“Your present circumstances don’t determine where you can go; they merely determine where you start.” Nido Qubein.
Dance like nobody’s watching,
Love like you’ve never been hurt,
Sing like nobody’s listening,
Live like it’s heaven on earth.
Rome wasn’t built in a day…
The roller coaster is my life; life is a fast dizzying game, life is parachute jump; It’s taking changes, falling over and getting up again; it’s mountaineering; It’s wanting to get to the very top of yourself and to feel angry and dissatisfied when you don’t manage it.
From Eleven Minutes. Paulo Coelho
Life, indeed, is a roller coaster. It is determined, in large measure, by the choices you make and – more importantly, why you make them.
What is the dream? What do you hope for? Are you adding value to the lives of others – while, at the same time, doing what you love? What stories do you believe? What stories do you tell yourself?
Life is a roller coaste
r, that’s true, but it can be the way you want to make it, if you see the vision, if you don’t let fear, self doubt and false judgement keep you from taking action, if you do the work, if you don’t give up.
Just keep on going.
A cynic, Oscar Wilde wrote, is someone who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.
I was reminded of that that yet again when I read a piece, The selfish cynic, posted this week on Seth Godin’s blog. Take a moment. It is well worth your time to read the entire article.
Anyone can be a cynic – that’s easy. It is much more difficult (some would say impossible) to be an idealist. The harder path, though, lies somewhere in between.
Like blades of grass growing up in the cracks of the sidewalks, the idealists continually reach for the sun.
Where would we all be if they didn’t?
“Throw your dreams into space like a kite, and you do not know what it will bring back, a new life, a new friend, a new love, a new country.” Anaïs Nin.
How do you feel about your work? Does it really reflect who you have grown into over the years and what you believe in? Does it engage both your heart and your mind?
Since you first started out the work place has changed. You have changed. Everything has changed. The pressure is intense. And work/life balance? For most people there just isn’t any. Many today are seriously thinking about making a change, striking out in a new direction. Perhaps you are, too, but unsure where to start.
Taking a risk, making a move is always scary and not to be taken irresponsibly. There are, understandably, exceptional times and situations when making a change is just not doable. Those aside, though, if you are consciously (conscious is the operative word) contemplating making a change – and are clear in your mind about you want to do – here are three questions to ask yourself.
1. Have you a plan? How are you going to accomplish this change? What action(s) do you need to take? What are the timelines? Are you prepared to sacrifice in the short term to gain in the long run? To work at it as long as it takes? What are the financial considerations? Are the people whom you love and who love you on board? Does your vision serve others?
2. Can you step outside your comfort zone? Stepping outside your comfort zone is never easy. It will take tons of courage, more faith in yourself than you ever imagined you had and a rock solid belief that where you are headed is an eminently better place than where you are now.
It won’t be easy. There will be setbacks and many challenges. Along with the dream comes hard work, but you are used to that. It is never too late.
But here’s the thing… there are no set rules and techniques involved in following your dream. Swimming against the current, taking your love out into the cold reality and conventions of the market place is an initiation of the soul. It is nothing less than a calling. And so we come to the most compelling question, the game changer:
3. When that little voice starts up again, whispering in the back of your head, this time, are you ready to answer?
The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift. – Albert Einstein
Scratch just below the surface of any successful entrepreneur and you’ll find that they are good at “following their nose.”
They “have an idea,” or a “hunch.” They’re not always exactly sure how and when they will arrive, but they have enough courage and faith in themselves to step on to the unknown road and start walking towards their dream. They know that if they keep watching for the signs, one thing will lead to the next, and ultimately they’ll get there.
According to Wikipedia, “Typically, intuition is regarded as a conscious commonality between earthly knowledge, garnered and processed by the rational, left side of the brain, and the higher spiritual knowledge that appears as flashes of illumination.”
Put another way… it’s that idea you have in the back of your mind, the one you may have been subconsciously carrying around for so long.
Intuition is an amazing thing. It take to you places you never thought you could go. All it takes is the willingness to start your journey. The great Universe will look after the rest.
For more information, rates, or to set up a meeting:
Email drew@drewsimmie.com or call direct 416.450.8867.
