Most people don't know what they want.
We have been told that 'I want, never gets' and we put away our dreams in the wardrobe in the attic.
And it can be challenging to encourage that dreamer within you to come out ,so you can get clear on that bold, exciting, adventurous life that you'd love to lead.
After creating a vision, you need a PLAN.
I KNOW this is where we can get really stuck, so in this week's video I share the tool I use to map out the next steps, including how to work out what to do NOW to progress towards your goals.
Read MoreI KNOW how much getting stuck really kills your enthusiasm and your energy. You start thinking you're hopeless, you can't 'make it happen' and you feel like giving up.
So how about a practical strategy that helps shift whatever's keeping you in that place? Today's video is about how to get out of your head and get things moving again.
Image by Benjamin Coombs. Used under a creative commons zero license.
You perfected the art of going to school. You breezed through college or Sixth Form. You got your A-levels, chose a degree, graduated and finally landed that position.
Your parents were delighted they could now refer to you as a ‘professional’. They could talk about the company you work for and how much you’re enjoying your job. They airily address their friends by saying ‘Oh she’s now in London, working for so and so, yes loving it."
Except you’re not.
Read MoreIt was 7 years ago that I first googled 'changing careers’.
I hadn't known what I wanted to do after University so I took a gap year, temping in Canada. It was a whirl. An adventure. And then 4 of my close friends got engaged and started getting mortgages and sending out wedding invitations and I took fright. I needed to get a proper job. Settle down. Stop messing around.
Read MoreImage by Joshua Earle. Used under a creative commons license.
Are you still ‘deciding’ to do something about that dream?
How long has it been now? What are you waiting for?
Read MoreImage by Margot Pandone. Used under a creative commons licence.
In my first graduate job, I was a employed as junior tax consultant for a firm that specialised in helping FTSE 100 companies claims for tax relief on some expenditure.
It was a small company and for that reason we were exposed to lots of what was going on. There was good company atmosphere, regular training and celebrations on Fridays at 4pm when we won a new client or piece of work.
Read MoreWe can drive ourselves crazy trying to over think things. Going round and round in circles of loopy logic. Looking at a sometimes dazzling array of options or merely a choice between two, and a mundane two at that.
We meander through those 'wishful thinking' fields, zooming off on a certainty and then running into a very pleasant looking whitewashed wall.
If we want to achieve what we deep down really dream of, we must transform. The ‘us’ in the wonderful vision we have for our lives, with passionate, practical, heart-driven businesses, living in beautiful places is a stronger, more focused version of our current selves.
Read MoreImage by Thomas Nugent. Used under a creative commons licence.
This week I’ve been thinking ahead to my next move - to Tuscany. Another set of challenges, a change. I’ve been wondering what I’m going to do after that - do I come back here? Do I stay in Tuscany? How does that work with my two trips back to England over the next few months. Can I make it all work?
Lots of questions. This week I’ve had moments of fear that I haven’t got all the answers yet. It’s all a bit, well, open.
Read MoreWhat is power?
A surging force that pushes its way through time and space.
A raging storm, wind whistling and rain hurtling itself against a window. Thunder growling through the district.
Angry, salty waves and wind, fighting for attention, their white tips foaming at the mouth as the sea’s great game with itself unfolds.
Read MoreI'd love to pursue my dreams Claire, but I don't have time!
So I heard this week.
I know how you feel. I was the same.
Read MoreI have some exciting news I want to share with you... In just under 2 months, I’ll be moving to Italy!
Read MoreHow do you get a balance between enjoying life NOW and working towards the dream?
Read MoreYou’ve heard about these people who do amazing things and you know you have that itch. (Another itch story here).
So you ask yourself: What would I want to do if I could do ANYTHING?
Read MoreLast week we talked about positioning ourselves for change. So I'm wondering, if I asked you, could you tell me specifically what you want to change to? Exactly? In detail? No? Why not?
Read MoreIf I asked you, do you know what your vision for your life is? The one that will move people, touch lives, make things better?
If not, is it because you have lost it? Is it because you're scared? Because you'll be disappointed if you can't have it? What about if you don't try to reach it? Will you be disappointed then?
Where your dissatisfaction with where you are now becomes a yearning that you can't get rid of, explore it. Investigate the anger you feel. Work through the pain. Look at the injustice you're outraged by. Pinpoint your feelings.
Why?
Why not just squash it down inside of you? Why not keep your mouth shut, ignore it, and hope it goes away?
Why?
Why not adhere to the people who say: "Can't you just get over it? Live a peaceful life and not bother anyone. Be happy with what you have."
Why?
We need that dream.
We need your gifts.
We need your commitment to hard work that manifests itself as laziness because at the moment you're just scared. Your laziness will melt away in the face of your excitement.
We need your vision that isn't yet defined because you're fearful it won't happen. We need it to inspire us and keep us going. Keep fighting the fear.
We need your compassion - the one that makes you stay and talk even though you need to make your deadline. Don't berate yourself for choosing to stay, know what value it has for them, the person who needs to talk. We need it to help us when we're feeling horrible.
We need your organisational skills - because they will to help make our dreams work. We need The Stationery Queen. We need it to make our businesses run more smoothly and our dreams to be realised.
We need the well-driller in you. We need the house builder. The artist. The facilitator. The events manager. The one inside you, that you don't dare yet to be or even think of. The one you long for.
We need your dream. Your big dream.
After a comment the other day with someone who is quite like me, I realised I love to be building something. The comment she made was 'I like to be building something'. Ok so I totally copied the phrase (just gave it a bit more oomph) but basically I knew from my teens that I didn't like routine or repetitive work (thanks, Careers test) although I think now, I DO like it if it helps me develop or learn a skill or skills I didn't have before. But once I have mastered the skill (and my version of 'mastered' isn't as much as 'mastery') that's it, I'm done.
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