Posts tagged ‘Courage to follow your dreams’

October 2nd, 2009

My Story

Open doorA friend asked me recently how I find the inspiring people I’ve interviewed here.  I think it’s really all about soul sisters Faith and Fate.  When I first started blogging in 2004, 5 years ago, I did it because the people I knew then were doing it.  Though I started writing since I was 6, I was a bit wary of going online and sharing my thoughts with the world.  But I did, eventually.

My first blog was all about me.  My personal thoughts about navigating my way through my twenties.  A newspaper editor who read it said I sounded like him when he was that age.  So yeah it was more of an online diary than anything else.

I later moved on to blogging professionally when I lucked out and scored a job at Tiny Prints, an online stationery store.  Although I didn’t know it at the time, my experience writing for them and their sister site Wedding Paper Divas would help catapult me into copywriting, web writing, blogging and ultimately the freelance writing world.

On an interview once, I received the most valuable advice ever from the interviewee.  He said, “I believe that whatever job we take now should be a stepping stone to what we really want to do in the future.”  For me this was a revelation.  Previously, I was job hopping without considering my dreams. From then on, I decided I was going to stop floating and get anchored in my writing.  Although I’ve taken the odd job here and there for money, I’ve still held on.

I might be only a pebble closer to my dreams but I’m comforted in knowing that at least I’m doing it.  I’m creating my own reality.  The people I’ve found on my journey came out of nowhere just because I opened myself up to possibility.  I’m actually on Martha Beck’s second book following, “Following Your Own North Star” called “Steering by Starlight.”  And it’s all about the magic that happens when you have the courage to life in.  I think too many people are scared of disappointment, afraid of not being worthy of their dreams.

The truth is.  The fact that we are here means that we’ve already encountered a life’s worth of struggle and hardship.  There’s a reason why we’ve had to endure it.  Everyone has a purpose in life.  Everyone has a dream.  Believe in yourself and know that what makes you unique is invaluable to the world.  Share your dreams with others and open the door to the possibility that life is a lot more magical than it seems.

I did.  And that’s the long winded answer to how I have so much amazing people on this blog to share their inspirational stories with.  How about you?  What’s your story?

July 24th, 2009

Preventing Dream Burn Out

Dream chasing can be exhausting. For one, it’s like going after that unattainable pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. The faster you run, the farther away it gets until it’s out of reach. The one big worry when you attempt to fulfill your dreams? You’ll run out of gas, right before you get to the end.

To prevent dream burn out, read these helpful remedies.

  1. Celebrate all of your victories, even the seemingly minor ones. A compliment? New blog viewers/customers? An email from a potential client? Take time to do a little, “Yay me!” whenever anything good happens to you. It’s so easy to keep pushing ahead but it’s important to treasure all the good things that are happening to you right now!
  2. Practice patience. If only we could all make our dreams come true with the snap of our fingers and the wave of a magic wand. But in reality, dreams take time to come to life. Remember that every thing comes in due time. Take a deep breath and reflect on what you want for your future and what you need now until then.
  3. Learn gratitude. A part of celebrating the good things is learning to appreciate them as well. It may be harder on some days than others to find something to be grateful for but learning gratitude is essential to your well-being now and in the future.
  4. Take a break. There will always be more ___ that needs to be done. Press pause when you need to and remember even the most successful people take breaks.
  5. Remember where you have been. When you remember what you have been through and all the challenges you have faced thus far, the road ahead seems less daunting. Recall the past mountains you have already climbed and charge ahead revitalized by the strength and courage of your past.

There will always be challenges in front of us, more projects to tackle and people to compete with who want the same things. The best thing we can do for our dreams? Invest in ourselves.

New York