"There is nothing more beautiful than finding your course as you believe you bob aimlessly in the current. Wouldn't you know that your path was there all along, waiting for you to knock...like a photograph coming into focus."
How many of you are dealing with the holiday hangover and the coming Monday morning dread? How many of you are hiding away on your couches, hoping that the football games will never end? How many of you are sleepwalking through life hoping that you don't wake up?
Well, Wake Up! It's time for me to share with you some best ways to achieve personal success this year and beyond. Jim Randel's team recently contacted me to request that I review his new book, The Skinny on Success: Why not you?
I am not so much reviewing it, as I am recommending it! He outlines great personal success factors that make a difference between lukewarm existence and vibrant living.1) Take the Time to Discover What You Are Passionate About.
How many of us grow up living according to what we think we 'should' be doing, based on either unspoken or spoken expectations communicated to us while growing up? Or how many of us have pursued money alone, ending up in a job that we hate, but are too comfortable to leave in order to pursue our personal dreams?
So, how do we discover what we are passionate about? Here are some questions to consider from a classic work called Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (P.S.)
, by Mihaly Cxikzentmihalyi.What are you doing when:
- you lose track of time during the day
- you don't hear barking dogs or loud sirens
- you feel centered...relaxed, even though engaged in a difficulty challenge
- you feel energized
- you forget to eat
- you have a sense of wellness
- you can focus easily for long periods of time
I have shared in a previous post how I worked through, and continue to work through, processes that have helped me to understand what I am passionate about and how to pursue my passions so that I can be living life 'on purpose.' You can do the same thing! Many community colleges, if you sign up for a class (how about a life purpose class?), have great career counseling offices that will provide career testing and assessment. It's worth considering a career/industrial psychologist who can provide some of the testing you may need to isolate your talents and abilities.
You can also read a number of books that will help you unite both your passions/abilities/talents/strengths with your mission in life and with the career or careers you may be interested in pursuing. A classic in the field has been Richard Bolles' What Color Is Your Parachute? 2010: A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers
.In terms of uniting your career with a bigger overarching purpose and mission, consider reading two of my very favorite books, How to Find Your Mission in Life
, also by Richard Bolles, and The Path: Creating Your Mission Statement for Work and for Life
, written by Laurie Beth Jones.Another means of exploring and assessing what your dreams, hopes, and aspirations are is to take the time to write and journal. One excellent resource for this a book and workbook by Julia Cameron (Broadway actress and professor at Northwestern University. (The Artist's Way
and The Artist's Way Workbook
). 2) Create a Living Around What You Love Doing.
This takes courage, my friend! Be flexible as you think about how to pursue this. There will be obstacles and difficulties, but nothing worth achieving in life is easy! I say be flexible, because there is no cookie cutter way to achieve your objective. Too often, we are our own worst enemies. We tell ourselves it's not possible, it's too late in life for me, it's too early in life for me, I don't have enough money, I am not good enough, etc. Clear away that mental baggage and dream your dream!
One of the best examples of someone who is doing this is my friend over at the Success Center, Rod Kirby. He was working in a different field that he was not completely happy with. Once he clarified what he really wanted to do (you'll have to get over to the Success Center to find out what he's up to), he decided to find a job that would support his desire to have the flexibility to work on his personal businesses. Now he's flying around the world as a flight attendant, which he enjoys doing, but which also provides him with the flexibility to be on TV, on the internet, and interviewing all the successful entrepreneurs as he does.
Consider working with a life coach or business coach who can help you clarify and work toward your goals. There are so many good ones out there. I will name @rodkirby, @truthlifecoach, Mike Magdaleno as a three coaches I can vouch for as having integrity and expertise. If you have a business idea, you may also want to consider low to no cost counseling through SCORE.
Here are more excellent resources for Personal Growth Development
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