In the dim background of our mind, we know what we ought to be doing but somehow we
cannot start. -William James You’ve made what seems like a hundred false starts and you feel like you’ll never be able to make a living doing what you love. Whether you want to start your own business or change careers, you find that you just don’t know where to begin anymore and the advice to just start rings hollow in your ears. So now what? Well, it is possible to do this. I’m living proof. I spent years spinning my wheels and getting nowhere fast. Now I’m in the flow of forward motion. I’m scared and there are days I want to run and hide, but I don’t. I keep moving. That’s key. To keep moving. It’s so much harder to start again and again. So let me share with you the things you need to do before you get started. Our starts often don’t work because we haven’t laid the ground work. Free Up Time and Energy If you’re anything like me, you’ve said yes to too many projects and volunteer opportunities. Or maybe you have children or other family members to look after. All are important, but so are you. You need to make room in your life for your dreams. Even if it’s 15 minutes a day to start. And the way to do this is take away as many excuses as possible. Since the beginning of this year I’ve been slowly finding others who could take over some of my volunteer duties. I’m still working on clearing my path to make room for the time and energy I need to build my business, but I have freed up quite a bit of it. What can you clear from your schedule? Can you get a babysitter for an hour? Is it possible to drop one activity from your child’s schedule? Do you have to volunteer for three things at once? Can a family member cook or do laundry? Talk to Your Family and Friends Let the people in your life know what you’re up to. Tell them about your hopes and dreams if you think it’s safe to do so. It’s important to only share with those who will support you because in the beginning it’s challenging enough without bad vibes to throw you off track. You do this to get support. You need the cheerleaders and accountability as well as the physical help for the things mentioned above. No one lives up to their greatness without help. Get the help you need and the best place to start is at home. Get Professional Support Now maybe you can’t afford a business or life coach, but start thinking about it. If you can’t hire someone just yet, then start to surround yourself with people who are working towards similar goals or are doing what you want to do. Find a mentor and or join an accountability group. This is so important. It can make all the difference as you move along your path. Make Sure Your Dream Sets You on Fire Sometimes we’ve been dreaming for so long about something that we don’t realize our feelings have changed. Maybe you’ve dreamed of being a reporter and winning the Pulitzer. But when you start to move in that direction you find that you’re not fired up about it so much anymore. We change and so do our dreams. I believe our life purpose is something broader than being a reporter or doctor or coach. It’s an overarching theme that we’ve been living all along. See my blog 5 Ways to Discover or Get Clear on Your Calling and do some work on getting clear on what it is you really want to do to express your life purpose. You’ll need the fire of doing something you absolutely love to keep going. When you are actually ready to make your start, here are a couple of things to keep in mind: Begin with Something You Love I think it’s important to build a strong foundation, but those tasks may bore you. If you’re starting a business you need to do some market research. If you’re changing careers you may need to go back to school. Some of these things you may love and some you may not. Make the first thing you do something that fires you up, something that is at the heart of your dream. If you do something that makes you feel like you’re already living your dream, you will feel motivated to keep going. Start Small Often the reason you don’t start is because you are overwhelmed by a long list of tasks. Pick something you love, like mentioned above, and then put away the rest of the list for now. Take your one task and break it down into steps and make a plan. Plan to do one step in that hour you freed up by hiring a babysitter or by getting a family member to do the laundry. When you’ve completed that first step of a single task, make a plan for when you’ll do the next step and then celebrate. Once you’ve begun keep going by keeping it simple. You’ll get there as long as you keep moving forward.
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Brick by Brick
A soul journey. Building a life
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