What does freedom mean to you? For many of us, it’s about having the time to enjoy life with the people we love, doing the things we enjoy, and having enough money to do so comfortably. I have always had the desire to live a big life, so “just getting by” has never been an option for me.
Grown from Humble Beginnings
For me, “Diva Time” is my motto and definition of freedom. It means having the freedom to do what I want on my own clock. I know this kind of lifestyle may sound impossible, and it’s one I’ve been working to achieve for as long as I can remember. As with all things worth having, my journey to freedom has taken years of effort and is still a work in progress. It’s been a wild ride so far, so hang on and I’ll share how it all began.
You might think a gal singing a sassy anthem about living on “Diva Time” is one who is high maintenance with all the money in the world at her fingertips. Well, no, that’s a far cry from the real truth. I come from humble beginnings as a farm girl from the sticks of Nebraska. We shopped from mail order catalogs like Montgomery Ward or the local western stores. We lived off the land – we raised cattle and corn, grew vegetables in Grandpa’s garden, and milked cows morning and night. Life was pretty simple, we didn’t have much, yet there was always food on the table. But when I was seven, life on the farm took a tragic turn, and I quickly learned that a college education was my ticket out of Nebraska.
How Diva Time Began
After college, I moved to Deadwood, South Dakota and began working a salaried position in advertising. I quickly realized that working 50+ hours a week without overtime was not going to work for me. I ditched Deadwood for Dallas, and found a job selling ads for a publishing company. It was at this company that I realized the power of residual income. I was selling multiple magazine ads at a time, and all I had to do was collect artwork for the next issue, pick up a check, and get paid again and again! This allowed me to maximize my time and pursue new accounts while building a residual income paycheck.
But when the terrorism attack happened on September 11th, the world stopped spending money on advertising, and the publishing company I was working for at the time went belly up. I went deep into credit card debt trying to pay my bills; my determination to crawl out of debt and find a different line of work led me to the career I’ve been building since 2003.
Now, I run my own credit card processing company called Card Diva. It’s the perfect business for me because I can run it from anywhere in the world. I’ve worked from Mexico, Portugal, Thailand, Australia, Spain, Greece, all over the US including from my family’s farm in Nebraska.
At a songwriting retreat a few years ago, I wrote the beginning of the chorus for “Diva Time,” and now I’m living every word of my song. I haven’t dyed my hair pink yet, but I’m threatening to. Ha! Now, instead of working all the time from anywhere in the world, I’m working towards more play and a little less work. And someday, maybe when I’m 100, I’ll retire and not be a Card Diva, but that seems hard to imagine right now. I love the career I’ve built and am so very grateful for the freedom it provides.
Diva Time
written by Candy Fernaux & Mandy Brooke
Locked on tick tock trying to keep up
with the hands of time never stops
I need to unwind before I lose my mind
I just need a moment for me myself and I
Cause I’m so done so through
spending all my time doing things
I don’t wanna do, going through the motions of all this commotion
I just wanna dance naked in my living room
Chorus:
Talkin’ ‘bout Diva Time
It’s a cloud nine state of mind
All about good vibes good times
Reaching for the good life
Everything feels right
On Diva Time
Hey Hey Hey Hey Hey
No black no white get a little wild
color outside the lines
Might dye my hair pink or get a little ink
I don’t give a damn I just wanna feel free
Chorus:
Talkin’ ‘bout Diva Time
It’s a cloud nine state of mind
All about good vibes good times
Reaching for the good life
Everything feels right
On Diva Time
I’m living my best life
Divin’ in head first baby with the right kind of crazy makes me feel alive
Living’ on Diva Time
Hey Hey Hey Hey Hey
Sometimes we all just need some
bonafide…certified… electric hey hey
Diva Time a cloud nine state of mind
Good vibes good times
Reachin’ for the good life
Everything feels right
When I’m on Diva Time
I’m livin’ my best life
Divin’ in head first baby
with the right kinda crazy
Makes me feel alive
Livin’ on Diva Time
Hey hey hey hey hey
I’m all about Diva Time
Hey hey hey hey hey
Takin’ my Diva Time