las Vegas; that I would know the place where I was meant to be when I saw it and be able to move there on the schedule I desired.
I wanted to find an apartment and know that it would be mine before giving my official notice to vacate to my current landlord. I wanted to have a few weeks to pack and purge junk, then move all my heaviest belongings using hired help mid-month and bring over the remaining things for the new place as I unpacked and made space for them in my downsized abode. I acted as if I was certain all of this would work out – getting rid of things I hadn’t used since I moved to Vegas and marking others for storage, pretending I knew exactly how much space I would have. About one week after I began searching day and night for the perfect place, I found it. I peeked over the locked fence of a small apartment complex in a neighborhood I hadn’t yet visited, then walked to the corner to see all that was nearby. The moment I reached Main Street, I felt butterflies in my gut and got tears in my eyes. It felt like home, even more so than the neighborhood in California I had enjoyed living in for more than 20 years.
At that moment, I began to see my new life – one which has all the things I loved most about living in Santa Barbara and more. A week later, I got pre-approved for the apartment, just before giving my 30-day notice to vacate. The following week, I was able to view the inside of my new place for the first time. A few days before mid-month, I signed the lease and started moving in. Everything happened as I imagined it would, all in less than two months.
Ever since I read Psycho-Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz and began to see that I only manifest things that I believe I can do or have, I’ve been working to focus my thoughts and words on what I want to have or do (and not dwell on what I don’t want) in addition to spending time visualizing myself already living the life I want (the technique thoroughly described in the book). This was the first time I really felt the difference these shifts of mindset have made. Separating my messy two-bedroom apartment into a storage space and an organized, beautifully decorated one-bedroom apartment – creating the most inviting living space I’ve ever stuffed my stuff into – was the proof that my efforts are paying off which I needed to see. To celebrate, I made myself a little garden and added to the array of indoor plants I’d been nurturing. I couldn’t help but think that the main reason I had struggled to take proper care of houseplants was the fact I repeatedly stated that’s kind of girl I am. Creating a space where beautiful things grow seemed like the perfect way to remind myself daily that I am the me that I see.

I said that I was going to decorate my apartment “in rainbow” when I moved to Las Vegas, but I got busy doing… and told myself that getting things done was more important than being fully organized. I accepted my mess as part of my process, so the mess was always there. Once I told myself that I could fit my business and my life into a smaller apartment and make it highly functional and cute, that’s exactly what I did. I’m now living in the rainbow dwelling of my dreams in a neighborhood full of buildings covered in rainbow colored art.
The third WSOP season since I became a Las Vegas resident is about to begin. I still don’t know exactly how I’ll find my way into the Main Event, but I can see myself playing in it someday. I believe the dream I had of being at the final table could come true, and I can’t help but wonder if I somehow already have everything I need to succeed. Maybe it’s just because I’m surrounded by rainbows, but I have a sneaking suspicion that I’m sitting on a pot of gold. As I was finishing this story, my employer announced a $60 satellite tournament for the $500 WSOP casino employee event (aka precisely the type of opportunity I have been waiting for). My hopes were quite high as I tried to win my way to the WSOP playing poker against my poker family… but I didn’t win that seat and that’s ok… because life recently reminded me again that it’s this or something better… and I feel fairly certain that I’m in the right place and the right time is coming soon. My happy ending may not look exactly as I imagine it will, but it may also be more wonderful than I ever dreamt it could be.

Stay tuned to see what happens next. Sign up here to be the first to know when my deck of playing cards will be released and/or visit Homemade by Hoyt to show your support. Click here to learn more about the book that inspired my shift in mindset.